The fire still crackled in the clearing, casting dancing shadows across the trees. The sky above James and the silver-skinned being shimmered unnaturally, like rippling glass. The scent of burning wood mixed with something alien—ozone, perhaps, or metal laced with a sweetness that clung to the air.
James crouched on the ground, his fingers trembling. His breath came in sharp, uneven gasps. The fire hadn't touched him—but it had been him. It had poured from his skin like sweat, yet there wasn't a single burn on his clothes. Not even the soles of his shoes were scorched.
The silver being—who now stood calmly a few feet away—watched him with those unreadable glowing eyes.
"I..." James licked his dry lips. "What the hell did you do to me?"
The being tilted its head slightly, as if amused.
"I did not give you that fire," it said in a voice like wind brushing through metal. "You always had it. I merely opened the door."
James stumbled to his feet, stumbling back until he hit the charred bark of a tree. "Opened the—what? That doesn't make sense! I'm just a guy on an island. I don't have powers. I've never even left this damn beach!"
The being stepped forward, slowly, deliberately, and extended a hand.
"You are more than that, James Rowe. You are the heir of a forgotten flame. The last ember of the Eclipse Red."
James blinked. "Eclipse... Red?"
The name hit him like a whispered memory—something he'd heard in his dreams, murmured from a voice that never showed a face. It rang with truth and danger all at once.
"You're crazy," he said, even as his heart thudded harder. "That sounds like something out of a comic book."
"Does it?" the being replied softly. "Then why is your heart racing?"
James didn't answer.
The being's hand remained outstretched. "Come. There is more to show you. Your journey does not begin with fire. It begins with control."
James hesitated... then reached out.
Their palms touched.
Suddenly, the world exploded.
A tunnel of light swallowed them whole, pulling James through with gut-wrenching force. Wind roared past him, though there was no air. He felt himself falling upward, inward, backward all at once. Colors blurred—red, gold, black, green—flashing like stars. And then—
Silence.
And cold stone under his feet.
James stumbled forward, coughing, blinking against the dark. They were in a vast underground chamber. The walls were covered in glowing glyphs—old symbols, pulsing with a faint red light. Torches lit themselves as they walked, casting a flickering orange glow.
"What... is this place?"
The being didn't answer right away. It walked forward, past statues of warriors frozen in time—some human, some not. At the far end of the chamber was an altar. Resting on it was a necklace: a black chain with a single, blood-red crystal at its center, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"This is the Vault," the being said. "A place hidden from the world. A sanctuary for lost powers. And this—" it gestured to the crystal "—is your Ember Core."
James stared at it. The aura radiating from the crystal was... familiar. It felt like looking into a mirror, but deeper. Like it was watching him too.
He took a step closer. "Why me?"
The being replied, "Because you're the last one left who can bear it without being consumed. You were born under the twin moons, during the convergence. Your soul... was never ordinary."
James looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowing. "You keep saying things like that, but who are you?"
The being finally turned toward him, and for the first time, its voice softened.
"My name is Kael. I was once like you. A bearer of Eclipse Red."
James' chest tightened. "Then why aren't you... you know... on fire?"
Kael smiled, sadly. "Because I died. A long time ago."
Silence fell.
James stared. "You're a ghost?"
Kael nodded. "A remnant, to guide the next. To stop the curse from repeating."
James swallowed, his throat dry. "So if I take that... I become what you were?"
"You already are," Kael said. "Taking it only awakens what sleeps. But it will also bind you."
"To what?"
Kael's glowing eyes flicked toward the shadows along the chamber's edge. A slow rumble echoed, like distant thunder.
"To the war."
James didn't want war. He wanted answers. But something inside him had already decided. Maybe it was the fire. Maybe it was the loneliness finally fading into something real.
His fingers brushed the Ember Core.
It burned.
But it didn't hurt.
