The sky roared.
Rain flashed down in silver lines.
Thunder rumbled like war drums.
The world moved slowly through the storm, sliding past the clouds, diving down through the endless sheets of rain
until it showed a broken figure lying on the soaked earth.
Jiyul.
His body was twisted on the mud, his face smeared with blood, water dripping from every wound. His chest barely moved.
But then
His right hand twitched.
Fingers clawed at the earth.
Slowly, painfully, he pushed himself up with one arm.
"Ughhh…" a low moan came from his throat.
His head tilted, blood streaming from his forehead, mixing with rain. His lips trembled, but his eyes burned.
He jammed his sword into the ground, using it as a pillar, and pulled himself up to sit. His shoulders dropped like weights, his whole body shaking.
The rain washed the blood from his face. His head bent low, water dripping like a curtain.
He opened his eyes.
Cold.
Empty.
Alive.
A blood drop rolled from his forehead, slipped down over his eyelid, dragged across his nose, and finally reached his lips.
He spat it out and spoke in a voice that cut through the storm.
"I can't stay like this forever. Let me eat these powers… or get eaten by them. Let's end this… or end me here."
His chest heaved. His hands squeezed the sword's hilt tighter.
"This is my death or life. If I give up… because of fear of death… I'm no longer Jiyul. Even if these powers kill me, I'll be reborn in hell, and fight there for more. I'll rip powers from demons themselves until I walk back into this world."
He slammed his bleeding hand on the sword.
"This is me Han Jiyul. I swear on this blood. Tonight, I will control these powers. If I fail, I will cut my own head. I swear."
Blood poured from his wounds, dripping into the mud like falling rubies. His body shook, but he stood.
From far away, in the shadows, Sylus and Zekiel watched.
Both had stood silently, eyes never leaving Jiyul.
A chill ran down Sylus's spine.
His skin prickled. His back stiffened.
"Is this… really a mortal?" he whispered. His lips curled into a grin, but unease burned behind his eyes. "If he controls them… he won't be a man. He'll be a demon who hunts gods."
He laughed quietly, almost nervously.
"I'll destroy him before he fully awakens. But for now… let him try. Let him bleed. It makes it easier to pull the monster out."
But Zekiel's face was pale. His chest rose and fell fast. He turned away, muttering as he walked back into the cave.
"I doubt this happens, my lord."
Sylus grinned wider, but inside, his heart beat faster.
Jiyul stood, sword still buried in the mud.
He spread his arms into a T, closed his eyes, and breathed.
The storm stilled for a heartbeat.
Then
A blast of power erupted from him.
His body shot backward, sliding across the mud, tearing the ground open. His legs dug into the earth, and he stopped just before slamming into a tree.
"Ghhaaa!" he shouted in pain.
He stood again.
And tried again.
Blast.
Slide.
Pain.
Again.
And again.
Each time, blood poured from him. His body was breaking.
The rain slowed. The clouds began to pale. The sun was almost here.
Jiyul's body swayed. His vision blurred. He spat more blood onto the ground.
He remembered his oath. His hand pressed tighter on the sword.
"Not yet."
He tried once more
but this time he poured everything into it.
BOOM
The ground exploded. The Flower's light and the Ember's fire clashed, twisting around him like beasts. The force ripped his flesh, tearing skin from muscle.
Blood burst from his mouth. He vomited a stream of red. His knees bent. His body almost collapsed.
"Haahh… This power… it'll eat me alive…"
He trembled, breathing ragged. His eyes rolled.
"But I've got one last energy. My soul."
He clenched his teeth until blood dripped from his gums.
"If my body fails, let my soul burn. I'll gamble it all."
Sylus's eyes widened. His chest tightened.
If he dies, both the Ember and the Flower vanish…
His body moved faster than the rain. In a blink, he stood behind Jiyul and grabbed his arm.
"Remove your hand!" Jiyul shouted, blood dripping from his mouth. His voice was raw, broken, yet cold.
