Naruto: Chronicles of the Lost Library

The burn on Naruto's fingers had faded. But something still clung to him.

The silence in the chamber had changed. It didn't feel empty anymore. It felt like something was listening.

As he walked further, his footsteps slowed.

The stone beneath him was different—carved.

He knelt and brushed off the dust with his sleeve. His eyes widened.

"What is this?"

A mural.

It covered the floor beneath him, worn but still visible. In the center was a lone figure, cloaked in flames, standing in complete darkness. No village symbol. No allies. Just the scroll in his hand… and the other hand reaching out into the void.

Above the figure, carved in swirling chakra script, were the words:

Before the Sage, there was the Flame.

Naruto crouched closer, running his fingers over the ancient lines.

"This is older than Konoha. Older than all the villages."

Around the main image were smaller scenes—people kneeling. Some looked like they were worshipping. Others looked afraid. In the final panel, the flame-covered figure was gone. Only the scroll remained, surrounded by fire.

Then the air shifted.

A soft whisper echoed across the room. Not in words but in emotion.

Loneliness. Power. Fire. Sacrifice.

Naruto shivered. Something cold and real settled in his chest.

This power wasn't made to be shared.

It was created because no one else could carry it.

He stood up slowly, eyes on the mural's last image.

"Was this guy the first Flame-Bearer?'

Or maybe.. the first victim?

The ground pulsed under his feet. Just once. Soft. Like something deep inside had noticed what he was thinking.

Far across the chamber, another door slid open without a sound.

And from deep inside the stone, another whisper rose.

He was not the last.