Chapter 86: Guardian of the Cursed Flame
The guardian dropped like a comet from the ceiling, its cry echoing with the fury of a forgotten bloodline. Serenthiel's residual rage had given it shape—this was no beast of instinct, but a cursed sentinel forged in guilt.
As it slammed onto the central platform, the entire cavern trembled. Molten essence splashed below, licking the stone edges as the massive flame-drake unfurled its charred wings. Its obsidian scales pulsed with imprisoned magic, and chains of spectral energy rattled around its limbs, connected to glyphs etched across the cavern walls.
[Flamebound Guardian Detected — Tier: Worldpiercer Realm — Corrupted Echo Form]
[Warning: Entity hosts Serenthiel's last sealed wrath. Caution Advised.]
Kael narrowed his eyes. Despite its corrupted state, the guardian was no mindless monster. There was precision in its stance. Memory behind its roar.
He raised his arm.
[Skill Activated: Flamebind Chains]
Runes lit beneath his feet as spectral chains erupted toward the beast—but they never touched. The creature inhaled and loosed a breath of deep red fire that devoured Kael's skill mid-air.
"Not brute force," Selene muttered. "It learns."
Kael's mind worked quickly. "Split and rotate. Test its limits."
Selene and Evelyne broke left, casting veils of shadow and frost to bait its senses. Thalaria surged right, her blade arcing bolts of lightning that hissed across the beast's wings. Nysera's blood sigils flared as she began channeling a curse hex.
[Nysera Skill Activated: Wraith Mark: Bindroot Variant]
A glyph anchored beneath the guardian, slowing its movements briefly. Emberfang leapt onto a side platform, gathering fire for another pounce.
Kael ignited.
[Skill Activated: Sovereign Flame Crush]
He blinked above the beast, his body surrounded by a corona of blazing power, and struck down.
The attack landed.
The guardian reeled back, chains unraveling from one of its forelegs. It shrieked, but not in pain—more like clarity. A voice echoed behind the cry.
"...protect the Hollow Flame..."
Kael frowned. "It's not resisting me. It's… testing."
Suddenly, the beast spiraled upward and flared its wings. Ethereal firestorm rained down across every platform. Shields flared to life as Kael's wives activated their defenses.
[Valeria Skill Activated: Emerald Aegis — Tier 2]
[Selene Skill Activated: Eclipse Drape — Tier 3]
[Evelyne Skill Activated: Lunar Shell — Tier 3]
Kael's form blurred again. He moved through the storm, each movement sharper than the last, until he found an opening near the creature's heart—a glyph embedded in its core.
[Scan Successful — Glyph of Warden's Oath Detected. Interference Source Located. Target must be purified to retrieve Bound Sigil.]
He landed on the guardian's back. Flames met flames, but Kael's burned truer. He drove his palm into the glyph.
[Skill Activated: Infernal Domain — Compressed Focus Variant]
Light exploded outward. The cavern cracked.
The beast screamed.
Then silence.
The flame-drake collapsed, shrinking. Chains fell away, and what remained was a massive dying ember—a fragment of Serenthiel's will.
Kael knelt before it.
[Guardian Defeated. Quest Phase Completed.]
[EXP Gained: +6,000,000,000]
[Sin Points Gained: +8,000,000]
[System Notification: Bonded Flame Sigil Retrieved. Soul Echo Archive Unlocked.]
A warm voice whispered within Kael's thoughts:
"Thank you… take my last truth… and burn brighter than I did."
From the core, a sigil floated free, surrounded by a soft orange glow. Kael caught it.
[Bound Flame Sigil Acquired — Item Class: Legendary (Quest-Tied)]
He stood slowly. The others gathered around him, the flames dying into silence.
Valeria breathed softly. "That was no monster. That was loyalty twisted by grief."
Nysera touched Kael's shoulder. "We gave him peace."
Kael nodded. "Now let's see what he died to protect."
The sigil pulsed, casting a beam of light toward a sealed doorway at the far end of the chamber. The path forward had opened.
STATUS WINDOW: KAEL VIREN
System Level: 47
EXP: 59,822,850,000 / 58,982,400,000 (Tribulation Required)
Realm: Skyshatter Realm — Tier 9/9 (Cap Reached)
HP: 83,400 / 83,400
Mana: 94,300 / 94,300
Stats (with buffs):
Strength: 890 × 2.6 × 2 = 4,628
Endurance: 850 × 2.6 = 2,210
Willpower: 870 × 2.6 = 2,262
Charm: 940 × 2.6 = 2,444
Intellect: 770 × 2.6 = 2,002
Dexterity: 870 × 2.6 × 2 = 4,524
Sin Points: 271,480,000 / 100,000,000,000
Sin Tier: Warlord Rank
SKILL WINDOW
Active Sin Skills:
• Sovereign Flame Crush [+]
• Wrathflare Lance [+]
• Flamebind Chains [+]
• Infernal Domain [+]
Passive Traits:
• Crown of Dominion [+]
• Sovereign Union [+]
• Nullfire Core [+]
Bloodline / Physique Traits:
• Carnal Sovereign Core [+]
• Sin Catalyst Matrix [+]
Bonded Wives:
Selene — Skyshatter 9/9 (Moon/Shadow)
Evelyne — Moonglade 8/9 (Ice/Lunar Flame)
Thalaria — Sunbound 6/9 (Lightning)
Nysera — Skyshatter 1/9 (Blood/Curse)
Valeria — Skyshatter 3/9 (Nature/Wind)
Pet Panel:
Emberfang — Infernal Flamebeast Cub (Tier 5)
Vira — Sky Serpent Hatchling (Tier 2)
Cultivation Realms:
Initiate → Essence Drawn → Veinwoven → Soulroot → Starforged → Sunbound → Moonglade → Skyshatter → Worldpiercer ← Current (1/9)
Next: Worldpiercer (Requires Heavenly Tribulation)
Next: Chapter 87 — Serenthiel's Last Memory