The temple fell silent.
Not the silence of peace.
The silence before destruction.
Lian Xueyi stood at the centre of the shattered altar, silver hair drifting like moonlit flames around her shoulders. Crimson fire spiralled behind her in the shape of wings, casting long shadows across the obsidian walls.
The air itself trembled around her.
Every disciple of the Crimson Sect froze where they stood.
Even the fire pillars lining the chamber bent inward, as if bowing before their sovereign.
Zhu Kain took a slow step back.
For the first time since I had entered this world, I saw genuine fear in his eyes.
He tightened his grip on the crimson blade.
"You should still be weakened."
Lian's gaze shifted toward him.
Cold.
Absolute.
"You mistake chains for weakness."
Her voice carried no anger now.
That made it far more terrifying.
It was judgement.
Pure and inevitable.
The flames around her palm condensed into a ring of crimson light.
Each flicker carried enough heat to distort the space around it.
ARINA's voice echoed in my mind.
"Warning. High-level divine energy detected."
A blue panel flashed.
Lian Xueyi Current State: Partial Release Power Output: 38% Threat Level: Extreme
Only thirty-eight per cent?
My breath caught.
If this was less than half her strength, then what had the Crimson Sect chained beneath this temple?
Zhu Kain's expression hardened.
"Kill them!"
The remaining disciples rushed forward.
Six from the left.
Four from the right.
Staff were raised.
Blades glowing.
Lian didn't even look at them.
Her fingers moved once.
The ring of fire above her palm split into ten flame shards.
They shot forward like meteors.
Ten screams echoed through the chamber.
The disciples never even reached us.
Their weapons melted midair.
Their robes ignited.
Bodies crashed against the floor.
One strike.
Ten enemies down.
I stared.
Professor Mehra had once said that true power was not measured by destruction but by control.
Lian Xueyi's control was terrifying.
Not a single flame touched me.
Not one spark strayed beyond its target.
Zhu Kain roared and charged.
This time, he no longer held back.
Dark crimson flames erupted from beneath his feet, forming a serpent around his blade.
A high-level technique.
The serpent lunged.
Lian finally moved.
She raised one hand.
The serpent stopped in midair.
Just stopped.
Frozen in a prison of silver-red fire.
Then she clenched her fist.
The serpent shattered into embers.
Zhu Kain's eyes widened.
Impossible.
That single word was written all over his face.
Lian stepped forward.
One.
Two.
Each step made the floor beneath her bloom with burning lotus patterns.
"You chained me."
Another step.
"You slaughtered my loyal guards."
Another.
"You drained the divine flame beneath this temple."
Her eyes glowed brighter.
"And now you raise your weapon against the one who freed me."
For the first time, Zhu Kain hesitated.
His gaze flicked toward me.
A mistake.
Lian vanished.
Not moved.
Vanished.
A crimson flash.
Then—
BOOM.
Zhu Kain flew across the temple and crashed into a stone pillar hard enough to split it in half.
The golden half-mask shattered.
Blood ran down his face.
He coughed violently and forced himself upright.
"Ishaan!"
Lian's voice snapped through the chamber.
I turned.
She pointed toward the far end of the hall.
Behind the broken altar, an ancient seal door had partially opened.
Golden symbols pulsed across its surface.
"The sect core."
Her voice turned colder.
"He must not reach it."
Of course.
Backup plan.
People like Zhu Kain always had one.
He wiped the blood from his mouth and smiled.
"You think freeing yourself changes anything?"
He slammed his blade into the floor.
The entire temple shook.
Dark fire erupted from the cracks.
A ritual circle.
The disciples still alive rushed to the circle and cut their own palms, feeding blood into the flames.
My eyes widened.
"ARINA?"
The system responded instantly.
Emergency Threat Detected Blood Sacrifice Ritual Target: Flame Core Seal Estimated Result: Forced Realm Collapse
Collapse?
This lunatic was willing to destroy the entire realm.
Zhu Kain laughed.
"If the Flame Goddess cannot belong to the Crimson Sect—"
The ritual circle blazed.
"—then this world burns with her."
Lian's expression changed.
For the first time since her release, real urgency crossed her face.
"The realm core…"
Her voice dropped.
"He is trying to corrupt it."
The floor cracked open.
A pillar of dark crimson fire burst upward from beneath the temple.
The ceiling began collapsing.
Stone blocks rained down.
The world itself was destabilising.
ARINA's voice sharpened.
"Main Mission Updated."
Save the Flame Goddess Secondary Objective Added: Protect the Realm Core Time Remaining: 15 Minutes
Fifteen minutes.
I looked toward Zhu Kain.
He was retreating toward the steel door.
Coward.
He knew he couldn't win in direct combat.
So he chose to destroy everything.
I moved.
Flame Step activated instinctively.
The crimson trail beneath my feet flared alive.
I rushed toward the ritual circle.
Three surviving disciples intercepted me.
I slid low beneath the first slash, grabbed a fallen spear from the floor, and spun.
The spear shaft cracked against one disciple's jaw.
Another lunged from the side.
I pivoted and drove the spear butt into his throat.
The third raised a staff.
A streak of silver-red flame shot past my shoulder.
Lian's fire pierced straight through the staff and threw him into the wall.
We were fighting together now.
The thought hit me harder than the battle itself.
Just two chapters ago, she wanted to burn me alive.
Now she was covering my blind spots.
The panel flickered.
Favorability Updated: 0 → 18
Good.
Very good.
But there was no time to celebrate.
Zhu Kain reached the sealed door.
His hand slammed against the glowing symbols.
The dark ritual intensified.
The realm core beneath the temple screamed.
Yes.
Screamed.
A sound so deep and ancient that my bones vibrated with it.
Lian's expression darkened.
"If that seal breaks, the Crimson Desert Realm dies."
I looked at the collapsing chamber.
Then at Zhu Kain.
Then at the seal.
I clenched my fists.
"No."
My voice came out sharper than I expected.
"Not while I'm here."
The Phoenix Mark beneath my shirt burnt.
ARINA's voice echoed inside my mind.
"Hidden synchronisation available."
A new golden panel unfolded.
Phoenix Resonance + Flame Goddess Temporary Skill: Judgment Strike Use Limit: One
I looked up at Lian.
She looked back.
For the first time, there was trust in her crimson eyes.
"Go," she said.
"I'll hold the collapse."
I nodded.
And ran straight toward Zhu Kain.
The judgement had only just begun.