Kaen looked at his hands.
The black flames were gone.
Only flickers of red remained—gentle, controlled.
For the first time in his life, the fire felt like his own.
"From now on…"
"I'll fight with this."
He held up his palm.
A small, steady flame danced at his fingertips.
Not shadow. Not corruption.
Just Shinrei.
Just him.
But then—
His vision blurred.
His knees gave out.
And darkness rushed in.
"Kaen!"
Shun's voice was the last thing he heard.
…Minutes later
Kaen's eyelids fluttered open.
His entire body ached like he'd been dragged through fire and thrown into stone.
Which, honestly, wasn't too far from the truth.
"Where… am I?"
He tried to sit up only to realize he was at the center of a glowing circle inscribed with runes.
A chamber of gray marble, high domed ceiling.
Dozens of eyes watched him from above—some cold, some curious, a few outright hostile.
Directly in front of him stood the only familiar figure:
Sensei Shun.
Kaen blinked.
Confused. Dizzy.
"Sensei…?"
Shun turned slightly, offering a calm, reassuring look.
"Kaen, you're awake. Don't worry."
"Everything is going to be alright."
"What do you mean 'alright'?!"
A harsh voice cut through the tension like a blade.
"He used the power of a Voidborn!"
The speaker stepped forward.
Kurosawa Zeke.
An Eclipse Vanguard with a jagged scar slashing across his left eye, cloak burned and tattered from past wars.
His affinity: Flame.
But not just flame.
Magma.
A flame so dense and violent it could melt steel in seconds.
He stood like a general ready for execution.
"Shun, get away from him."
"He will turn. It's only a matter of time."
A melodic voice laughed softly behind him.
"Still as high-blooded as ever, Kurosawa-san."
It was Amane Hoshigaki, another Eclipse Vanguard.
Her long dark-pink hair flowed like silk, her uniform embroidered with flower patterns… deceptively beautiful.
Her Affinity: Bloom.
Healing, regeneration—
And poison.
They called her The Deadly Flower for a reason.
She could save lives.
She could end them faster.
Zeke turned, annoyed.
"Shut up, Amane."
From across the circle, a massive figure raised both hands in peace.
His head was shaved clean, his face serene.
Gorou Kanzaki.
A monk in full armor, beads hanging from his neck.
His voice was deep, calm, and gentle.
"Praise Amitābha…"
"May this poor soul be blessed by the Buddha."
His Affinity: Stone.
His Echo Arts: Unshakable faith.
He was said to have once stood unmoving for three days against a siege, reciting prayers with arrows in his body.
"We cannot execute him," Gorou said softly.
"Not until the Master makes his decision."
Another voice yawned lazily from a nearby bench.
"We don't want the Master to get angry…"
It was Raiden Kurogami, eyes half-closed, black hair wild.
His uniform was loose, his expression indifferent.
But his name carried weight.
Raiden, the Thunder God.
His Echo Arts were fast enough to split sky and strike three enemies in one heartbeat.
Affinity: Thunder.
He looked at Kaen briefly, then said:
"Besides, what if his power's like Yui's?"
That name changed the air in the room.
Yui Fushiguro.
Not present but always present in conversation.
Her Affinity: Shade.
Zeke's eye twitched.
He snapped:
"Yui is different. She was born to use the Shade. It runs in the bloodline."
"The Fushiguro Clan."
He pointed at Kaen, disgusted.
"But this boy? He has no lineage. No training. No right."
Gorou nodded slowly, but then looked around.
"Where is Kaito Yagami?"
Another Eclipse Vanguard also absent.
Kaito
Affinity: Wave.
His control of motion and momentum was said to rival the sea itself.
None of them answered.
Kaen just sat there.
Silent.
Still too tired to rise.
But inside, his mind spun.
"Voidborn… control… execution… is that what I am to them now?"
He looked up at Sensei Shun, who stood without moving.
Defiant.
As The circle was silent.
Eyes filled with judgment.
Auras heavy with suspicion.
The flickering torchlight overhead cast long shadows across Kaen's face as he slowly pushed himself to his knees.
Breath shallow. Arms trembling. But his voice when it came was loud. Raw. Unfiltered.
"I'm not a Voidborn!!"
His voice echoed against the marble walls.
Fists clenched.
Chest rising and falling with defiance.
"I am Kaen Suro—
A human!"
Zeke's one eye narrowed.
He took one step forward, his magma Echo crackling slightly around his fists.
The heat around him made the air shimmer.
"Shut up!!"
Kaen flinched but didn't look away.
"You saw what I did."
"I fought it. I beat it."
He pointed at Shun.
"I protected my sensei!"
Amane leaned her chin on her palm, watching with interest.
"Huh. So you do have a spine."
Zeke snarled.
"It's not about what you did—it's about what you could become."
