"There are whispers in the Flame… and they say your name, Kaizen."
The words echoed in his mind as Kaizen stood atop the frostbitten cliff, staring down at the smoldering ruins of what was once Outpost Velmara. Smoke twisted like dying spirits into the sky. Beneath it, ash-covered bodies and collapsed structures lay in silence. The sector had fallen.
And Kaizen… he had changed.
His cloak fluttered in the wind, soaked with soot and blood. Squad Umbra stood behind him, silent, broken, yet alive. Every one of them bore wounds that would leave more than scars on their bodies—scars on their purpose, their trust.
But Kaizen's gaze wasn't on the battlefield. His eyes, darkened and veined with a faint ember glow, were locked onto the horizon.
"Ayaka…" he whispered under his breath.
---
Earlier — HQ Command Chamber
"What you did back there wasn't Veinborn instinct. It was something… older."
Captain Nero's voice was calm, yet layered with unease. Kaizen stood chained again—this time, not as a prisoner, but as a subject of analysis. Monitors surrounded him, projecting distorted pulse graphs and crimson silhouettes of his body.
"What are you trying to say?" Kaizen asked.
Dr. Yurei adjusted her glasses, stepping forward. "We detected seven unique vein signatures during your activation at Velmara. Seven. That's not just rare—it's impossible. Even the strongest Veinborn barely channel three."
"Seven Flames," Nero murmured. "And all of them… reacted to one thing."
Kaizen's heartbeat thumped louder.
"Shard resonance," Dr. Yurei continued. "Your body absorbed the energy from the black shard retrieved by Squad Umbra. Not deflected. Not resisted. Absorbed. Like it belonged."
Kaizen clenched his fists. "What does it mean?"
"It means," Nero said grimly, "You might not be just Veinborn anymore. You might be something… that commands them."
---
Outside – Training Barracks
Eizo paced nervously. The squad was fractured after Velmara. Myra hadn't spoken since the retreat. Riven was still recovering from internal injuries. And Sura… she'd vanished during the evacuation.
Only Kaizen held the pieces together—and even he was falling apart from the inside.
Eizo paused, spotting movement.
A boy. No, a young man. Pale skin, thin frame. Crimson tattoos danced across his arms, pulsing faintly in rhythm with… something unnatural. He walked like a ghost, unnoticed by guards.
"Hey!" Eizo called out. "Who are you?"
The boy turned, and for a moment, Eizo saw it—his eyes were empty. Not dead. Not hollow. Just… nonexistent.
Before Eizo could react, the boy vanished in a whisper of smoke.
---
Elsewhere — Hidden Chamber Beneath HQ
A dark figure placed his hand against the glass. Within the sealed chamber, ancient flame symbols glowed faintly around a suspended core—another shard. But this one wasn't black. It pulsed white-gold, throbbing like a living heart.
"He is awakening," the figure muttered. His voice was low, reverent, but laced with fear. "The throne will seek him."
Behind him, shadowy figures knelt in a circle, robes trailing flame symbols.
"The Shard King must never ascend," one hissed.
"But if he does…" another replied, "We serve—or we burn."
---
Back to Kaizen – Isolation Room
Kaizen stood, alone now. The chains were gone. But the weight on his soul was heavier than ever.
He had begun seeing things.
Whispers in the mirror. Eyes behind flames. A voice that wasn't his own, whispering in a tongue he didn't know—but understood perfectly.
He pulled his shirt aside.
Veins. Not red. Not blue.
Veins of fire. Spreading from his heart outward.
He fell to his knees, clutching his head.
And then he saw it—
A throne made of living flame. Seven figures knelt before it. One stood tall… his face hidden, but Kaizen knew—
It was him.
---
In Squad Umbra's Quarters
Myra sat on the edge of her bed, sketching. Her hand trembled. She had drawn a face—unknowingly.
The same boy Eizo had seen.
The one who wasn't supposed to exist.
His name… echoed in her ears.
"Arven."
She didn't know how she knew it.
But the moment she said it out loud… every flame in the room flickered unnaturally.
---
Final Scene – Arven's Awakening
Deep underground, where the oldest parts of the world still breathed, Arven opened his eyes.
He stood before a burning altar, hands stretched wide.
"The shards are waking. The Veins are shifting. And the King of Fire walks blind."
His voice was calm, chilling.
"But before he reaches the throne…"
His hand closed into a fist.
"…I will burn the path behind him."
The fire rose around him, forming wings of shadow and flame.