> [Location: Emberveil Temple – Nexus Core Level]
Party: Tian Xue, Lin Suyin, Sect Mistress Yan Qirou, Phoenix Hatchling, Free Flame Artificers
Status: Arrival Complete | Relics Secured | Memory Glyph Upload Scheduled
Caution: New Flame Clan Integration Unstable – Crimson Moth/Storm Ash Sect Dispute Detected
System Alert: Hostile Flame Signature Detected Within Nexus Core – Identity Masked
---
Rebuilding, Slowly
As Tian Xue passed through the crystal gates of Emberveil, the once-silent temple thrummed with new life. The Verdant Ash were training young initiates. The Crimson Moth had fortified the cliffs. Artisan teams worked to integrate the Monolith Core deeper into the flame relay.
> "Feels like we're finally making a difference," Lin Suyin murmured.
> "Feels like we're becoming a target," Tian Xue replied.
She wasn't wrong.
All it would take was one flame out of place to set it all ablaze again.
---
Memory Glyph Upload
Inside the Nexus Archive Hall, they placed Long Chen's glyph upon the Echo Flame Pedestal.
It ignited softly—blue and gold threads swirling as the memory was preserved in layered flame-rings.
> [Nexus Archive Upgrade: Tier II Achieved – Echo Flame Memory Storage Enabled]
Monolith Shard Synchronization 60% Complete
Free Flame Nexus Influence Spread to 3 Border Provinces
The Phoenix Hatchling chirped from Tian Xue's shoulder—uneasy.
She turned just as a system pulse registered:
> [Foreign Flame Signature Detected – Proximity: 30m – Intent: Lethal]
---
The Assassin Moves
The attacker didn't come from the outside.
They emerged from inside the Nexus cloisters, disguised as a Storm Ash monk.
Flame daggers laced with nullfire hissed through the corridor.
Tian Xue barely spun in time—her Mothwing Step activating at the last instant to dodge the first strike.
> "Who sent you?!" she shouted, blade igniting in her hand.
The assassin said nothing—but their body shimmered with the faint trace of Sovereign memory suppression training.
> "You're not Storm Ash," she growled. "You're one of the Marked."
---
The Fight for the Heart of the Nexus
The fight was fast, silent, and vicious.
Every time Tian Xue tried to summon her full flame, the nullfire daggers sapped her spark.
Lin Suyin arrived in time, threads slicing through the floor to bind the attacker's legs.
But the assassin triggered a self-burn pulse—a suicidal overload.
> "He's going to explode!" Yan Qirou shouted, drawing a sealing talisman.
Tian Xue didn't hesitate.
She grabbed the assassin and activated a Flame Jump Glyph, dragging him to the outer ridge—
—and threw him from the cliff.
The explosion lit the night sky.
---
The Aftershock
Back in the temple, silence held for a long moment.
Then the system spoke:
> [Free Flame Nexus Intrusion Logged – Anti-Flame Signature Trace Stored]
Origin: Flame Division 9 – Sovereign Infiltration Cell
New Directive: Internal Flame Vetting Required
Optional Mission: Hunt the Remaining Marked Agents
---
A Message Left Behind
On the assassin's body, recovered by Phoenix Hatchling, they found a singed dataplate:
> "Target One: Tian Xue – Do not kill Jiang Han until synchronization threshold is reached."
"Target Two: Lin Suyin – Extract flame threads if captured."
"Priority Code: Contain Nexus Formation Before Phase III Spread."
Mistress Yan Qirou read the message aloud.
Then tore it in half.
> "Let them come."
> "We're not hiding anymore."