Ruler of Heat: One Man, A Thousand Thirsts
Chapter 44: The Crown’s Root

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: The Crown’s Root

The descent from Flamegrave’s core chamber took longer than expected.

Even after unlocking the LustCore fragment and surviving the flare backlash, Rivan could feel the land itself resisting their movement. The stone beneath their boots warped in ways it shouldn’t. Angles bent subtly, pulling their path in directions that made no architectural sense.

"It’s spatial warping," Kael said, his voice hushed. "Like the place doesn’t want us to leave the way we came."

Selina’s hand brushed the wall. "This entire ruin... it’s a living map. The old Architects built this place as a maze—only someone synced to the system can navigate it."

Rivan nodded. "Then we follow the Core’s pull."

[System Directive: Path to ’Crown’s Root’ Identified – Energy Signature Downward, Western Curve]

[Warning: Energy Drain Rate Increasing – Environmental Hostility Rising]

The group pressed on.

As they moved deeper, strange carvings emerged in the walls — not just glyphs or tech-sigils, but etched murals. Images of people bowed before hooded figures. Vats filled with glowing liquid. Figures suspended in orbs of fire and mist.

Selina paused at one mural.

"That’s LustCore development. Prototype models. They were... grown."

Rivan stared at one figure in particular — a child floating in a crystal womb, surrounded by wires.

His own reflection stared back from the etched face.

"They cloned me," he whispered. "Not just once. Probably dozens of times."

Kael’s eyes narrowed. "No wonder Dorian’s still alive. He wasn’t just a brother. He was a backup."

[System Alert: Emotional Spike Detected – Anchor Bond Stabilizing]

Selina stepped beside him. "You’re not just a copy, Rivan. You’re the one that broke through. That means something."

Rivan clenched his jaw. "We find the Crown’s Root. We end whatever game they started."

The tunnel split ahead.

Left: pulsing blue light, faint and cold. Right: deep red glow, steady and ominous.

"Which way?" Kael asked.

Rivan closed his eyes.

[Internal Sync Complete – Core Alignment Pulling Right]

He opened them. "Right. Always toward the fire."

The right tunnel descended in a slow spiral, its walls veined with flickering crimson light. Each step Rivan took stirred static in the air — a low, electrical buzz that crawled across his skin.

Kael muttered, "This place is wrong. It’s not reacting to flame. It’s reacting to thought."

Selina traced a pattern on the wall. Her fingers pulsed with Core-light, and the sigil beneath her hand lit up like an ancient eye reawakening.

"It’s a resonance chamber," she said. "Mental signature-based access. These were used in Architect strongholds... to prevent betrayal."

Rivan’s jaw tightened. "Which means we’re being scanned right now."

[System Interaction Detected – Crown Subnetwork Infiltration Attempting Sync]

[Result: Host Signature Flagged – Match: S-01, Architect Clearance Partial]

[Access Granted – Limited Tier]

A thick steel door groaned open ahead, revealing a chamber unlike anything they’d seen.

In the center stood a throne — massive, sculpted from black iron and wrapped in living wires that pulsed like veins. Screens and tubes fed into it from every direction. It wasn’t just a seat. It was a nerve center.

Selina whispered, "This... is where they issued commands to every LustCore host in the continent."

Kael stepped forward cautiously. "You think Whisperflame sat here?"

"No," Rivan said. "She burned this place. Look—"

He pointed to the far wall, where burn marks still seared the metal, as if an internal explosion had melted it from the inside.

At the foot of the throne, a skeleton lay slumped — fused to the floor.

[Data Trace Detected – Residual Thoughtprint: W.FLAME – Fragment Available for Extraction]

Rivan crouched.

"System. Extract it."

[Initiating Extraction...]

[Fragment: Whisperflame Message #03]

"If you’re reading this, then the system failed. They turned against me. The Crown... corrupted the Architect Path. Burn this place. Burn everything. Or the world burns first."

Rivan stood slowly, heart hammering.

"She tried to destroy it. But something survived."

Kael scanned the ceiling. "There. That vent—processing pipes. Something’s still alive down here."

Rivan turned to Selina. "Time to follow the arteries to the heart."

They followed the pipes.

Thick cables ran like black arteries through the metal walls, pulsating faintly with suppressed energy. Rivan led the way, the system in his head syncing with every turn.

[Echo Signature Increasing – Core Sync 64%... 72%... 80%]

[Warning: Emotional Feedback Loop Unstable – Bonded Host Memory Interference Possible]

Selina staggered.

"Wait," she said, pressing a palm to her temple. "I... I’m hearing something."

Kael turned, tense. "Feedback?"

"No," Rivan said. "Echo memory. It’s... broadcasting into her."

He moved to her side just as she gasped.

"I see... a lab," she whispered. "Cold... glass everywhere. Children in pods. One of them is you. And another... it’s me. No, not me. A version of me."

Rivan’s throat went dry. "Clones?"

