btth 2: the new flame

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The clearing was deathly silent, save for the flickering embers that still danced in the air. Xiao Tian's breath was ragged, his body aching from the battle he had just endured, yet he had no time to rest.

Two cloaked figures stood before him, their eyes burning like smoldering coals in the darkness. The air around them warped subtly, a sign of their immense strength.

"Now… come with us."

The words were calm, but there was no mistaking the authority behind them. These weren't simple cultivators—they were hunters. And their prey was him.

Xiao Tian's instincts screamed at him to run, but his body refused to move. His mind raced. Fighting them head-on was suicide. But escaping? That was just as unlikely.

His fingers curled into a fist, and the ember within his chest pulsed violently. The power he had just gained was still raw, untamed, but it was his only chance.

"And if I refuse?" Xiao Tian asked, forcing himself to sound defiant.

The taller of the two men, the one with the scar running down his jaw, chuckled. It was a dark, humorless sound.

"Refuse?" He took a step forward. "Boy, you don't understand what's happening, do you?"

His companion, the silver-haired man, crossed his arms. "You are carrying something that does not belong to you. That flame—no, that thing inside you—is beyond your comprehension." His eyes narrowed. "You are not worthy of it."

A spark of anger flared inside Xiao Tian. Not worthy?

The ember pulsed again, and for a brief moment, he felt something stir within him—something ancient. He clenched his jaw, suppressing the unfamiliar sensation.

He didn't know who these people were, but he knew one thing: if they got their hands on him, he would never see the outside world again.

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The Fight for Freedom

Xiao Tian didn't wait. He slammed his foot into the ground, channeling the ember's energy, and propelled himself backward. Flames erupted beneath his feet, sending him flying toward the treetops.

The scarred man sighed. "Foolish."

Before Xiao Tian could react, the silver-haired man vanished from sight.

"What—?"

A hand gripped his throat.

Xiao Tian barely had time to register the movement before he was yanked from the air and slammed into the ground. The impact sent a shockwave through the clearing, cracking the earth beneath him.

Pain shot through his body. His vision blurred.

The silver-haired man stood over him, his expression unreadable.

"You're fast," he admitted. "But speed alone won't save you."

Xiao Tian coughed, trying to summon his flames again.

The scarred man knelt beside him. "It's best if you don't struggle. You are important. We won't kill you—yet."

Xiao Tian growled. His pride burned hotter than the embers in his chest. He refused to be a caged beast.

Something inside him snapped.

A sudden surge of heat exploded from within, and the air around him ignited. Flames—brighter and more violent than before—erupted from his body. The sheer force of the blast sent the silver-haired man skidding backward.

The scarred man's eyes widened. "Impossible—"

Xiao Tian didn't waste the moment. He leaped forward, twisting mid-air, and hurled a torrent of flame toward them. The fire was different this time—unstable, chaotic, but devastatingly powerful.

The two hunters reacted instantly. The silver-haired man raised his hand, summoning a barrier of energy. The scarred man retaliated with a burst of his own flame, clashing against Xiao Tian's attack.

The clearing became a battlefield of fire and destruction. Trees burned, the ground cracked, and the air itself shimmered under the intensity of their battle.

But Xiao Tian was already at his limit. His body trembled, and his vision darkened at the edges. The power was too much, too soon.

The ember pulsed erratically. He had to escape.

Summoning every last ounce of strength, he channeled the flame into his legs and shot into the forest, weaving between the trees with desperate speed.

---

The Chains That Bind

Xiao Tian didn't stop running. He couldn't. His lungs burned, his muscles screamed, but he had to keep moving.

But the ember inside him was unstable. It was consuming him.

His vision blurred, and suddenly, the world tilted.

His body collapsed against a tree, his strength abandoning him. He gasped for breath, his hands shaking violently.

No. Not now…

Footsteps echoed behind him.

Slow. Unhurried.

The silver-haired man emerged from the darkness, his gaze calm and calculating.

"It's over."

Xiao Tian forced himself to stand, his body swaying. He tried to summon the flames again, but they flickered weakly.

The man sighed. "Your resistance is admirable, but pointless."

A golden chain slithered from his sleeve, glowing ominously. It coiled through the air like a living thing, reaching toward Xiao Tian.

His instincts screamed at him to move.

But his body refused to obey.

The chain wrapped around his wrist.

Xiao Tian's entire body seized as a powerful force crashed into his soul.

His flames—his power—were being drained.

He let out a strangled cry as the ember within him flickered wildly, resisting the chains with everything it had.

The silver-haired man watched him coldly. "This is the fate of all who walk a path beyond their means."

The world around Xiao Tian darkened.

And then—

A voice.

Ancient. Deep.

"Unacceptable."

A burst of power erupted from deep within him. The chains shattered like glass.

The silver-haired man's expression changed for the first time. "What—?!"

Xiao Tian's body was no longer his own. The flames within him expanded outward, engulfing the forest in a storm of golden fire.

And then—everything stopped.

The flames vanished.

The silver-haired man took a slow step back. "This presence…"

The scarred man arrived beside him, his face pale. "It can't be… is this… him?"

Xiao Tian stood, but his body no longer looked mortal. His eyes burned like molten gold, and his flames no longer felt unstable.

For the first time, he understood.

This power—this ember—was something far beyond a mere Heavenly Flame.

And it had just awakened.

---

The Road Ahead

The two hunters exchanged glances. They had underestimated their target.

The silver-haired man's hand clenched. "This changes nothing. The order remains—we capture him, no matter the cost."

Xiao Tian exhaled slowly. The ember inside him burned steadily now, no longer a chaotic force but a calm, controlled inferno.

He finally spoke, his voice steady.

"If you want me…"

The flames around him surged once more.

"…come and try."

The battle was far from over.

But for the first time, Xiao Tian was no longer running.

He was ready.

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