Chapter 38: The Echo of Blooming Flames
The first light of dawn shimmered across the surface of the sacred lake, casting long ripples of gold and rose that caught in Mei's hair like threads of fire. Jin stirred beside her, his bare chest rising with slow, even breaths. Yue sat just beyond them, legs drawn up, chin resting on her knees, her expression distant—watchful.
What they had shared beneath the moonlit tide had left more than heat in their bodies. It left an echo.
And echoes had a way of returning when least expected.
Jin blinked slowly awake, his body pleasantly sore, his qi still humming where it had mingled with both women. "...Morning?"
Mei leaned down to kiss his brow, the affection in her gesture so warm it almost ached. "Almost. Yue's been up for a while."
The white-haired cultivator didn't turn around, but her voice carried softly over her shoulder. "The lake's aura is changing. Something old stirs beneath it."
Jin sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. "Did we... do something?"
"Maybe," Yue replied cryptically. "But I don't think it's just us."
Before they could answer, the stillness of the lake cracked.
A deep tremor pulsed beneath them. Trees lining the water's edge began to sway, even without wind. Mist rose—not gently, but violently, spiraling upward like columns. From within the lake, a glow emerged, pulsing red and gold. Something ancient had been awakened.
The Blooming Flame Lotus.
It rose from the water like a divine flower—massive, its petals wide as rooftops, glowing with internal fire. Embers swirled off it, and from the very heart of the blossom came a cry—feminine, pained, and bound in song.
Jin staggered to his feet, shielding his eyes. "What the hell is that?"
Yue stepped forward, her eyes sharp with recognition. "It's not a creature. It's a prison."
Mei's breath caught. "For who?"
Yue turned slowly to them. "For a Flame Spirit. And she's been waiting for someone to release her."
The petals spread wider. Jin's heart skipped.
A girl emerged—naked, glowing, hovering above the center of the lotus. Her skin shimmered like molten gold, hair cascading in strands of bright fire. Her eyes—when they opened—were made of embers.
The lake stilled. Even the forest fell silent.
She looked at Jin.
"You," she whispered, her voice trembling. "You're the one who bears the sound of unbound harmony..."
Mei's hand found his instinctively.
Yue narrowed her gaze. "Be careful, Jin. Flame Spirits are... not like us. They love. They burn."
Jin stepped forward, almost drawn against his will. "Why were you imprisoned?"
The spirit's eyes dimmed. "I loved a mortal. And when he died... I burned the sky."
Behind her, the sky rippled with distant heat mirages. The spirit didn't move, but her voice sang in waves—reaching into Jin's mind, his soul, his desire.
"You have something inside you," she murmured, "something more than any mortal before you. Will you let me touch it? Just for a moment?"
Mei grabbed his wrist. "Don't."
Yue remained quiet, watching Jin instead of the spirit. "You already know she's not lying."
Jin swallowed. He did know.
The spirit descended, and when her feet touched the water, it hissed into steam. She walked barefoot toward him, her body radiant and utterly unashamed. "Let me taste what the moon has already bathed in..."
Mei stepped forward, fury lacing her voice. "He's not yours."
The spirit turned, not angry but curious. "Neither is he yours. Not entirely. But maybe... just maybe... he's ours."
Flames curled at her feet as she moved toward Jin once more.
He could feel his heartbeat aligning to hers, the deep, steady thrum of resonance—not the same as with Mei or Yue, but different, sharper, like a blade being drawn.
His qi began to rise.
Mei and Yue both stepped closer, flanking him.
"You touch him," Yue said coldly, "and you touch us."
A strange smile curved the spirit's mouth. "Then I will touch all three. Or none at all."
She reached out—not to Jin, but to the air around him, plucking a single string of harmonic energy that only cultivators could see.
Music shimmered into existence.
Three notes. Three souls. One flame.
The lotus behind her pulsed in time. Jin's breath quickened, Mei's fingers dug into his arm, and Yue's expression... changed. Almost softened.
"What's your name?" Jin asked, unsure why it mattered, but needing to know.
The spirit hesitated, then whispered: "Caien. I was once the Flame of Morning. Now, I am nothing but echo."
Mei stepped forward, her jealousy smoldering. "What do you want?"
Caien's eyes turned molten again. "To be reborn. And to do that—I need him. And both of you."
The girls flinched. Jin stared.
This wasn't seduction. This was invocation.
Suddenly, the lotus trembled violently again. Caien cried out, doubling over.
"She's being pulled back!" Yue shouted. "The seal's not fully broken!"
Jin's instincts took over. Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed Caien's hand.
Flame burst from her fingers—engulfing his arm—but it didn't burn. It fused.
The lotus howled as if alive. Caien's form began to fade—turning to smoke and song.
Her voice echoed into his mind, loud and intimate:
> "Find me… In the Ashen Vale… Before the next moon fades… or I'll be lost forever…"
With a final burst of light, the flame spirit vanished.
The lotus closed, sealing like a heart gone silent. The lake stilled. The mist returned.
Silence reigned.
Jin collapsed to his knees.
Mei and Yue were at his side instantly.
"Are you hurt?" Mei asked.
"No," he gasped, "but I'm marked."
He pulled up his sleeve.
A symbol burned into his skin—a lotus wreathed in flame, with three petals outlined. One for him. One for Mei. One for Yue.
And the fourth… dim, but not yet gone.
Yue stared. "She's part of you now."
"No," Jin whispered, staring at the brand. "She's calling me."
And in the distance, beneath the water, a faint song continued.