The flames roared.
Not like ordinary fire.
These flames moved like living serpents, coiling around the obsidian pillars and crawling along the ceiling in streams of crimson light. The entire chamber trembled with heat, yet beneath that heat was something colder.
Hatred.
Pain.
Betrayal.
I stood frozen at the entrance of the temple hall, my eyes locked on the woman suspended above the blazing circle.
Silver-white hair flowed around her like moonlit silk.
Her wrists were bound by chains forged from fire itself.
Each link glowed with ancient runes.
Her crimson eyes burnt into mine.
Cold.
Sharp.
Unforgiving.
"You…"
Her voice echoed through the chamber like a blade drawn from its sheath.
"…are one of them."
The flames surged.
A wave of scorching heat slammed into me.
I raised my arm instinctively to shield my face.
"I'm not your enemy," I said quickly.
The chains rattled violently.
The ring of fire beneath her expanded.
A sharp pulse of energy shot across the chamber and exploded against the temple wall beside me.
Stone shattered.
Fragments rained across the floor.
I stepped back.
So this was the first goddess.
And she wanted to kill me.
ARINA's voice echoed inside my mind.
"Warning. Target emotional state unstable."
A blue panel unfolded before my eyes.
Name: Lian Xueyi Title: Flame Goddess Favorability: -35. Mental State: Betrayed / Hostile / Vengeful Heart Knot Level: Severe Mission Objective Updated: Gain Trust
Gain trust?
At -35?
This system had a dark sense of humour.
Lian's eyes narrowed.
"You carry the mark of outsiders."
Her gaze dropped to the faint glow still lingering around my chest from ARINA's activation.
"I should burn you before they return."
I raised both hands slowly.
"Listen to me. I don't even know who 'they' are."
The chamber went silent.
For the first time, confusion flickered across her face.
Then her expression hardened.
"All men who enter this temple serve the Crimson Sect."
Crimson Sect.
So those assassins outside belonged to them.
"They betrayed you," I said carefully.
Something in the air changed.
The flames around her trembled.
A dangerous silence followed.
Then—
Her voice dropped.
"You know nothing."
The chains burst with light.
A pillar of fire shot toward me.
I threw myself sideways.
The flames crashed into the stone floor where I had been standing.
The heat singed the sleeve of my jacket.
I rolled behind a broken pillar and exhaled sharply.
She wasn't listening.
Not yet.
I needed information.
"ARINA," I whispered inwardly, "give me details."
A panel flashed instantly.
Information Fragment Unlocked: Lian Xueyi, Former Sovereign of the Vermilion Flame Realm, Betrayed by Crimson Sect Elders Divine Core Suppressed Emotion Lock: Hatred / Loss / Isolation
Former sovereign.
Not merely a goddess.
A ruler.
That explained the authority in her voice.
I slowly stepped out from behind the pillar.
"I know betrayal," I said.
That made her pause.
Her gaze sharpened.
For a moment, I saw something beneath the anger.
A fracture.
A wound.
Fifteen years in an orphanage had taught me something most people never understood.
Pain is always recognised pain.
"I was abandoned before I could even speak," I continued.
"No parents."
"No name worth remembering."
"Just an orphan who learned to survive because no one else would protect him."
Her expression shifted, if only slightly.
The flames dimmed.
Good.
A crack in the wall.
I kept going.
"I'm not from your world."
"I was brought here."
"I'm searching for someone I consider family."
At that, her eyes narrowed again.
"Then why come here?"
I looked directly at her.
"To save you."
The chamber went still.
For three heartbeats, neither of us moved.
Then she laughed.
Cold.
Bitter.
A sound made from broken trust.
"Save me?"
The chains trembled.
"Do you know how many made that promise?"
Her voice cracked like thunder.
"They called me their goddess."
"They knelt before me."
"They swore loyalty."
The flames around the temple pillars erupted higher.
"And then they chained me in my own sanctuary."
For the first time, the hatred in her voice carried grief.
This wasn't just rage.
This was heartbreak.
A heart knot.
Exactly what ARINA had mentioned.
I took a step forward.
"I'm not them."
Her gaze dropped to the Phoenix-shaped glow faintly pulsing near my chest.
The mark.
She saw it.
Her eyes widened for the first time.
"That mark…"
Before she could finish—
A sharp sound echoed outside.
Footsteps.
Multiple.
Fast.
Lian's expression instantly changed.
Her hostility vanished, replaced by warning.
"They're here."
The temple doors exploded inward.
Three figures in crimson robes rushed inside.
Behind them stepped a tall man in black ceremonial armour.
His face was hidden beneath a golden half-mask.
A pressure like burning iron filled the chamber.
Cultivator.
And stronger than the assassins outside.
His eyes landed on me first.
Then a smile slowly spread across his face.
"So the intruder made it inside."
Lian's chains flared.
"Zhu Kain."
The masked man bowed mockingly.
"My goddess."
The way he said it made my skin crawl.
Mockery.
Possession.
Cruelty.
So this was one of the traitors.
He turned to his followers.
"Kill the outsider."
The three crimson-cloaked assassins charged.
I immediately moved.
The first swung a curved blade.
I ducked and drove my fist into his ribs.
The second attacked from the left.
I grabbed a broken shard of obsidian from the floor and blocked the strike.
Steel clashed against stone.
The third lunged low.
I jumped backwards.
ARINA's voice rang in my mind.
"Combat Skill Sync Active."
A new panel appeared.
Skill Unlocked: Flame Step (Temporary) Source: Lian Xueyi Resonance Duration: 5 Minutes
My body suddenly felt lighter.
Faster.
Almost instinctive.
I moved.
One step.
Then another.
A crimson streak flashed beneath my feet.
I vanished from their sight for an instant.
The first assassin turned too late.
My elbow struck his jaw.
The second received a kick to the chest.
The third swung wildly.
I slipped past him and struck the back of his neck.
Three bodies hit the floor.
Silence.
Even Zhu Kain's eyes narrowed.
Interesting.
He had not expected that.
Neither had I.
Lian stared at me.
The flames around her chains flickered strangely.
The favourability panel blinked.
Favorability Updated –35 → –20
Progress.
Small.
But real.
Zhu Kain slowly unsheathed a long crimson blade.
"So the insect can fight."
The pressure in the room doubled.
This man was on another level.
Lian's voice suddenly rang out.
"Move!"
A chain of fire lashed from her wrist and wrapped around my waist.
I was yanked sideways just as Zhu Kain's blade split the floor where I had been standing.
The temple cracked.
Stone shattered.
Heat blasted across the hall.
I landed hard beside one of the pillars.
Lian looked at me.
For the first time, there was no hatred in her gaze.
Only urgency.
"You cannot defeat him yet."
Then ARINA spoke.
"Emergency Mission Triggered."
Escape with the Flame Goddess Hidden Route Unlocked Reward: Trust Increase +15
Escape?
With her still chained?
I looked toward the altar behind the flames.
Ancient runes glowed beneath the floor.
A release seal.
Of course.
The way to free her was inside the temple itself.
I clenched my fists.
This wasn't just survival anymore.
This was the first real battle.
And I was not leaving without her.