"When a legacy awakens, the world trembles."
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Scene 1: The Museum of Arcane History — 17:04 CST, Beijing Megacity
The air in the Hall of Forgotten Flames shimmered—heatless, silent, unnerving.
Kaien stepped across the black-marble floor, unaware that every step was guided by fate. His fingers brushed along the glass of an ancient display case, where a single relic floated in stasis:
Wang Chung's pendant, etched with runes that hadn't glowed in centuries.
A whisper curled into his ear.
> "Your time is not your own."
He turned—nothing. Just the empty hush of centuries.
Then—alarms.
Glass exploded.
Dark smoke poured from the skylights as five figures descended in a perfect ring, dressed in cloaks of obsidian-thread and copper veins. Their faces were hidden behind smooth silver masks—expressionless, tear-shaped.
The Temple had come.
Kaien stumbled back.
> "What do you want?!"
The tallest figure, a woman with silver braids and hands lined with circuitry, pointed at the pendant.
> "The inheritance is flawed. We will correct it. Submit—and you may live."
Kaien's blood turned ice. The pendant throbbed against his chest, glowing faintly red—alive.
> "I don't know what this is," he said, trembling. "But I won't give it to you."
The ground split. Dust swirled in spiraling patterns of ancient qi.
The pendant pulsed once more.
Then—
Scene 2: Flame Memory Protocol
—FLASH!
The world vanished.
Kaien stood in a sea of burning stars.
Before him—Wang Chung. Older than any statue. Wiser than any history.
He wore tattered sovereign robes. A lotus-shaped scar on his palm radiated crimson.
> "You have my fire," Wang Chung said, voice a living echo. "You carry what was never meant to die."
> "Why me?" Kaien asked, tears burning in his eyes.
Wang Chung looked past him.
> "Because you still feel."
He stepped forward, and as his palm touched Kaien's chest—
A brand ignited: a crimson sun wreathed in spiraling flames, directly over Kaien's heart.
> "Your journey begins now. Live."
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Scene 3: Rebirth
Kaien gasped awake as the entire museum shook.
Fire poured from his pores—not wild, but shaped.
The Temple agents recoiled as flames wrapped around Kaien's form, not consuming—but reconstructing. His bones hummed with qi. His eyes blazed gold-red.
He raised his right arm. The pendant had merged into his skin.
A voice—not his—spoke through him.
> "Solar Cycle: First Bloom."
A ring of golden fire erupted around him.
The masked warriors lunged, blades drawn. But the flames coiled like dragons, blocking each strike. One attacker's blade melted mid-swing; another was launched backward by a burst of spiritual shockwave.
The silver-braided woman grimaced beneath her mask. Her eyes narrowed.
> "This… this isn't supposed to happen yet."
Kaien lifted both hands—and for a moment, the air bent.
A memory awakened within him: not a technique, but a feeling.
> "I'm not him," he whispered. "But I'll protect what he left behind."
He slammed his palms together.
BOOM!
The entire Hall ignited in radiant gold.
Three of the five Temple agents were knocked unconscious. One vanished in a teleport burst. Only the leader remained, scorched and staring.
> "You've inherited his curse."
> "No," Kaien said, stepping forward. "I've inherited his will."
The flame around him receded—flowing inward, not out.
The final agent bowed slightly, almost in respect—then dissolved into shadow and vanished.
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Scene 4: Aftermath — One Hour Later
Kaien sat on a floating bench as fire crews doused the ruins. Drones scanned the area. Spirit-suppressors buzzed softly in the distance.
Lira appeared beside him, bruised but alive. She didn't speak. She didn't have to.
A man in white robes approached. He wore no badge, but everyone made way for him.
He stopped before Kaien and extended a hand.
> "I am the Keeper of Protocols. We felt the Sovereign Flame reawaken. You triggered the last embedded sequence of Wang Chung."
Kaien looked up, eyes hollow.
> "What does that mean?"
The man's eyes gleamed.
> "It means… the world is no longer safe."
> "It means the Heaven Breaker's successor has risen."