Morning at Flameheart Academy dawned with strange pressure in the air. The clouds above the campus swirled with streaks of violet—a clear sign that today's event wasn't just an ordinary duel. In the quiet training yard behind Dorm 3, I stood with Zena, awkwardly stretching as she twirled her daggers with confidence.
"Can you at least pretend you've trained before?" she teased.
"I didn't know I needed to impress someone who chases me like a cat after a soul-thread," I muttered.
We had only hours before our match. I watched her form shift in a practiced sequence. Graceful, sharp, deadly. Watching her made my chest tighten—not from attraction, no, never. It was that nagging sensation again. That past. That name.
"Akido Akino... why now?"
As I tried to mimic her stance, something flared in my veins. A flash. I saw burning skies. A ruined battlefield. My own hands gripping a flaming blade. The pain was raw, ancient. And just like that, it faded. My knees hit the ground.
Zena rushed over. "You okay?"
"Just... saw something."
She didn't ask more. Smart girl.
---
By midday, the grand dueling arena had transformed. Floating platforms, shifting terrain, and hovering soul-crystals lit up the stage. A crowd of students filled the viewing tiers, their excited murmurs echoing across the marble halls.
A deep voice boomed: "Next match—Zena Asterius and Kaido Vale... versus Tyra Solshade and Varnic Rael from the Silent Branch."
Zena froze beside me. "Them?"
"You know them?" I asked.
"Tyra's Ivy's cousin. Varnic... he used to study past-life echoes. He knows things."
Great. Just great.
As we stepped onto the platform, Tyra smirked. "Akido Akino... your name carries a lovely curse."
Varnic's mask tilted. "Let's see if your soul is still worthy of the flame."
The duel began. Zena dashed forward, her twin daggers shimmering with lunar dust. I followed, trying to maintain form, but Varnic's spear was like a whip of lightning—fast, precise, deadly.
Tyra conjured illusions that struck with psychic force. I faltered. Then—Zena screamed.
My heart snapped.
Everything around me shattered.
A vortex of flame engulfed my arm. The sword appeared again—no longer a memory, but a solid weapon of burning crimson.
"Akido Akino's Soulflame..."
My voice wasn't my own. It echoed with another's strength.
With one clean arc, Tyra's illusions evaporated.
Varnic tried to strike again, but the blade parried with no effort. The arena cracked from the force. I didn't remember the steps—I just moved.
When the dust cleared, Tyra was unconscious, and Varnic knelt, breathless, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Akido... you really did survive that war."
Before I could ask what he meant, my energy drained, and darkness pulled me under.
---
Far above the clouds, the omnigod floated in the void. He'd watched it all.
"He has awakened the first flame."
Beside him, another presence formed. Cloaked in silver.
"Shall I send her?" the being asked.
The god smiled. "Yes. It's time Shiro Hanara returns."