The night air was cool, but Kazuki's palms were sweating.
He stood at the edge of North Hill, the forgotten path leading to a half-collapsed Shinto shrine. Weeds choked the old stone steps. The torii gate creaked in the wind like an old man groaning in pain.
The place felt... still. Too still.
Kazuki tightened his hoodie and stepped through the gate.
He could feel it instantly. The energy. Not like Azrakar's black flame—this was older. Quieter. Like a heartbeat buried beneath stone. His steps grew cautious as he reached the shrine's broken threshold.
Yuna was already waiting, arms crossed, grimoire at her side.
"You're late."
Kazuki gave a weak shrug. "I'm here, aren't I?"
She studied him. "You feel it, don't you?"
He nodded slowly. "What is this place?"
Her gaze turned to the cracked shrine stone in front of them.
"This is one of the Echo Shrines—places where divine and demonic energy once clashed during the Great Sundering. Most were sealed or forgotten. But this one..." She ran her fingers along the edge of a broken seal etched into the altar. "...this one remembers."
Kazuki moved closer. The whispers started again—quiet voices like wind on water. Not Azrakar. Something else.
"This is where you died," Yuna said flatly.
He froze.
"What?"
"Not as Kazuki. As Azrakar. This is where the archangel descended and ended your reign. They say the sky split open. Thunder turned to fire. The seal under this shrine was scorched into the stone by divine judgment."
Kazuki stared at the ground beneath his feet, trying to imagine it. He could almost hear the clash of steel and flame. His chest tightened.
"Why bring me here?"
"To show you the line between what you were and what you are," she said. "And to warn you."
A sudden gust of wind ripped through the trees. The shrine torii groaned—and cracked.
A bright light tore open the night sky. Feathers fell like burning snow.
An angel descended.
Scene Shift: Angel's Arrival
The figure hovered mid-air—six glowing wings spread wide, robes of shimmering gold. A blade of light materialized in their hand, humming with impossible energy.
Their voice was neither male nor female. It simply was.
"Azrakar. You were warned. The cycle was broken. You should not exist."
Kazuki stumbled back. Yuna stepped forward, shield spell glowing from her book.
"I summoned no divine. This place is under mortal jurisdiction!"
The angel ignored her, eyes locked on Kazuki.
"You bear the Mark. The soul that burned cities, defiled balance, and spat upon creation. For that, judgment must fall."
Kazuki felt it then—his demonic side clawing forward, reacting to the holy pressure. His right arm ignited with black fire. The ground cracked.
"No," he growled. "Not again."
Yuna threw up a barrier just as the angel raised its sword and struck.
Battle Begins
The strike collided with Yuna's shield, shattering it into fragments. She screamed, tossed into the side of the shrine.
Kazuki's body moved on instinct. Azrakar's reflexes surged to the surface. He caught the second blow with his bare, burning hand.
The heat seared through him, but he didn't let go.
"I'm not him!" he roared, eyes blazing. "I'm not that monster!"
The angel's voice was cold. "You carry him in your soul. That is enough."
A second blow sent Kazuki flying—but he landed on his feet, panting.
"Then I'll prove I'm not him... by surviving you."
Back at the Cathedral
Far above the clouds, another angel knelt at the edge of the sky.
"They've engaged," it whispered.
A robed figure behind him—face obscured—smiled grimly.
"Let the trial begin. We'll see if this vessel breaks... or ascends."
To be continued...