Saria could see that Yoren wasn't just showing off—he was prepared to face the worst possible outco.
To be honest, even she wasn't entirely sure she could rescue Ifrit. If she failed, she wouldn't just burn to death—Ifrit would also lose her last chance at survival.
Saria nodded solemnly.
"Alright. I'll take you as close as I can. My abilities should help clear so of the way."
"Understood."
Saria grabbed a large tal can from a nearby transport truck.
Yoren removed his bracelet and tossed it to Her, who was still kneeling on the ground.
"Hold on to this for . I'll be back with Ifrit. Make sure to return it to ."
Then, without hesitation, Yoren and Saria sprinted toward the inferno ahead.
The closer they got, the more unbearable the heat beca.
Waves of fla rolled over them, scorching the ground, reducing everything to ash. Even the trees and grass nearby had already turned to charcoal.
After less than a hundred ters, Saria stopped. She lifted the can and opened it.
A thick, light-green liquid poured over Yoren's head with a loud splash.
The viscous substance clung to his skin like lted wax. There was no need to ask—this was so kind of chemical ant to shield him from the flas.
Tossing the empty can aside, Saria looked forward.
"Ifrit was in the underground lab, but the explosion has destroyed the base. Her exact location is unknown—you'll have to find her yourself."
"Got it."
"I'll use Originium Arts to carve a path for you. It won't last long, so once I open it, you need to move fast. After that, you're on your own."
Saria pulled a Source Stone from her coat.
Closing her eyes, a pale green glow pulsed around her as she absorbed the energy. The air around her shifted—an invisible force coiling and twisting. Then, in an instant, the ground beneath them trembled.
Yoren shielded his face as the wind surged around him, whipping dust and debris into a frenzy.
If Saria ever used this ability in war, her destructive force could rival even Frost Nova's.
With a fierce glint in her eyes, Saria raised her hands skyward before slamming them down in one powerful motion.
"Boom!"
A towering green tornado erupted, tearing through the inferno ahead.
The outer flas shattered under the violent winds, ripping open a path through the firestorm.
Saria turned to Yoren.
"This passage won't last long—go!"
"Right!"
"Promise you'll co back alive."
Yoren smirked. "I bloom in the midst of slaughter, and—"
"Just go!"
"Oh."
With a final deep breath, Yoren clenched his jaw.
Black energy swirled around him as he tightened his grip on the Originium and the injection gun.
"Move!"
He bolted into the flas.
Watching him go, Saria could only pray. She had already pushed herself beyond her limit—forcing this level of Originium Arts without proper augntation was leaving her drained.
The mont Yoren crossed into the inferno, the heat slamd into him like a hamr.
This wasn't just pain—this was sothing far worse.
The oxygen was gone. The suffocating heat filled his lungs, a ringing in his ears drowning out all sound. Though the fire had yet to touch him, his clothes had already started to burn.
For all his determination, his instincts scread at him to turn back. The terror of being consud alive was suffocating.
But he couldn't turn back.
[I bloom in the midst of slaughter and am reborn in the flas.]
The first half of that line was stolen. The second half? He had made up on the spot.
Would he really be reborn?
No idea.
But one thing was certain—he was definitely burning.
The flas around him hadn't fully closed yet. He could still escape. If he ran now, no one would bla him.
But the thought of seeing Her's disappointnt hurt more than any fla ever could.
Huoyu Yoren doesn't regret. He had spoken his words. Now he would act on them—even if it ant dying.
"Go!"
Gritting his teeth, Yoren roared and charged deeper into the firestorm.
Ti blurred.
He didn't know how long he had been running.
There was no sound, only flickering embers in his vision. His body was unrecognizable—his clothes burned away, his skin scorched and peeling.
The pain had long since beco numbness. His nerve endings had been seared away. He should have collapsed by now, yet sothing forced him forward.
Maybe it was the black power.
Maybe it was pure stubbornness.
Maybe it was just the thought of Ifrit waiting for him.
Whatever it was, it kept him moving.
In the heart of the fire, an ancient sorrow pulsed.
The flas of the Fire Demon were not just destruction—they were loneliness. They burned everything, leaving nothing behind. Friend, enemy, family, love... all turned to ash.
Yoren didn't know the full story behind the Fire Demon.
But maybe Ifrit's last wish was simply to hold soone she loved.
He stopped.
A figure appeared before him.
A small, familiar silhouette, standing with arms outstretched in the heart of the flas.
The little fire dragon.
Ifrit stood at the center of the inferno, her body untouched by the fire raging around her. Flas poured from her like a living storm, her eyes closed, as if in a deep sleep.
Yoren, his body charred and broken, forced himself to move forward.
He held the syringe tightly. The tal was on the verge of lting in his grip.
The fire lashed at his face, but he could no longer feel it.
Step by step, he reached her.
He had made the right choice. All his suffering, all his pain—worth it.
"Sizzle!"
The syringe pierced Ifrit's neck.
Surrounded by fire, Yoren opened his arms and pulled her into a tight embrace.
So say that flas represent hope.
At night, fire dispels darkness, wards off the cold, and brings warmth to the world.
Others say fire is despair.
Because it devours everything, reduces dreams to ash, and destroys lives.
Fire is both hope and despair.
In the raging inferno, Yoren finally found Ifrit. And in the last mont before losing consciousness, he held the little fire dragon tightly in his arms.
What happened next was sothing no one outside the fire would ever forget.
