The Eternal Flame never dimmed, yet the halls of the Universität der Ewigen Flamme felt colder than ever.
Maximilian Kriegswald stepped beneath the high archway of the Feuerhallenschrein, the central sanctum where all first-year flamebound students were summoned for their first official lecture—the Flammenvorlesung. This wasn't just a lesson.
It was a declaration.
The stone corridor leading to the lecture hall thrummed with residual heat. Magic-infused brass veins traced the walls, pulsing faintly with stored aetherfire. At regular intervals, ethereal torches burned with colorless flame—Soulfire, as the elders called it. Fire unbound from element, fueled purely by will.
Maximilian moved silently, hood drawn low. He wore a simple black uniform—unadorned, unsigned by any House crest. A bold statement. Or a dangerous one.
Most students wouldn't dare attend without the backing of a House. Especially not after humiliating the third-ranked scion of Haus Pyrolith in open combat.
But Maximilian was done hiding in the shadows.
He had tasted the fire.
And it remembered him.
The Grand Flame Hall
The amphitheater was carved from volcanic stone harvested from beneath the university itself, wrapped in a dome of obsidian and brass. Floating glyphs lined the ceiling, glowing with runes that shifted languages mid-sentence—Draconic, Archaic, Modern Highflame.
The Chancellor, Ignatia Vulkrand, sat upon a dais of basalt and spellsteel. Regal. Watchful.
Maximilian entered last. Conversations stilled as he passed.
"That's him."
"The outsider who won the Blood Duel."
"But who's his patron? He hasn't joined any House..."
He ignored them. Their noise meant little. He chose a seat near the back. Elevated. Quiet. Observant.
A familiar face approached.
Kira Eisenmoor, clad in the crimson-and-gold of Haus Vulcanos, sat beside him without a word. Her expression was unreadable, but her presence was deliberate.
He didn't need her loyalty.
But her silence was a form of respect.
Professor Hedrith Drakspire
The hall dimmed as the flames overhead condensed into a single vertical line of burning script.
Then it shattered outward in a blossom of solar light.
In its place stood Professor Hedrith Drakspire, the Flameforged Scholar, a master of flame alchemy and soul-channeling. His skin bore flame scars in elegant patterns—ritualistic. His cloak billowed with emberdust and smoldering glyphs.
"You are not children of flame," he said, voice low but resonant. "You are its inheritors. Its carriers. Its kindling, if you fail."
A hush fell over the hall.
"To wield flame is to command change. Burn too cold, and you inspire nothing. Burn too hot, and you destroy all." He raised one gloved hand, fingers extended. "Balance is an illusion. Control is not."
Flame danced from his palm, forming a rotating lattice of spiraling heat threads.
"This is the Flame Lattice. An extension of your soul's expression. Each of you will attempt to imprint upon it. Those who fail... may reconsider their aspirations."
The Flame Lattice Trial
Students rose one by one. Some produced flickers—raw but genuine flames. Others conjured elaborate designs, showing lineage techniques: phoenix spirals, chainfire sequences, ash-calligraphy.
Then came Maximilian's turn.
He rose.
He did not raise his hand.
Instead, he unclasped the Temporal Ingress Locket around his neck. It pulsed—once. Then vanished from view, folding into a circle of silver light around his wrist.
He extended his aura—lightless at first.
Then the Flame Lattice responded with a flicker.
Not fire.
Starlight.
A spiral of blue-white constellations erupted from the lattice's center, weaving into a symbol that none recognized—a five-pointed sigil encased in orbital rings.
Flame warped by Time.
Professor Drakspire stepped forward, hand raised. He did not smile.
But his eyes burned with interest.
"You've cracked the lattice's fourth axis," he said. "Impossible under normal conditions."
Maximilian said nothing.
But he felt it—within his core.
A second seal loosening.
System Notification (Hidden)
[WARNING] Flame-Aetheric Interaction unstable.[Talent Supremacy Threshold: 78%][Unique Trait Recognition: Confirmed]
Class Evolution Signature Deepening...Stellarweave Initiate → Potential Branch Paths Detected: 2
Starborne Flamecaller
Chronoforge Architect
Status: Locked until Soul Weapon Sync reaches 100%
Lore Drop: Soul Weapon Resonance
Soul Weapons are not simply forged—they emerge. Formed by resonance between the wielder's True Self and the world's latent elemental memory.
Most students awaken only a single manifestation: spear, sword, gauntlet.
Maximilian's weapon—Zeitbrecher—is one of the rarities:
Name: ZeitbrecherType: Phaseform Weapon (Longsword / Chakram Hybrid)Core Material: Etherglass Alloy, Fragment of Time-Frozen AetherAbilities:
Temporal Anchor – Locks enemy movements within a five-second prediction window.
Phase Shift – Weapon changes form mid-combat between blade and disk.
Chrono-Engrams (Locked) – Store accelerated combat sequences for instant recall.
Origin: UnknownBound Soul Signature: [Redacted – Class Level Hidden]
Interlude: A Letter Delivered
Later that evening, a black envelope appeared on Maximilian's desk in his temporary dormitory. It bore no crest—only a single rune: Silence.
Inside, a message in elegant, sharp script:
You have made fire remember. But stars carry memory even further.
Seek me in the Catacombs of the Forgotten Lectures.— The Nameless Warden
Maximilian read it twice. Then smiled faintly.
Even the hidden factions were stirring now.
End of Chapter 11 – Flammenvorlesung: First Class Among the Flame