Cold Instinct
The barrels of four rifles burned inches from their faces. The silence in the pink forest turned heavy—too quiet, too strange. Each soldier wore bronze-gold armor etched with unfamiliar glowing lines, like veins of flame stitched into their plates. Their helmets had beast-like engravings, and their weapons hummed with an unnatural red light.
Yuji slowly raised his trembling hands.
Aika held her breath, her body still bleeding from the earlier escape.
Ryen's gaze was steady—but cold. Calculating. Quiet.
> "Identify yourselves," one soldier barked in a language that sounded distorted—half their own tongue, half ancient.
Yuji responded slowly, carefully.
> "We… we don't belong here. We're not from any nation around here. We came through a Vein… by mistake."
The soldiers didn't buy it.
The tallest one stepped forward and jabbed Yuji in the gut with the barrel of his rifle, knocking him back to the ground.
> "Trash without Flame Badges shouldn't speak."
Another laughed. "Where's your cultivation mark, peasant?"
They circled like vultures.
One soldier reached for Aika's arm, twisting it sharply. She winced but said nothing.
Yuji's eyes flared.
His fists clenched.
His body tensed—Dark energy flickered deep inside—but his ADM Ring blinked:
> [EB: 0]
> No power. No defense. No second chance.
He grit his teeth, breathing hard.
> Not now. Please, not now...
But just as one soldier raised his rifle again toward Aika—
Ryen moved.
No hesitation. No warning. No shout.
Just a blur of cold steel and broken bones.
With one fluid step forward, Ryen twisted his body sideways, kicked the closest soldier directly in the chest—a full-force stomp enhanced by muscle memory, speed, and sheer rage.
CRACK!
The soldier's ribcage collapsed inward, and he flew backward into a tree with such force that bark exploded off the trunk. He didn't move again.
"RYEN—!" Aika shouted, shocked.
Yuji sat up, stunned.
But Ryen wasn't done.
In a single pivot, he snatched the second soldier's sword from his sheath before the man could react. The blade was heavier than he liked, the balance off—but he spun it like it was his own.
SLAASH!!
He cut low—one clean motion—slicing through the soldier's leg. The man screamed, fell, tried to crawl—
Ryen didn't flinch.
He brought the sword down again—this time across both arms.
Blood hit the pink forest floor like rain.
> "You're not trained to kill. Only threaten," Ryen growled.
The third soldier fired.
Too slow.
Ryen blurred forward with Frozen Phantom Step BUT—his ADM Ring has no EB left to use his Ice martial footwork buy his ADM Ring starts sucking his soul allowed RYEN a flicker of movement faster than the eye.
He appeared beside the soldier's back—drove the blade through his spine and twisted.
The scream was cut short.
The final soldier backed away, trembling.
> "W-Wait! Please! We didn't—"
Ryen raised the blade—
> "Then you should've surrendered."
CHHK.
The last neck fell.
The silence returned.
Blood steamed gently on the glowing pink grass.
Ryen stood still, sword dripping, his breath shallow. His face showed no emotion.
But his body… was failing.
The poison still lurked in his veins.
His shoulder trembled.
His knees locked.
He coughed—once, hard—and spat blood onto his wrist.
Yuji walked up, wide-eyed. "You… you didn't use your element…"
Ryen looked at him, then at his ring.
> [EB: 0]
He let the sword fall to the dirt beside him.
> "I didn't need it."
Aika walked beside him, inspecting the wounds.
"You're reckless."
"I'm alive," he replied coldly. "So are you."
No one spoke for a moment. Just the wind brushing against strange glowing leaves.
Then Yuji looked at the broken bodies—limbs torn, blood painting ancient trees.
"…How many times have you done this?"
Ryen answered without looking back.
> "Enough to know when words won't save anyone."
He began walking forward again, toward the deeper parts of the pink forest.
The other two followed—quiet, haunted, and alive.
---
The World Beyond the Flame
The air in the pink forest was unlike anything they had ever known. Every breath felt strange—too full, too alive. It was like inhaling lightning wrapped in honey. The leaves shimmered with faint hues of silver and rose. Some glowed faintly when touched. Even the trees looked sentient, their trunks gently pulsating like hearts buried in wood.
Yuji limped forward, holding his arm. Every movement sent pain screaming down his side. Aika walked beside him, her thigh wrapped hastily in torn fabric. Her face was pale, sweat soaking her forehead.
Ryen led the way—expression unreadable, gait heavy from exhaustion. His uniform was torn across the back, the poison from the Widow still threading through his bloodstream like burning wire. But he said nothing. Every few steps, he'd glance at the strange symbols carved into the bark of the trees, analyzing.
They weren't in Zeyrus anymore.
> "This forest… it's not natural," Aika whispered, almost afraid her voice would wake something.
Yuji looked up at the sky—it shimmered pink, like dawn trapped in a prism. No stars. No sun. Just glow.
> "Do you think this place even has a Core?" he asked.