The towering flas at Base No. 4 suddenly surged skyward, twisting and reshaping into sothing monstrous—an enormous, fiery beast, a hundred ters tall, its body composed entirely of raging red fire. Two massive horns crowned its head, its form flickering between reality and illusion.
"ROAR!"
A deafening wail split the air as the fire beast let out a final, earth-shaking cry.
Then, before everyone's eyes, its body began to dissolve, flas dissipating into the wind.
Saria's eyes flickered. She muttered under her breath, "That kid... he did it."
[June 5] — A date forever sealed in the archives of Rhine Life.
On this day, Base No. 4, located in the Buda region of Columbia, was wiped off the map. Along with it, dozens of staff who hadn't managed to escape perished in the flas.
Rhine Life suffered an incalculable loss, but the material damage was nothing compared to the deeper implications.
In an era long past, wars fought over the Four Ancient Stones had obliterated an advanced civilization. The raw, untapped power of these stones was far greater than the destruction of a single research facility. That power was precisely why Rhine Life had been willing to risk everything to conduct these experints.
Because of the facility's remote location, Rhine Life's upper managent swiftly controlled the spread of information. The following day, major Columbian dia outlets ran an official statent:
On June 5, Rhine Life Laboratories conducted a routine fossil fuel disposal operation in the Buda region. Citizens are advised not to be alard, as this was a safe and standard procedure.
Beyond this, Rhine Life locked away all records of the event. Aside from key personnel like Her and White-faced Owl, every researcher involved in the project was given an extended "vacation." They were relocated to an undisclosed island, cut off from the world, where they would spend their days fishing.
This incident was sealed in Rhine Life's top-secret archives under one na:
The Fla Demon Incident.
According to the testimony of the Special Incident Response Team that arrived after the fire was extinguished, they found Subject 019 standing at the center of the ruins. She appeared unhard.
Nearby, they discovered what at first seed to be a charred humanoid figure, its body blackened, emitting a distinct, almost barbecue-like scent.
After multiple scans and confirmations, the team identified the remains.
It was Subject No. 020—the one who had entered the flas.
His na was Yoren.
Ifrit, still unconscious, and Yoren, whose condition was uncertain, were imdiately transported to Rhine Life's Experintal Base No. 3.
June 9
Four days had passed since Yoren was brought to Base No. 3.
Unlike Base No. 4, which specialized in experintal research, Base No. 3 was a dical facility focused on human recovery. It wasn't completely isolated—alongside research, it also treated patients in need of urgent care.
Snowsant sat outside Yoren's room, dark circles under her eyes, listlessly leaning against the wall.
She heard Her speaking with a man in a white coat.
"Dr. Gran, please, there must be sothing you can do!"
"I'm sorry, Dr. Her. We've done everything we can. It's a miracle he's even still alive."
"Is there really no hope?"
Gran sighed. "His burns are too severe. The infection is out of control. I won't sugarcoat it—he's beyond saving."
Snowsant buried her face in her knees.
June 17
Snowsant was still outside Yoren's room. Ifrit, now awake, walked over and handed her a piece of candy.
Two doctors stepped out of the room, having just finished their daily check-up.
As they walked down the hall, their hushed conversation drifted over.
"How is he still alive?"
"No idea. His body seems to be regenerating, but the rate is nowhere near fast enough. Compared to when he arrived, the infection is even worse. He should have died multiple tis over by now."
"I've never seen anything like it. Maybe he's so kind of freak."
"Doesn't matter. He probably won't last more than a couple more days."
Snowsant's lips pressed together, her eyes dimming.
Ifrit took a step toward them.
Then she jumped.
She landed on one of the doctors, climbed onto his shoulders, and began biting his head.
"You idiot! You're just not good enough!"
"Agh! Whose kid is this?! My hair!"
Throughout this ti, Her and Saria visited Yoren countless tis. Her was an expert in Originium and mineral diseases, but those skills had little to do with burns and cellular regeneration. All she could do was beg her colleagues for answers.
But the results were always the sa.
More than ten days of treatnt, and Yoren's condition hadn't improved. If anything, it had worsened. Not because Rhine Life's dical team was incompetent—this wasn't sothing dicine or surgery could fix.
A man whose entire body had been burned to charcoal should not have been alive in the first place.
Every visitor left with a heavy heart.
Her, Saria, Aina, White-faced Owl, Snowsant—even lantha, who wasn't particularly close to Yoren—wore sorrowful expressions.
Base No. 4 had been consud by the Fire Demon's power. That was an irreversible fact. But in the midst of despair, Yoren had ensured it didn't claim Ifrit's life.
And that made his current suffering even more unbearable to witness.
Unless a miracle happened, Huoyu Yoren was dood to fail.
But miracles don't happen. That's why they're called miracles.
June 24 — Rhine Life, Experintal Base No. 3.
A soft, milky-white glow filled the ward.
It spread outward, pushing away the clouds in the sky before fading into nothing.
Snowsant had been keeping watch outside the room. Due to contamination risks, she wasn't allowed to stay inside for long, but she refused to leave. Her had given her a separate room, yet she still chose to rest outside the ward.
"Squeak."
The door creaked open.
Snowsant, half-asleep, stirred, rubbing her eyes.
Yoren stood in the doorway.
Wrapped in bandages like a mummy, he reached up and ripped off the gauze covering his face.
Underneath—smooth, unscarred skin.
He frowned, looking down at her.
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