Reborn: Wrath of the flame

Yanmei~

Across the corridor, hidden in the shadows, stood a man with silver eyes. He leaned carelessly against the doorway, as though he had been waiting there for ages.

"You are not supposed to be here," I said. "Who are you even?"

"Neither are you," he replied. His voice came out smooth like silk. "But here we both are, alive and curious."

"What do you want?" I asked. "And who are you?"

"They call me many things but you can call me Li Yuchen."

He looked at me, his silver eyes glinting with something I could not name.

"As for what I want" he said "I only want to watch for now but when the light inside you begins to burn wildly the world will either worship you or fear you. I would love to see what happens."

Before I could reply he was already gone. As if he had never been there. I stood alone in the corridor. The flame had taken everything from me. But it had given me something greater in return.

Clarity.

I would leave the Flame Sect. And when I returned, I would show no mercy.

The silence after his departure was heavy. My back pressed against the cold wall as my heartbeat thundered in my chest. The scrolls hidden under my clothes felt heavier than paper. They carried more than truth. They carried the weight of my stolen fire.

His words stayed with me.

When the fire begins to burn wildly people will either worship or fear you.

I clenched my jaw. There would be no more confusion. No more obedience to those who saw me as nothing more than a tool. I would not be their offering or their weapon ever again.

I moved through the ceremonial hall. The place was too still. The statues around me stared without eyes. I held my robes tighter and kept to the shadows. My hair whipped behind me with every sharp step.

I needed to reach my room. There were things I had to take with me. I did not want him to see me run but I could not let them catch me again.

As I neared the hallway to my room I heard voices ahead. I ducked beside the doorway but it was too late.

"Let us report to the elders" a voice whispered. "She is not dead. You saw that flame did you not?"

"She will be dangerous if left alone, we need to act fast and curb her before she"

Before the sentence finished I was gone. Melted into the shadows and slipping into the rear passage.

So they knew.

And they feared me.

When I reached my room, small and plain, I took one long breath. The other disciples always mocked how bare it was. But I had loved it anyway because it had been mine.

I stepped inside and locked the door behind me.

I pulled a small wooden box from under the bed.

Inside it were the last pieces of me. A pendant shaped like a flame. Still warm in my hand. A letter I had found hidden in my matron's room before she died. And a dagger. My first weapon. Forged in secret and carved by my own hand.

I packed everything into a cloth satchel and tied it to my waist.

This is not the end. This is my awakening.

I whispered it to myself.

Then I heard footsteps.

Fast..too close...

Without a second thought I ran to the window and jumped. The cold night air struck my face as I landed in a crouch on the roof beside my room. My door burst open behind me.

"She is escaping"

I ran.

My body ached. My legs screamed with every leap but fire burned through my veins. Rage kept me moving.

They had lied to me.

Stolen my birthright.

Painted me as cursed after they betrayed me.

Let them see what cursed truly meant.

I reached the outer wall, took a deep breath and leapt.

Flames exploded beneath my feet and shot me over the barrier.

I landed hard along the rocky mountain slope, sharp stones dug into my palms but I did not stop.

I looked back at the Flame Sect.

Only once.

And after that I never looked back again.

The forest opened before me. Vast, cold, unknown.

But I was no longer the girl of flame born in shame.

I was fire now.

As I walked through the twisting paths, questions filled my mind.

Who was that man with the silver eyes? Why had he waited for me? And the question that burned more than all the others.

Who killed my mother?

The sun had fully set by the time I reached the end of the forest. Through the thick trees, I saw the flicker of light. A town.

My stomach growled, I had not eaten since before the ceremony. My robe was torn and filthy. My body throbbed with pain but I had made it.

I pulled the hood of my robe over my head and stepped into the outskirts of the town.

There was a guesthouse ahead. The keeper did not look at me twice. I gave him one of the few silver coins hidden in my pouch and he handed me a key without a word.

I climbed the stairs.

Alone.

Safe.. For now.

Inside the room I lit a single candle and pulled the scroll from my satchel.

My fingers traced the name again and again.

Lu Meiyun.

My mother.

The hidden daughter of the Flame Monarch.

They raised me as an orphan. Told me I had no past and nearly sacrificed me in the name of righteousness.

Because my bloodline was feared, because some people in the sect knew and they were afraid.

I closed my eyes.

Xi Tianlei had stood beside me for years. He trained with me, smiled and promised to protect me.

And then he turned on me without warning.

A knock echoed from the door.

My body tense, I rose silently. My dagger in hand.

"Who is it" I asked sharply.

A voice answered.

Low and Amused.

"You did not think I would let you wander off alone..."

~Flame sect

The ceremonial grounds were still thick with smoke. The elders were whispering but none of them had answers. No one expected her to survive. No one expected her to break the inner barrier. No one had expected the truth to rise in flames.

And in the quiet hallway near the disciple quarters, a girl stood alone.

Xiao Yun..

Her fingers clutched a scarf she had repaired just last week for Yanmei. The fabric trembled in her grip. Her eyes were swollen with tears. Her face pale with grief.

They told her nothing. Not even if Yanmei had died or fled. All they said was that she had vanished in fire.

Xiao had cleaned her room earlier. Found the signs of a rushed departure. Found the scent of smoke and wild air. Found the knife that h

Yanmei owned missing from its sheath.

She sank to her knees outside the doorway.

"Please" she whispered. "Please stay alive."

Her voice broke as she clutched the scarf to her chest.

"I should have listened. I should have done something. I should have believed you when you felt something was wromg somewhere."

The walls around her were silent. The halls no longer held warmth.

Xiao closed her eyes and let the tears fall freely.

Somewhere out there Yanmei was alive.

She had to be.

Because if she was not...

Then the Flame Sect had burned the brightest flame it ever birthed.

And the world would never forgive them for it.