Chapter 69 - The Ascent’s Blaze

The Ye Clan estate stood defiant under a night sky aflame with molten gold, as if the heavens themselves had caught fire. The air shimmered with a heat that was not of summer but of something eternal, a radiance that pressed against the soul like a lover's vow or a tyrant's command. Beyond the weathered gate, where shadows fled from light, the rift pulsed—a golden wound in the fabric of the world, spilling a blaze that warped the stars into streaks of liquid fire. The Bright Ascent, the thirty-second force, had risen, its boundless shine of infinite power a hymn that sought to sear away all but its own glory.