Ryen didn't answer.
Then—a sound.
Windchimes.
Not mechanical. Not alarm chimes.
Real. Wooden. Soft.
They pushed past a glowing vine curtain, and before them—
A village.
Thatched roofs glowing faintly. Stone homes with floating candles hovering in doorways. Lanterns powered by what looked like liquid fire swirled in glass jars. The people… looked human. But their eyes glowed faintly. Some had long robes. Others wore armor marked with strange crests.
Children floated small fireballs in their palms like toys.
A man stirred tea with a wand carved from bone.
Everything was unfamiliar.
And everyone was staring.
As the bloodied trio stepped into the village square, all movement stopped. Even the air itself seemed to pause.
Then…
She appeared.
From the largest hut came a woman—tall, graceful, and mesmerizing.
Long black hair fell over her shoulders like a velvet curtain. Her lips were deep red, her eyes a strange blend of gold and violet. Her posture was regal, but not haughty. She wore a robe the color of wildfire, her sleeves laced with a flame-like design.
> "Strangers," she said softly. "And you're injured."
Her voice was calm, yet held the weight of someone used to being obeyed.
Ryen stepped forward, subtly shielding the others. "Who are you?"
The woman smiled. "My name is Yumi. This is the Pink Village."
Yuji blinked. "Pink…?"
"Named after the forest," she said, gesturing to the sky.
Aika narrowed her eyes. "Do you know where Zeyrus is?"
Yumi tilted her head, frowning. "Zeyrus?"
She repeated the name softly, like testing it.
"…No such place exists."
The three froze.
Yuji whispered, "She… she really doesn't know."
Ryen's voice was sharp but quiet. "We're in another place..... maybe in another world or.... worse
Yumi watched them carefully, sensing their tension. "You're far from the Kingdoms. This is a peaceful village—we do not get travelers from outside the Flame Nations."
Ryen asked slowly, "Can we get a map? Or… any information?"
Yumi smiled. "The nearest kingdom is Xina—one of the Ten Greats. It's a few days west. But you look like you'll barely survive tonight. Why not stay here? Rest."
Aika spoke up, folding her arms. "We don't need rest. Just tell us the way."
Yumi didn't press.
She gestured down a small path. "Follow the Ember Road. It leads to the outer gates of Xina."
The trio nodded.
As they walked past the last house, Yuji glanced over his shoulder. Yumi stood there, smiling faintly, hands folded in front of her.
She didn't wave.
She just watched.
---
Hours passed.
The Ember Road was made of strange pink stone, slightly warm to the touch. Along the way, they saw trees marked with warning glyphs. Yuji kept checking the scroll in his pocket—nothing yet.
Then they found it:
A caravan.
A group of traders had stopped near a broken-down carriage, stalls propped up by flame-rods. One man wore a huge yellow hat with bells on it and dozens of glowing scrolls floating behind him.
> "Oi, wanderers! Need knowledge?"
They walked up carefully.
"What kind of knowledge?" Ryen asked, sharp-eyed.
The trader snapped his fingers, and one scroll floated to his hand.
> "History. Structure. Kingdom rules. Flame rankings. All for sale."
Aika raised an eyebrow. "How much?"
The man grinned. "Ten crimstones for one scroll."
Yuji blinked. "What are… crimstones?"
The man laughed.
"Currency of the Flame World. Not from here, are ya?"
Ryen sighed.
"We have nothing," he muttered—then unsheathed his ice-hardened secondary sword.
He tossed it.
"Will this cover it?"
The trader caught it midair, studied the material.
"…Rare make. Zeyran Ice-metal?"
Ryen nodded.
The man smiled wider. "Deal."
He gave them one scroll in return.
As they walked, Yuji opened it.
> "There are Ten Major Nations. Xina is among them. There are 500 smaller Flame Nations under their influence. People cultivate not elements—but Flames. Fire, Water, Wind, Ice, Earth, etc."
Yuji's fingers trembled.
> "To begin cultivation, you must earn a Flame Seed—then cultivate it through the Ten Realms, each Realm has 10 Levels, and each Level has 10 Stages."
Aika leaned closer. "What the hell…"
Yuji kept reading.
> "To create a usable FE Potion, needed to awaken or heal cultivation progress, the formula is: 5 Beast Cores + 3 Energy Bottles + 3 Beast Souls."
Yuji stopped walking.
Aika glanced at him.
"…We don't even know what beast souls are."
Then—
a voice behind them.
> "Need help understanding the Flame Path?"
They turned.
Yumi.
Standing at the edge of the road.
Smile soft.
Eyes sharp.
Ryen narrowed his gaze. "You followed us?"
Yumi gave a half shrug.
"I thought you might need… friends."
Aika frowned. "We didn't ask you to come."
Yumi chuckled.
> "That doesn't mean I can't."
Yuji was still staring at the scroll.
His mind spinning.
> This place… is insane…
And it was only beginning.
---
END OF CHAPTER 14
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