> [Flame Trial Begins in: 6 Hours]
Jiang Han: Status – Removed from Trial Roster (Missing)
Tian Xue: Status – Noncompliant, Removed from Active Duel Bracket
Solstice Hollow: Navigation Beacon Locked. Entry Access Pending.
---
Midnight – A Quiet Exit
Ashroot Pavilion stood in silence as most trialists slept, preparing for the largest arena-based trial event in years.
Jiang and Tian Xue moved under moonlight, cloaked in soul-dampening fabrics gifted by Yanxi. Tempest glided overhead. The Phoenix Hatchling rested on Tian Xue's shoulder, already drowsy from the stealth weave.
Bo Ren approached at the forest edge with final supplies.
> "Most of the arena team thinks you're fleeing the trial," he whispered.
> "Let them," Jiang said. "We're not chasing ranks. We're chasing truth."
Bo nodded, slipping him a small scroll.
> "Encrypted message. From someone inside the Sovereign Division. No name. Just two words: 'It's real.'"
Jiang glanced at Tian Xue. She nodded.
> "Time to find it."
They vanished into the shadows.
---
At the Arena – The Void They Left
The morning sun rose across the Crimson Arena, where thousands of trialists and Overseers gathered. Blazing banners danced in the wind. Announcers hovered mid-air, their voices amplified across the sky.
> "Welcome to the Sovereign Flame Trials!"
> "Yet… we begin today with a silence."
Two names remained grey on the roster.
> Jiang Han – Withdrawn.
Tian Xue – Absent.
The crowd murmured. Whispers became speculation.
> "Did they defect?"
"Cowards?"
"No—something's wrong."
"They were strong. Too strong."
One Overseer stepped into the judges' platform, face hidden behind a red-gold mask.
He raised his hand.
> "Let their withdrawal be recorded."
> "Let the system forget them."
But in the shadows beyond the ridge, another Overseer watched.
A woman. Cloaked in flame-threads.
She whispered to herself:
> "Long Chen's fire burns again."
---
The Road to Solstice Hollow
Jiang and Tian Xue reached the base of Ember Ridge's third ring, where the air thickened with ancient flame. An arch of bone-fire stone flickered with runes that hadn't been read in a century.
Jiang placed Emberfang at the center. Tian Xue added her flame thread.
> [Dual Flame Access Verified]
Sovereign Vault – Solstice Hollow – Opening Gate]
The rock cracked.
The ground split.
And light poured out—not gold, not crimson, but pure white flame, untouched by time.
> "This is it," Jiang said.
> "Then let's see what was worth hiding for a hundred years," Tian Xue replied.
They stepped through.
The gate closed.
---
System Echo – Across the Crossroads
Every trialist's system pulsed at the same time.
> [Notice: Two active trialists removed from standard rotation]
Names: Redacted.
Cause: Unauthorized flame pathway activated. Echoes ripple beyond expected thresholds.
Consequences: Unknown.
But one name appeared.
Not to the masses.
Only to three Overseers, far beneath the Flame Trial Hall.
> LONG CHEN: ACTIVE?
And beside it—
> Jiang Han: Possesses Echo Key. Elimination priority rising.