> [Location: Solstice Hollow – Inner Vault Plateau]
Status: Sovereign Spark Claimed (Bearer: Jiang Han)
Bond Link: Tian Xue – Stabilizer Class
Alert: Hostile Force Approaching – 5 Signatures Detected
Warning: Flame Interference – Stealth Barrier Cracked
---
Seconds of Peace
Jiang Han sat on the glowing edge of the Sovereign Ring, the silver spark now burning at the center of his flame core. He could feel everything—each soul thread in Tian Xue, the flicker of Tempest above, the beat of the Phoenix Hatchling's heart even when it slept.
> "It's like I've been looking at the world with one eye closed," he murmured. "And now both are open."
Tian Xue knelt nearby, sharpening her blade with slow, methodical strokes.
> "Don't let the light blind you," she said. "We've barely seen what comes with that spark."
She paused, head tilting.
> "...You feel that?"
Jiang was already rising.
> "We're not alone anymore."
---
Incoming – The Ember Falls
Outside the gate's central platform, the air warped—heat bending space into mirages that bled flame.
Then five figures dropped in like burning meteors.
Their cloaks fluttered black against the molten backdrop. Each wore an emblem that didn't exist in public records—an inverted flame curled around an eye of ash.
> Black Ember Order.
> "By authority of the Division," the lead said, drawing a twin-blade of jet crystal, "you are to surrender the spark. Now."
Jiang stepped forward, flame flaring.
> "Who gave the order?"
> "The ones who own what you just stole."
> "It wasn't theft."
> "Everything is theft when you're not born in their fire."
---
Battle Initiates – The Hollow Heats
> [Combat Triggered – Enemy Rank: Emberblade Enforcers (5)]
Estimated Threat Level: Peak Flame General – Coordinated Execution Unit
Sovereign Spark Adaptation Phase: 18% Integrated – Partial Boost Active
Tian Xue dashed to the left as twin flame daggers screamed toward them.
The Phoenix Hatchling rocketed upward with a sonic cry, sending a pulse of disorienting flame light across the battlefield.
Jiang activated the Twinstep Flame, his aura synchronizing with hers instantly.
> [Sync Surge – Companion Transfer Protocol: ON]
+16% Reflex | +20% Shared Flame Defense | Chain Link Enabled
They moved like dancers—Jiang drawing attention with heavy flame bursts, Tian Xue slipping between enemies with razor-precise cuts.
> "Split their rhythm!" Jiang shouted.
> "On it!"
Tian Xue flipped forward, cutting across one Enforcer's midsection—scorching armor and revealing bone beneath.
The Lynx struck from behind.
> One down.
---
The Spark Awakens
One of the remaining four launched a forbidden spell: a Soul Lock Chain, aimed straight for Jiang's heart.
He reached up—
And caught it.
The Sovereign Spark flared. Silver-white fire roared up his arms, not burning—but rewriting.
> [Spark Adaptation Jump – 34% → 56%]
Ability Unlocked: Sovereign Threadbind – Dispel and Reverse Soul-Level Control within 15 meters]
Jiang grinned as the chain shattered in his grip.
> "Your tools are outdated."
He lunged—and struck with a wave of flame that didn't explode.
It sang.
The flame curled and shattered into a hundred threads that pierced through the second Enforcer's armor and extinguished his core mid-breath.
> Two down.
---
The Fall of Silence
The remaining three closed ranks—but now they were afraid.
Tian Xue spun, slicing through the air with a cyclone cut enhanced by Phoenix resonance.
The Phoenix Hatchling divebombed one target—blinding him long enough for Tempest to impale him from above with a wind spike amplified by soulfire.
> Three down.
Jiang and Tian Xue moved together, back to back.
> "Can you handle one?" she asked.
> "I'll take both."
A moment later—zero remained.
The Hollow fell silent again.
---
Aftermath – The Warning Delivered
One body still twitched. Barely.
Jiang stepped over him.
> "Who ordered it?"
The man coughed blood. Whispered.
> "We weren't supposed to kill you. Just stall."
> "Stall for what?"
> "To finish what they started… with Long Chen."
> "Who is 'they'?"
> "The ones who sent the first spark into the Void Realm… and buried the second one beneath their academy."
He died.
Jiang stared down at him, eyes hard.
> "Then we go where they buried it next."
Tian Xue met his gaze.
> "Blue Star Academy?"
> "Exactly."