. Nero's final stand – If the fire wants to erase him, can he stop it?
.Angel's irreversible choice – The fire offered her power. Did she take it?
.Nagel's last attempt – He will not let Nero die, but is it already too late?
.The stranger's chilling truth – This was never about survival. This was about rebirth.
.The fire's betrayal – If Nero will not burn the world, it will burn without him.
---
The Moment Before Destruction
The flames surged.
Not wild.
Not chaotic.
Purposeful.
And their purpose was to erase Nero.
For the first time, the fire was not his ally.
Not his weapon.
Not his curse.
It was his executioner.
---
(Nero's Final Stand)
He felt it coming.
Felt the heat.
Felt the will behind it.
It did not hesitate.
It did not doubt.
It had made its choice.
And if Nero did not act—
It would erase him.
He gritted his teeth.
Braced himself.
Then—
He fought back.
---
(Angel's Irreversible Choice)
The fire still hovered around her.
Waiting.
Offering.
A final chance.
Her hands shook.
Her breath was unsteady.
Was this the only way to save Nero?
To accept it?
Or was that exactly what the fire wanted?
Her mind screamed.
Her heart pounded.
And then—
She made her choice.
---
(Nagel's Last Attempt)
Nagel saw it all happen.
Too fast.
Too sudden.
Nero was losing.
Angel was hesitating.
And the fire was winning.
His instincts screamed.
"Move."
So he did.
He lunged—
Not toward the fire.
Not toward the flames.
But toward Nero himself.
If he couldn't kill the fire—
Then maybe he could save its victim.
---
(The Stranger's Chilling Truth)
The cloaked figure watched.
Silent.
Calm.
Unshaken.
"You still don't understand," they murmured.
Angel turned, eyes blazing.
"Understand what?!"
The stranger smiled.
"This was never about survival."
They gestured to the flames.
"This was about rebirth."
---
(The Fire's Betrayal)
The flames turned.
Not toward Nero.
Not toward Angel.
Not toward Nagel.
But toward the world itself.
And then—
It burned.
---
(The fire no longer whispered—it roared.)
Nero barely recognized his own reflection in the inferno twisting around him. Flames crawled up his arms like living veins, threading their way into his skin. The heat seared through his muscles, but he refused to scream. He wouldn't give it that satisfaction.
But something was wrong.
This wasn't just pain.
This was erasure.
The fire wasn't consuming him. It was trying to erase him entirely.
Nero gritted his teeth, forcing his body to stay upright. His shadow flickered against the wall, but it was getting smaller—fading, thinning, vanishing. Like he was being unmade.
"Is this what you wanted?" he growled, forcing himself to step forward even as his own body threatened to slip away.
The flames pulsed as if answering.
It was rejecting him.
After all this time, after all the pain, the fire no longer wanted a master.
---
(Angel's Choice)
Angel stood at the edge of the chaos, her fingers twitching. She could feel it—the fire calling to her, testing her, demanding her decision.
She could accept it and become something new.
Or she could reject it and be left behind.
Nero was fighting. Dying, maybe. But he wasn't screaming for help. He never did.
Nagel, barely standing, reached for her arm. His face was pale, the weight of his own power-draining him. "If you take it, there's no going back," he rasped. "You'll never be the same."
Her heartbeat slammed against her ribs. The fire wanted her. She could feel its hunger curling around her skin, not to erase her—but to claim her.
Was she ready for that?
Was she willing to become something else just to save him?
She locked eyes with Nero. He was fading.
And she made her choice.
She stepped into the fire.
---
(Nagel's Gamble)
Nagel swore under his breath as Angel moved toward the flames. His vision blurred, his body screaming at him to stop her, but he was too weak.
The fire would devour her.
Or worse—turn her into something unrecognizable.
Nagel clenched his fists. No. Not again.
He couldn't lose them both.
Gritting his teeth, he pulled the last dregs of power from his body, gathering it into his fingertips. His magic crackled, unstable, but he didn't care. If he could anchor Nero, if he could give Angel a chance, maybe—just maybe—they wouldn't be erased.
He slammed his hands against the ground.
The fire shuddered.
For the first time, it hesitated.
---
(The Stranger's Truth)
A figure watched from the darkness, their gaze steady, their presence unnoticed.
They had been waiting for this moment.
For the fire to break free.
For the master to be tested.
For the girl to make her choice.
