Is this actually your best?

  The question popped into Stella’s mind at the same time that she felt the same way she did when the blue flame took over her spells, except this time, it was taking over her.

  Time began to slow to a crawl, until Jamie, who had slowly been advancing toward her, stopped in place.

  No, he didn’t stop, I can feel my brain heating up. Time didn’t stop, my perception sped up. But why?

  As if responding to her question, Stella’s world turned white. Then a scene played before her in the white space. It was her, when she was evolving, when she had to make a choice about the path she wanted to follow.

  ----------

  The options that Stella had for her evolution weren’t many, but she felt that they were more than suitable for what she had done up until that point.

  In the end, after much deliberation with herself, the choice came down to two options.

  One that specialized in mana manipulation, recognizing her efforts, and the great strides she made while researching mana cores. And the other was focused on manipulating flames, and there was even a boon to the class, recognizing her efforts of developing magic on her own.

  Both suited her, and none of them was lacking. Since they both focused on using mana and the stats needed for both were basically the same, even their stat distribution was similar.

  She ultimately came to the conclusion that she only needed mana manipulation to, well, manipulate mana. And while a class that specialized in said manipulation could only benefit her, it didn’t necessarily grant her anything more than what she already had access to.

  Arriving at this conclusion wasn’t simple. She went through countless possibilities in her mind.

  What if mana manipulation increases my spell casting capabilities? If it did, than I wouldn’t be limited to flames at all, I could wield any element that I wished for. And forget spell casting, what about passive effects like those that a mana core gives me? I could improve them beyond their normal limit and with the excess mana I can make up for my other shortcomings, like physical capabilities.

  However, through her constant questioning, she had actually arrived at an aspect of herself that none of the classes addressed, not truly.

  In essence, Stella was a battlemage that wasn’t limited by her class’s natural stat inclination. She only worked harder than she needed to in order to achieve what she wished and used mana to cover what she lacked.

  Even if none of the classes gives me strength, I still need a certain amount of dexterity. I can make up for the lack of strength with more powerful magic, a more intense heat, but basic physical capabilities? If I used mana to force my body to do what I wished, beyond a certain limit, it would only damage me.

  She had arrived at the root of the problem, a problem that none of her class options addressed in any significant way. It wasn’t necessarily that none of the classes addressed the problem at all, but more that they only began to address it, showing a hint of something to come.

  But even after reviewing the classes once more, she came back to the same two classes, one of which she had already basically discarded, the mana manipulation focused one.

  Mana weaver: You have begun to tread upon a powerful but slow path. Mana becomes string, and you its ultimate weaver. Recognize the possibilities and create what you wish with your own hands.

  Even though the class sounds incredible, it means nothing if I don’t feel anything for it. I’ve read enough about cultivation, both fictional and real, to know that connection to your path is an absolute necessity. And I can’t imagine myself weaving mana, no matter how powerful that is. It simply doesn’t fit me.

  Flame Dancer: You gave shape to flames out of nothing. Through sheer will you crossed the boundary between user and creator. The flames dance to your tune, their intensity determined by your wishes. Become one and scorch the heavens.

  I already fight using flames, and I can see myself getting better at doing so. Even now I already have multiple ideas on how to improve what I can already do. If my body gets strong enough, I can probably move using explosions, without getting injured. This class is definitely the closest one to my path, at least for now.

  Without any further consideration, Stella chose her class and evolved.

  Just like how when Eric evolved, she too fell into a deep slumber as her body took its time to recover from the physical toll of evolution.

  And in that deep slumber, something called out to Stella. Having no will due to her level of exhaustion, she didn’t resist the call. However, the closer she got to the source, the more she felt like she was regaining her energy.

  “This place is… invigorating me?” she told herself, quickly realizing the situation.

  The place where she found herself was similar to where she had to choose her class evolution, but instead of looking at a distant piece of space, she was now well within it, near a planet.

  “It looks just like Earth.”

