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Chapter 15 – The First Soul Armor Awakens
It had been three days.
Three days of silence. Of discipline. Of pain.
Unit 06 no longer trained like loud-mouthed rookies—they trained like soldiers. The Soul Armor trials had pushed them to the brink. Morning to night, they meditated. Ate in silence. Focused. Failed. Then failed again. Until their minds bled into their bodies and their bodies into soul.
But today, something changed.
Inspector Liu stood tall in the middle of the Soul Dome, his presence quiet but heavy like storm clouds.
> "Begin release," he said.
They closed their eyes together. A unity forged not by blood—but by hardship. The dome quieted.
Then—Zane moved.
His fire didn't scream. It breathed. Calm and precise. No eruptions. Just pressure. A vibration in the air. The heat warped reality around him like the dome was beginning to bend.
Then—flames crawled up his arms, forming sigils on his skin.
He grunted.
> "Channel. Don't burst," he whispered to himself.
The heat pooled into his chest and limbs—then hardened. Plates of glowing black steel formed over his body, edged in crimson. His gauntlets flared, and a shoulder mark ignited: a coiled drake engulfed in flame.
A dragon's silhouette shimmered behind him before fading. Then, just when the dome thought it was over—
A blade appeared.
At first, it was just a shimmer of energy. Then the fire compressed, and from it, a curved sword was born—its blade red-hot like it had been forged in hell itself.
Its edge hissed with heat. The weapon hovered at his side before Zane gripped it. The moment his fingers wrapped around the hilt, the flames around him quieted.
He stood there, armored in black flame, sword in hand, eyes glowing with raw energy. The dome was silent.
Inspector Liu's lips curled into a faint smile.
> "Excellent."
The Soul Armor faded. So did the sword—but the mark on Zane's shoulder remained.
He stumbled slightly, sweat pouring, but his face gleamed with satisfaction.
> "I didn't force it. I became it," Zane said, breathing hard.
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Later That Night
They sat around their usual fire, plates in hand. The atmosphere felt different—charged.
Zane picked at his food, still recovering. Kayden nudged him.
> "Crimson Fang? You've been waiting to name it, haven't you?"
Zane grinned. "Since day one."
Henry wiped his mouth. "It better not backfire and turn into Pink Tooth one day."
Everyone laughed, even Kira, who rarely smiled.
But Elliot remained quiet, staring into the firelight.
> "Zane's just the beginning," he muttered. "The rest of us... we need to catch up. Fast."
Kira looked over. "We will."
Inspector Liu's words echoed in all their minds:
> "Only when your soul flows through every part of your body... only then can it take shape."
Tomorrow, the rest of them would try again.
Tomorrow, someone else would awaken.
But tonight, Zane Caldwell had become more than a cadet.
He had become a Soul Wielder.
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