Lunar Legacy: Rise Of The Beastlord-Chapter 297: Firelord

Luna became interested in Jayden's matchstick theory. [Hmm. Go on…]

"Fire is a chemical reaction, right? Combustion. Which means it needs fuel… oxygen, and heat?" Jayden explained. "I've been trying to create it from nothing, which is why it's not working." His eyes narrowed in concentration. "But what if I don't create it from nothing? What if I use what's already there?"

[What do you mean?] Luna asked, her invisible eye brows raised.

"My size manipulation ability lets me rapidly expand and contract my own body mass," Jayden said, focusing on his hands. "What if I apply that principle to just my hands? Expand them, contract them, expand, contract—repeatedly, as fast as possible. Eventually that continuous, rapid motion will generate…"

[…Friction] Luna finished slowly, following his logic. [Which will then generate heat]

"Exactly," Jayden smirked. Then he closed his eyes and focused, feeling the familiar pull of his size manipulation ability. But instead of applying it to his whole body, he narrowed the focus to just his hands.

Expand.

His hands grew slightly larger, fingers lengthening, palms widening.

Contract.

They returned to normal size.

Expand. Contract. Expand. Contract.

Faster now. The changes becoming almost imperceptible to the naked eye, but definitely happening. His hands were vibrating, the rapid size fluctuations creating heat.

Jayden felt it immediately. A warmth spreading across his palms, building with each oscillation. The friction of his own cellular structure expanding and contracting was generating thermal energy.

His hand began to glow, the telltale shimmer of his size manipulation ability activating on a microscopic level.

"Friction generates heat," Jayden breathed. "And heat, given the right conditions…"

He focused harder, channeling the heat from his hands and the already acquired ability in his core.

"…creates fire."

FWOOSH.

A small flame—no bigger than a candle's—suddenly flickered to life above Jayden's palm.

It wavered uncertainly for a moment, threatening to go out. But Jayden held his focus, feeding it with carefully controlled bursts of heat generated through molecular manipulation.

The flame stabilized. Grew slightly, and danced in his palm with vibrant orange-red light.

Ding!

[Fire manipulation has been mastered]

[You can now use the Ability: Pyrokinesis]

Jayden stared at the fire in his hand, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "I did it."

[You actually did it] Luna sounded genuinely impressed. [And I must say, that was… brilliant. Unorthodox, but brilliant. Using one ability to jumpstart another. Even I never thought of that]

"It's a crutch," Jayden admitted, watching the flame flicker. "Eventually, I need to be able to generate fire without relying on size manipulation. But for now? This works."

He closed his fist, extinguishing the flame, then opened it again and focused.

Expand, contract, expand, contract—

Another flame appeared, this one slightly larger and more stable than the first.

"Practice makes perfect," Jayden murmured.

For the next thirty minutes, Jayden stood in that field, repeatedly generating friction through rapid size manipulation and igniting small flames. Each attempt was smoother than the last. The heat built faster. The flames grew more stable.

By the time he finally stopped, sweat was running down his face—not from physical exertion, but from intense mental focus. His Mastery stat was doing its job, accelerating his learning curve significantly.

But he was also exhausted. Creating fire through friction was stamina-intensive. He'd need to practice more, build up his efficiency, before he could use it reliably in combat.

"Alright," Jayden said, rolling his shoulders and checking the time. 8:23 AM. The family would be up soon, expecting him for breakfast. "Time to head back."

He started jogging back toward the house, feeling lighter than he had in days. The Chthonix rank-up was complete. He'd finally unlocked pyrokinesis. Things were actually going—

Buzzt!

His holo-tab vibrated in his pocket, interrupting his thoughts.

Jayden slowed to a walk and pulled it out, expecting a message from Jacob or maybe Jessica asking where he was.

Instead, the screen displayed a notification from an unknown number:

[Message from: Unknown]

Jayden's good mood evaporated instantly. His thumb hovered over the notification, every instinct suddenly screaming caution. Unknown numbers never meant good news.

But he opened the message anyway. It was strange, brief, and direct.

[We need to talk, kid. Today. By noon, come to the diner located outside the outskirts of Route 47. And come alone -Agent FeRmEnteD]

Jayden's jaw clenched, his heart rate spiking. He already knew who the message came from. Because judging by the nature of it and the capitalized letters in the name, there was only one person who could have sent it.

Fred.

The EVA captain who'd seen his Lycan form. Who knew exactly what he was. Who had, for reasons Jayden still didn't understand, covered for him instead of reporting him.

And now, he wanted to meet. Alone. At a remote location on the edge of the city.

[That's a trap] Luna said immediately. [A meeting at the city's outskirts? 'Come alone?' And it's from someone who has every reason to want you contained. It's definitely a setup]

"I know," Jayden replied, his mind racing through possibilities. Fred could have assembled a team. Could have set up containment measures. Could be planning to bring him in quietly, away from populated areas where a Lycan transformation would cause panic.

But then… why?

Jayden's analytical mind kicked in, cutting through the initial paranoia.

"If Fred wanted to capture me, why go through this elaborate setup?" he thought. "He could just have come to the house."

Jayden lived with a known EVA family—Jacob would have let Fred in without question if he'd claimed official business. Hell, Fred could have just knocked on the door yesterday and taken him then.

Why lure him out to a remote location when he could easily get to Jayden at home?

The answer to everything was crystal clear.

Fred didn't want EVA involved. This meeting wasn't official. It was personal.

Which meant Fred really hadn't told anyone about Jayden's nature.

"He kept his silence," Jayden murmured aloud, still staring at the message. "This whole time. He could have reported me. Could have had a containment team at my door. But he didn't."

[So what does he want?] Luna asked.

"That's what I need to find out."

Jayden's thumb moved to the keyboard, and he typed out a brief response:

"I'll be there."

He hit send without much hesitation.

[You're really going] Luna said, and it wasn't a question.

"I am," Jayden confirmed, pocketing the holo-tab and resuming his jog home. "Because Fred Walker is a variable. An unknown element in an equation I need to solve. And the only way to neutralize a variable is to understand it."

Luna hummed. [And if it is a trap?]

Jayden's expression hardened. "Then I'll deal with it," he muttered. "I've faced worse than EVA agents."

But even as he said it, a part of him hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Fred had saved his secret. Had covered for him when he had every reason not to. And he probably called the meeting because he wanted answers. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

That was fine.

Because Jayden had a few questions of his own.