"An old flame may wander,but it does not forget how to burn."
The Hollow, outskirts of the Veilwood
It was dawn, and the mist had not yet lifted from the lower fields.
Rin was guiding junior disciples through the Form of the Ember Bell, breath sharp and controlled,when the mist changed.
It did not blow, or lift, or scatter.
It parted—deliberately, like servants stepping aside in a throne hall.
The birds stilled.
The flames bent toward the ground.
And from the shivering mist stepped a woman in robes the color of first bloom fire, with hair braided in vines that glowed faintly as she moved.
She wore no crown.
But the fire around her knew her name.
So did the Hollow.
Name: Sovereign Seyara of Verdant Halo
Title: Keeper of Blooming Flame, Third Seat of the NineElemental Pillar: Verdant BlazeFlame Tier: Sovereign Bloom Ascendant (7th Tier of Sovereign Path)Resonance: 93%
Rin stepped back instinctively.
His flame flared in self-defense—and withered before it reached her.
She did not stop him. She did not even glance.
"I will see him now."
In the Hollow's Upper Courtyard
Kaien stood waiting before she reached him.
He had known the moment her foot touched the Hollow's border.
She met his gaze.
And smiled—not with mirth, but with recognition.
"You have your ancestor's silence," she said.
"But not his chains."
Kaien bowed, but not deeply.
"Sovereign Seyara. You honor us."
"I come for no honor," she replied."Only for clarity. The world has turned. You lit the match."
She walked the Hollow slowly, and Kaien followed.
She saw the sparring circles, the dreamflame gardens, the new memory-stones carved by disciples' hands.
"You built this from silence and ash."
Kaien nodded.
"And blood."
She turned toward him then, fire soft behind her eyes.
"Alvar saved the world once. By vanishing from it."
"You would do the opposite. Save it by returning."
"Why?"
Kaien looked toward his disciples—toward Seren, Nyel, Veyra.All different. All broken. All burning forward.
"Because silence only protects the world."
"It doesn't heal it."
Seyara stilled.
"You've grown well, Maerok flame."
She placed her hand upon the Oathstone.
It flared green—just once.
"Then let my presence be known."
"Verdant Halo shall not strike the Hollow."
"Nor stand idle."
[System Notice: World Resonance Updated]
✦ Ally Registered: Sovereign Seyara (Verdant Blaze)✦ Domain Access: Greenspire Realmway unlocked✦ World Event Trigger: Council of Nine Flame Thrones begins forming
Before she left, she gave Kaien a sealed sigil.
It pulsed faintly with root-fire.
"This will allow you entry into the first Circle of Sovereigns."
"You will be tested, judged, perhaps erased."
"But the fact that I offer it means one thing…"
"You are no longer beneath notice."
When she vanished into the flamepath she summoned,Rin exhaled only then.
"She felt like the forest was watching through her."
Seren whispered, almost to herself—
"No.She felt like the forest had decided to remember us."
Kaien opened the sigil slowly.
Within was not a message.
But a seed, shaped like a spiral brand.
When it touched his palm, it began to root.
And he felt a second signature awaken—deep in the world.
The Council was stirring.