> [Combat Engagement: Jiang Han + Tian Xue + Nullflame Echo vs. Ash Viper]
Ash Viper Rank: Sovereign-Class Assassin (Execution Unit – Tier 0.5)
Combat Environment: Buried Arena Core – Flame Field Unstable
Nullflame Status: Partially Unsealed (Cognitive Sync at 58%)
---
Battle Ignites – Fang Meets Fire
Ash Viper wasted no time.
She moved like a slash of grey lightning—whipping between flame pulses, twin obsidian serpents launching toward Jiang and Tian Xue in synchronized strikes.
Jiang barely raised Emberfang in time. The serpents melted as they struck his blade—but reformed instantly, striking again with more force.
Tian Xue darted sideways, flames twisting around her blade in a crosscut that sliced one serpent in half.
> [Twinstep Flame – Sync Ratio: 91% – Defensive Reflex +19% Applied]
Ash Viper landed silently behind them, her cloak rippling unnaturally.
> "You don't understand what you've unsealed," she said.
> "Neither did Long Chen," Jiang countered. "That's why we're still cleaning it up."
The Nullflame Echo stepped forward, heat gathering around him like the sun being rewound.
> "You think precision wins the fire. But precision's just fear with pretty form."
He raised one hand.
The chamber shook.
---
Nullflame Unleashed
Ash Viper's eyes narrowed as the Echo's black flame expanded, not outward—but inward, collapsing on itself like a singularity.
> [Ability: Hollow Singe Activated – Anti-Flame Pulse. Effect: Absorbs 22% of structured flame constructs within radius]
Her obsidian serpents disintegrated mid-strike.
She responded instantly, her hands forming a sequence of silent runes—
> [Venom God Sequence: Second Fang – Echobreak]
A purple mist surged forward, corrupting air and flame alike.
The Nullflame laughed.
> "Still using that Sovereign poison filter? Let me show you what real fire devours."
He stepped through it.
Burned through it.
And grabbed Ash Viper's face.
For a single moment—she screamed.
Then blasted herself free with a forbidden glyph, tumbling backward, skin scorched.
---
Tian Xue – Holding the Line
While Jiang redirected a stream of soul needles aimed at the Echo's core, Tian Xue parried a flurry of anti-soul bursts from Ash Viper's off-hand blade.
> "She's shifting forms!" Tian Xue shouted.
> "I see it!" Jiang replied. "She's not just Sovereign-ranked—she's hybrid-built."
Tian Xue gritted her teeth.
> "Then we stop holding back."
She invoked the scroll gifted by Yanxi—the Echostorm Sigil—embedding it into her flame link.
Her Phoenix Hatchling screamed overhead.
The Nightflame Lynx shimmered into full combat form.
> [Soulpet Amplification Active – Companion Flame Tempest Surged]
Together, they slammed Ash Viper with a triple assault: aerial strike, ground swipe, and mid-blade spiral.
Ash Viper was thrown, blood flicking into the air.
---
System Pulse – Spark Awakens
Jiang's Sovereign Spark flared at that moment—rising to 66.1% integration.
He felt it unlock something deeper—
> [New Ability Unlocked: Echo-Brand – Imprint flame intent into hostile constructs]
He thrust Emberfang into the ground, channeling that flame directly into the broken glyphs still lining the old arena.
The floor erupted.
Runes Long Chen carved years ago flared back to life—his battle marks, reawakened.
The flames responded like a memory rekindled.
Ash Viper's stance finally wavered.
> "You're not him…" she whispered. "But his fire... remembers."
Jiang stood tall.
> "You'll remember me too."
---
Final Strike
The Nullflame Echo raised both hands.
> "Time to end your leash."
Jiang and Tian Xue launched in tandem. Their flame merged mid-air—silver and violet, dancing like a broken comet.
The Nullflame detonated his energy—not to kill—but to seal.
> [Technique: Echo Bind – Hostile Sovereign Entity Encapsulation Triggered]
Ash Viper was caught in a three-point lock: Jiang's flame, Tian Xue's twin link, and the Echo's own nullfire.
> "No execution," Jiang said. "Just silence."
> "For now," Tian Xue added.
With one final surge, they buried her beneath the arena floor.
> [Combat Ended – Victory Achieved]
Ash Viper Status: Sealed (Conditionally Stable)]
---
Aftermath – What Was Gained
The Nullflame staggered.
> "Your fire's changing," he said to Jiang. "It's not just Long Chen's spark anymore."
> "It's mine now," Jiang replied.
> "Then carry it farther than we did."
The Echo knelt—flickering.
> "You'll find the rest at the Charred Sky Monolith. But beware—if that truth rises, they'll burn the whole world to stop it."
Then he dissolved.
Not in flame.
In light.