The training ground had been reinforced with tiered runes—titanic glyphs meant to endure swords, spells, and the wrath of Arkanveil warriors.
They were melting.
A ring of fire spiraled outward, golden-red and crackling with sentient mana. The air shimmered like glass, the very earth pulsing with heat as the Flame Lotus bloomed across her chest.
Not metaphorically.
The lotus was alive—each translucent petal hovering above her heart, spinning slowly, breathing with her soul.
Across the courtyard, Lucien stood still.
Watching.
Evaluating.
Smiling.
---
His older sister, Sylvara Arkanveil, exhaled. The fire around her obeyed. No longer wild, no longer leashed—loyal.
Her red hair glowed like a forge in bloom, eyes twin embers that flickered with absolute focus.
She raised a hand.
A single petal followed.
And with a flick of her fingers, it exploded midair—not as a blast, but as precision. A meter-wide lance of heat lanced into a training dummy, atomizing it.
Not even ashes remained.
---
She looked over her shoulder.
Lucien was already clapping, slow and impressed.
> "You don't wield fire anymore," he said. "It wields you."
Sylvara smirked, brushing soot from her cheek. "Took it long enough to recognize its queen."
---
The system chimed in Lucien's Eye of Data.
> [SYSTEM UPDATE: STATUS PANEL – ARKANVEIL, SYLVARA]
Name: Sylvara Arkanveil
Age: 22
Rank: Level 82
Class: Lotus Flame Duelist
Bloodline: Arkanveil (High Human – Tier 3)
[TRAITS]
– Flameheart Control (S+)
– Phoenix Lotus Bloom (SS) [Awakened via Flame Lotus Seed]
– Martial Intuition (A+)
[TITLES]
– Fireborn Daughter
– Inferno Bloom
[MANA CORE]
– State: Bloomed Core
– Quality: Ruby-Tier
– Affinity: 94% Fire Mana
– Efficiency: High Master-Grade
[SPECIAL SKILLS]
– Lotus Burst Arc: Channel petals into mid-range AoE detonations
– Crimson Spiral: Rapid melee strikes infused with blooming flame
– Flame Reversal: Absorb fire spells under Tier 6 and convert to mana
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: Phoenix Lotus Bloom detected. Mana cost reduced by 30%. All fire-based attacks empowered by 2.5x.]
---
Lucien blinked the panel away. No need to tell her what she already knew.
Sylvara turned to face him fully, wiping sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. Her breathing had calmed, her aura coiled like a patient serpent of flame.
Then she said something that made him pause.
> "I saw it… for a moment. A glimpse."
Lucien narrowed his gaze. "Of what?"
She touched the petals. "Not a spell. A form. Like fire with wings. Something older. Something waiting."
He didn't respond aloud, but inside—Devour stirred.
The Flame Lotus Seed was no ordinary artifact. In the novel, it had been used by a supporting character, barely explored. But with a true Arkanveil bloodline—and her innate control—it had awakened.
Evolved.
He made a mental note: When the time came, her flames would be needed—not just in battle, but in ritual.
---
That evening, after the heat faded and stars took their place, Sylvara sat beside Lucien on the manor roof.
They shared a silence only siblings could.
She broke it first.
> "I saw what you did for Grandfather. And Mother."
"You're doing something, Lucien. I don't know what. But it's big."
Lucien looked at her, red eyes unreadable. "Would you stop me if you knew?"
She laughed, soft and genuine.
> "No. I'd just burn brighter."
---
And under the moonlight, two siblings—reborn in blood and bloom—looked up at the stars.
Knowing that one day, they'd change them.