Li Wei, Xiao Mei, and Mei Ling arrived at the Emberheart Forge, a volcanic crater where the air shimmered with heat and the ground glowed faintly red. Ancient machinery, long rusted but still humming with residual energy, dotted the landscape. At the forge's heart stood a massive anvil, stained black with centuries of ash and blood.
"This place feels… alive," Xiao Mei muttered, wiping sweat from her brow.
"It is," Mei Ling replied, her voice tense. "The forge is sentient. It tests those who seek its power."
As Li Wei approached the anvil, the ground trembled. From the molten pools emerged a towering figure clad in smoldering armor—Vulcan the Black, a legendary blacksmith who had gone mad after forging the phoenix sword centuries ago. His body was fused with molten metal, and his eyes blazed with cursed fire.
Vulcan's voice boomed like collapsing mountains. "You dare return, Zhao Tian? You abandoned me to this hell!"
Li Wei froze. He recognizes me? Xiao Mei and Mei Ling stared in confusion.
"I'm not Zhao Tian," Li Wei said calmly, gripping the phoenix sword.
Vulcan roared, hurling a wave of molten rock. "Lies! Your soul reeks of him! You left me to rot while you played hero!"
Li Wei dodged, his mind racing. Zhao Tian knew this man. Used him. "The sword corrupted you," Li Wei shouted. "Zhao Tian didn't abandon you—you sacrificed yourself to contain it!"
Vulcan hesitated, his flames dimming. "You… remember?"
"No. But I know the sword's history. It devours everyone it touches—even you."
Vulcan's rage reignited. "Then perish with me!" He slammed his hammer, triggering eruptions across the forge.
He lured Vulcan into unstable ground, causing the blacksmith to sink into molten pits.
Sword's Weakness: Using Mei Ling's notes, Li Wei struck the phoenix sword against the anvil, creating a dissonant frequency that destabilized Vulcan's fused body.
Psychological Warfare: "Zhao Tian is dead! The sword is mine now—and I'll finish what he couldn't."
Vulcan's armor cracked, revealing a withered core. "Finish it… Zhao Tian."
Li Wei plunged the sword into the core. Vulcan disintegrated, his final whisper lingering: "The forge is yours… but its price remains."
The forge shuddered, and the anvil split open, revealing a Phoenix Core—a pulsating orb of condensed fire. The sword hissed: "Claim it. Burn brighter."
Xiao Mei grabbed Li Wei's arm. "Don't! This thing wants you to rely on it!"
Li Wei hesitated, then sealed the core in a jade vial. "Not yet. But it's a card worth holding."
As they left, Mei Ling uncovered a mural depicting Vulcan and Zhao Tian crafting the sword together. A shadowed figure watched them—Lord Kael, ruler of the Obsidian Citadel and Zhao Tian's former rival. The inscription warned: "Where flames rise, the Obsidian Lord follows."
Li Wei gained a powerful relic but awakened an older, deadlier foe. As Vulcan's ashes cooled, far to the north, a citadel of black stone stirred. Lord Kael, having sensed the phoenix core's activation, smiled. "At last… a worthy pawn."