The ground pulsed beneath her feet.
Aurelis stepped back as the tree's roots cracked and lifted. A low growl rose—not from an animal, but the earth itself, shuddering with ancient heat. Her fingers tightened around the sword hilt half-buried in the soil, but she did not draw it. Not yet.
"Show me who you are," she whispered.
A sudden flare of heat erupted from the tree's base, spiraling into the air like fire dancing in slow motion. The flames twisted and coiled—not chaotic, but patterned. Intentional.
From within them, a shape began to form.
Four-legged. Broad-shouldered. Wings folded against its back like smoldering banners. Its body was forged of charred obsidian plates, with cracks glowing like molten veins. It stood tall as a hut, silent but heavy with presence.
Two crimson eyes opened.
"You are not the first," said the creature, voice low like thunder rolling in a canyon. "But you are the first to kneel."
Aurelis rose to her feet calmly. "Then the others were fools."
The beast circled slowly. Its claws hissed against the ashen ground.
"Many came with chains. None earned my flame."
It lowered its head slightly, flames licking along its snout.
"Why should I walk beside a girl with a broken sword and borrowed fire?"
Aurelis took a slow breath, grounding herself.
"I don't want to own you. I want to learn from you. Fight with you. The world's breaking apart—and I can't stop it alone."
The flames around the clearing surged. A pressure wave slammed into her like a wall. Her feet dug in. She didn't flinch.
The beast—Ashfang—snarled.
"Then take it."
From the air, a blade of pure flame ignited, forming above her head like a falling star. A trial weapon. Not real, but searingly symbolic. It hurt just to look at.
"Fight me. Prove you can burn and not be consumed."
Aurelis didn't hesitate.
She snatched the flame-blade, and it roared to life in her grip. Her sword skills, honed by discipline and structure, suddenly flared with wild, raw heat. No longer textbook-perfect strikes—but dancing arcs of instinct and purpose.
Ashfang lunged.
They clashed.
Steel met flame. Fire met resolve. The forest around them watched, trees whispering with embers.
Each time Ashfang's claws raked the air, Aurelis moved—not always fast enough, not always cleanly. But each strike she gave back lit the arena with a light that was uniquely hers.
Her own fire. Earned, not inherited.
And in one final clash—flame met flame.
Silence.
Aurelis stood panting, the flame-blade now guttering in her hand. Ashfang towered above her, cracked chestplate glowing brighter than before.
He lowered his head.
"You burn like a star that remembers darkness."
She blinked.
"What does that mean?"
The giant beast let out a puff of ember-smoke—was that a chuckle?
"You'll learn. If you survive what comes next."
The roots parted behind him, revealing a glowing spiral leading out of the grove and back toward the real world.
But before she stepped through, Ashfang's form shimmered and compressed—turning into a miniature whelp the size of a pony, still glowing, still armored.
He padded beside her.
"I walk with you now, Aurelis of Fire. Burn wisely."
She smiled, exhausted.
Then realized: she had not passed out during or after the trial.
"…Kazuki's never going to believe this," she muttered.
Meanwhile, Elsewhere in the World…
Smile balanced on a tree branch upside down, playing cards with himself in eight dimensions.
"Mmhm," he whispered, grinning. "So that one's awake now too. Wonderful."
He flicked a card down.
It landed face-up.
"Ashfang: Ember Sovereign of the Second Flame."
He tapped it once.
"Let's see what the kids do with you."