Selina shook her head. "No. Experiments. They were testing compatibility. Emotional bonds. But they were artificially induced."

Kael looked grim. "They were trying to create LustCore pairs."

Rivan clenched his fists. "And only one bond survived."

They entered a large chamber — cylindrical, hollow, with glowing walls that shimmered with illusion and memory. Floating in the center was a crystal orb, suspended by nothing. Within it: an image of Rivan and Selina, side by side, arms glowing with linked energy.

Selina stepped closer, her breath shallow.

[Echo Core Identified – Vaulted LustCore Seed. Class: Prototype Alpha]

[Compatible Hosts Detected – Initiating Resonance Sequence]

The orb pulsed.

Suddenly, memories flashed — not random, but intentional.

Selina’s first memory of pain.

Rivan’s first touch of fire.

The moment they kissed.

The moment they almost lost each other.

[Resonance Level: 93%... 98%...]

[WARNING: Soulmerge Potential Detected – Risk of Memory Cross-Fusion]

Kael raised his weapon. "We pull them out!"

"No," Selina said, voice calm. "We finish it."

Rivan reached forward.

Their hands met on the orb.

And the world broke open.

Time stopped.

Not literally—but the world around Rivan and Selina fell away, replaced by something deeper, primal.

The orb cracked open between their joined hands, and light poured out—not hot, not cold, but alive. It spiraled into them, threading through every nerve, every memory. Their bodies arched as if strung on lightning.

[Fusion Initiated – Flame Memory Protocol Engaged]

[Warning: Soul Boundary Weakening – Proceed with Caution]

Selina’s memories flooded Rivan—so fast, so raw he couldn’t breathe.

He saw her as a child, trapped in isolation. He felt her first fear. Her first betrayal. The moment she learned her body was just another tool to someone.

And in turn—

She felt his.

The cold steel of Vault 17. The first forced extraction. The pain of being called ’subject’ instead of ’son.’

[Cross-Sync Ratio: 100% Achieved]

[Unlocking Hidden Flame Tier – Ability Gained: Core Sync Fusion Lv.1]

[Effect: Temporarily merges two LustCore hosts into a unified form, enhancing all emotional and physical stats. Duration: 180 sec. Cooldown: 24 hours.]

Their hands broke apart.

Both gasped and collapsed—but something lingered.

A new tether.

Not a bond.

A linked system.

They rose slowly, still connected by a thread of fire between them.

Kael stood back, stunned. "That was..."

"Fusion," Rivan said, voice hoarse.

Selina’s eyes glowed faintly gold. "And it’s not done."

The orb, now drained, shattered completely—and beneath it, a pedestal rose.

Upon it sat a cube—black, sealed with silver runes, and pulsing faintly.

[New System Node Acquired – Crown’s Root Core]

[Access Locked – Requires Dual Flame Link to Open]

Rivan looked to Selina.

She nodded.

They reached together—

Their fingers brushed the cube’s surface.

A spark jumped.

And the cube split down the center—opening like a puzzle box unraveling on instinct, not logic. Inside pulsed a silver sphere covered in etched flame runes, spinning slowly in place.

[Crown’s Root Core: Legacy Flame Node]

[Activation Trigger: Dual Sync Required – Completed]

[System Upgrade Unlocked: Core Sovereign Protocols – Tier II Access Granted]

The moment it activated, light erupted through the chamber walls.

Lines that had long been dormant now surged with power, connecting to the old command seat, the ruined lab beyond, and deeper still—into the planet’s crust.

Kael stumbled back. "This isn’t just a lab. It’s a conduit. They were channeling LustCore energy into the earth."

Selina’s expression turned grave. "Terraforming?"

Rivan shook his head. "No... it’s seeding. They weren’t trying to shape land. They were trying to awaken something below it."

[Alert: Deep System Pulse Detected – Resonant Entity Identified – Designation: Crown’s Womb]

[Threat Level: Unknown – Dormant]

The air trembled.

Stone cracked beneath their feet. Lava veins opened across the floor—not hot, but glowing with unnatural purple light.

Kael raised his blade. "I’ve seen this before. Not here. But in Collector archives. A sealed entity. One that feeds off flame-activated bonds."

Selina’s eyes widened. "A god?"

"No," Rivan said. "Something worse. Something designed."

[Crown’s Womb Awakening Timer: 72 Hours]

A countdown appeared in all their vision fields.

Selina turned to Rivan. "If this thing wakes—"

Rivan nodded. "The world breaks."

Kael growled. "Then we break it first."

Rivan looked at the sealed Core still spinning in his palm.

"We’ll need everyone we’ve ever trusted. Everyone who hasn’t turned. We gather them now."

Selina stepped beside him. "And if we can’t gather them in time?"

Rivan stared into the pulsing light. "Then we burn alone."

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Coming Next: Chapter 45 – Before the Womb Wakes

Old enemies return, forgotten allies surface, and every second counts.

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