  Suddenly, the planet’s surface cracked, and from within it a blue flame erupted.

  Stella felt the flame call to her, both invigorating her and drawing her in. For a moment, she felt an intense heat sear her from the inside out, but just as quickly as it came, it disappeared.

  When she looked back at the planet, its entire surface was engulfed in flames that refused to die out. She knew this because she could feel the flame’s resilience, and hear the cries of those it consumed.

  Stella’s attention was drawn away as she suddenly heard more cracking, but being so aware of it, she knew that it didn’t come from the planet, but from all around her. Quickly turning to look around, she saw every other planet in the solar system was set ablaze by the same blue flame.

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  Once more, she could feel the connection strengthen. To her surprise, each of the planets, to a certain degree, held life. Said life ranged from something as small as bacteria, to full blown civilizations, some of which were aware of the others.

  “Wha-what is this?”

  Before Stella could question more of what she was going through, something else caught her attention.

  Within the empty space that existed between planets, more blue flames began to spark to life. They were so small that logically, the lack of oxygen or anything to actually fuel it, would have snuffed it out, but every flame continued to steadily burn.

  “Where am I? And why am I seeing this? Is this a nightmare of some kind? I don’t understand!” Stella cried out, shaking her head, determined to wake herself up. But she quickly stopped as she saw something that gave her pause.

  In the distance, every single star that she could see, began to turn blue. It was slow at first, but one by one the number of blue stars increased, until finally that’s all she saw. Thinking that that was it, she was surprised to see new stars come into being, all of them blue.

  A rush of information flooded her mind, threatening to shatter it completely. The overwhelming torrent of knowledge and emotion brought Stella to the brink of collapse, her thoughts fragmenting under the unbearable weight of it all.

  Stella struggled to maintain her sanity, only for the blue flame to surge toward her, not only repairing the fractures in her mind, but also permanently expanding it, allowing her to withstand the ongoing assault.

  When the healing was finished, Stella could now make out the constant cries that came from within the flame. The voices of millions of civilizations extinguished in an instant. The weeping of billions, desperate for salvation that would never come. An unending cacophony of pain from all the life that had ever existed, asking the same haunting question: Why?

  Then, when Stella could no longer articulate any thoughts of her own, the flames roared to life, permanently silencing the once vibrant universe.

  Stella only looked on as the flames continued to grow in the distance. Eventually they began to merge with one another, growing in intensity and power. Before she knew it, she was standing before a giant blue flame, a universe contained within.

  Then, out of nowhere, she felt a faint heat begin to settle within her. When she looked down, intending to find it, she only found a bedsheet—her bedsheet—she had woken up and she didn’t remember why she looked down at all.

  “Why do I feel like I forgot something?” she asked herself as the memory faded.

  ----------

  Stella found herself back in the white space, having remembered something that she had forgotten.

  “How could I forget something like that? I saw a universe die and I simply forgot? How? Shock? Adaptation? Maybe a side effect of the—”

  Stella’s thoughts ground to a halt as a foreign will began to overtake her. It wasn’t aggressive, or evil in any way. In fact, the only reason Stella even noticed was because she had felt the same emotion countless times before, when the blue flame overtook her spell, the only difference was that now it was her that was the target.

  No, the flame is just doing what flames do, consuming, she reasoned.

  Not feeling any will to resist, the feeling of consumption easily overtook most of her body and mind. Stella was already feeling the changes that were happening underneath.

  Her body was becoming stronger, more durable, faster and above all else, she could feel that her life force was burning with an intensity so bright that she actually became aware of it.

  Stella could feel that her mind was still her own but wishes of another were being injected. Nothing nefarious, just small desires that went beyond what she herself wished. It even took existing ideas and desires, twisting them to more accurately pursue these new objectives.

  But then, as the flame continued to expand through her entire being, overtaking and transforming it to suit its own whims, it came across another external influence.

