The world outside the Universität der Ewigen Flamme simmered in perpetual dusk, veiled by a sky of ash and glowing fracture-lines where stars once danced freely. But inside the institution, a tempest brewed—one of molten steel, hidden loyalties, and awakened destinies.
It began with a name.
The Trial of Vows.
Whispers of it surged like a wildfire through the Gluthallen barracks. Not part of the scheduled curriculum. Not announced through the System. It came instead as a flame-sealed envelope beneath each Flamebound student's door. Sealed with wax made of cooled sunblood, the sigil bore the mark of the Covenant Vault—a chamber known only through hushed rumor and old myth.
Maximilian Kriegswald, seated cross-legged beneath the soulfire brazier, turned the envelope between his fingers. The seal pulsed as if aware. Curious. Knowing.
Behind him, Alwin Noxrot's hands twitched across an aether-forged contraption shaped like a horned lizard with rotating gears. He never looked up.
"They say those who enter the Vault either emerge changed—or not at all."
Maximilian smirked, rising with calm certainty. "Then let's see what change means."
The Covenant Vault
It opened at dawn beneath the Old Forgefane, where seven archways of ashglass led into different realms of flame resonance. Only one burned blue.
Maximilian stepped through the arch, and the air changed.
He entered a cathedral built not from stone, but congealed promises. Flamebound oaths scribed in eternal ink floated mid-air, forming glowing helixes above a mirrored floor. Statues of students past—those who'd bound themselves in pact and path—lined the chamber, each emanating a unique aura memory.
The Vault's Warden stood at its heart.
A being neither alive nor truly dead. Cloaked in mantlefire and bound in eleven broken chains.
"I am Oathborne. Keeper of Vows and Witness of Trials," it said. "To walk forward, you must bleed meaning. Declare a vow of self. A promise etched in soulflame. And then face that which breaks it."
Maximilian's heart pulsed. His Star Soul Core reacted, glowing with high-frequency resonance.
A System prompt appeared, private and absolute.
Initiate: Trial of Vows – Pathbound Instance
Declare your Soul-Vow.
Class Restriction: HiddenTalent Lock: ConcealedRisk Level: SSS+
He placed a hand upon the obsidian oathstone.
"I vow to forge my own path—free of chains, yet stronger than any empire's will. I vow to rise without a throne, burn without a name, and guide without being seen."
The Vault groaned. The statues wept tears of white fire.
The Trial began.
Trial Instance: Reflection of the Fractured Path
He stood not in a dungeon, but a battlefield scorched by futures that might have been. A thousand Maximilians—versions of him that had submitted, joined Houses, become tyrants or martyrs—warred across mirrored plains. Each bore some fragment of truth.
He was made to fight them.
Not physically. But emotionally, ideologically.
One accused him of cowardice for hiding his power. Another wept, having sacrificed everything too early. One laughed, clad in a crown forged from conquered gods.
"You can't hide forever," they snarled in unison.
He answered them with silence—and then, with fire.
Starfire, once dormant, now surged. The Stellarweave Initiate class evolved as the Trial intensified, synchronizing higher with his Truth.
Class Evolution Updated: Stellarweave Initiate → Starforged Walker – Path Rank: SS+
He struck down each fractured path with clarity, not cruelty.
And when the Trial ended, the Vault responded.
Trial of Vows Completed – Integrity Score: 99.6%
You have earned the title: VowforgedYou may now access: The Inner Flame Sigils
Political Intrigue – The House Flame Accords
When he emerged from the Vault, the Chancellor's summons awaited.
Inside the Hall of Wyrmcrowns, all seven Houses had gathered—not merely representatives, but Lords and High Seats. Not even first-phase students were typically allowed entry.
And yet Maximilian stood at the heart of it.
Lady Valmera of House Solenschatten eyed him from behind a veil of lunar silk. "A Vowforged so early. Either a mistake… or a declaration."
Lord Rauven of House Emberwrought scoffed. "Or a threat."
Maelis der Aschenträgerin stepped forward from the shadows, her black-flame robes curling around her feet like liquid void. "No. A possibility."
"Enough," Chancellor Vulkrand said, her voice like cracking magma. "We are on the verge of war—internal, not external. The Outer Gate Trials loom, yet we play at politics."
Maximilian narrowed his eyes.
"Then allow me a proposal," he said. "An Independent Flame Accord. Non-aligned students who excel in Vow or Trial may access restricted dungeons, in exchange for relics pledged to the University—not any House."
Silence.
Then, murmurs. Shock. Rage.
But also interest.
"You would build a faction of unaffiliated?" Lord Rauven said coldly.
"No," Maximilian replied. "I would build a path forward."
Character Interlude: Lirael Veinsturm
That night, Lirael waited by the glimmerstream gardens—a place where soulroots twisted around volcanic lilies.
"You left without telling us," she said quietly.
"I had to," Maximilian answered.
Lirael turned, her eyes flickering with Ignia's Bloodline Glow.
"I don't trust easily, Maximilian. But you're forcing me to choose between following your shadow… or carving my own flame."
He hesitated. "Then carve it. And if it leads you to me, we'll walk it together. If not—I'll still clear the way ahead."
She smiled then. Not gently. Not sweetly. But with fire in her heart.
"You'd better. Because I just submitted for the Aetherforge Alchemy Duel, and I plan to win."
Lore Drop: The Inner Flame Sigils
The University holds relics known as Inner Flame Sigils—living concepts encoded into runes that mutate based on the user's oath. They do not simply enhance stats. They rewrite potential.
Known Sigils:
Blutbrand – Enhances bloodline abilities, but burns lineage the longer it's active.
Schattenglanz – Allows concealment from Divine and System-level detection. Rumored to be once worn by the Herald of Silence.
Eidflamme – Creates a link between the wielder and their declared vow. If the vow is broken, the wielder loses their abilities permanently.
Maximilian now holds Eidflamme, branded upon his palm like a hidden sun.
Item Profile: Eidflamme – Vowbrand Sigil
Type: Inner Flame Sigil
Bound To: Maximilian Kriegswald
Class Sync: 65%
Effect: Powers scale dynamically based on the strength and consistency of the wielder's soul-vow. Grants +25% resistance to oath-based enchantments and +40% aura regeneration in oath-aligned combat.
Side Effect: If vow integrity falls below 60%, user loses all benefits and suffers backlash.
Rarity: Unique – 1 of 1
Historical Owner: Starforger Vexir, the Last Oathbearer
The Next Trial: The Outer Gate
The System announcement arrived at midnight.
New Trial Unlocked: Das Äußere Tor – The Outer GateTrial Level: ExtremePhases: UnknownEntry Conditions: Soul Vow Confirmed
First Entrant: Maximilian Kriegswald
It projected across the flame halls. No one could ignore it.
The trial would take place in Flammenbruch, the fractured zone between dimensions where failed god-experiments roamed and logic often unraveled.
Alwin Noxrot, polishing a gear-scepter, muttered quietly: "You're going to break the world if you keep doing this."
Maelis appeared beside them, silent until now.
"No," she said, voice low. "He's not breaking it. He's forcing it to evolve."
Epilogue – The Glowing Oath
At the edge of the trial gate, Maximilian stood beneath an eclipsed sun. The Eidflamme pulsed softly in his palm, responding to his every breath.
He closed his eyes.
Somewhere deep within, the Starforger's Teachings whispered again.
"You do not wield power. You host it. Guide it. Shape it into meaning."
As the trial gate opened and flame twisted into starlight, he stepped forward—unchained, Vowforged, and burning brighter than ever.
End of Chapter 17: Der Glühende Eid – The Glowing Oath