The forge roared like a trapped beast.The orange light clawed at the walls, casting Taiki's shadow long and thin. Sweat streamed down his face, but his gaze never wavered from the metal on the anvil.
Each strike of his hammer echoed through the cavern — rhythmic, heavy, ancient.The steel beneath it pulsed faintly, almost… alive.
The System's faint hum lingered in the air, invisible yet present — a second heartbeat beneath his own.
[System Notice: "Soul Resonance Threshold – 91%. Stabilization In Progress."]
Taiki exhaled slowly, laying the hammer aside."Still fighting me, huh…" he murmured, eyes tracing the blade's faint glow.
From behind him, Daigo — his newest apprentice — stepped forward, awe on his face."Master, it's… beautiful. It's like it's breathing."
Taiki gave a faint smirk, his tone dry."Then it's still alive. That means I've failed."
Daigo blinked, confused. "Failed? But—"
clang—!
Taiki struck the anvil again, sparks bursting into the air. His voice rose, rough but controlled."A true blade shouldn't breathe, Daigo. It should be remembered. It should carry the will of its maker — not its own."
Daigo hesitated. "You speak like it's… a person."
Taiki turned to him, eyes reflecting the forge's light — equal parts fire and sorrow."When you've forged long enough, boy, you'll realize people break faster than steel. So you put what's left of them into the metal. That's how weapons like this are born."
Daigo frowned. "Then… this one, what memory did you give it?"
Silence.Only the crackle of flame and the whisper of hot metal cooling.
Finally, Taiki said softly,"The memory of everything I couldn't protect."
Daigo's eyes widened. "…Master…"
But Taiki didn't look up. He traced a faint line down the blade's center, chakra flowing gently through his fingertips. Faint runes shimmered — symbols that no shinobi alive could read.
The System flickered again.
[System Notice: "Runic Integration Detected. Energy Source: Unknown.
Taiki muttered, "Unknown, huh? Just like me."
Daigo shifted uneasily. "You keep talking to that voice, Master… that 'System' thing. Is it really something divine?"
Taiki chuckled softly — the kind of laugh that carried both warmth and exhaustion."Divine? No. If the gods existed, they wouldn't need men like me to fix their broken toys."
He stood straight, rolling his shoulders, then added with quiet weight:"It's not a god. It's a forge. And right now, I'm just another piece of metal it's hammering."
Daigo watched him in silence, the weight of those words sinking in.Outside, thunder rumbled — distant but deep.
"Master… what happens when it finishes hammering?" Daigo asked quietly.
Taiki didn't answer at first. He turned toward the blade, lifted it slightly, and watched the way the lightning outside caught its edge — pale silver, almost ethereal.
"…Then," he said finally, "either I'll break, or I'll be tempered into something that can't."
He smiled faintly, almost wistfully."And honestly, boy — I don't know which one scares me more."
[System Update: "Forging Progress – 97%"][Warning: Anomaly Detected – Flame Fragment Interference.]
The lights flickered; the forge's flames twisted unnaturally, turning blue for an instant.Daigo stumbled back. "What the—?!"
Taiki's eyes snapped open wide. He felt something inside him answer the fire. A pull. A whisper.
"One ember calls another…"
The System's voice grew distant, distorted — as if submerged beneath water."Flame Fragment identified… synchronization in process…"
"Stop!" Taiki barked, slamming his hand against the forge sigil. The runes glowed red, then white, then—
boom—!
A surge of heat blasted outward, knocking Daigo to the ground.
When the smoke cleared, Taiki stood amidst the flames, his hair whipping in the gust, eyes glowing faintly gold.The blade in his hand was no longer ordinary steel.It sang — a soft, harmonic hum that resonated with his heartbeat.
He whispered, almost reverently:"Looks like I found my next ember."
Daigo stared, speechless. "Master… what are you?"
Taiki sheathed the blade with a click, the glow fading into calm. His expression softened."Just a man who learned that fire remembers what we try to forget."
Then, with a final look toward the forge, he added quietly,"And maybe… It's time I started listening."
[System Log Updated: "Flame Fragment – Resonance Achieved."][New Quest Unlocked: Follow the Ember's Call.]
The forge dimmed, and the world outside began to shift once more.The journey — the next hammerstroke in Taiki's long life — had already begun.
End of Chapter 18 (Revised Edition)