As soon as he clasped it, heat surged through him like blood catching fire. His spine arched. His lungs seized. The room around him dimmed—and then a vision swallowed him whole.
He saw a city floating in the sky, burning. Creatures with twisted black auras crawling through shattered metaverse gates. Screams. Steel. Fire. A girl with eyes like stars reaching for him.
And then... darkness.
He woke in his bed.
The sheets were soaked in sweat. The Ember Core hung around his neck, pulsing softly.
Outside, gulls cried. Wind rushed through the trees.
Had it all been a dream?
No. His hands glowed faintly red. Just like before.
And someone was knocking at the door.
He slipped out of bed, still dizzy, and opened it.
It wasn't Aunt Celine.
It was a girl—no older than him, wearing a black uniform with silver lines and a sharp badge on her shoulder. Her hair was pale green, eyes bright gold. She looked serious. Armed. Ready for a fight.
"You're James Rowe?" she asked, hands on hips.
He nodded slowly.
She stepped aside. Behind her, a sleek hovering transport sat silently just off the ground.
"My name is Renya. From the Hero's School. You've been selected."
James blinked.
"You've got to be kidding."
The dream had changed.
James stood in a field of ash where the sky bled light and shadows danced like living fire. In the distance, a massive gate floated above nothingness, runes glowing along its arch like ancient scars. A faint whisper echoed around him, not quite words, not quite silence.
"Open your heart... or burn."
And then came the scream—not from someone else, but from inside him. His chest flared with heat, and—
He woke up gasping.
The early morning wind slapped against his cheeks as James sat bolt upright on the rocky edge near his home. He was already sweating, and the sun hadn't even risen yet.
His fingers were trembling, glowing faintly red.
Still?
He clenched his fists and tried to shake it off, rubbing his hands on his pants like it would erase the impossible. But there it was, again—those sparks, crawling under his skin like tiny wildfires. He wasn't dreaming anymore. The fire inside him was real.
And growing.
Aunt Mari was already waiting when he came down from the ridge, her arms crossed, kettle whistling in the kitchen.
"You didn't sleep again, did you?"
James gave a tight-lipped nod. "Just... weird dreams."
She poured tea into a chipped mug and slid it across the counter toward him. "Same dream as before?"
James hesitated. "It's getting worse. There's a place—a gate. And... it's like it's calling me."
Her eyes darkened. "The gate of tears," she whispered under her breath.
"What?"
But she shook her head and forced a smile. "Probably just something you read in one of those old books of mine. Dreams are strange on this island, James. The ocean's too close to the stars."
James frowned. He knew when she was dodging.
"You know something."
"I know," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "that if you keep going to that cliff and drawing power from something you don't understand, one day it'll ask for something back."
Later that day, while exploring the dense forest near the base of the cliffs, James felt something... shift.
The wind stopped.
Birds went quiet.
And then—boom.
A tremor ran through the ground. Trees shook. A spiral of light erupted from the sky like a beacon, burning blue and gold. James shielded his eyes as the air pulsed with energy so thick it buzzed in his bones.
Then, from the light, descended a figure.
Cloaked in a robe that shimmered with shifting galaxies, the stranger hovered a foot off the ground, a large glowing disk spinning behind his head like a halo of codes.
"JAMES ROWE," the voice boomed—not from the mouth, but inside his mind.
James stumbled back. "W-What the hell?!"
"You are summoned. The Hero's School has chosen you."
"The what now?"
The figure raised a hand. "You carry the Ember Core. It must be awakened, contained, and trained. Or it will consume this dimension."
James blinked. "Wait, is this a joke? Like some wizard initiation prank? Because I'm really not in the mood—"
The being pointed to a tree, which instantly turned to glass from the heat of his aura. James gasped, feeling his own core burn in response.
"I'm not ready," he muttered, trembling.
"No one is. But your destiny isn't waiting."
And just like that, a portal of swirling runes opened midair.
