The mirror in Kaizen's chamber was cracked. Not broken from battle or neglect, but from within. He stood before it, breath uneven, eyes red, staring into the distorted reflection of himself. But what stared back was not Kaizen.
"You are not him," the reflection whispered, mouth curling into a twisted smile. "You never were."
Kaizen stumbled backward, his heart pounding. The walls pulsed around him — breathing, whispering, alive.
"Enough," he growled, clutching his head. Flames sparked at his fingertips.
"Why do you deny it?" the mirror asked. "The Crown calls. The Vein sings. You are the last of fire, yet you extinguish yourself."
He shut his eyes.
And the world shifted.
---
Outside, Squad Umbra Prepared for Departure
Riven tightened his belt, loading another set of incendiary rounds. Eizo stood by the door, arguing with Myra.
"Leaving Kaizen in this state is suicide," Eizo snapped. "He's unstable. If he breaks while we're gone—"
"If we don't respond to the distress call, hundreds die," Myra countered, her voice shaking. "He needs time. And maybe… maybe he needs to break."
Riven looked toward Kaizen's room.
"We move," he said flatly. "Either he shatters… or he becomes something else."
---
Elsewhere — A Hidden Facility Beneath the Mountains
Ayaka walked through a dark corridor, led by a figure cloaked in old ceremonial robes. The air was cold, but the walls hummed with latent power.
"You seek answers about the boy of fire," the figure rasped. "Then speak to the Whisperer."
The chamber she entered was filled with shards — floating, spinning, each glowing faintly.
A woman sat cross-legged in the center, her body covered in glowing scars, eyes sealed.
"He carries the mark of the Crown," the Whisperer said before Ayaka could speak.
"The Crown of Seven Flames? It's a legend," Ayaka replied, stepping forward.
"A curse," the Whisperer corrected. "Each flame was a soul once, born to destroy gods. That boy… your Kaizen… carries the Seventh."
Ayaka's knees weakened.
"How do I stop it?"
"You do not stop fire, child. You burn with it — or you are consumed."
---
Meanwhile — On the Edge of the Silent Forest
Arven knelt by the remains of a village. No screams, no blood — just bodies, frozen mid-motion, eyes empty.
He whispered something to one of them.
"Tell your King… I am the flame that does not burn. I am the silence after fire."
He pressed his palm to a stone, burning a symbol into it — a shattered crown, split seven ways.
Then he vanished into the fog.
---
Back in Kaizen's Room
He gasped awake.
The mirror was gone.
He stood now in an endless black expanse, flames flickering at his feet. Before him rose seven thrones, each carved from obsidian and flame. Upon each throne sat a cloaked figure — faceless, massive, watching.
One stood.
"You took our curse," it said in a voice that echoed like thunder. "Now take our will."
Kaizen's chest seared. A burning mask appeared in the air before him — black, twisted, shaped like a dragon's skull. He screamed, trying to look away, but the fire pulled him in.
The figure walked toward him, lifting the mask.
"You are not the last of fire. You are the flame reborn."
As the mask touched his face, Kaizen collapsed.
---
End Scene
The squad raced through a forest.
Ayaka stood at the mountain's edge, wind tearing through her hair, eyes set toward HQ.
And in the black expanse within Kaizen's mind, the seven thrones burned brighter.
A voice — not his — whispered:
"The Crown chooses. Let the world burn again."