Chapter 12: The Price of the Second Transformation

Lin Jin stepped out of the wastes.

Not into the Flame Domain.
But onto a path that did not yet exist.

The second transformation was not something he actively sought.

It happened in an utterly ordinary moment.

Lin Jin stood at the border between the wastes and the Flame Domain.

Ahead, the world thickened with Flame energy once more.
Behind him, the void remained flame-less.

Two systems overlapped here.

He took a single step forward.

And in that moment—

The world lost its balance.

Flame energy surged toward him.

Not as an attack.
But instinctively.

Like water rushing to fill a gap.

Yet the instant it touched his body—

The Flame energy collapsed.

Not repelled.

But stripped of its very premise for existence.

The air shuddered violently.

Lin Jin groaned, falling to one knee.

For the first time in a flame-less state, he felt pain.

Pain not of the body.

But of cognition.

The Flame Practitioner system was attempting to “redefine” him.

But the way he existed refused definition.

Two logics collided briefly inside him.

And the price began to show.

He saw visions.

Not images.

But his former self.

The Lin Jin who had relied on Flame, chased Flame, been shaped by Flame.

The one who had burned, shattered, and been erased in Flame City.

“Return.”

The phantom whispered.

“If you accept Flame, everything will be restored.”

Lin Jin looked up at that familiar face.

No anger.
No hatred.
Only clarity.

“I have already died once.”

He said.

Flame surged again.

This time, not from outside.

But from—
Residual Flame memories within him.

Though the Flame veins had collapsed, the “habit” of using Flame remained.

They tried to reorganize.
To return to familiar structures.

Lin Jin’s breathing grew erratic.
His body rejected them.

Tiny cracks of blood appeared on his skin, yet no Flame ignited.

This was one price of the second transformation—

The body would no longer heal automatically.

A Flame Practitioner’s recovery depended entirely on Flame.
He had lost all of it.

He fell to the ground.

Yet his mind remained extraordinarily clear.

He could sense—
Every muscle tear, every delayed nerve impulse, every drop of blood lost.

This was not torture.

It was learning.

Learning to survive without a safety net.

At one point, Lin Jin suddenly stopped resisting.

Not giving up existence.

But giving up maintaining “the old self.”

He allowed every residual Flame memory within him—

To collapse on its own.

No suppression.
No guidance.
Simply letting them vanish.

In that instant,

The pain peaked.

His vision was drowned in white.
His heartbeat nearly halted.

When he “awoke” again,

It was night.

Flames of the Flame Domain flickered on the distant horizon.

He lay on the ground,
Covered in blood.

Flame veins had vanished completely.
His body showed no sign of automatic recovery.

Yet he was alive.

And—
Unprecedentedly stable.

The second transformation was complete.

The price had been paid:

He had lost all restorative abilities of a Flame Practitioner.

His body would no longer be “protected” by any system.

Every injury carried permanent risk.

But in exchange—

Flame could never invade him again.

Far at the center of the Flame Domain,

The Flame Order arrays emitted a shrill, cracking sound.

The gray line contracted sharply, becoming precise and unyielding.

A Flame Sovereign’s face turned pale.

“Confirm the result.”

The Flame Officer’s voice trembled.

“The target… has completely detached from the Flame Order.”

“Unrecoverable.”

“Undefined.”

The Council remained silent.

This was not victory.

This was—
The moment they lost all control forever.

The night wind swept across the wastes.

Lin Jin slowly sat up.

He looked at his blood-streaked hands.

No regret.

Only a near-cold acceptance.

“So that’s it.”

“This is… the price of freedom.”

He stood.

His steps unsteady, yet determined.

Ahead lay the Flame Domain.

But this time,

He would enter—not as a Flame Practitioner.