"A spark can light a candle… or raze a city."
— Ash Guard Instructor Rael
---
Renzo stood over the unconscious body of the flame user — hand still smoldering, his breath ragged.
He wasn't used to this. The heat. The weight.
His right hand… it didn't feel like his anymore. It was still glowing faint red, embers dancing off his fingertips like they had minds of their own.
What the hell was that?
He glanced at the collapsed attacker again. The guy's flame had gone out the moment Renzo's aura ignited. But how? Renzo never trained. He was just... a kid from Cavite.
He turned toward the broken end of the alley. People had gathered beyond the smoke. Bystanders. Eyes wide. Some with phones out.
No, no, no.
They saw everything.
He bolted.
---
Fifteen minutes later.
The alley was empty again. Except for one.
A tall man in a black coat stood where Renzo had ignited his flame. His eyes scanned the cracked ground.
He crouched, brushing his fingers across a patch of scorched stone — still warm.
"…Red. First ignition," he murmured.
Behind him, another figure appeared from the shadows — woman, late 30s, shaved hair on one side, a glowing emblem on her throat.
"Ash Guard confirms it," she said. "No registration. No Dominion link. Just flared out of nowhere."
The man didn't reply.
He stood up slowly, the ember-lit ash blowing past his coat like whispers.
"Another unlisted Awakener. And this one... burned clean."
---
Renzo's house. 12:12 AM.
He sat on the floor of their tiny living room, a towel wrapped around his trembling hand.
Across from him, his little sister, Aya, was curled up on the couch, clutching her asthma meds. Oblivious. Safe.
She always slept through storms.
But this wasn't a storm.
This was something inside him.
He stared at his palm. His skin looked normal again, but he knew what happened. He felt it. The fire wasn't gone. It was waiting.
And it scared the hell out of him.
His phone buzzed.
Unknown Number.
He hesitated, then picked up.
"Renzo Guevara?"
"…Who is this?"
"You ignited tonight. You know what that means."
Renzo's throat dried. "I'm not looking for trouble."
"Trouble already found you. You lit your flame. You don't get to hide anymore."
Silence.
Then the voice added one final thing — calm, quiet, terrifying.
> "You have seven days to report to the Ignis Dominion… or the Ash Guard will come for you."
---
IGNIS DOMINION — ASHEN SPIRE (Next Morning)
The Grand Flamekeeper Ishar Vael stood alone in the Hall of Origins. Flames drifted lazily around him like spirits.
He traced a finger over a glowing flame chart, stopping at the Void icon.
"He's lit," he whispered.
From the shadows, a masked figure appeared — a Seeker-class operative.
"Another?"
"No. The one."
Ishar closed his eyes. He could feel it.
Somewhere out there, a fire had awoken that should've taken years to build. It had burned clean, precise — not wild like most first flames.
That meant one thing:
The flame… had chosen its host.
---
Back in Cavite. 3:21 PM.
Renzo sat on the rooftop of a nearby apartment, legs dangling off the ledge. The city buzzed below — unaware. Unchanged.
He wasn't.
"What now?" he whispered to no one.
That's when he felt it.
A presence.
Then — a voice, real and close.
"You really thought we wouldn't find you?"
Renzo turned.
A woman in a black-and-silver coat stood on the roof behind him. She didn't look angry.
She looked impressed.
"You're coming with me," she said. "We've got a lot to teach you before you burn something you'll regret."
Renzo stood, slowly.
"…You with the Ash Guard?"
She smirked. "Close. I'm your first teacher."
"Welcome to the fire, Renzo Guevara."
---
To be continue...