WORLDBREAKER: Rise of the Reborn Flame

The dual flame ignites

Walter's eyes narrowed as he leaned on his curved sword which was planted in the earth like a marker between worlds.

"Are you ready?" Walter echoed, his voice dry as cracked parchment. He glanced at Nyra and Selene, standing a few paces behind. Nyra's spear rested against her shoulder, her expression was guarded. Selene's gaze was serene, but her presence hummed with unspoken power, like a storm held in check.

Adam nodded, his fists tight. The flame inside him was raw and hungry pushing against his ribs. "I've seen too much. Lost too much. Teach me to control this."

Walter's lips twitched, as he held back a smile. "Control? Boy, that's the least of it. Come."

He turned, leading them deeper into the Bloodpine Forest. The trees grew thicker, their bark etched with faint runes that glowed when shadows fell across them. No beasts stirred. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

They walked for hours, until the canopy opened to a clearing ringed by ancient stones. Moss-covered pillars leaned like drunken sentinels, carved with symbols Adam didn't recognize; a swirling flames intertwined with shadows with souls splitting and reforming.

Walter stopped at the center, where a shallow basin of black stone sat, filled with still water that reflected the blood-red leaves above. "This is the Veil's Heart. A place where Essence meets soul. Sit."

Adam knelt before the basin while Nyra and Selene hung back, watching silently.

Walter circled him slowly. "You have awakened something in the Maw. Twice now. But you don't know what it is. Not really."

"I feel it," Adam said. "Like fire, but... deeper. Dual. One part burns, the other devours."

Walter nodded. "The Dual Soul Flame. Rare and dangerous. Your reincarnation fractured your soul. The Maw's corruption stitched it back with the two flames. One of light the other of shadow. One creates the other destroys. Balance them and you will ascend. Lose control, and you burn everything. Including yourself."

Selene stepped forward then, her voice soft as falling ash. "I am the echo of that flame. Bound to you now. I can guide it, but only if you let me."

Adam glanced at her. Her eyes held stars, memories of a world long gone. "How?"

Walter raised his hand, and a faint aura rippled from his palm taking the form of silver yet steady. "Meditate. Draw the Essence here. Let it flow through the basin. Selene will anchor you."

Adam closed his eyes. Breathed in the heavy air. The pulse in his chest quickened. Heat built, spreading through his veins like molten iron. Then came the cold shadow whispering and pulling at the edges of his mind.

Visions flashed the tower again and its chains rattling. A throne of bone. Voices chanted his name, not Adam, but something older and sovereign. Something his spirit tend to identify as.

He gasped. The basin's water boiled, steam rising in crimson wisps.

"Focus," Walter growled. "Separate them. Light to one hand, shadow to the other."

Adam's hands trembled. In his left palm, a flame ignited so bright like gold yet it carried a warming. In his right, darkness coiled out cold, devouring and pulling light from the air.

The two warred, pushing against each other. Pain lanced through his core. Sweat beaded on his brow.

Selene placed her hand on his shoulder. Her touch was cool, steadying his heartbeat. "Merge them. Not fight. Try to balance them."

He exhaled, letting the flames touch each other, Gold and black swirled, forming a single blaze of dual-toned, stable, power surged, not wild but controlled.

His eyes snapped open. The basin was dry, the stones cracked. But he felt whole. Stronger than ever.

Walter nodded approvingly. "Foundation Tier perfected. Now, the real training begins."

Days blurred into nights. Walter was merciless. Sword drills at dawn, forms that blended steel with Essence, strikes that left trails of dual flame. Nyra sparred with him, her spear a whirlwind, teaching him to read intent before movement. Selene guided his meditation, unlocking fragments of ancient knowledge of how cultivators once ascended to godhood, fusing souls with cosmic forces.

As his training proceed day after day, a pack of shadow-wolves ambushed them one night, drawn by Adam's growing aura. He slew three with flaming slashes, the dual flame cauterizing wounds in gold and black. Nyra took two, her spear piercing hearts. Selene unraveled the alpha with a whisper, its form dissolving into mist.

Another time, a wandering rogue cultivator with eyes consumed with corruption demanded Selene as a "relic" for his collection. Adam disarmed him in four strikes, leaving him bound for the beasts. "Mercy is for the weak," Walter said later. "But wisdom knows when to grant it."

Through it all, Adam's purpose sharpened. Protect the weak. Conquer the chaos. The dreams persisted, but now he faced them blade in hand.

