Year Fifteen of the Firefolk Era, summer solstice.
Deep within the fissures of the Ruin Abyss, the Light Vein surged like rivers of crimson-gold light. Three currents—the Dreamlight River, the Emberwhisper Undercurrent, and the light of the Heart Lamp Record—converged before a sealed, towering gate of dark crystal. Ancient runes covered its surface, neither chiseled by blades nor scorched by fire, but formed from countless tiny names, densely arrayed like ranks of sparks. A Ya stood before the gate, the remaining light of the Heart Flame Jade Slip swirling in her palm. Suddenly, she understood: this gate was not meant to be "opened," but "called."
She touched the gate with a finger. The runes blazed, and an ancient consciousness spoke into her mind:
"The fire seed is neither a thing, nor fire, nor a seed.
The fire seed is a collective consciousness: a thousand people sharing one thought, ten thousand hearts burning together.
Only by calling its true name can it return to the heart."
A Ya froze. She had pored over the Heart Lamp Record and searched every inscription in the Nine Provinces, yet never found the words "fire seed."
So the fire seed had never had a name.
It had been called "light," "flame," "fuel," "lamp," "Heart Flame"... yet no one had ever dared call it by its true name.
She closed her eyes in thought, then suddenly heard whispers carried on the wind—
It was Little Bean's voice: "As long as you remember me, I am here."
It was Mute Uncle's humming, halting yet warm.
It was Sui Xuan's sigh: "We sealed the fire only to wait for someone who could speak its name."
It was the lingering thoughts of a thousand Lamp Guarders, surging toward her like a tide.
She opened her eyes and asked softly,