> [Location: Bone Altar Gate – Threshold to the Charred Sky Monolith]
Jiang Han: Sovereign Spark Integration 72.5% | Flame Bond Tier: Ascendant Sync
Companions: Tian Xue, Phoenix Hatchling (Skyflare Rank), Nightflame Lynx
Guardian Signature Detected: Class S – Sentient Flame Anchor (Human Origin)
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The Bone Altar
The Bone Altar was not made of bones.
Not animal.
Not human.
It was made of burnt flame cores—old ones, shattered and compressed into ivory bricks that hummed with latent suffering. The path leading to it was lined with fallen soul banners—most too faded to read, but some bore names.
Jiang paused at one:
Candidate 33 – Lu Yanqing.
He'd read her name once—an early Sovereign Candidate who vanished during the first Flame Migration trials.
> "They all tried to reach the Monolith," Tian Xue murmured, voice reverent.
> "And died without ever knowing why they couldn't."
The altar ahead pulsed once.
Then a man stepped into view.
---
The Flame Watcher
He wore no armor.
Only loose flame robes, blackened with age.
His face was lined, hair silver, but his eyes burned like two stars trapped behind glass.
He bore no weapon.
Only silence.
A system prompt flickered for Jiang.
> [Entity Identified: Flame Anchor – Title: The Watcher]
Name: Zhang Wuxing
Affiliation: Ex-Archivist of the First Path | Former Guardian to Long Chen (Unconfirmed)]
Status: Immortal Flamebound – Body preserved through eternal synchronization with Pre-Sovereign Fire]
Jiang stepped forward.
> "Are you the final guardian?"
The man did not reply.
He bowed—deeply.
Then raised his hand, and flame circled the altar in a perfect ring.
The challenge had begun.
---
Trial of the Watcher
> [Challenge Triggered – Trial of Recognition]
Objective: Prove Intent | Survive Full Flame Sync for 300 Seconds Under True Fire Pressure]
Fail Condition: Bond Collapse Below 80% or Spark Instability
Reward: Access to the Charred Sky Monolith
---
The Fire Begins
The Watcher's flame wasn't explosive—it was dense.
It didn't attack.
It invaded.
Jiang felt it snake through his veins, testing his spark.
Tian Xue grunted as pressure cracked the altar stones beneath her boots.
> "This flame… it's sentient," she gasped.
> "No," Jiang said. "It's listening."
The Phoenix Hatchling flared its wings, creating a shield.
The Nightflame Lynx roared, anchoring their position.
> [Flame Sync Ratio: 93%... 89%... 85%... STABILIZING]
The Watcher walked a slow circle around them, watching without blinking.
Jiang knelt.
Then pressed his hand to the ground.
> "You followed Long Chen," he said. "So did I. But I'm not here to imitate him."
> "I'm here to do what he couldn't."
---
Final Seconds – The Choice
As the fire grew unbearable, Tian Xue staggered—but didn't fall.
Jiang gritted his teeth and released something he'd hidden even from himself:
A second spark thread, buried deep inside him since the Solstice Hollow.
It burned not with power…
But with remorse.
> "This flame… is mine."
The fire reacted—calming instantly.
The Watcher stopped walking.
Then—smiled.
For the first time in decades.
---
Trial Passed
> [Flame Recognition Achieved]
Sovereign Intent Registered – "Flame is Not a Weapon, but a Memory That Chooses."
Charred Sky Monolith Access: GRANTED
Watcher Status: Reverted to Passive Flameform. Immortal Flame Released.
Message Unsealed: From Long Chen
---
Parting Words
The Watcher's body dissolved into golden mist.
In its place, a flame glyph etched into the altar surface revealed a voice.
Long Chen's.
> "If you've reached this far, then the fire found you. Not the world. Not the trials. The flame itself."
"Beyond the Monolith, you'll see what I saw—the truth the Sovereign system was built to bury."
"And maybe… you'll carry it farther than I could."
The altar split.
And a stairway of living flame descended into darkness.