The stranger exhaled softly, watching as Angel vanished into the inferno, watching as Nero fought against his own destruction, watching as Nagel gambled his own life to change fate.
Interesting.
So, in the end, this is how the story would be rewritten.
---
(The Fire's Destruction Begins)
A pulse shook the room.
The fire no longer crackled—it screamed.
The walls split. The ceiling groaned. Reality itself trembled.
It was no longer choosing a master.
It was choosing what to destroy first.
And in the center of it all, Nero's eyes snapped open.
---
(Nero's Last Struggle)
Nero's body felt weightless.
His limbs barely existed.
His mind, his soul—slipping away.
The fire was winning.
It had no anger toward him.
No hate.
It simply did not need him anymore.
And that was worse.
He had spent his life mastering the flames, only for them to cast him aside like nothing.
His fingers twitched.
He wanted to fight.
But how do you fight something that doesn't even acknowledge you anymore?
---
(Angel's Transformation Begins)
She stepped into the fire.
And the fire welcomed her.
It curled around her limbs, slithered across her skin.
It did not burn.
It did not devour.
It waited.
For what?
For her to choose.
Her breath hitched.
She was being tested.
She was being changed.
A memory flashed in her mind.
Nero, always carrying the fire like a burden.
But what if she carried it differently?
Not as a curse.
Not as a weapon.
But as something else.
Her heart pounded.
What if this power didn't have to destroy?
What if it could be reshaped?
She clenched her fists.
And accepted it.
---
(Nagel's Sacrifice)
Nagel stumbled.
His legs barely held him.
He had given everything—and it wasn't enough.
His axe slipped from his fingers, landing uselessly on the cracked ground.
And in front of him—
Angel disappeared into the fire.
"No—"
He tried to move.
Tried to reach her.
But the heat slammed against his chest, forcing him to his knees.
He wasn't strong enough.
Not anymore.
Unless…
His vision blurred.
There was one thing left he could do.
But it would cost him everything.
His hand closed into a fist.
And he chose.
---
(The Stranger's Final Revelation)
A quiet chuckle echoed through the flames.
"You all struggle so much."
The cloaked figure watched the chaos unfold, their red eyes glowing.
Nagel collapsed.
Nero faded.
Angel changed.
"Do you understand yet?" the stranger murmured.
A pause.
Then—
They took a step forward.
"It was never about the fire."
The flames shuddered.
And for the first time—
The fire hesitated.
---
The Fire's Final Decision
The ground shook.
The flames twisted.
And then—
---
(Nero's Last Chance)
He was slipping away.
He had no shape.
No form.
Just a whisper on the edges of existence.
The fire had rejected him.
Unmade him.
And yet—
Something remained.
A spark.
A single ember, burning in the emptiness.
Was it enough?
Nero reached for it.
And for the first time—
The fire resisted.
---
(Angel's Rebirth)
The fire rushed into her lungs, filled her veins, wrapped around her like a second skin.
But it did not consume her.
It welcomed her.
No pain.
No destruction.
Something else.
Something new.
Her heart pounded.
Her mind expanded.
She could see the fire now.
Not just as an element.
Not just as power.
But as a living force.
She understood it.
And it understood her.
Her fingers curled.
She breathed.
And the flames obeyed.
---
(Nagel's Sacrifice Takes Effect)
Nagel lay on the ground, gasping for breath.
The last of his strength drained from his body.
But it had worked.
The fire had hesitated.
For the first time, it had paused.
And in that pause—
The world shifted.
The balance changed.
The fire was no longer making its choice alone.
---
(The Stranger's Full Revelation)
The cloaked figure stepped forward, watching as the flames curled around Angel.
A soft chuckle escaped their lips.
"Finally," they murmured.
Nagel barely turned his head.
"You… knew this would happen."
The stranger smiled.
"Of course."
They gestured toward Angel.
"This is how the fire was always meant to be reborn."
A pause.
A smirk.
"And now, the true test begins."
---
(The Fire's Final Verdict)
The fire shuddered.
Changed.
Chose.
And the world felt its decision.
---
End of Chapter 36
.Nero clings to a single ember—can he still return?
.Angel is reborn—she no longer wields fire, she understands it.
.Nagel's sacrifice shifted the balance—the fire hesitated.
.The stranger reveals the truth—this was always meant to happen.
.The fire makes its final choice—and now, the world will feel it.
Next up: Chapter 37: Ashes and Kings—The fire has made its decision. Now, who will rise from the embers?