On the seventh day, a messenger arrived, he was a young scout, bloodied and breathless, his horse foaming at the mouth.

"Walter Reed," he gasped, collapsing to one knee. "Message from the border camps. Clara White, the princess, she's been ambushed by assassins. They're taking her east, toward the Shadow Pass. Varos sent me. He says if anyone can save her, it's you... or the boy with the flame."

Adam stiffened. Clara, the name rand a bell. The girl from the village, the one who'd seen potential in him. Runaway princess, fleeing a coup. He hadn't thought of her since leaving, but now the memory burned.

Walter's eyes met his. "Your choice boy."

Adam stood up. "We should go."

Nyra grinned, twirling her spear. "About time for some real action."

Selene nodded silently, her eyes distant, as if seeing threads of fate weave together.

They set out at dusk, following the scout's trail. The Shadow Pass was a narrow gorge, flanked by sheer cliffs where light never touched. Perfect for ambushes. Perfect path for assassins.

They moved swiftly, Essence fueling their steps. Adam felt the dual flame stir with eagerness.

By midnight, they heard the clash of steel, shouts and a woman's cry.

They crested a ridge. Below, in the pass, a caravan lay in ruins. Wagons overturned, guards slain. Clara stood at the center holding a sword in hand as she fend off five cloaked figures. Her dress was torn, blood streaked her arm, but her stance was proved she was royalty.

One assassin lunged with a blade poisoned green.

Adam leaped as the dual flame ignite his sword. He landed between them, parrying the strike. Sparks flew both gold and black.

The assassin recoiled in awe. "What…"

Adam slashed. The man fell, chest seared.

The others turned as eyes widening beneath hoods. "The Flamebearer."

Clara's eyes met his, she quickly recognised him, "You..."

Nyra and Selene joined the fray. Nyra's spear whirled, impaling one. Selene whispered, and shadows bound another, crushing him.

Walter hung back as watched with his sword ready but unused. This was Adam's fight.

Two assassins remained. They moved as one, dark essence coiling around their blades.

Adam charged. His dual flame roared. Light blinded one as shadow devoured the other's aura. He struck true, ending them in flames.

Silence fell afterwards only to be broken by Clara's ragged breath.

She sheathed her sword while stepping forward. "Adam. It's you again."

He nodded, wiping blood from his blade. "I couldn't let them take you."

She smiled faintly, though pain lined her face. "This must be my brother’s doing. The coup... it's spreading and Assassins are everywhere."

Walter approached then. "Princess White. Your kingdom falls apart while you run."

Clara's gaze hardened. "I don't run. I survive. To reclaim what's mine upon a day."

Selene tilted her head. "And you need allies for that."

Clara looked between them. "Yes. Join me. Help me take back my throne. And in return... nobility. Power. Whatever you seek."

Adam hesitated. The outline of his path had shifted. Conquest wasn't just beasts, it was thrones, too.

Nyra smirked. "Sounds fun."

Walter grunted. "Decide quickly. The night isn't over."

From the cliffs above, more shadows moved. Reinforcements? Or something worse?

Adam gripped his sword. The dual flame pulsed with readiness.

"We fight," he said.

The group formed up with backs against each other. Clara drew her blade again, standing beside Adam. Her presence was warm, a spark that kindled something new in him.

As the shadows descended, it was more assassins, beasts in tow and thus the battle reignited.

Adam's strikes were fiercer now, the dual flame weaving light and shadow into devastating arcs. He saved Clara from a poisoned arrow, taking the hit on his shoulder. Pain flared up but the flame burned it away.

Nyra laughed amid the chaos, her spear was blur. Selene unraveled illusions, exposing hidden foes.

Walter finally joined, his sword a storm of silver, cleaving through ranks.

By dawn, the pass ran red as the attackers lay broken.

Clara collapsed against Adam, her head on his shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered.

He held her steady, feeling a bond form not just alliance, but something deeper. Nyra watched with a knowing smile, silent as always in her affection.

Walter sheathed his blade. "You've earned recognition today. But this is just the beginning."

Adam nodded. The dual flame burned brighter and stable now. He had broken through a bottleneck and Core Realm beckoned, new abilities stirring flames that healed and shadows that concealed.

Word would spread. Noble houses would notice, bounty hunters and beast factions.

But for now, as they escaped the pass, Adam revoiced his vow again, repeating it would always keep him in check and make it more stronger.

The group pressed on towards Clara's hidden allies. But they had to go through the frontier tournament loomed in whispers of a chance for pills and advancement.