Chapter 6: Ash in the Air
Year 10002 | Xintian Station, Subsection 9
The walls trembled.
Junhao's breath caught as a loud crack split the silence—metal screaming under pressure somewhere outside the hideout. Dust drifted from the ceiling. Lights flickered like frightened eyes. Sky Tier was here.
Veyra knelt near the door, peeking through a narrow gap. "Three… no, four soldiers. Cloaked. Quiet. Moving like ghosts."
Junhao's hands clenched. The device Rell had strapped to his wrist pulsed softly—like it was alive. Waiting.
Rell stood behind them, calm. "This is it. Time to stop running."
"I don't even know what I'm doing," Junhao whispered, the Core burning faintly under his ribs.
"You'll learn," Rell said. "The Core remembers. Let it show you."
Junhao focused, his mind racing. Somewhere in the haze of fear and heat, he felt something else—warmth, not his own. It flickered near Rell's presence, like an echo. Then it was gone.
A muffled thud echoed through the wall. Then another. Heavy boots. Getting closer.
Junhao closed his eyes. He blocked out the sound. Reached inward.
And the Core answered.
A soft hum filled his bones. His heart slowed, then thudded with purpose. His breath deepened. His skin tingled. In his chest, a door opened.
"Breathe in," Rell said quietly. "Find your Flame Root."
And Junhao did.
The warmth wasn't just a feeling anymore—it was a force. It surged up from his center like a hidden current, flowing through every part of him. His vision sharpened. Every piece of dust hung in the air like it was suspended in slow motion. He could hear his heartbeat… and the footsteps beyond the door. Everything was clear.
His bones no longer felt fragile. They felt like iron.
Just then—the door burst open.
Smoke flooded the room. A flash of light. A soldier lunged toward him.
Junhao didn't think.
He moved.
Without knowing how or why, his body spun, ducked, and struck. Elbow into visor. Crack. The soldier dropped.
Veyra fired a short burst from her pulse rifle, then grabbed Junhao's arm. "Go!"
They ran. Junhao's legs felt wired with energy, every step effortless. His fear hadn't vanished—it had transformed.
Another soldier raised a weapon. Junhao saw it before it happened. The tension in his shoulder. The twitch in his glove. The tilt of the barrel.
He dodged cleanly, grabbed a loose pipe from the wall, and swung. One hit. Lights out.
A flash orb exploded behind them. White light blinded the room. Veyra yanked open a hatch. "Slide!"
They dropped into a chute—metal, tight, fast. Their bodies slammed side to side. Then—slam. They landed.
Junhao rolled into a crouch. Steady. Balanced.
Veyra blinked at him. "You're adapting fast."
He said nothing. But inside, he knew she was right. The Core wasn't just a passenger anymore. It was part of him.
---
Xintian Station | Sky Tier Command Uplink
Commander Chen Yelin stood in silence, watching the data feed scroll like a storm on screen.
"Flame resonance rising," a tech whispered. "He's syncing with it."
Yelin clenched his jaw.
Helmet cam footage showed Junhao—dodging fire, striking targets, moving like someone with years of training. But he had none. No preparation. Just the Core.
"He's not at Ember Root anymore," Yelin said. "He's touched the Ignition Veins. Already."
Silence filled the room.
"He's a threat now. To everything."
Yelin turned to the window, face like stone. "Reroute drones. Intercept him before the Oraphim do. If we lose control… neutralize him."
---
Outer Orbit | Oraphim Observation Shell
Nyxai hovered above a pool of starlight. Junhao's image danced in the rippling light—face half-lit by the fire in his chest.
"Born of blood. Fed by fear," she murmured.
A Shade approached—its body shadow and shard. Its whisper crackled. "He is accelerating too quickly. This path… it consumes."
Nyxai smiled faintly, as if she already knew the ending.
"Or perhaps… the Core has chosen well."
Stars flickered in her eyes like memories. "Let him grow. Let him burn. The galaxy will remember the flame… even if the boy forgets."
---
Xintian Station | Emergency Tunnel 7B
The air was hot and stale. Pipes hissed. Lights flickered.
Junhao and Veyra emerged from the chute. Below the city decks now. Deeper than most dared to go.
Junhao leaned against the wall. "I felt it," he said quietly. "Something opened inside. Rell called it… Flame Root?"
Veyra nodded. "The first step. You just passed it. And the next is Ignition Veins."
"First steps toward what?"
She turned to him, eyes serious. "Toward becoming something more. A cultivator. A Flameborn."
Junhao stared at his hands, still shaking slightly from power, not fear.
"What happens next?"
Veyra looked up. Metal above. Fire behind them.
"We go deeper," she said. "To find the Flameforge. That's where you'll learn to control it. If we make it."
Junhao nodded, even though the path terrified him.
Because now… the stars were watching.
And the flame had only just begun to rise.
End of chapter 6