Chapter 7: Flame and Echo
Some people walk into a room and disappear.
Others?
They burn the place down with their presence.
Today, the flame arrived.
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Morning: Lecture Hall E-9, Department of Arcane Theory
I sat in the back, feet on the desk, Karen (the shovel) hidden under a cloth like a war crime in storage.
Professor Helbin's voice droned on about magical leyline structure and arcane flow geometry.
I wasn't listening.
Because the door creaked open, and in walked her.
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Name: Seria Caelum
Origin: Solaria Empire – Scion of the Celestial Flame
Trait: Phoenix Vein – Grants resurrection once per day, fire-based immunity, and rapid mana regeneration when near death.
Class: Flame Warlock
In the game, she was the second of the five main characters. A fire-based spellcaster who evolved into a literal flame avatar in the late chapters.
She had everything: noble blood, a tragic backstory, a high charisma stat, and a cheat trait that made her immortal once a day.
She also had enemies everywhere because of her bloodline.
And now?
She sat two rows in front of me.
Hair glowing red-gold like it had been kissed by the sun. Eyes like molten amber. Her presence heated the room by at least four degrees.
Even the professor stumbled mid-lecture.
I leaned back.
So, it begins.
---
Lunchtime – Academy Commons
I watched her from a distance, quietly munching bread like a background NPC.
She was surrounded already—students eager to curry favor.
"Lady Seria, I heard your duel at the Solaria border was legendary!"
"Are the rumors true? Did you survive an ambush from seven assassins?"
She smiled with awkward poise, graceful but distant. The way she kept glancing over her shoulder told me something.
She felt hunted.
She was strong. But not yet invincible.
And that meant something important—
She wasn't untouchable yet.
The game timeline had her reaching her full power around Year Two.
Which gave me time.
Time to harvest more hidden pieces.
Time to outpace her, quietly.
---
Later That Day: Grand Library
I headed for the Echo Archives, an old, barely used section of the library built above a sealed magical basement. No one came here because the elevators often malfunctioned, and once a student lost a finger when the walls phased.
Perfect place to hide a secret.
Beneath a rune-locked floor tile, hidden under an illusion that only triggered when mana was shaped in tri-tone rhythm—a concept only explained in a footnote of an optional quest—
Lay Hidden Piece #4: Echo Gem (Dormant)
Effect: Stores sounds, thoughts, and spells. Can release recorded energy as burst spells. Absorbs environmental mana when silent. Evolves based on emotional resonance.
In the game?
This gem became the core of a hidden spellcasting class—Resonant Mage—which only unlocked if you managed to survive without casting a spell for 30 in-game days.
It rewarded restraint with overwhelming burst power.
No one played it because it was annoying.
But I wasn't trying to have fun.
I was trying to cheat fate.
I tucked the gem into my coat and whispered, "Four pieces now."
Parasite. Obsidian Fang. Forgotten Bloom. And now Echo Gem.
Each one evolving.
Each one pushing me further away from what I was—and closer to what I'd need to be.
Strong enough to tear through dimensions.
Strong enough to reach her.
---
Evening: Duel Arena B
"Targeted match: Seria Caelum vs. Third-Year Challenger, Rauk Dolm."
A big brute of a third-year laughed as he stepped into the ring, swirling a massive war hammer.
Seria stood still, robes barely moving. The match began.
Rauk charged. She flicked her wrist.
The floor melted.
Literal floor lava.
She conjured a phoenix-shaped flame, launched it, and knocked the hammer from his hands mid-air. She spun and finished with a chained fire whip, knocking him unconscious in six seconds.
Thunderous applause.
But not from me.
I saw it—the way her hands trembled afterward. The forced breathing. The effort to maintain control.
"Her mana circuits are unstable," I murmured.
The Phoenix Vein—it came at a cost.
Each rebirth damaged her internal mana system slightly.
So even the perfect had cracks.
I slipped away as the crowd closed in on her.
She was brilliant. But fragile.
And I?
I was the darkness beneath the lights.
Unseen.
Rooted.
Waiting.