On the seventh dawn at the Nanming Lamp-Guarding Shop, before daylight arrived, the earth veins stirred.
The Silver-Flame Ceramic Lamp rose untouched, hovering above Xiaoman's palm. Its flame churned violently, silver light sweeping over his body in wave after wave. Ancient patterns of light surfaced beneath his skin, spreading from deep within his bloodline, like a river of stars surging through his veins. Seven Lamp-Memory Talismans trembled at once, and the remnant souls on the stele whispered, "Shouyi... return."
"No, this is not a return." A voice rang out in Xiaoman's mind, aged and familiar—the voice of Shouyi's soul. "It is an awakening. You are not my reincarnation. You are my 'heart-flame seed'—I sealed the last wisp of my essence within the ceramic lamp, waiting for a child willing to keep watch through the night for the light. And you lit it."
Xiaoman fell to his knees, his chest burning. He felt a force awakening within him. It was not an accumulation of power, but a reconstruction of his very existence—as though he had always been part of the light, merely asleep for far too long. His eyes turned silvery white, lamp flames dancing deep within his pupils, reflecting the first ignition of the source of starfire a thousand years ago.
Yue Yi, the Light Language Envoy, hurried over, tapping her Light Staff against the ground, yet she could not come within three feet of Xiaoman. The patterns of light barred her like a wall. "Xiaoman!" she cried. "The Heart Flame Source Core is resonating with you. If you accept it, you will no longer be 'human,' but a 'vessel of light'—you may lose your emotions, your memories, even your 'self.'"
Xiaoman raised his head, his voice no longer entirely his own. "But if I refuse, the Source Core will