"You don't reach the Demonfang Kingdom by roads. You reach it by walking through the jaws of hell itself."
Scene 1 – The Oracle's Farewell
The wind howled through the Ashen Silence as the group stood at the edge of the cursed valley, the chains of exile broken, and the Sealed Flame Oracle watching the horizon with distant eyes.
Her presence, now unshackled, warped the very flow of qi around her. The embers in the sky began to burn again. Time, long stagnant here, resumed its eternal forward crawl.
Asura stood still, the Flame Script of Severance now sealed into a scroll tucked deep within his robes. His gaze didn't shift from the Oracle, even as his companions prepared to leave.
"Grandmother," he said, "will we meet again?"
The Oracle gave a faint smile—like watching a sunset fade over blood-stained hills.
"We will. Either when the stars fall, or when you stand before the Demon God himself."
She stepped forward, placing a cold but gentle palm on his cheek.
"You're my final rebellion against fate, child. Make it count."
And then, without a sound, she vanished—returning to the depths of the Ashen Silence.
The silence that followed wasn't empty.
It was the silence before war.
Scene 2 – Into the Jaws of the Demonfang
Three days passed.
They journeyed through treacherous terrain—black rivers that hissed with demonic energy, mountains carved with the bones of long-dead beasts, and skies that bled unnatural rain. The map given by the Oracle was incomplete, but Asura's Supreme Martial Eyes saw through the lies of the land.
He led with unwavering steps.
"This is no ordinary path," Xian muttered as they stood before a twisted gorge lined with statues—each one resembling a person caught in their dying scream. "This was a battlefield."
"It still is," Asura said quietly. "This is the border of Demonfang… and we're being watched."
The moment he spoke, the statues' eyes glowed red.
Demonic energy surged from the ground.
Figures emerged from the earth—soldiers of the Ravaged Maw Legion, one of the three royal demon armies.
There were twelve.
All of them were Demon-King class—beings who had once brought kingdoms to ruin.
But they did not attack.
The center figure stepped forward—a tall demon draped in crimson-black armor, his horns cracked from a thousand battles, his right arm a monstrous claw wreathed in blood mist.
"The Abyss welcomes the flameborn," he said, voice low and gravel-like.
"I am Gharzen, Warlord of the Ravaged Maw. Vraxxion invites you… to die in his kingdom."
Asura didn't move.
He slowly stepped forward, unsheathing his blade.
His qi didn't surge. It didn't roar.
It whispered. Quiet. Cold. Controlled.
Lira's voice came soft. "Asura…"
"He's testing us," Asura said. "He doesn't think I'm ready."
And then, he vanished.
Scene 3 – A Slaughter in Silence
The battlefield became a blur.
Asura moved like a phantom of flame, every step carving molten craters into the rock.
His blade didn't clash. It simply appeared inside the enemy's openings, guided by his perfect vision.
One demon's head fell—his eyes still blinking in disbelief.
Two more exploded into ash before they could raise their weapons.
Gharzen snarled, lunging forward with his massive claw.
Asura ducked under the strike, slamming his palm into Gharzen's chest and releasing a burst of Heaven's End: Eruption Flame Pulse, a technique adapted from Zhao martial arts.
The warlord was launched back into the canyon wall, shattering it.
But he rose—bloody, laughing.
"So you truly are her grandson…"
Asura's aura shifted.
His eyes shimmered with divine and demonic threads. His qi darkened. The very air cracked.
"No," Asura whispered. "I'm not her grandson. I'm the one who'll burn your god."
He raised his hand.
Heaven's End: Sovereign Flame – First Fang.
A sword formed—not steel, but shaped entirely from his qi. Burning golden-red, etched with runes of judgment.
He threw it.
It pierced Gharzen's core, the light devouring him from the inside out.
Gharzen screamed once.
Then turned to ash.
Scene 4 – The Demonfang Horizon
The rest of the Ravaged Maw Legion didn't run.
They knelt.
Before the conqueror.
Before the heir of two flames.
Asura didn't speak.
He simply turned, walking past their kneeling forms toward the horizon. In the distance, the skies were dyed crimson, and a towering city of bone and obsidian loomed—Demonfang's heart.
Kai exhaled. "That warlord… he was supposed to be the gatekeeper."
"And Asura just made him an example," Lira said softly.
Xian narrowed his eyes. "Something's wrong. I felt it during the fight. There's… someone following us."
They turned.
Behind them stood a young man in white robes—elegant, smiling politely. His eyes shimmered with divine light.
"My apologies," the man said with a bow. "I did not mean to interrupt. I'm just here to watch… the rise of a god."
Asura's hand tightened.
He knew that aura.
"You're from the Celestial Kingdom," he said.
The man smiled wider.
"Indeed. And I bear a message from the heavens. One that may change your path… and your alliances."
End of Chapter 95