"No! You'll die!" Sylus shouted back.
"If I don't, I'll cut my head myself. Don't touch me!" Jiyul roared, forcing his broken arm to push Sylus away. His voice shook with rage and pain, but his eyes never lost their steel.
"I won't lose my swear."
Sylus's lips curled. His grip didn't loosen.
"Listen, fool. You can't control them apart. Focus on combining them. Don't see two powers. See one."
Jiyul panted, his face dripping blood and rain.
"What…?"
"Imagine it." Sylus leaned close, his eyes sharp. "A flower with ember petals. Both together. One form. That's the key. Imagine it. Now try."
Jiyul's chest rose, broken and uneven. His whole body shook. But he closed his eyes, forced his thoughts to obey.
Rain poured harder, thunder cracked, and the earth trembled.
His lips moved, whispering through blood.
"I won't give up."
His hands glowed faintly. His body bent like it was breaking again.
He screamed into the storm
but his voice wasn't fear.
It was a vow.
The vow of a man who refused death itself.
His chest was rising slow, weak, almost lifeless. something deep inside him answered.
The blood ember inside him burned like fire.
The Flower of Askaroth pulsed like thunder.
And for the first time, they did not fight each other.
Jiyul pushed his palm into the mud, his sword still buried beside him. He forced himself up, eyes closed, lips trembling.
Above his head, the air twisted.
Red sparks circled with black smoke.
And then like a vision of gods a flower appeared.
Its petals were made of fire, glowing ember red.
Its stem was black, like a shadow alive.
And every pulse it gave shook the ground under Jiyul's feet.
He lifted his hand, shaking, and touched it.
The instant his fingers brushed that burning flower, his body roared with life.
His wounds closed like time reversed.
His broken skin knitted back together.
His corpse like body was reborn.
He gasped. His chest rose and fell like he had just dragged breath from hell itself.
The vision above him burned brighter, then shattered into pure light, dissolving into his body.
Jiyul stood. His sword still in the ground, but his frame was no longer broken. His back straightened. His eyes cold as death opened with a glow that could kill silence itself.
Sylus, who had been watching with calm eyes, did not move. But his lips curved into a faint, dangerous smile.
"Well," he said softly, "now it is your time to win."
He turned and walked away, the echo of his boots mixing with the dripping of rain.
"Hey, Sylus," Jiyul's voice broke the air.
Sylus paused.
"Thank you… for this."
Sylus did not reply. He only grinned, but deep inside his chest, unease spread like poison. He teleported back to Zekiel.
Jiyul bent at the pond nearby, washing his face and blood. His reflection stared back different, sharper, colder. Water fell down his chin as he stood fresh again.
He raised his hand to the sky and pushed it forward.
The clouds bent aside.
A path of sunlight tore open.
"Woah…" he whispered to himself, a devil's smile curling on his lips.
He turned toward the forest. His hand lowered. Trees snapped apart, splitting like dust, clearing a path.
With calm steps, Jiyul began walking.
"Two months…" his voice whispered, "two months, Rayel… and I will cut you down."
Behind him, in the shadows of the cave, Zekiel stared. His chest was heavy, his eyes sharp.
"That power…" he whispered, "…this boy is no mortal."
Sylus stood beside him, grinning with teeth that could cut stone.
"Zekiel," he laughed low, "what you saw was nothing. Not even thirty percent. Just the basic bloom of the Flower of Askaroth."
Zekiel clenched his jaw.
Sylus' laugh rose, spreading across the mountains like thunder.
"If he ever awakens it to full… this world will split in half. And that is when I will consume it. When I will consume him. Then the heavens will kneel."
He laughed again.
Zekiel turned his head, whispering under his breath, "Monster…"
Then, looking at the path Jiyul walked, he added in silence, but you, Jiyul… you are already a demon.
The rain had stopped.
The first sun filled the Death Spring Mountains.
And the one who carried both ember and flower was walking back to the kingdom.