Ruler of Heat: One Man, A Thousand Thirsts
Chapter 43: Flamegrave Pass

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Flamegrave Pass

The sun never rose over Flamegrave.

Not really.

It hung in the sky like a smoldering eye, casting no warmth—just dull red haze that bled through the thick clouds.

Rivan stepped cautiously across the ashen ground, boots sinking slightly with every step. It was like walking through the memory of a battlefield: blackened rock, scorched bones, and heat that radiated without flame.

Selina walked beside him, her skin faintly glowing as the Core adjusted to the high thermal resonance.

Kael scouted ahead, blade drawn, each step calculated. His usual snark had vanished the moment they passed into the boundaries marked by melted totems.

"This place is wrong," Selina whispered. "The earth remembers pain."

[LustCore Adaptive Scan: Territory Classified – Post-System Collapse Zone]

[Environmental Peril Rating: HIGH. Flame Signature Detected Beneath Surface Layers.]

Rivan exhaled slowly. "The Silver Crown sent Dorian here?"

Kael nodded grimly. "Not just sent. Built him here. This is one of their old sanctuaries. Long abandoned. Or so we thought."

A faint hum vibrated the air, like a whisper inside Rivan’s skull. The closer they got to the gorge edge, the louder it became.

[New Objective Identified: Source of Flame Echoes – Depth 1.7km Below Surface]

[Warning: Entry will trigger lockdown sequence unless cleared by Whisperflame protocol.]

Selina paused at the ridge. Below them, a massive chasm opened like a wound in the land. Swirling red mist leaked from its depths, dancing in slow, spiraling arcs.

Rivan clenched his fists. "We’re going down there."

Kael frowned. "You sure? That’s ancient heat. It eats systems alive."

Rivan’s eyes blazed faintly. "Then we give it something to choke on."

The path narrowed, swallowed by towering cliffs scorched black by centuries of heat. Beneath Rivan’s feet, the stone crackled — not breaking, but whispering. The ground here wasn’t just hot.

It was breathing.

He paused. Behind him, the assassin woman — now temporarily an ally — moved with silence that spoke of violence.

To his right, the mist mage Gairen hissed, "This place is cursed."

"No," Rivan muttered. "It’s alive."

The system pulsed.

[Flamegrave Detected. Status: Dormant Volcanic Ruins. Warning: High Lust-Energy Concentration Detected.]

[New Passive Skill Unlocked: Heat Immunity Lv.1]

He didn’t flinch at the rising temperature, but his companions struggled. Sweat poured. Lips cracked. Even the usually collected assassin stumbled slightly.

Rivan turned. "We rest here. Ten minutes."

"No," she snapped. "We keep moving. If we stop here—"

A low groan echoed through the canyon. The ground trembled.

Something ancient was waking up.

"Too late," Rivan said.

From the walls, a fissure split open. A red glow seeped out, followed by a shape — half-human, half-molten beast, its chest glowing like a furnace.

[New Enemy Detected: Lust-Bound Lava Golem]

[Weakness: Cold... and Pleasure.]

"Seriously?" Rivan growled. "Everything here gets turned on before it dies."

Gairen stepped back. "We can’t fight that. Not in this heat!"

"You can’t," Rivan replied, stepping forward.

The golem roared, molten saliva hissing as it struck stone.

Rivan’s hands tightened into fists, aura flaring.

[Skill Activated: Aphrodisiac Aura – Intensity: MAX]

[Passive Triggered: Lust Conversion – Defense Boosted by 25%]

The golem hesitated. It shouldn’t have. But it did.

And that pause was enough.

Rivan surged forward like a blade through steam.

Rivan struck first.

His fists weren’t just flesh—they were heat, will, and system-fueled precision. When they collided with the lava golem’s chest, it didn’t just crack—it shuddered.

[Critical Hit – Core Integrity Down 12%]

[Effect Triggered: Pleasure Overload – Target Reaction Time Reduced]

Behind him, Kael flanked wide with his twin pulse-blades, dragging them in a circular arc. Sparks flew as he cut through the molten shell, leaving deep, glowing slashes.

