---
The fire inside Nero demanded a choice.
It did not rage.
It did not push.
It simply waited.
And the moment stretched longer than time itself.
Would he accept its will?
Or would he defy it?
Would he rule?
Or would he burn?
---
(Angel and Nagel's Fate)
Angel's fingers tightened around his wrist.
"Nero… please."
She was begging now.
Nagel raised his axe, his jaw clenched.
"If you do this," he said, voice sharp, "then you're already gone."
Nero's breath caught.
They were afraid.
Not just of the fire.
Not just of what it would make him do.
They were afraid of him.
---
(The Fire's Call)
The flames whispered.
"You were chosen."
A pause.
"You must prove you are worthy."
A wave of heat surged through him.
Not painful.
Not crushing.
Just… commanding.
The fire wanted an answer.
And it would not wait forever.
---
(The Stranger's True Goal)
The cloaked figure watched in silence.
Then, they smiled.
"You were never meant to follow," they said.
"You were meant to lead."
Their red eyes burned brighter.
"You feel it, don't you? The fire isn't asking anymore. It is offering."
Nero's stomach twisted.
Because they were right.
The fire wasn't forcing him.
It was waiting for his choice.
Because if he accepted—
It would be his completely.
---
(A Trial of Fire)
The flames rose higher.
Swirling around him.
Forming a circle of heat and light.
It was no longer a simple test.
This was a trial.
A moment that would decide everything.
"Prove yourself."
The command was final.
And the meaning was clear.
He had to burn something.
He had to sacrifice.
And there was only one thing left to take.
---
(The Fire's Last Demand)
Angel and Nagel stood before him.
His past.
His friends.
The last ties to who he used to be.
And the fire waited.
Would he let go?
Would he burn them away?
Would he become what the fire needed?
Nero's hands shook.
Because he wasn't sure if he could still say no.
---
(The Moment of Fate)
The fire crackled.
The world held its breath.
And Nero chose.
The world waited.
The fire waited.
And so did Angel and Nagel.
Because whatever Nero chose—
Nothing would ever be the same again.
---
(The Decision)
The fire crackled, eager.
"Prove yourself."
The voice was no longer a whisper.
No longer an offer.
It was an order.
The flames coiled tighter around him.
Expecting.
Demanding.
And Nero—
He raised his hand.
---
(The Flames Strike)
A wave of heat surged outward.
Angel stumbled back, her eyes wide.
Nagel swore, gripping his axe.
But the flames—
They didn't strike them.
They split the ground instead.
Fire erupted into the sky, splitting the battlefield in two.
A line drawn.
A wall between who Nero was and who he would become.
---
(Angel's Shock)
Angel's breath came fast.
"You…"
Her voice shook.
"You stopped it."
Nero's chest tightened.
Because she was right.
He had.
He could have obeyed.
He could have burned everything.
But instead—
He had held back.
He had chosen something else.
---
(The Fire's Anger)
The flames hissed.
Their heat turned sharp, demanding.
"You hesitate."
The voice was no longer pleased.
It was furious.
"You were meant to rise."
"You were meant to rule."
"You were meant to BURN."
Nero staggered.
The fire inside him recoiled.
But it wasn't leaving.
It would never leave.
And now—
It wanted something else.
---
(The Stranger's Warning)
The cloaked figure took a step forward.
Their red eyes glowed.
"You think you've won?"
A smirk.
"You think the fire will just let you go?"
The ground beneath them cracked.
Heat pulsed through the air.
The fire was rejecting Nero's answer.
It was not finished.
And now—
It was about to show him why.
---
(The Transformation Begins)
Nero gasped.
The fire burned hotter inside him.
Not in anger.
Not in rage.
In correction.
It had offered him power.
And he had denied it.
Now—
It would take its own answer.
His flames shifted.
From red to black.
And in that moment, Nero realized—
The fire wasn't just inside him anymore.
It was changing him.
---
(The Moment of No Return)
Angel reached for him again.
"Nero, fight it!"
Nagel took a step back, his face pale.
"Gods…"
Because they saw it.
The shift.
The change.
Nero's eyes weren't the same anymore.
They glowed like embers.
The fire had decided.
It would not be denied.
And Nero—
He had run out of time.
The fire was not done with him.
It had waited.
It had whispered.
It had tested.
And now, it had decided.
Nero belonged to it.
---
(The Fire Takes Hold)
His breath hitched.
The flames inside him did not cool.
They coiled tighter.
Like chains.
Like something binding itself to his soul.
His skin burned—
But not with pain.
With power.
Power that was no longer his alone.
---
(Angel and Nagel's Desperation)
Angel's grip tightened on his wrist.
"Nero, stay with me."
Her voice cracked.
Nagel lifted his axe.
"If you don't fight it, I will!"
Nero's vision blurred.
Their voices felt distant.
Their words felt unreal.
Because deep inside—
The fire was whispering louder.
"They are holding you back."
"Let them go."
---
(The Stranger's Revelation)
The cloaked figure's red eyes burned brighter.
"You feel it, don't you?"
Their voice was calm.
Assured.
"This was never about a choice."
They smiled.
"You were always meant to change."
A pause.
"This is not an end, Nero. This is a beginning."
---
(The Fire's Will Becomes Law)
Heat surged through Nero's veins.
His heartbeat pounded like war drums.
The fire inside him was not waiting anymore.
It was acting.
"You are not just a wielder of flames."
A voice, deeper now.
Stronger.
Ancient.
"You are fire itself."
Nero gasped.
Because he could feel it happening.
He was no longer controlling the fire.
It was controlling him.
---
(The Breaking Point)
Angel's eyes widened.
"Nero, don't do this!"
Nagel cursed.
"He's slipping."
But Nero barely heard them.
Because the fire was louder.
And for the first time—
He wasn't sure if he wanted it to stop.
---
End of Chapter 31
. The fire is no longer waiting—it is taking Nero for itself.
. Angel and Nagel fight to keep him from slipping away.
. The stranger reveals the truth—this was never just a test.
.Nero's body is no longer fully his own—the fire is in control now.
.A breaking point—if Nero does not act soon, he may never come back.
Next up: Chapter 32: The Price of Power—Has Nero already lost himself, or is there still hope?