The moon cast a pale glow over the high towers of the Dragon Palace. Wind swept gently through its obsidian arches, whispering secrets long buried by gods and demons alike.
In the highest tower—the Chamber of Prophetic Sight—Kai Dragon, the Demigod King, stood before a floating pool of light. Beside him, trembling in both awe and fear, was a young man with hair like wildfire and eyes that shimmered like dying stars.
Karen.
He was the newest soul marked by the Firstborn Flame, and he could feel it stirring beneath his skin—burning deeper each day.
"You said… you could show me," Karen whispered, voice tight.
Kai nodded solemnly. "I can. But once you see it, there's no forgetting it. The flame won't like it."
Karen's voice quivered. "I need to know what's coming for me."
Kai raised his hand.
The pool of light rippled.
"Then see."
---
A Vision of Fire
Karen gasped as his consciousness was yanked forward. Reality warped. The room around him dissolved. Suddenly, he stood on a battlefield of ash and bone. Sky—a swirling vortex of fire. Ground—cracked glass and scorched corpses.
He saw himself, years older—possessed. His body taller, veins blackened, eyes molten. Flames licked his skin but didn't consume him. They fed on him.
> "Run—!" someone shouted in the vision.
"It's not him anymore!"
Karen's flame-corrupted self opened his mouth, and a voice—not his own—boomed:
> "I am the Herald of Flame. I burn mercy. I burn fate."
His vision-self raised his hand, and a city exploded into nothing but embers. Screams filled the void.
Karen felt it all.
The power.
The hunger.
The emptiness.
He screamed in real life—and the vision snapped away.
---
Return to Reality
Karen collapsed, sobbing on the chamber floor. His heart was racing, sweat pouring from his forehead.
Kai knelt beside him, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
"That… was what awaits," Kai said gently. "When the Flame takes root deep enough, it steals your name, your will, your memories. You won't know what you've done. You'll believe you're meant to destroy."
Karen looked up, eyes wide with horror. "I don't want that. I don't want to become that thing."
Kai nodded.
"There are two ways to remove the mark."
Karen's breathing slowed.
"I'll do whatever it takes."
Kai held up two fingers.
"First," he began, "you can go to the Origin Core, where the Flame was first sealed. There, if you confront it and reject its offer, it may let you go."
Karen's fists clenched. "That sounds impossible…"
Kai continued. "The second way… is by drinking my divine blood. My blood carries the light of the Goddess Lilith and the full weight of my locked Divine Magic."
Karen's eyes widened. "Then… why doesn't everyone do that?"
"Because," Kai said calmly, "it burns your soul from within. You'll feel every drop scorch through your existence, searing every trace of the Flame out of you. If your will breaks mid-way, you'll die."
A long silence followed.
Karen looked at his trembling hands. "...How did you survive your pain?"
Kai smiled softly. "Because I didn't walk through it alone."
Karen looked up at him.
"I'll take the second option."
---
The Ritual of Flame and Light
Later that night, the royal chamber was transformed into a sanctum.
Golden runes were etched on the marble floor. A chalice carved from dragonbone sat at the altar. Kai stood shirtless, a blade of holy silver in hand.
Karen stood before him, bare-chested, the Flame's mark glowing faintly over his heart.
"You're certain?" Kai asked one last time.
"I'd rather burn for a moment than become a monster forever."
Kai nodded with solemn respect. "Then kneel."
Karen dropped to his knees.
Kai sliced a vein across his palm. His blood flowed, glowing with pure light—Holy, Light, and Divine magic intertwined.
The chalice filled.
Kai raised it with both hands.
"This is my divine blood," he intoned. "Gifted by the Goddess of Life. Drinker of this must possess a soul unshaken. Any doubt, any weakness… and it will destroy you."
Karen's throat tightened. "I trust you."
Kai held the chalice to Karen's lips.
> "Drink."
---
The Agony of Salvation
The moment the blood touched Karen's tongue, fire erupted behind his eyes.
His body convulsed, screaming not in sound—but in light.
He collapsed, muscles seizing, breath lost. Every cell in his body burned like it was being re-sculpted by lightning. The Flame inside him howled, writhing in resistance.
> "TRAITOR!"
"HE WAS OURS!"
Karen clutched his chest, the mark glowing brighter… then splitting apart like a shell.
His soul was being pulled in two directions—one toward despair, the other toward divinity.
He heard Kai's voice from afar.
> "You're stronger than it. You are not its puppet. Hold on, Karen."
Karen screamed, voice raw.
He saw a white figure of himself, chained in the core of his spirit. The chains were black flames.
He reached out.
"Let me go…" he whispered.
And the chains shattered.
---
A New Bond Forged
Karen awoke hours later, lying in Kai's arms.
His skin was drenched in sweat. His mouth was dry. But his mark… was gone.
He could feel it. The corruption was gone. A strange peace hummed inside him now. A flicker of Kai's divine magic nestled in his soul.
Kai smiled warmly. "You did it."
Karen stared at him in disbelief. "I thought I was going to die."
"You were reborn instead."
Kai helped him to his feet. Then, to Karen's surprise, he knelt before him and placed one hand over Karen's heart.
"From this moment forward," Kai said gently, "I name you not just a ward… but my son."
Karen's breath caught.
"W-what?"
"You walked through flame," Kai said. "You bled. You chose light. That deserves more than survival. It deserves belonging. I see in you a strength I once had. You are my son now, Karen Dragon."
Tears filled Karen's eyes as he fell to his knees again.
"I… I never had a father," he whispered. "Not one like you."
Kai pulled him into a firm embrace.
"Then now you do."
---
The Mark of Light
Later that day, Kai and Karen stood in the Chamber of Seals—a hall only Demigods could enter.
A glowing pillar rose from the center. Kai placed his palm against it. Symbols of light and magic danced around him.
Karen stepped forward.
"You've burned the Flame's mark," Kai said. "Now you bear mine."
A glyph of Kai's Divine Magic etched itself into Karen's shoulder—a dragon with wings spread wide, entwined with flame and light.
It shimmered with warmth—not corruption, but blessing.
"This mark," Kai said, "makes you part of my bloodline—by soul, if not birth. It connects you to my magic, to my protection, and to my legacy. But it is also a responsibility."
Karen nodded firmly. "I'll carry it with pride."
---
Shadows on the Horizon
As they walked back to the throne hall, Kai suddenly stopped. His eyes flickered golden for a moment.
Karen noticed. "What is it?"
Kai's face darkened. "I just felt something. A ripple across the realms. Like the Flame… moved."
"Another marked?"
"Maybe," Kai muttered. "Or something worse."
Karen clenched his fist. "Then we stop it. Together."
Kai smiled.
"Yes. Together."