Darkness pressed in around her.
Wu Mei's eyes fluttered open to the sound of water dripping in the distance and the cold bite of stone beneath her skin. Her head throbbed, and every bone in her body ached. It took a few seconds before she realized—she was no longer in the forest.
She was inside a cave.
No—a lair.
The walls pulsed with a dull crimson glow, like veins carved into the rock, breathing slowly as if the cave itself were alive. Strange symbols flickered across the ceiling, shifting in and out of view like whispers in the dark.
Her hands shot up—bound.
Chains wrapped tightly around her wrists, glowing with a pale, smoky blue. Cold. Not just in temperature, but in energy. They sapped her strength, keeping her fire buried deep beneath her skin, barely flickering.
A sound echoed in the distance. Footsteps. Calm. Certain.
Dracon emerged from the shadows like a phantom, his black cloak trailing behind him, eyes sharp with amusement and something more—expectation.
"I was beginning to wonder when you'd wake," he said smoothly. "You slept longer than I anticipated."
Wu Mei glared at him. "Let me go."
He chuckled. "Still so stubborn. I admire that. But you're not ready yet."
"Ready for what?"
Dracon circled her like a predator, never breaking eye contact. "For the truth."
He stopped in front of her, his expression unreadable. "You carry something within you—something ancient. A fire that once belonged to the first flame goddess. You think you were chosen by accident?"
"I don't believe a word you say," she hissed.
"Then believe your own blood." Dracon raised his hand.
A mirror-like surface formed from smoke and light between them, flickering before stabilizing into a vision. Wu Mei gasped.
There she was—on a battlefield of ash and flame, dressed in ceremonial red armor. Her hair burned like fire, eyes glowing gold. Around her, shadows fell to their knees, scorched by the heat radiating from her body.
"You've seen glimpses," Dracon said. "In your dreams. In the pain that stirs when you're angry. That was you, Wu Mei…Now in this life if you continue to oppose me."
"No…" she whispered, but part of her—the deepest part—knew it was true.
Her nightmares had always shown flames.
Now she understood—they hadn't been fears.
"You were once the flame that lit the heavens," Dracon continued. "You were worshiped and feared. But you chose to die… to seal away the god buried beneath that mountain."
Wu Mei looked away.
He grabbed her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. "You betrayed your own kind. And now, you've returned—because destiny will not be denied."
Her jaw clenched. "I came back to stop you."
"Then you've already failed."
The words hit harder than she expected. She remembered the way Qin Yanzhou had looked at her, the desperation in his voice when he shouted her name as she was taken.
"I'll never help you," she said. "Even if that power is inside me… it's not yours to control."
Dracon's lips curled. "We'll see."
He raised a hand, and a blue flame flared across her chains. Pain seared through her body. Wu Mei gritted her teeth, refusing to scream—but her vision blurred.
He leaned in. "The more you resist, the more it will burn. But embrace it…"
He pressed a hand to her chest, directly above the phoenix pendant.
"...and it will set you free."
A blast of fire erupted around her heart.
She screamed.
But it wasn't just pain—it was awakening.
The fire didn't stop at her chest. It spread—through her veins, her breath, her bones. Her vision shattered into images: battles, storms of fire, a thousand lifetimes of power she had long forgotten.
And in that blaze, she saw him.
Qin Yanzhou—kneeling in the forest, bleeding, broken.
No.
She wouldn't allow it.
Her rage surged, and with it, her fire burst outward.
The chains cracked.
Dracon's eyes widened, but too late.
Wu Mei let out a cry—half scream, half roar—and the air ignited.
The cave shook.
The flames didn't consume her.
They answered her.
Her wrists flared, and the metal melted away, pooling onto the stone like silver blood. Wu Mei stood shakily, her body glowing with threads of red and gold.
Dracon stepped back, grinning like a madman. "Yes… now that's the goddess I remember."
"You've made a mistake," she growled. "You should've killed me when you had the chance."
"On the contrary," he said, watching her with ravenous interest. "I never intended to kill you. I want you to stand beside me. Together, we'll awaken the god below and burn this broken world to ash."
"I'll never join you."
"Then you'll die a thousand times over until you do."
With a flick of his wrist, a shockwave of dark energy crashed into her. Wu Mei was thrown against the wall with brutal force.
She coughed, blood trailing from her lips—but the fire within her didn't die.
It only grew hotter.
She staggered to her feet. Her eyes now burned completely gold.
And in her palm, fire formed a blade.
A phoenix wing of flame.
Dracon's smile faltered.
"You're stronger than before," he said.
"And I'm only just beginning," she snapped.
With a cry, Wu Mei lunged.
Their battle lit up the cavern like a storm.
Flame clashed with shadow.
Sparks flew in every direction, scorching the stone walls. The symbols overhead twisted violently. Her blade met his claws, her flame against his void. Every strike shook the very air.
But Dracon was still faster. Stronger.
He caught her arm mid-strike and slammed her back into the ground.
She groaned, dazed.
"Sleep, my goddess," he whispered, raising a hand. "The next time you wake… you'll see things my way."
The darkness closed in again, heavy and suffocating.
Her last thought was of Yanzhou's face.
His voice.
His touch.
And the promise she had made—I'll come back to you.
Meanwhile…
Far above, the skies over Fengqiu burned crimson. Qin Yanzhou stared into the horizon, the mountain range casting eerie shadows in the distance.
"She's somewhere around here" he said firmly.
Zhao Xi looked at him. "You're sure?"
"I felt it," Yanzhou whispered. "She lit the sky. She's calling to me."
Shao Wei stepped forward, her expression grim. "Then we must go where few dare tread. Into the mountain of gods. Into the tomb of fire."
Qin Yanzhou gripped the hilt of his sword.
"We're bringing her back."