Darkness pressed against Kaizen like a living force.
He stood suspended in a realm of flame and void, surrounded by nothing—yet feeling watched by everything.
Valtherion, the Skyburner, stood before him—a being made of cosmic fire and stardust, his presence ancient and regal.
> "You must pass the Trial," Valtherion said. "Only then will your blood remember."
Kaizen frowned. "Trial for what?"
Valtherion's eyes burned brighter.
> "To walk as a Flamewalker is to relive the moments that broke the world."
---
Suddenly—
The void shattered like glass.
Kaizen fell—not through space, but through memory.
He landed hard on a scorched battlefield.
The smell of ash and blood stung his nose.
All around him, ancient warriors screamed, flame-cloaked beasts roared, and giant sigil towers crumbled under red lightning.
> "Welcome to the War of Sundering," Valtherion's voice echoed.
Kaizen turned to see a younger version of Valtherion—flesh and armor instead of fire and stars—standing atop a burning tower.
He raised his hand…
And the sky ignited.
---
The sun cracked like porcelain.
The stars bled.
The air became molten.
Kaizen's skin screamed as the Flamewalker's Fire touched him. But it didn't burn him—it tested him.
> "This is your first Trial," said a voice behind him.
Kaizen spun around.
A boy stood there.
Maybe 14. Maybe younger.
His face was pale, his eyes pitch black, and across his chest was the same jagged sigil Kaizen had seen in the vision before.
> "You don't belong here," the boy said.
"You weren't supposed to survive."
Kaizen stepped closer. "Who are you?"
The boy smiled darkly.
> "Your twin flame."
"The one they buried when they chose you to live."
Kaizen's heart stopped.
---
Suddenly—
A flaming spear shot toward him.
Kaizen dodged, but the boy was already gone.
In his place stood warriors of the First Flame, spectral beings wielding curved blades and wearing armor that shimmered with golden runes.
> "Defeat them," echoed Valtherion.
"Or be lost here forever."
Kaizen raised his fists—and for the first time since awakening his Veinborn power—he didn't hesitate.
He moved like a firestorm—dodging, striking, channeling the heat around him.
His veins glowed, his eyes burned, and with each movement, memories unlocked inside him:
A child in chains beneath the earth.
A sealed door etched with the Ryouma crest.
A voice whispering: "You are not the first…"
---
He crushed the last spectral warrior into ash.
The realm shifted again.
Now he stood inside a massive chamber made of obsidian, filled with books made of fire and memory.
Ayaka's voice called out faintly in the distance. "Kaizen…"
He turned, but she wasn't there.
Instead, an ancient being sat at a table.
It had no face—only a glowing mask that bled black ink.
It spoke:
> "You were created, Kaizen Ryouma."
"You were not born."
Kaizen clenched his fists. "What are you talking about?"
> "You are a vessel of the Pact. A vessel of the Skyburner's last will."
"And you are incomplete."
The being reached forward and tapped Kaizen's chest.
> "Half of your flame is still buried."
"And he's waking up."
Kaizen gasped as his body convulsed.
He screamed as red-hot chains coiled around his limbs, pulling him down into—
---
—the final Trial.
A prison of mirrors.
Every reflection showed a different version of him:
Kaizen the Savior.
Kaizen the Tyrant.
Kaizen the God.
Kaizen the Monster.
Each version stepped out from the mirror, eyes glowing.
They spoke in unison:
> "Choose who you are."
Kaizen's breath grew heavy.
"None of you," he whispered.
He closed his eyes…
And saw Ayaka.
Squad Umbra.
His mother's smile.
His father's scream.
His flame ignited—not in rage, but in purpose.
> "I am the one who will burn fate itself."
A wave of fire burst from within, shattering the mirrors and dissolving the trial realm into sparks.
---
He opened his eyes.
He stood once more before Valtherion.
But now… Kaizen's hair shimmered faintly with ember threads. His veins glowed with three colors—crimson, gold, and black.
Valtherion smiled.
> "You have passed."
"But now your burden begins."
Kaizen narrowed his eyes. "What now?"
Valtherion pointed upward.
> "Now you must face the one who carries your other half…"
"And he is no longer sleeping."
---
Back in the real world…
Ayaka gasped awake.
The sky had turned red.
From the south, a second Vein rupture opened—
…and out of it stepped the boy with the jagged sigil.
But this time, he was surrounded by ten robed figures, all bearing marks of the Ancient Flame Cult.
He smiled.
> "Let the real story begin."