The lava golem roared, but its movements were delayed—sloppy, confused.

"Your aura’s messing with its synapses!" Kael shouted.

Rivan smirked. "That’s the idea."

Selina stood on a high ledge, her hands weaving intricate sigils. Lust-fueled magic swirled around her, laced with heat and pheromonal charge. Each mark pulsed outward, feeding into Rivan.

[Bond Transfer: +17% Attack Buff – Shared Flame Boost Active]

"You’re not fighting alone!" she called down.

The golem swung, lava limbs slamming toward Rivan like wrecking balls. He dodged left, rolled through the gap, and ignited a blast from his palm directly into its back.

[Skill Activated: Core Flare Lv.1 – Burn Effect Engaged]

The molten beast stumbled. Its glowing core—exposed.

Rivan pounced.

He drove his fist deep into the creature’s chest, pushing energy in, not out—overloading the lust circuits that kept it semi-sentient.

[System Override – Enemy Neural Feedback Loop Triggered]

[Target Status: Collapsing]

The golem let out one final screech and collapsed into itself, cooling rapidly, body cracking and collapsing like dying coal.

Rivan stood in the steam, panting. His skin glowed faintly, steam hissing off his arms.

[Victory Achieved – Skill Level Up: Lust Conversion Lv.2]

[XP Gained – Bond Sync Increased]

Selina descended from the ledge. "You okay?"

Rivan nodded. "Better now."

Kael kicked the creature’s remains. "That thing was guarding something."

And it was.

The heat parted like a veil, revealing a stone staircase descending deeper—into the heart of Flamegrave itself.

The staircase was ancient — obsidian stone etched with symbols that pulsed faintly with dormant energy. Rivan stepped first, the soles of his boots echoing into the abyss. Every step he took down made the air grow heavier, denser, hotter.

Selina followed next, still glowing faintly from her earlier sigilwork. Kael came last, blade drawn, silent, eyes scanning every shadow.

No one spoke.

Below, the tunnel opened into a massive chamber — spherical, humming, alive.

In the center stood a pillar of stone wrapped in cables and crystals, some shattered, some still glowing with the faint blue and violet hues of system tech.

[Alert: Ancient Core Node Detected – Type: Proto-LustCore Vault Conduit]

[Origin: Whisperflame Design]

[Warning: System Fragment Embedded]

Rivan stepped closer.

The pillar reacted to his presence — symbols across its base flared in a spiral, then settled into a single glyph: a burning heart wrapped in chains.

Selina gasped. "That’s the seal of the Core Architects."

Kael’s voice was grave. "Then we’re standing in their cradle."

Rivan placed his hand on the pillar.

A blast of light enveloped him.

[LustCore Fragment Assimilation In Progress... Estimated Sync: 72%...]

[Memory Override Warning – External Signature Detected]

The chamber twisted — reality buckling.

Rivan saw flashes:

Whisperflame placing her hand on a young boy’s head — his head.

A vault door with the number 17 glowing blood-red.

A hidden chamber. Cryopods. One of them labeled: S-04.

[Identity Trace: S-04 = Dorian Cross]

[Memory Lock Broken – Core Expansion Unlocked]

Rivan screamed, clutching his head.

Selina grabbed him. "Rivan—what did you see?"

His voice was barely a whisper.

"They didn’t separate us by accident. They raised us... as weapons."

Kael cursed under his breath. "Then who’s controlling them now?"

Silence.

Then the system pulsed again.

[New Location Unlocked: The Crown’s Root]

[Incoming Signal: Unregistered LustCore Host Approaching – ETA 18 hours]

[Classification: Alpha Threat]

Rivan stood slowly, eyes burning.

"Dorian’s not done. He’s coming."

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Coming Next: Chapter 44 – The Crown’s Root

Where answers lie buried... and betrayal waits beneath the surface.

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