James stood frozen. On one side, his aunt's cottage, the cliffs, the ocean. Everything he knew. On the other... stars, light, danger, and answers.
Then he remembered the dream. The gate.
"...Wait," he whispered, voice shaky. "You're from the dream, aren't you?"
The being gave no answer. Only turned and stepped into the portal.
James looked at his shaking hands.
And stepped through.
Elsewhere — Hero's School, Metaverse Gate
The Hero's School wasn't a school in the traditional sense. It floated in a dimension above dimensions, an ever-changing architecture of towers and energy spirals where no two staircases ever led the same way twice. Here, emotions became power, and power could split planets.
New candidates were rare. But this one? This one was dangerous.
A black-cloaked woman stood beside an orb projecting James's entry through the portal.
"He carries the Ember Core," she said.
Beside her, an old man with molten eyes grunted. "We swore to never allow that aura again."
"We don't have a choice," she replied. "The Core chose him. That gate opened on its own."
He exhaled slowly. "Then may the skies help us."
Back with James
The moment he landed on the other side of the portal, James dropped to his knees.
It was like gravity had shifted. He could feel everything—emotions from people miles away, the hum of strange runes in the air, and a pressure in his skull like he'd just stepped inside a living storm.
A group of students walked past him, all dressed in strange armor—some glowing with blue auras, others sparking with yellow streaks in their hair. They looked at him like he was nothing.
"Fresh meat," one muttered.
James tried to stand but nearly collapsed. A girl with green streaks in her braids appeared beside him and offered a hand.
"Easy, lava boy."
He looked up, startled. "Huh?"
"Red aura," she said, helping him up. "Flame energy. You're radiating like a bonfire."
James blinked. "And you are?"
She grinned. "Zoya. Green aura. Plant type. First year but already saved a whole forest dimension. What's your name, firecracker?"
He hesitated. "James."
Zoya studied him, her eyes narrowing slightly. "James Rowe? The one who walked through an unsummoned gate?"
The air went quiet. Several students nearby turned.
James scratched his head awkwardly. "Yeah... that's me."
Zoya just smiled wider. "Well, James, looks like you're already famous."
The school grounds were endless. Floating arenas. Simulated worlds. Lecture halls where dragons taught strategy and robots analyzed soul patterns. James felt like an ant trying to walk through a storm.
At orientation, a silver-haired boy with yellow lightning tattoos on his arms was giving a speech.
"We are the Ninth Wall," he said. "Beyond us lies nothing but collapse. We don't fight for medals or ranks. We fight because no one else can."
James listened, heart pounding. For the first time in his life, something mattered.
He wasn't just a kid on an island anymore.
He was something else.
And as the speaker finished, James could feel it—the fire inside him wasn't just burning.
It was awakening.
The boat rocked gently as waves whispered secrets below. James sat at the bow, arms resting on his knees, eyes locked on the horizon. A soft breeze brushed his messy dark hair, and salt lingered on his lips like the last trace of his past.
The island—his whole world for sixteen years—was nothing more than a shrinking shadow now.
"You look like someone just ripped out your soul and painted the sky with it."
James blinked and turned. Cael stood behind him, arms crossed, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips. The red aura-user's short crimson hair glowed faintly under the rising sun. His cloak danced with the wind like a flame refusing to go out.
"I didn't ask for commentary," James muttered.
"Didn't need to. Your whole body's screaming it."
There was silence for a moment. The boat kept moving forward, but time seemed to pause around them.
"I left my aunt without saying a real goodbye," James said. "She raised me. She deserved more."
Cael's expression flickered, barely noticeable, like a match trying to light in the rain.
"She'd understand. Sometimes the world doesn't wait for perfect endings," Cael said. "Sometimes it throws you into the fire without a warning. You either burn or become the flame."
James gave a faint snort. "Was that supposed to sound wise?"
"I'm trying, okay? I only passed the poetry class because I flirted with the professor."
