Chapter 264: PRIMORDIAL FLAMES II

[Calamity Ignition]Ignite an environment’s dormant energy, turning fear, despair, faith, chaos, or killing intent into physical flames that erupt from within. Entire armies may find their emotions erupting around them, forming infernos born of their own turmoil, the blaze feeding on the very passions that fuel conflict.

[Cinderstep Aether]

Move by dissolving into embers and reassembling elsewhere, traversing distances in a scatter of glowing particles. Where you step, flickers remain, faint echoes capable of defending you, exploding on command, or carrying out simple tasks born from your will, lingering like vigilant sentinels.

[Phoenix Mandate] (Locked)

When slain, your body collapses into sacred cinders, a temporary fall that promises resurgence. From those ashes you may reconstruct yourself, though each rebirth draws the attention of ancient flame-born entities who once perished in the First Blaze, their echoes stirring with envy and wrath.

[Solstice Crown]


Summon a corona of Primordial Solar Fire—light that rivals the radiance of newborn stars, encircling your form like a halo of dominance. This crown amplifies all flame abilities and melts illusions, curses, and deceptions simply by existing, its glow a beacon of unchallenged authority.

[Ember Reality] (Locked)

Momentarily rewrite the rules of thermal existence: fire that freezes with paradoxical chill, flame that silences sound in absolute hush, heat that bends causality to your design. Your rule lasts mere moments, but its effects ripple far longer, echoing through time like aftershocks.

[World Pyre: Conflagration Throne]

Establish a domain where all heat, and combustion answer solely to your decree, transforming the surroundings into a realm of absolute control. Within this Throne, volcanic eruptions freeze mid-air in suspended fury, starfire dims at your gesture, and your will sets the temperature of the cosmos itself, bending reality to the heat of your command.

[Origin Flame] (Locked)

Touch the mythic spark credited with birthing the first era, a power that pulses with the universe’s genesis. Through it, you can reignite dying worlds with fresh vitality, snuff out cursed realms in merciful extinction, or restore burnt timelines to their former paths. But the entities that guard the First Era will hunt any who approach this ancient flame, their pursuit relentless.

"How long has it been since I last got a Primordial talent?" Aaron mused with a satisfied smile, the newfound power coursing through him like liquid fire, enhancing his already formidable presence against the mountain’s stark backdrop.

"It will be unfair not to test my new ability," Aaron muttered decisively, rising to his feet with purposeful grace, the wind tousling his hair as eagerness sparked in his eyes.

"Where to?" Nexus inquired succinctly, his voice steady and ready, mirroring Aaron’s poised readiness for action.

"Let’s go visit Sean first. And then the cultivators who think they can control me," Aaron replied happily, eager to test his Primordial flames in battle, the prospect igniting a thrill that quickened his pulse.

Weaving space once more with seamless command, Aaron appeared before Adalia and Flameborn, finding Sean with them in a secluded clearing bathed in soft afternoon light filtering through the canopy.

"You finally return. I was beginning to worry for your sake," Sean expressed his concerns genuinely, his face etched with lines of relief as he stepped forward, the group’s makeshift camp showing signs of hurried preparation.

"Yes, mister. We overheard some people talking about an attack against the kingdom and felt you had a hand in it," Adalia added innocently, her wide eyes reflecting a mix of curiosity and worry, her small frame standing resolute amid the rustling leaves.

"I’m fine. That doesn’t matter. We have more serious things to discuss," Aaron stated firmly, his face adopting an expression of grave seriousness that commanded immediate attention, shifting the atmosphere to one of focused urgency.

"Adalia, there are bad men who covet you for evil purposes. Not just Desirus, but some real bad men. What do you want to do about it?" Aaron asked the young girl directly, leaving the decision to her with unwavering respect, his voice gentle yet probing.

While Adalia was very young and barely the age of twelve, to Aaron, it was enough for her to make decisions pertaining to her life, empowering her in the face of looming threats.

Aaron would rather she made the decision herself than for someone to do it in her place, honoring her autonomy in the midst of peril.

"Kill every bad man that wants to hurt me," Adalia gave her answer resolutely, her words firm despite her tiny voice, a spark of determination flashing in her youthful gaze.

"Very well," Aaron nodded approvingly, bending space once more as he appeared just outside the castle of Desirus, the imposing structure looming like a dark sentinel against the horizon.

"Let’s make this quick," Aaron muttered under his breath, his resolve hardening like forged steel.

"This time it’s just me that’s going to attack," Aaron informed Nexus confidently, white burning flames flickering to life on his palm with an ethereal intensity that illuminated the surrounding twilight.

---

Hours before Aaron’s attack, in the opulent yet sinister confines of the queen’s special chamber, the captain, and other knights condemned to death were all bound within it, the air thick with the metallic tang of fear and impending doom.

"My queen, please spare us. It was not our intention to lose. Grant us one last mercy, and I promise we will not disappoint in the next battle should we meet the enemy," the captain pleaded desperately, his voice echoing off the chamber’s stone walls adorned with arcane symbols.

"Oh, next time you won’t. That’s the reason you are here. I’m going to make sure of it," Qin Luo, the queen explained coldly, an array of needles and poisons of various types and sizes laid out before her on a polished table, glinting ominously under the low-hanging lanterns.

"I’m going to turn you all into the perfect jiangshi, unafraid of death, devoid of emotions. The only thing you will be able to think of is accomplishing the task given to you," she declared with a chilling smile on her face, moving swiftly to transform the living knights into jiangshi, her hands darting with practiced precision.

The captain watched in horror as his fellow knights were killed and forced to rise again as uncanny beings, their eyes glazing over with unnatural vacancy, the sight filling him with a surging rage that boiled in his chest like molten fury.

"Why?!!! All I did was serve, and for that I’m suffering this fate?" the captain yelled in raw anger and frustration, his chains rattling against the unyielding restraints.

"No. You suffer this fate because you are just a pawn in the grand scheme of things. As a demon elder of the poison clan of the heavenly demon sect, I, Qin Luo, promise you a better life as a jiangshi than being alive and pathetic," she retorted smoothly, proceeding to convert the captain himself into a jiangshi, her actions methodical and devoid of remorse.

"Qin Luo, how far have you gone with the plan?" the voice of the branch master called out to her, entering her chambers through a secret passage created specifically for his use, the hidden door sliding open with a faint whisper.

"I continue to make more jiangshi. Very soon we will amass enough army to overrun this world and solar system. Then we may spread our reach and conquer this universe," she stated confidently, her eyes gleaming with ambitious purpose, gesturing to the rows of newly created undead enforcers standing motionless in the shadows.

"That is not our goal. Awakening of the one with the special physique is. The rest are nothing of importance. Be prepared; your jiangshi will be needed at any—"

Boom!

A large explosive sound erupted suddenly, shaking the chamber’s foundations and sending dust sifting from the ceiling.

Qin Luo rushed to the window to make sense of the cause, her silk robes swirling around her, and there she saw a man with white hair and a strikingly beautiful face, flames dancing on his palm just outside the palace, wreaking havoc with unbridled power that lit up the night sky in bursts of white-hot fury.