Location: Crater Edge – After the Clash
Smoke coiled upward like offerings to forgotten gods.
Kai knelt in the center of the impact zone, fists still steaming. His shirt was torn, ribs bruised—but his eyes…
His eyes were open in a way they hadn't been since the Cathedral.
The Weapon lay embedded in a cracked wall, unconscious or worse. His gauntlets were shattered—molten metal hissing in the dust.
Ryuu approached first. "You... alright?"
Kai didn't respond.
Shin landed beside them, sword humming low.
"He's remembering again," he muttered.
Kai's hands twitched. Symbols burned gold across his forearms, then faded.
"I know who she is," he said softly.
Ryuu blinked. "The Witch?"
Kai looked up.
"No. Syl. I remember the day I made her forget."
Flashback Fragment – The Circle of Forgetting
A ritual chamber beneath the First Sanctum. Two teens stood inside a broken sigil, hands clasped.
Kai's voice cracked.
"If you walk through that gate, they'll use you."
Syl nodded. "Then erase me. From you. From them. From everything."
"I can't."
"You must. Or I won't come back."
Lightning arced. Time buckled.
Kai whispered her name one last time—and poured everything into the forgetting.
As her eyes faded from recognition, she smiled.
"I'll find you again."
Present – The Naming Vault
Shin stood at a shattered vault door, ancient names carved in concentric rings around it. Ryuu traced a finger across one.
"These are all the names Kai's burned through?" he asked.
Shin nodded. "His true name is buried beneath them."
Kai entered slowly.
His presence alone made the inner walls respond.
Symbols lit up. Names blurred.
He walked to the center.
Paused.
And spoke.
"My name… before Renshiro… before everything…"
Silence.
"Ashin."
The room shook.
A cascade of voices echoed back.
"Ashin."
"Ashin."
"ASHIN."
Ryuu staggered. "Why do I feel like I've heard that name before?"
Shin's eyes narrowed.
"Because it wasn't a name."
Kai turned.
"It was a title."
Elsewhere – Syl's Sanctuary
She stood before a mirror that reflected not her, but moments.
She saw the name spoken in the vault.
She smiled—and wept at the same time.
"I found you," she whispered.
Behind her, the shadows stirred. An old woman stepped out, skin tattooed with binding runes.
"So… the Ash-Born remembers."
Syl nodded.
"And now the world burns again."
Elsewhere – The Void Between Names
The Weapon stirred.
But he was no longer alone.
A voice echoed in the nothing:
"You were not created to defeat him. You were created to contain what he left behind."
The Weapon opened his eyes—and they glowed gold now.
The containment had failed.
Kai stood alone in the naming vault, eyes closed, breathing slow.
"I was never meant to survive this," he whispered.
Shin entered. "Then why are you still here?"
Kai opened his eyes.
"To make sure no one else forgets what I did."