A half-smile crept up James's face. It felt strange. Like his lips had forgotten how.
Then, suddenly, the sky above split with a flash of orange lightning. Clouds curled inward like they were holding their breath, and the boat rocked harder beneath them.
Cael's smirk vanished. "That's the border storm."
James stood quickly. "Border what?"
"You're about to cross into the Hero Core's skies." Cael's tone shifted into something colder. More serious. "This isn't just weather. It's a final filter. If your aura isn't stable... it'll crush you."
James stared upward, heart thudding. The lightning danced again. His chest tightened, like fire curling in his ribs.
"I'm not ready," James whispered.
"You'll never be ready," Cael said. "But that's why you go through it anyway."
Before James could respond, a wave slammed the boat sideways. He stumbled, caught himself, and then everything exploded into light—
SCENE: THE BORDER STORM
James was weightless. Spinning. Falling.
He opened his eyes—except he wasn't sure if they were open or closed.
All he saw was color.
Red. Blue. Yellow. Green. And at the center—Black.
"James..."
The voice wasn't Cael's.
It was older. Deeper. It echoed through his chest like an echo in a canyon.
"Your fire is wounded."
A shadow stepped from the dark. Not a monster. Not a man. Something in between.
Its eyes burned ember-red. Like his.
James tried to move. He couldn't.
"You carry guilt," it said. "And where there is guilt... there is power."
"No," James choked. "I don't want to be like you."
The shadow smiled. "You already are."
Fire erupted from James's chest, surging outward—and suddenly the storm broke.
James gasped, collapsing on the deck of the boat. The skies were calm. The boat was sailing smoothly again.
Cael knelt beside him, a rare look of concern on his face.
"You passed."
James blinked. "What... what was that?"
Cael stood, his usual cocky demeanor slipping back in like armor.
"That was your first emotional threshold. Everyone hits one. Yours just... screamed louder than most."
James sat up slowly. His entire body ached.
But the fire inside him?
It was steady now. Not calm—but contained.
He didn't say it aloud, but in that moment... he felt like something inside him had shifted forever.
SCENE: ARRIVAL AT HERO CORE
The boat finally docked on a platform suspended above clouds. Floating islands surrounded them—each one glowing with lights and aura-fueled towers. In the center stood a colossal citadel, surrounded by rings of elemental energy.
"Welcome to Hero Core," Cael said.
James stepped off the boat and onto the glowing floor. It pulsed faintly beneath his feet, like a heartbeat.
Students bustled around, laughing, sparring, or simply hovering midair. James spotted someone flying in a vortex of water. Another shifted into a blur of yellow light. One student was literally a tree.
It was chaos. Beautiful, wild, electric chaos.
"You'll fit in here," Cael said with a grin.
"I highly doubt that."
"No, seriously. This place is full of weirdos. And most of them are dangerous. You? You're just both."
SCENE: FIRST CLASSROOM
James was escorted to a massive, circular chamber filled with floating seats and platforms. A giant emblem hovered in the air — five swirling aura colors orbiting a central star.
A booming voice echoed from above:
"Welcome, new initiates!"
A tall woman descended from above, cloak billowing like storm clouds. Her eyes shimmered yellow.
"I am Instructor Aralis. And you are not special yet."
She snapped her fingers.
Dozens of small orb-drones zipped into the room, scanning each student.
"Today, we begin your first synchronization test. You will be partnered with someone who reflects your opposing emotional core. You'll either destroy each other... or learn to stabilize."
James raised an eyebrow.
"Sounds like speed dating with explosives," he muttered.
A voice beside him laughed.
He turned—and saw her.
She had calm blue eyes, short white hair, and a slight smirk that didn't match her tranquil aura. She looked like winter bottled into human form.
"Layra," she said. "Water user. And you?"
"James. Fire."
She blinked. "Oh. Great. I've always wanted to burn alive."
TO BE CONTINUED...