His body was burning.
Visions surged through Jin like a flood: a temple suspended in mist; emerald glyphs floating in the air like falling stars; a dragon made of ink and light breathing flame into him.
Pain lanced through his chest as the coiling sigil on his body flared—green and alive. The swirling glyphs Amir had revealed reconfigured in real time, as if dancing to his heartbeat.
> Anchor yourself, the voice said—not Amir's, but something older.
This is your fire. Claim it.>
His trembling hand clenched. His soul strained. And then—
A pulse of green flame erupted from the scroll and struck his chest. The glyphs folded inward and vanished, burning themselves into his spiritual core. His mind reeled—
—and suddenly, the pain was gone.
He collapsed to his knees, gasping, drenched in sweat. Where the scroll had once been, a radiant emerald orb hovered midair.
Inside it swirled a fragment of condensed flame essence, etched with a living glyph that shimmered with every breath he took.
> A Flame Spark…
It pulsed once, then dimmed—its essence already sinking into him.
That spark hadn't just awakened. It had been seen. Recognized.
In that moment, deep within the formation network of the academy—buried beneath stone and sky—an ancient array blinked to life.
A crystal node etched into the roots of the Ember Tower pulsed once in acknowledgment, recording a new resonance.
A Spark had been born.
And the system took note.
---
When Jin staggered down the Bell Tower hours later, Amir stood by the base like a statue—unmoved, unimpressed.
"You survived," he said.
"You didn't help."
"I didn't stop you either," Amir replied coolly, his amber eyes unreadable. "If you'd failed, the glyph would've erased you. It's done worse."
Jin stared. "You were testing me?"
"No," Amir said, voice dry. "The glyph was."
He turned to go, scrolls tucked under one arm.
Jin called out, "What are you?"
Amir paused. "Someone who hears patterns others fear. Don't look for me. The next steps are yours."
---
Jin stumbled home in silence. The dawn sky bled pale gold over Celestial City's skyline. His shirt was singed. His chest still ached. But inside him, the flame no longer trembled—it pulsed with confidence. Steady. Watchful.
When he reached his apartment, a tall man in a deep gray coat was waiting—shoulders squared, posture rigid. The gold-threaded insignia of Dragon-Phoenix Academy gleamed on his gloves.
"You are Jin Kazematsu?"
Jin nodded slowly.
The man handed him a scroll sealed in wax: crimson and gold, twin glyph-rings spiraling into the image of a dragon entwined with a phoenix.
"DRAGON-PHOENIX ACADEMY
Path of Twin Ascension – Physical & Spiritual
You have been chosen. Flame Spark Recognized.
Departure: Tonight. Skyglass Heights".
"Your Flame Spark triggered an automatic registry. You've been invited," the envoy explained. "Be ready."
He turned and left without waiting for a reply.
---
That evening, the shuttle platform at Skyglass Heights glowed with spirit lamps and boundary wards. Other students clutched scrolls and duffel bags, eyes wide with awe or hardened by ambition.
Jin stepped aboard the dragon-marked vessel, his sigil warm beneath his shirt.
The city shrank below, reduced to light and fog.
Above, mountains parted—revealing towers that split the sky like blades, courtyards ringed in glowing fire, and Ember Tower burning in the distance like a pillar of judgment.
Jin pressed his fingers to his chest and whispered:
"So this is where my flames begin to rise"