Chapter 13 — Cracks Beneath the Crown
Morning came quietly.
Too quietly.
Shu sat upright before the alarm rang, eyes already open, heart steady in a way that felt… wrong. No echoes of impact. No wind screaming in his ears. Just silence—thick, heavy, pressing against his thoughts.
He welcomed it.
Silence meant control.
He dressed with mechanical precision, tied his hair, checked Spriggan's parts one by one. No damage. No visible flaws. And yet—when his fingers brushed the layer's edge, a tremor ran through him.
He clenched his hand.
Irrelevant.
Across town, Lui Shirosagi stood at the edge of a rooftop, coat snapping in the wind. He didn't launch. He didn't need to.
He could feel it.
The shift.
The air carried tension now—like the world had leaned forward, waiting for something to break. Lui smiled, sharp and satisfied.
"So," he muttered, "the prodigy's finally cracking."
At the training facility, the Beyblade Club was louder than usual, like noise might keep the memory away. Valt laughed too hard. Rantaro argued about nothing. Even Daigo spoke more than he needed to.
Shu walked in.
The room stilled.
"Morning," Shu said, smiling easily.
Valt relaxed instantly. "Hey! You're up early."
"Couldn't sleep in," Shu replied. "Big season ahead."
Nothing in his tone was off.
That was what unsettled them.
Daigo watched him closely. "You okay?"
Shu met his gaze. For a split second—just one—the smile faltered. Something sharp flickered behind his eyes.
Then it was gone.
"Of course," Shu said. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Because the ground had shattered beneath you.Because Ryuga's words still hung in the air.Because Spriggan had burst—and you hadn't looked surprised.
None of them said it.
Later, alone, Shu launched.
Spriggan spun beautifully, perfectly—its rotation clean, controlled, obedient. He watched it circle the stadium, smooth as ever.
"Faster," Shu whispered.
The Bey responded.
The pitch rose. Wind stirred.
Shu's smile widened.
"Yes… like that."
The air pressure spiked—sudden, violent. The stadium lights flickered. Spriggan wobbled, just barely, before stabilizing again.
Shu's breath caught.
There it is.
The edge.
Not failure.
Potential.
He shut the system down abruptly. The Bey clattered to a stop, smoke curling faintly from the layer.
Shu stared at it, pulse racing—not from fear.
From temptation.
Elsewhere, Ryuga opened his eyes mid-meditation, a low growl rumbling in his chest.
"He felt it," he said to no one. "And he liked it."
Three bladers.
Three paths.
Control tightening into obsession.Dominance sharpening into tyranny.And the storm—patient, inevitable.
Season Two was no longer approaching.
It had already begun.