He raised a finger, fire curling up it.
"All it takes is one slip. One moment of fear. One crack in your soul—"
"And we lose another city to a Voidborn
Kaen stood shakily.
He was barely conscious, still bleeding internally but he stood.
He met Zeke's gaze head-on.
"Then I'll make sure I never slip."
"I'll fight it."
"I'll master it."
His voice broke but he didn't stop.
"I don't want to be feared. I don't want to be pitied."
"I just want to be seen… for who I really am."
"Not the curse. Not the seal."
"Just Kaen."
Zeke stared at him for a moment.
Then… scoffed.
"You talk like a wannabe Vanguard."
Shun stepped forward, finally speaking again.
His tone was firm.
Measured.
"That's because he is one."
Zeke turned to him.
Eyes burning.
"He hasn't earned that right."
Raiden yawned, voice lazy as ever.
"Sounds like someone's afraid of being replaced."
"What did you say?" Zeke growled.
"You heard me," Raiden said, finally opening both eyes.
Thunder flickered in his irises.
"He beat a Voidborn with no Echo control . No tactical advantage."
"And he's thirteen."
He looked at Kaen for the first time—really looked.
"Not saying he's not a threat."
"But maybe… he's not the threat you think."
Suddenly A laugh echoed across the chamber.
Dry. Cheerful. Powerful.
"Hahahaha… This is the first time I've heard you compliment someone, Raiden."
The chamber shifted.
The tension cracked.
Not from fear—
But reverence.
Everyone turned.
Zeke's scarred eye twitched, his jaw locked.
Amane sat upright, her easy grace turning serious.
Gorou pressed both palms together and bowed his head.
Even Raiden careless, untouchable Raiden tensed ever so slightly.
Because they all knew.
They all felt it.
The sound had come from the archway above the council circle, where the wall split open into a sunbeam of white light.
And there he stood.
A tall figure, robed in black and silver, the embroidery on his sleeves forming flowing river-like patterns.
Golden hair, gleaming like it belonged to a divine statue.
Blue eyes, clear and deep and impossibly gentle.
Not cold.
Not harsh.
But terrifying in their stillness.
His very presence didn't blaze like Zeke's, or coil like Amane's, or crackle like Raiden's.
It simply flowed.
Effortless.
Inevitable.
Like blood through a body.
Like Shinrei through a soul.
Master Isen.
The Keiryuu.
The one through whom the world's power moved—its greatest spear, its oldest secret.
Kaen stared, breath frozen.
The room, the pain, even his heartbeat—gone.
All that existed now was that man.
"This is him…
The strongest man in the world…
Master Isen."
"He once split a mountain range to end a war."
"They say he carries no malice in his heart—only silence."
"No one knows his real Echo Affinity."
"His sealed spear requires eight limiters. And he only ever removed five."
"He killed an Ancient Dragon alone. On foot. And didn't even draw the spear."
Isen smiled warmly as he descended the steps, his voice light.
"You all seem tense."
He gave a playful glance to Zeke, who bristled but didn't speak.
"I wonder… is it because of this boy?"
His tone was soft.
But the room listened like it was thunder.
He finally turned to Kaen, who could barely raise his head.
Still weak. Still shaking.
But he looked up.
And felt it.
This man…
He wasn't suppressing power.
He wasn't hiding an affinity.
He simply was.
And Kaen felt it like pressure on his skin.
No killing intent.
No spiritual force.
But somehow, he knew.
"If this man wanted me dead, I wouldn't even feel it."
"He's… strong."
"Not just strong. The strongest."
Isen's gaze was kind.
Almost apologetic.
He knelt before Kaen, smiling as if he were greeting a child at a shrine.
"What's your name, young one?"
Kaen swallowed.
The heat in his chest surged not from Shinrei, but from sheer awe.
"K… Kaen Suro, sir."
Isen nodded.
"I see. A strong name."
He gently placed a hand on Kaen's shoulder.
Kaen nearly collapsed again—not from pain.
But from the overwhelming peace.
As if this man's presence alone had stilled his storm.
Isen stood and turned to the Vanguards.
"This boy is not a Voidborn."
"He fought one. Resisted it. And above all—he bled for someone else."
He smiled.
"That sounds pretty human to me."
Zeke was silent.
Raiden grinned.
Gorou whispered a mantra of thanks.
Amane? She smiled with a dangerous curiosity.
But Isen wasn't watching them anymore.
He turned toward a figure who had stood quietly, tense through it all—
Sensei Shun.
The once-elite Crimson Veinwalker.
The man who had brought Kaen to the academy.
The man who had almost died protecting him.
Isen's smile faded not into anger, but something harder to name.
A kind of ancient sorrow.
He stepped toward Shun.
