He expected to be dragged back to the cell.
Instead, he was brought to a **room**.
Not a dungeon, not a chamber lined with runes or mirrors—just a small, elegant space with stone walls, bookshelves, a basin of warm water, and a window that overlooked a walled garden filled with white flame lilies.
Kye stood near the window, rubbing the bruises on his ribs from the earlier duel.
He hadn't expected to win.
He hadn't expected to survive.
And he definitely hadn't expected to feel **so alive** after a fight.
His body still trembled from the Ember Vein's flare. His mind buzzed. Not with fear—but with **clarity**.
He was beginning to understand something important:
> **Kael had strength. But Kye had control.**
> And control… could be *terrifying*.
A soft knock tapped against the door.
Kye turned. "If it's another noble looking to test me, I'm charging admission."
The door opened slowly.
Not a guard this time.
A woman entered, tall and lean, with short silver hair tied back into a knot. Her coat was military-style—black with crimson thread—and a silver medallion marked her chest: a sun with a dagger through it.
Her gaze landed on Kye. Calculating. Calm.
She didn't speak right away.
Kye finally broke the silence. "Let me guess. Tribunal? Empress? Secret order of people who hate Kael?"
"None of those," she said, voice smooth but cold. "I'm Commander Vel'Raith. High Strategist of the Ember Corps. Head instructor at the Imperial War Academy."
She stepped closer.
"And as of this morning… I'm your new handler."
Kye raised an eyebrow. "Handler?"
She tossed something toward him.
He caught it—a badge. Black metal. Same sun-and-dagger symbol.
"What's this?"
"A chance," she said. "The Empress has granted you provisional combat rights. You're no longer a prisoner."
Kye's eyes narrowed. "Just like that?"
"No," she said. "Because of that."
She pointed to the scrying orb on the shelf—currently frozen mid-frame with Cairn Voss lying unconscious on the dueling floor, smoke still rising from his tunic.
"You embarrassed a noble with a flame affinity. Without training. Without a weapon. Without killing him."
She took a breath.
"Which makes you dangerous—but not uncontrollable. That's rare."
Kye studied her.
She wasn't impressed by him. Not afraid of him. But she **respected** what she saw.
That, somehow, felt more dangerous than hate.
"So what now?" he asked. "I join the army?"
"No. You join **me**."
She tossed a scroll onto the table beside him.
"Three paths lie ahead," she said. "The Tribunal wanted you executed. The Empress said no. The nobles want you monitored. I proposed something else."
Kye slowly unrolled the scroll.
His name was at the top: **Kael Vireon**. Below it: *Codename - Paradox Initiate*.
Beneath that, three words:
> **Flame Unit: Trainee Division**
> **Placement: War Mage Track**
> **Status: Conditional - Controlled Freedom**
Kye blinked. "War Mage? You want me to cast fireballs at people?"
"No," Vel'Raith said. "We want you to survive battlefields the rest of us run from."
She leaned in slightly.
"We want you to burn things *no one else dares to touch.*"
---
**Later that night**, back in his new chamber…
Kye sat at the desk, staring at the scroll.
He'd signed it. He didn't have much choice. But a part of him wanted to—needed to.
Because something inside him had shifted since the duel.
He didn't want to be Kael.
But he wasn't just Kye anymore either.
He was something new.
And this world? It wanted to test him at every turn.
> **\[Paradox System Update: Tier 1 Progression Path Unlocked – "Flame Walker"]**
> *Specialization: Instinctual Combat – Non-traditional Spellcasting – Adaptive Threat Countermeasures*
> *Caution: War Mage Training Fatality Rate – 38%*
Kye exhaled.
"Great. So I get magic school… with a coin flip chance of dying."
But still… he smiled.
Because for the first time since waking up in this world, he wasn't just surviving.
He was **moving forward**.
---
**Far above, in the imperial tower…**
The Empress stood beside a long mirror, hands folded, eyes narrowed.
Talia stood behind her, silent.
"He chose the war path," the Empress murmured.
"Yes."
"He learns fast."
"Yes."
"Too fast."
Talia hesitated. "You're afraid of him?"
The Empress's expression didn't change. But her voice dropped an octave.
"I'm afraid of what happens… if he remembers everything Kael once sealed."