Ruler of Heat: One Man, A Thousand Thirsts-Chapter 28: Throne of Burning Whispers [18+]

"Let her through," he finally ordered.

Inside the Flameborn sanctum, silence gripped the chamber.

The woman sat on her knees before him, flanked by Saelra and Ceyra—both weapons sheathed but ready.

She bowed her head. "You were not born in Vault 17. That was a lie."

Rivan crossed his arms, jaw tight. "Go on."

"You were conceived in the Throne of Whispers," she said. "A project older than the Flameborn line. A fusion of LustCore and Void Thread. I was the first to carry it. You were the only one to survive it."

[System Processing: Origin Update – Thread Class: Hybrid Flame-Void Variant | Designation: Echoflame]

He stepped forward.

"Why are you here now?"

She looked up, eyes shining. "Because they're coming for you, Rivan. And not even your fire will stop them."

A long pause.

Rivan crouched to eye level.

"I'm not scared of ghosts."

"They aren't ghosts," she whispered. "They're your siblings."

[System Warning: Thread Echoes Detected – 6 Identified Subjects | Status: Active | Alignment: Unknown]

His stomach turned.

Siblings?

Created like him?

But twisted?

"Where are they?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Scattered. Hidden. Waiting. Each one was bound to a temple of silence. You're the only one that rebelled against the conditioning."

Thalia entered quietly, standing behind Rivan.

She spoke only once:

"She's not just your past, Rivan. She's your prophecy."

He looked down at the woman again.

And felt no warmth.

Only flame.

The war table was silent.

Rivan stood at the head, arms braced against the wood, eyes fixed on the map etched with shifting flame. Red sigils marked his territory. Blue marked known enemy sectors. But now, for the first time, black markers appeared—six of them.

Six siblings.

Six threats.

Six mistakes born from the same experiment that made him.

[System Thread Log: Echo Signatures Identified – Subject Alpha active | Region: Eastern Wilds | Casualties: 137 confirmed]

"She's already moving," Saelra said, voice low. "Alpha's targeting border villages—burning down temples, corrupting women. They say she walks in nothing but ash and blood."

Thalia stood beside her, hands trembling slightly.

"She carries Void with her. Not LustCore. Not even corruption. Just... emptiness."

Rivan turned to his mother.

"Why now?"

She hesitated.

"Because they sensed your awakening. You triggered the signal when you took Veyla's thread."

Kaela leaned on the table, frowning.

"So every time he bonds... they get closer?"

His mother nodded.

"Every moan you draw echoes through them. You burn brighter, and they wake."

Rivan exhaled slowly.

"Then let them come."

Thalia shook her head. "No. You don't understand. Alpha isn't coming for you."

Everyone looked at her.

"She's coming for me."

[System Trigger: Phoenix Thread Crosslink Detected – Threat Level: Critical]

"She's the mirror of my flame," Thalia said. "A Void-born twin. If she gets to me, she can extinguish what I carry. And without it—your entire web collapses."

A heavy silence followed.

Then Rivan turned to the flame map and slammed his fist into the wood.

"Then we go first."

Saelra blinked. "You're going after Alpha?"

Rivan nodded. "If she's walking toward us, we'll meet her halfway. But not with an army."

He looked to Kaela, Lyssha, and Thalia.

"Just enough fire to make the void burn."

The Eastern Wilds were quiet.

Too quiet.

Thalia rode behind Rivan, her arms wrapped loosely around his waist as their emberbeast mount padded silently through blackened grass. Ceyra and Kaela flanked them, each alert, each carrying weapons no longer ceremonial—but forged for blood.

[System Notice: Threat Zone Approaching – Subject Alpha Radius: 12 Miles]

The trees grew darker here. Not corrupted—just abandoned by light. Even the air tasted old.

Ceyra muttered under her breath, "This place was sacred once. Before they bled the sky."

Kaela answered, "Now it's just waiting to die."

Rivan said nothing.

His focus was ahead.

Because something was watching.

They made camp at the edge of a stone ridge, overlooking what used to be a Flameborn monastery. Now? A crater filled with ash and bone.

Thalia paced.

"She's close. I feel her pulling at me. Like an itch under the skin."

Rivan stood beside her, arms crossed. "Then let her come. We're not running."

"She doesn't seduce, Rivan," Thalia whispered. "She consumes. She doesn't want pleasure—she wants erasure."

[System Alert: Emotional Stress Spike Detected – Flame Anchor Unstable]

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.

He turned to her.

"Then stay close. My flame won't let her touch you."

She met his gaze, her fingers trembling.

"Can I... sleep near you tonight?"

He nodded.

Not as lord.

But as protector.

Midnight

Thalia lay pressed against his chest, her heat steadying. Her breathing soft.

And then—

The wind stopped.

A whisper slid through the trees.

"Brother."

Rivan opened his eyes.

Across the clearing stood a woman.

Tall. Barefoot. Cloaked in shadows that moved like liquid smoke.

Her skin was gray. Not dead. Not undead. Just... empty.

And her eyes—black, bottomless pits—locked onto Thalia.

"You took what was meant to die," she said. "Now I'll take what was meant to burn."

[System Update: Alpha Echo Confrontation Initiated | Engagement Status: Passive-Aggressive Threat | Combat Readiness: 76%]

Rivan rose, shirtless, unarmed.

But blazing.

"I'm not here to negotiate."

Alpha tilted her head.

"I wasn't offering terms."

She stepped into the firelight.

And smiled.

The fire between them crackled.

Alpha stood just beyond its edge, her bare feet untouched by ash, her presence colder than the void between stars. She moved like smoke—without resistance, without intent.

Thalia clung to Rivan's side, her Phoenix flame flickering with fear.

Kaela and Ceyra flanked them, but even they hesitated.

Because Alpha wasn't here to fight.

She was here to erase.

[System Threat Analysis: Subject Alpha | Thread Type: Void Echo | Power Set: Soul Nullification, Seduction Override, Bond Break]

"Give her to me," Alpha said, voice a velvet whisper. "And I will leave the rest untouched."

Rivan stepped forward.

"Then you'll have to burn for her."

Alpha tilted her head.

"You think love is your strength?" she asked. "It's your leash."

"I've heard worse threats," Rivan replied.

"No," Alpha murmured, "you've heard lies. Let me show you truth."

She extended a hand.

And the world warped.

Rivan blinked.

Suddenly, he was in Vault 17 again.

Strapped to the extraction chair.

The sound of machines. Cold steel. No fire.

Alone.

"No," he growled. "Not real."

Alpha's voice echoed around him. "Real is what you fear. And what you fear... is being nothing."

[System Integrity: Compromised – Illusion Breach at 27%]

But then—

A hand.

Thalia's.

It reached into the void.

And pulled.

Reality snapped back.

Rivan fell forward, panting, sweat pouring down his chest.

Alpha flinched.

"You burned it," she whispered.

"I lit the way out," Thalia answered, stepping forward.

Phoenix flame danced at her shoulders.

And Alpha, for the first time... stepped back.

[System Notice: Alpha Echo Thread Retreated | Threat Level: Reduced | Return Probability: 87%]

She didn't flee.

She dissolved.

Back into the dark.

Rivan dropped to one knee.

Thalia caught him.

He looked up, smiling weakly.

"Thanks for not letting me die alone."

"You saved me first," she whispered. "We're even."

---

Next Chapter (29): The Palace That Hums [18+]

A new ally arrives from the eastern ruins, claiming to know the next Echo's weakness. But her price? One night with Rivan's soul.

---