  This influence was faint, but time had ingrained it into her very being. There was even a hint of consciousness in that external influence, and right now it was angry.

  Angry at Stella for allowing the flame to reach so far, angry at the flame for even daring to approach it, but in the end, it was angriest at itself for barely having noticed what was happening.

  The blue flame, either not thinking because it couldn’t, which Stella doubted, or because it did think and considered it would be victorious, which Stella thought was more likely, attacked the unknown external influence. Stella could feel the flame’s will, it was clear in its intent. It wanted to burn and consume this unknown influence, using it as fuel.

  At first, Stella thought that the flame would win, especially because the external influence wasn’t doing anything at all. But before she knew it, the blue flame’s connection to something else was cut off. Stella didn’t even know that there was a connection to begin with.

  Marking the beginning of its response, the external influence did nothing to the flame, instead, it instilled its fury within Stella herself.

  Stella could feel the blue flame’s influence wane. Whatever will it had left was nothing compared to what it had a moment ago, barely enough to distinguish it from both her will and the anger that she was feeling. But soon, her anger empowered self, stomped out the last vestiges of its will.

  And that wasn’t all. She could feel that something was trying to get back in, searching for entry into her being, and reconnect with the blue flame that was still within her, but the anger prevented it.

  She could still feel the uniquely blue flame within her, but it felt aimless and serene. Assured that she was no longer in danger, she blinked and with that blink, she saw time began to flow once more, her perception having reached normal speed.

  ----------

  “I don’t know what you felt,” Jamie answered.

  He was now only a few steps away from her and seeing how she was about to raise her hand, he knew that he had won. A small smile began to overtake him, but it soon vanished when an overwhelming sense of danger overtook him.

  It wasn’t just Jamie that noticed, everybody in the entire tournament grounds above a certain level, including the attendants, did too.

  For less than a second, everyone’s sense of danger flared to life, and all their gazes set on one person, the fallen Stella.

  A faint sense of heat began to permeate the entire arena, and some even saw hints of flame begin to spark from the corner of their eye, but they couldn’t be sure that it wasn’t their mind playing tricks on them.

  All of the attendants reached for their weapons, something nobody even knew they had, and they all began to leap into the arena.

  It felt like time began to crawl as everyone became hyperaware of their surroundings and the developing situation at hand. Suddenly, a voice cut through the tension.

  “I surrender,” the voice said.

  Everyone turned to the source of the noise, only to be surprised by who it was. It was Stella, who was slowly rising to her feet. In their panic, no one had even noticed that the sense of danger that had driven their senses to the extreme, had vanished completely.

  “I surrender,” Stella repeated, her voice a bit surprised as she found herself surrounded by all the attendants, their weapons hidden once more. “Is that not allowed? Wait, are you going to kill me now? Is surrendering disrespectful somehow?”

  A human attendant walked forward.

  “No, surrender isn’t disrespectful. Knowing one’s own limits are one of the most respectful aspects of a warrior, especially to oneself.” The attendant gestured to the side. “Please stand aside while I make an announcement. You can also return to your seat, if you so wish.”

  Stella nodded in understanding and began to make her way back to her seat, Jamie trailing behind her. There was an undecipherable expression on his face. It was an odd mix of happiness, curiosity and fear, but it could also just be excitement, it was hard to discern.

  ----------

  Deep in space, within the Torch, a sleek and futuristic ship who’s edges gleamed, along with its recognizable name and appearance, was a priest.

  In the biggest chamber of the ship, the flame hall, stood a priest at the bottom of the altar, his gaze set on the eternally burning flame beyond the glass. Their visage was completely obscured by their robes.

  Within humanoid arms constructed entirely of blue flames, a futuristic tablet was held. Furiously, with two other arms of flame, the priest ran countless scenarios and internal diagnostics. Something was wrong and he knew it.

  Turning to his fellow priest who was praying in silence, he asked a question. “Has the holy flame changed?”

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