The Soul Hunter's mask lay cracked on the floor of the Ember Heart war chamber.
Elder Xuan stood in the center, flanked by Linya, Wei Chen, and three other elders of the Inner Council. Kai stood just outside the circle excluded, but not dismissed.
"The Blood Sect sent one of their Death Court assassins," Wei Chen said flatly. "Not a scout. A killer."
"That's a declaration of war," Elder Jian growled.
Elder Su spoke next, calm and deliberate. "Not war." Fear. They wanted something inside the boy."
All eyes turned to Kai.
He stared back, his jaw tight. "They want the Dragon Flame. They think it's inside me."
"It is," Xuan finally said. "Part of it."
The room is still.
Linya glanced at the elder sharply. "You knew?"
"I suspected." His voice held no apology. "The seal inside him is ancient. One of seven. We only now begin to see it stir."
Kai stepped forward. "What is it sealed?"
Xuan hesitated. Then:
"A dragon's heart."
That night, Kai sat alone at the cliff's edge, staring at the stars while his flame sabre rested beside him.
Wei Chen joined him, sitting cross-legged with a jug of wine in hand.
"You knew too," Kai said.
"No," Wei replied. "I just knew you weren't normal."
Kai smirked weakly. "That was supposed to be comforting?"
Wei drank. "Hell no."
Silence settled between them. Then Kai asked, "If it's a dragon's heart… does that make me one of them?"
Wei looked at him. "You're not it. But you're connected. The seal inside you binds something ancient. Strong. Dangerous. But it doesn't define you."
Kai was quiet for a long time.
Finally, he asked, "What happens when the second seal breaks?"
Wei's answer was immediate.
"We'll see what's stronger: you… or the thing inside."
Deep underground, beneath Emberheart's flame vault, the seal chamber trembled.
For centuries, seven concentric flame runes had glowed faintly on the obsidian floor, suppressing the dragon heart's pulse. But now, the second ring flickered unstable.
Each pulse made the torches dim.
And in the center of the chamber, the heart—a crystalline ember no larger than a fist—beat for the first time in three hundred years.
Meanwhile, in the forest beyond the sect, the Soul Hunter limped into a cave.
His shoulder was wrapped in shadow Qi, stopping the bleeding.
From the gloom, the Matron's projection formed—a tall woman cloaked in blood mist, her face hidden behind red silk.
"You failed."
"I was interrupted," the Hunter rasped. "Another elder interfered."
"No excuses," she hissed. "We must claim the heart before the seal reaches the third stage."
The Hunter removed his cracked mask and dropped off one knee. "Then send the Shades."
The Matron tilted her head. "You suggest a hunt?"
"I suggest a massacre."
Back at Emberheart, Elder Xuan stood with Linya in the flame garden.
"He won't survive what comes alone," she said.
"I know," Xuan replied.
"So what will you do?"
Xuan sighed, staring at the sky.
"We'll awaken the Flame Trials."
Linya's eyes widened. "Those haven't been used in over a century."
"Which is why they'll work."
She stepped closer. "He could die."
"He could also become strong enough to stop what's coming."
As dawn broke, Kai was summoned to the inner sanctum.
The door opened to reveal an ancient stone gate, covered in fire glyphs, glowing faintly red.
Xuan stood beside it.
"You want answers?" he asked.
Kai nodded.
"Then step inside the Flame Trials… and earn them."