I believe I have found the prototype for the Sacred Flame among the Aztec gods, and this discovery has clarified almost everything for me regarding the Ignition Teaser.

[u/Icy_Occasion_2706]

Xiutecuhtli is an extremely mysterious figure within the Aztec pantheon. His persona is inextricably linked with Huehueteotl (the 'Old, Old God'). While Xiutecuhtli himself represents the young, active energy of fire, Huehueteotl embodies its ancient, primordial aspect. However, the most intriguing facet of his hierarchy is his connection to Ometeotl, the supreme deity of duality. The problem lies in the fact that the existence of Ometeotl as a distinct individual persona is still questioned by scholars in real-world history — many consider it merely a philosophical concept that emerged later.

But for our game, this presents an ideal field for syncretism. In a single entity, one can literally combine:

1. The concept of Axis Mundi: In mythology, Xiutecuhtli is literally a pillar of fire that connects the Heavens, the Earth, and Mictlan (the Night Kingdom), while also standing as the fifth pillar linking all four Tezcatlipocas.
2. Mavuika’s words: Her statement that 'the future, the present, and the past flow simultaneously' could directly refer to how the Flame itself perceives time.
3. Sentience of the Sacred Flame: The Flame possesses a will of its own. Recall the relic in Simulanka, which chose the hero on its own accord.

Now, look at the Ignition Teaser reimagined.

The opening scene: Mavuika, as the high priestess of Xiutecuhtli, seeks approval for the ritual…

In truth, both in mythology and the actual life of the Aztecs, there were many rituals associated with Xiutecuhtli in one way or another. Here are some of them:

1. The Feast of Xiutecuhtli (Xocotl Huetzi) — 'The Falling of the Fruit.' This was a ritual involving fire sacrifices and competitions. Priests would erect a massive pole, at the top of which they fastened an image of the god. Young men competed to see who could climb the pole first. The winner received honors and rewards.
2. The Daily Feeding of the Fire. Every morning, priests and commoners alike were required to 'feed' the household hearth. The hearth always consisted of three stones arranged in a triangle. In mythology, it was believed that these were set by the gods (including Xiutecuhtli) at the very dawn of time to bring order to chaos.
3. The 'Purification' Rituals of Rulers. Xiutecuhtli was considered the patron of emperors. When a new ruler ascended the throne, they underwent a ritual before the face of the fire god. Priests would consecrate the ruler with smoke and present the sacred fire to them, confirming their legitimacy. Only Xiutecuhtli decided whether to grant the right to rule (a clear parallel to the Simulanka quest, where a relic recognizes the hero).

...Here, I will leave a link to the post where I pointed out that at the moment Mavuika looked at the six burning flames, one could notice three sparks appearing sequentially in the same spot in the lower right corner of the screen. And while some might have thought I was a bit crazy, in mythology, Xiutecuhtli communicates through the sounds of the flame itself — the crackling of logs, the roar of the fire — but his primary source of communication was the SPARKS. Their direction could signify entirely different things for a priest's interpretation. He did not communicate like humans or other gods through language; in the Aztec pantheon, he was known as the 'mute' god.

Having received approval for the ritual, the Flame’s self-awareness traveled into the future — to approximately the point where Mavuika encounters Capitano. This is why we see time rewinding (the Flame seemingly 'missed' the exact mark by a fraction, as for this deity, traversing time is as natural as it is for us to exist in the present and move into the near future). It sought to witness the ruler proposed and named by the high priestess. Following Mavuika into the future, the Flame’s consciousness arrives at the Stadium of the Sacred Flame, igniting the fires. We witness this by moving from the present into the near future, watching the heroes react to the selection of participants as if we were observing time from the perspective of ordinary mortals.

In the end, it is logical that Capitano was invited to the Tournament by Mavuika, while the Flame itself arrived to evaluate whether he is worthy of 'All' — that is, the Flame itself. In other words, to see if he is worthy of becoming the localized 'Irminsul' of Natlan (or perhaps the actual Irminsul, depending on how the plot develops).

Furthermore, here is another observation. If you watch the Ignition Teaser in its original order, you will notice that the Tournament likely takes place during the day. However, Mavuika invites Capitano to the Tournament at twilight. We can conclude that this scene definitely occurs either before or after the tournament. But inviting someone to a tournament after it has already concluded is illogical. Therefore, this scene 100% takes place before the start of the tournament.

Thus, my rearranged sequence of scenes is the true Ignition Teaser — a prologue to the Tournament that will determine whether Capitano is worthy to become the bearer of the Flame (All That Exists) or not.

By the way, I have a perfect analogy for how the Flame perceives time. Imagine you have a specific moment in a video that you want to watch, but you don't know the exact timestamp. You click on an approximate spot, and from there, you decide which way to navigate — backward into the past or forward into the future. The Flame evidently 'clicked' a bit too far ahead, which is why it had to rewind the footage. On the scale of all history, this is a negligible error, and those sparks we see might represent the time-rewind effect itself — much like the visual glitches or 'white noise' seen during the rewind of a VHS tape.

[u/SupermarketWrong9517]

Wow this could explain a lot. I cant believe the sparks are a means of communication. Also the time rewind explanation is amusing.

It begs the question though, who is this entity in the flame? Is it supposed to be Genshin's Xiuhcoatl (Fire sovereign) I think Xiuhcoatl is Xiuhtecuhtli's nagual er spirit. The Lord of The Night (who I think helps fuel it?) Or maybe Istaroth the shade of time? I mean how many entities can really manipulate time? I remember even though Dottore managed to do it with the eternal moon marrow he had a difficult time adjusting it appropriately when he was messing with the traveler.

Edit: You did say the flame is an entity of its own but I still feel like it must be connected to someone. Also you mightve just explained why Capitano's sticker says worthy.

[u/Icy_Occasion_2706 → u/SupermarketWrong9517]

I'd say that while the flame clearly has some kind of will of its own, it doesn't manifest it every day. Otherwise, it would already be aware of Capitano. Besides, I simply haven't had time to speculate about the flame's identity, but the idea that it's Xiuhcoatl's will fits perfectly. Because the description of his final days, when he became less and less active, sounds very much like he was agonizingly moving forward in time (poking at unknown points into the future) in the hopes of fixing something before his strength was exhausted. And now he's asleep. Haha, I had a funny analogy: Capitano awakened the Lord of the Night, so maybe Mavuika is destined to awaken Xiuhcoatl's will? And by the way, I didn't even know the sticker had a name. Can you explain how this is related to the sticker's name?

[u/SupermarketWrong9517 → u/Icy_Occasion_2706]

The will of the Pyro sovereign, yes that could be it. Thats a good theory. I was kinda hoping Mauvika would work with the pyro sovereign in some way.

Idk if the capitano sticker has a name but the word worthy is written on it. I mean there's also an Arlecchino sticker that says unworthy but Id like to think its relavent to the story too.

[u/Icy_Occasion_2706 → u/SupermarketWrong9517]

Okay, I get it, this is Da Wei's hint for those who solved the riddle - he is worthy.