Ashen Wu stood amidst the swirling embers, his body trembling as he absorbed the flames around him. The gray fire no longer burned him—it fed him, strengthening his core, expanding the depths of his cultivation.
The Ash Lord's remnant loomed before him, arms crossed, eyes burning with unreadable intent.
"You have learned to consume fire," the Ash Lord said. "But have you learned what it means to wield it?"
Before Ashen could respond, the ground beneath him cracked open. From the fissures rose flaming specters, their bodies composed of flickering embers and blackened bone. Three, then five, then ten—they encircled him, their hollow eyes filled with an eternal hunger.
"They are the remnants of those who failed before you," the Ash Lord intoned. "They were consumed by the Codex, unable to master its hunger. If you cannot control your own flames, you will become one of them."
The specters lunged.
Battle Against the Fallen
Ashen reacted on instinct. He summoned his flames, but instead of unleashing them outward, he willed them to pull inward—to consume the flames of his enemies.
The first specter struck, claws of burning cinders raking toward his chest. Ashen dodged, pivoting on his heel, and countered with a swipe of his palm.
Gray fire ignited on impact.
The specter screeched as its own flames were siphoned away, its body withering before crumbling into ash.
The second came from behind. Ashen twisted mid-air, channeling the new technique embedded in his mind—Cinder Step.
His body flickered like an ember in the wind, vanishing from where he stood and reappearing several feet away.
The moment he landed, he thrust out his hand—Ember Devourer activated.
A torrent of flames rushed toward him from the attacking specters, but instead of scorching his flesh, the flames sank into his body, fueling his strength.
"Impossible," one of the specters rasped, its voice fractured and hollow.
Ashen clenched his fists. His body burned, but it was no longer pain—it was power.
"Is this what you feared?" he asked, his voice steady.
The Ash Lord watched in silence.
The remaining specters hesitated—but Ashen did not.
With a burst of speed, he cut through them one by one, absorbing their flames, leaving nothing but ashes in his wake.
And then, only he remained.
The Ash Lord's Verdict
The ruins fell into silence. The air was thick with floating embers, drifting like dying stars.
The Ash Lord's remnant studied Ashen for a long moment before nodding.
"You have done what none before you could. You did not let the flames consume you… you became their master."
A wave of heat pulsed through the chamber as the Ash Lord raised his hand. From the altar, something emerged from the ashes—a weapon.
A blackened gauntlet, engraved with runes of gray fire.
"This is the Ashen Gauntlet," the Ash Lord said. "The first artifact forged by the Ashen Codex itself. Take it, and walk the path that has been denied for centuries."
Ashen reached forward, fingers wrapping around the gauntlet. The moment he touched it, flames surged up his arm, but they did not burn. They merged with him.
The gauntlet locked onto his right hand, the runes pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. Power thrummed beneath his skin.
"You are no longer just a cultivator," the Ash Lord declared.
"You are the heir of the Ashen Codex."
The chamber trembled. The ruins began to collapse.
The Ash Lord's figure started to fade, his voice echoing one final time.
"Go now, Ashen Wu. And carve your legend into the embers of history."
With the ruins crumbling around him, Ashen turned toward the exit, his heart pounding.
He was no longer just fighting for survival.
He was walking a path that had been forgotten, feared, and abandoned.
A path that would either lead him to godhood—
—or reduce him to nothing but ash.
And he would see it through to the end.