Chapter 39: The Path of Ashen Vale
The mark on Jin's arm pulsed beneath his robes, a steady ember-hot throb that refused to fade, even as the days passed.
He stood on the cliffs above the now-silent lake, watching the mist roll over the surface where Caien had once emerged. Behind him, the trees rustled with life—but none of the vibrant energy from before. Something had shifted. The entire land seemed to be holding its breath.
"She's still with you," Mei said, her voice quieter than usual. She stood beside him, her arms folded, but her fingers twitching at her side. "Even now."
Jin didn't answer at first. He closed his eyes, focusing on the lingering warmth in his veins. It wasn't just a memory. It was calling him. Caien's voice, soft and tragic, lingered like the final note of a song.
> "Find me… in the Ashen Vale…"
He finally turned to Mei. "You're worried I'll go."
"I know you'll go," she replied, meeting his gaze. "I just wonder if I'll still recognize you when you come back."
Jin opened his mouth, but Yue's voice cut in as she stepped from the tree line, her white hair damp with morning dew. "You're not going alone."
She didn't look at either of them, only at the horizon—where smoke-colored clouds gathered far in the distance.
"The Ashen Vale isn't just forgotten," Yue said. "It's forbidden. It doesn't appear on maps. It doesn't welcome visitors. It swallows them."
Mei crossed her arms tightly. "And yet we're going."
Yue's expression softened, just a touch. "Because Jin doesn't belong to just one of us anymore. He belongs to all of us."
Jin flushed.
"Hey, I'm still standing here, you know."
Yue smirked.
Mei rolled her eyes. "Barely."
That earned a chuckle from both girls, but the laughter faded quickly. The mood couldn't be light for long—not when they all felt the pull of the mark, the resonance of the spirit's last words, tugging them toward the unknown.
---
Three Days Later
The path to the Ashen Vale was not one road—it was a sequence of hidden notes, invisible to those who couldn't hear the deeper melody of the world.
Yue called it "soul resonance navigation." Jin called it infuriating.
"It's like trying to follow a song you've never heard," he muttered as they paused in yet another clearing surrounded by whispering vines and glowing moss. The entire forest seemed alive with old secrets.
Yue bent to run her fingers through the grass, humming softly.
Jin caught the shift immediately—his brand flared faintly in response to the note she hit.
"There," he said, pointing east. "It reacted."
Mei eyed him suspiciously. "You sure it's not reacting to her voice?"
Yue arched a brow. "Should I try moaning instead?"
"Please don't," Jin muttered, ears burning.
Mei narrowed her eyes at Yue, but the white-haired cultivator only smirked.
"Flame Spirits are drawn to passion," Yue said as she stood, brushing moss off her thighs. "You think the path to Caien will be chaste?"
Mei grumbled, but said nothing.
They pressed on.
---
By twilight, the forest gave way to a strange canyon, the air thick with smoke that didn't burn and light that flickered like candlefire trapped in glass. Strange creatures watched them from the cliffs above—wolf-like beasts with scales instead of fur, glowing eyes that shimmered between hues of gold and violet.
"Ashen Watchers," Yue said, pointing without alarm. "They guard the threshold."
Mei frowned. "Are they dangerous?"
"Only if you try to lie to them."
Jin turned sharply. "Lie to them?"
Yue walked forward toward the edge of the canyon, where a great stone arch stood carved from volcanic obsidian, half-buried in ash.
The moment her foot crossed the threshold, a voice boomed from the cliffs above:
"Speak truth, or speak nothing."
Yue bowed her head. "We seek the one called Caien. The Flame of Morning."
Silence.
Then the voice rumbled again:
"Who is the one she touched?"
All eyes turned to Jin.
He stepped forward.
"I am."
The air rippled with heat. One of the Watchers leapt down from the cliff, landing silently in front of him. The beast towered over him, golden horns curling from its skull like flame-forged metal.
Its voice spoke in Jin's mind.
"Do you desire her?"
Jin blinked. "I... don't know."
Wrong answer.
The Watcher growled. The air thickened. Flames licked the edges of the archway.
"Wait," Mei said, stepping forward, placing her hand on Jin's chest. "He doesn't desire her like a man desires a woman. He desires to understand her. He wants to help her."
Yue stepped beside her. "He resonates with her pain. That's the truth."
The Watcher studied them in silence.
Then it bowed.
"Then pass. But know this: when you enter the Vale, your hearts are no longer your own. Love freely... and you will burn."
As the trio stepped through the archway, Jin felt something unseen peel away from him—like a layer of skin being stripped from his soul.
And then—
They were inside the Ashen Vale.
---
Inside the Vale
The world was grey and gold, smoke and flame.
Ash fell from the sky like snow. Rivers of molten crystal cut through charred grass, and trees made of obsidian shimmered in the distance.
But more than the beauty—it was the heat that struck them. Not physical, but emotional. Every buried desire, every lingering touch, every heartbeat too fast or breath too soft—it was all amplified here.
Mei clung to Jin's arm without realizing it. Yue's face was flushed despite the cool expression she tried to maintain.
"Careful," Yue whispered. "The Vale feeds on feeling. The more you feel... the more real it becomes."
Mei glanced at her. "You mean we'll hallucinate?"
Yue shook her head. "Worse. You'll act on truths you didn't even know were hiding in you."
As if to prove it, Jin's mark flared again.
This time, not just warm—but burning.
He groaned, falling to his knees. Flames curled around his shoulders, and a figure stepped from the smoke ahead.
Caien.
But not just her. A version of her made from fire and longing—naked, smiling, her body flickering like a dream.
She didn't speak.
She sang.
And the sound made Jin rise to his feet, eyes glowing faintly as if possessed.
Mei shouted, grabbing his hand. "Jin! Don't go to her!"
Yue stepped in front of him, pressing her lips to his. Hard. Without warning.
Jin gasped—shocked by the intensity, the hunger in her kiss.
Then Mei grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him too, fiercely, desperately, trying to anchor him.
Between their bodies, his heart pounded.
The flame-image of Caien flickered, frowning.
"You fight me with love?" she whispered. "How foolish... how beautiful."
And then she vanished.
Jin collapsed into both women, panting.
Yue stroked his hair. "She's trying to test us."
Mei kissed his temple. "Let her try."
As the sky above the Ashen Vale darkened into twilight, the three of them stood together—bound by emotion, scarred by flame, and ready to face the echo that waited within.