The difference in stature wasn't much but the difference in presence made Shun feel ten years younger and two lifetimes smaller.
Isen spoke softly.
"You've seen it, haven't you?"
Shun hesitated.
Then nodded.
"...Yes."
Isen folded his arms behind his back.
His tone shifted quieter now.
No longer the voice of a leader.
But a whisper between warriors.
"That cursed seal wasn't just dormant."
"It was… waiting."
He looked at Kaen, who still sat quietly, drained but conscious, eyes downcast.
"Kid…"
"You managed to surprise that curse."
"That's not something you can handle alone."
Kaen slowly looked up, blinking.
The room felt colder now.
Not because Isen was angry.
But because something deeper had moved.
"He… knows something."
"More than anyone else here."
"About the seal? About me?"
Isen crouched once more.
Not to threaten.
Not to pity.
Just to speak where others wouldn't hear.
"You need to understand, Kaen Suro…"
"That power inside you—it doesn't just burn."
"It remembers."
Kaen blinked.
"Remembers?"
Isen nodded.
His blue eyes now clouded.
Heavy with history.
"Some curses aren't born."
"They're passed down."
"And that one…"
"…has chosen you."
Kaen's breath caught in his throat.
His hand unconsciously touched the place on his chest where the seal had pulsed.
"Chosen?"
"I didn't choose it…
…so why does it feel like it knows me?"
Isen stood slowly.
And for just a moment…
The warmth vanished from his face.
His voice dropped to something only Shun could hear.
"If he breaks, it'll be worse than the last time."
"Worse than the Eclipse War."
Shun flinched. The words struck like thunder behind the ribs.
He remembered the Eclipse War.
Everyone who survived it did.
Most who didn't… were erased without graves.
Master Isen turned back to the group.
The pressure that had filled the chamber the tension, the judgment, the almost-execution seemed to vanish with the turn of his head.
His expression lightened.
His smile returned.
The godlike warmth that made him both beloved and revered filled the space once more.
"Very well, then."
"Kaen Suro will remain."
He paused—his words soft but final.
"Under observation. By none other than…"
He glanced sideways.
A lazy spark flickered near a half-sleeping figure against a marble column.
"…Raiden."
Raiden blinked, scratching the back of his head.
"Me?"
He yawned.
"Okay, Master. But if I miss my afternoon naps, I'm blaming the brat."
A ripple of soft chuckles passed through the room.
But then Master Isen turned again, this time directly to Kaen.
His voice quieted.
"Kid."
"What's your dream?"
The question stopped the room.
Kaen blinked.
It wasn't asked like a joke.
It wasn't asked like a test.
It was asked like a promise.
Kaen looked to Sensei Shun his mentor, his lifeline then to Isen again.
Though his knees still trembled and his chest still throbbed from the burned-out echo surge…
his voice held steady.
"I want to become… an Eclipse Vanguard."
The chamber was silent.
Zeke gave a short exhale through his nose.
Amane raised a brow, intrigued.
Raiden grinned wider.
But Isen—
Isen didn't laugh.
He grinned.
A full, boyish grin like the sun poking through ancient clouds.
"Eclipse Vanguard?"
"Not…"
He paused, eyes gleaming.
"…Keiryuu?"
Kaen blinked.
"…Pardon?"
Suddenly—shock.
The room stiffened.
Zeke turned toward him.
"Master!!"
His voice was sharp. Cautious.
Even Gorou's mantra faltered mid-breath.
But Isen just chuckled.
Hands behind his back, he faced them all without hesitation.
"Didn't I say before…?"
He stepped toward the center of the circle.
"Every generation… anyone could become Keiryuu."
"The title is not a birthright."
"It is a choice."
"A burden passed down from one soul… to the next."
His blue eyes found Kaen again.
"I wasn't born with it."
"The Master before me—she chose me."
"And one day… I'll choose someone too."
Kaen stared.
Was this real?
"Me…?"
"He's saying someone like me could—"
Zeke muttered, voice stiff, unsure.
"…Master, you can't seriously be…"
"Of course not now," Isen interrupted gently, raising a hand.
"But dreams are only dangerous when we tell people not to have them."
The room was silent again.
But now… it was a different silence.
Not of judgment.
But of possibility.
Raiden scratched his chin, looking at Kaen sideways.
"…Heh."
"Guess I'll have to keep a closer eye on you after all, huh?"
Isen smiled and turned away.
"Train him well, Raiden."
"And Kaen…"
He looked over his shoulder, golden hair glowing in the council light.
"Chase your dream."
"Even if it burns you."
Then, without another word…
He vanished into the archway, robes flowing like rivers of ink.
And Kaen Suro—
Cursed.
Scorned.
Tired.
Alone—
Was now the boy who dared to dream not just of survival…
But of becoming the strongest.
To be continue