"When fire meets shadow, one does not extinguish the other.
Instead, they forge something forgotten—
Something the world once feared to name."
– The Lost Verse of Ashborn
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Scene: Outskirts of Haven – Underground Vein Channel
Kaizen and Ayaka dashed through the abandoned transport tunnels beneath the Council's core. Red klaxons spun overhead, illuminating the veins of old magic inscribed into the walls—pulsing faintly, like the heartbeat of a forgotten god.
"Where are we going?" Kaizen asked between breaths.
Ayaka didn't slow down. "To someone who still remembers what the First Flame stood for. Someone who knew your mother."
Kaizen stopped in his tracks.
"…You knew?"
Ayaka turned, pain swimming in her eyes. "I didn't until last week. But when you awakened the shard, some people began to whisper. A name resurfaced. Elya Ryouma. The Emberborn Prophet."
The name felt like a match dropped in oil.
Kaizen's heart pounded. "What else did they say?"
Ayaka hesitated. "They said… she defied the Council. She warned them about the Bist. And then she vanished. Some believe she was executed in secret. Others say she was taken—by something older than even the Council."
Kaizen clenched his fists. "Then we'll find the truth."
Before Ayaka could respond, a deafening crack split the tunnel.
Veinsteel doors behind them burst open. A unit of Crimson Enforcers surged through, rifles trained and glowing.
"Fugitives located!"
Ayaka threw a Veinburst grenade.
The explosion turned the tunnel into a firestorm.
Kaizen grabbed her hand. "No more running."
Ayaka blinked. "Then what?"
Kaizen's eyes flickered. "We make them run."
He raised his hand.
The First Flame Shard pulsed—slowly at first. Then violently. The air ignited around him. His silhouette blurred, wrapped in gold-veined fire. His feet lifted inches off the ground.
The temperature soared.
The walls screamed.
Kaizen whispered one word.
"Ashweaver."
A ring of flame spun outward—melting weapons, shattering visors. The entire Crimson Enforcer unit collapsed in seconds.
And when the fire cleared, Kaizen stood still, the shard dimming once more.
He exhaled slowly.
"I'm done hiding."
---
Scene: Eden's Maw – The Forgotten Sanctuary
Hours later, Kaizen and Ayaka stood before the entrance of Eden's Maw—a colossal stone gate half-buried under obsidian cliffs. Strange glyphs spiraled across the stone in patterns not even modern Veinsmiths could decipher.
Ayaka placed her hand on the gate.
Nothing happened.
Kaizen stepped forward, the shard in his chest glowing faintly. The symbols lit up.
A voice echoed—not from outside the gate, but from within Kaizen's own body.
"Ash returns to ash… flame returns to Eden."
The gates opened.
Inside was darkness made alive.
Kaizen stepped in first, his body shedding light like a torch.
Ayaka followed.
Within the Maw, ancient machines hummed, suspended in time. Giant pillars etched with pre-Veinborn language reached toward the heavens. At the center stood a woman in a flowing robe of ember-red silk, long gray hair cascading like river smoke.
She turned.
And smiled.
"I've waited a long time, Kaizen Ryouma."
Kaizen froze.
"You… know me?"
The woman nodded. "I knew your mother. And I swore to protect her bloodline."
Ayaka stepped between them. "Who are you?"
The woman bowed her head.
"My name is Saela Varn. Keeper of the First Flame. And I am the last surviving member of the Veinbound Rebellion."
Kaizen felt the air shift.
"You're the ones the Council erased from history."
Saela smiled sadly. "No. We erased ourselves. To keep the truth safe. But now that truth must rise again. Because the Shard King is awakening."
Kaizen's eyes narrowed. "You mean me?"
"No," Saela said, walking toward a pedestal at the room's center. "Not just you. You were meant to be one of seven vessels. But only one survived the culling."
Ayaka gasped. "The culling?"
Saela turned slowly. "The Council killed the others before their shards could awaken. But your mother—Elya—hid you. Gave you a false name. Buried your shard deep in dormant slumber."
Kaizen stepped forward. "Then why am I losing control?"
Saela touched the pedestal. A projection flared to life. An ancient prophecy spiraled in mid-air.
"Because your shard wasn't ready. But now… the King Fragment inside you is waking. And if you don't master it soon, it will burn through your mind and body—until nothing remains."
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Scene: Final Page – A Name Remembered
Outside Eden's Maw, storm clouds gathered unnaturally fast.
A cloaked figure stood on a cliff, watching the sanctuary open.
His eyes glowed with blue fire—opposite to Kaizen's red.
He whispered.
"So… the Ashweaver has entered Eden."
Behind him, five silhouettes emerged from the darkness—each carrying shards of different hues.
One of them chuckled. "Guess it's time for the Shardbearers to gather."
The leader's voice echoed like glass breaking.
"No. It's time… for the Shard King to fall."