> [Location: Skyvault Market – Obsidian Galleria, Midnight Auction Chamber]
Party: Tian Xue, Lin Suyin, Sect Mistress Yan Qirou
Objective: Obtain "Sovereign Memory Glyph (Origin Era)"
Secondary Objective: Identify Hidden Sovereign Informant
Auction Risk Level: High (Combat Prohibited but Enforced by Private Enforcer Guilds)
---
The Stage of Flame and Gold
The Midnight Auction wasn't held in any public bazaar.
It hovered alone, on a soulsteel platform above the clouds, reachable only by flame glyphs keyed to your entry crystal. The Galleria pulsed with glowing light, its walls lined with illusion-silk to prevent prying eyes or psychic scrying.
> "Half the people here have bounties," Lin Suyin whispered. "The other half place them."
Tian Xue's eyes swept the crowd—flamecloaked merchants, relic smugglers, soulpet traffickers… and two Sovereign-cloaked figures pretending not to see her.
Mistress Yan Qirou narrowed her gaze.
> "They're not here for the glyph. They're here for us."
---
The Bidding Begins
The host—a masked woman in shimmering silverflame—stepped onto the platform as the crowd hushed.
> "Item 14: Sovereign Memory Glyph. Unopened. Sealed during the First Flame Collapse. Rumored to contain an echo of a Sovereign-class flamebearer—possibly one of the original system architects."
> "Starting bid: 400 flame cores."
The room erupted in murmurs. Most thought it was a myth.
Tian Xue did not.
Her heart was already burning.
---
The Silent Bidder
A hooded figure across the room raised a white-gloved hand.
> "600 cores."
He hadn't spoken. The bid was telepathically launched through a protected flame conduit.
Another voice followed:
> "800."
Mistress Yan Qirou leaned toward Tian Xue. "We'll get one shot. Say the number that sounds like insanity."
Tian Xue stood.
> "2,000 flame cores. Paid in Free Flame glyphs and relic-dust reserves."
The room fell dead silent.
Even the auctioneer paused.
> "Accepted."
---
The Memory Resists
As the glyph was handed to Tian Xue, it pulsed—then sparked, rejecting her touch.
> [Memory Glyph Locked – Authentication Required: Matched Flame Signature or Key Echo Sequence]
Before she could react, the white-gloved bidder appeared beside her.
His voice was a cold murmur.
> "That memory isn't yours to open."
Lin Suyin moved to block him, threads glowing.
> "And who decides that?"
The man smiled beneath his hood.
And spoke two words:
> "Ash Viper."
Tian Xue froze.
> "You're with the Sovereigns."
> "Not anymore," he said.
> "But I was the one they sent to kill Jiang Han."
---
Deal with a Flamekiller
He didn't draw a blade.
But the killing intent wrapped around him like a scarf of icefire.
> "I failed to stop him. Now they want me dead too. So I offer you this."
He held up a second glyph.
> "The key to unlock that memory. But I want something in return."
Tian Xue narrowed her eyes.
> "What?"
> "A name."
He leaned close.
> "I want the name of the person who taught Yan Feng to survive the Sovereign Collapse."
Tian Xue hesitated. That name… wasn't hers to give.
> "No deal."
The man paused.
Then smirked.
> "I thought so. But we'll meet again. When the flames burn higher."
He vanished into the crowd.
---
The Glyph Awakens
Back at their temporary quarters, the sealed memory glyph trembled.
And this time, it opened.
A voice filled the chamber:
> "To whoever finds this…"
It was Long Chen.
> "I never meant for the system to become a prison."
"The spark was supposed to free us. But it chose order over will."
"If you found this, it means you still believe the flame remembers us."
> "Find Yan Feng. Find the one who carries the ember."
> "And don't let them rewrite the world again."