The Ash Citadel's Underground Forge wasn't a place for introspection. It was a space of titanic dimensions, whose ceiling was lost in sulfurous fog. The air vibrated with the rhythmic pulse of magic being forged into weapons, and the temperature was oppressive, like standing before an active volcano.
Zylpha, the Dark Elf, moved through the forge with the ease of one who's in her element. Kaito, now dressed in simple black leather tunics, struggled to keep up.
The place's magical oppression was ten times stronger than in Lysandra's cell.
"Here, the air is concentrated *Shadow*," Zylpha explained, without even turning her head. "The Queen wants you to get used to breathing it. If your reincarnated soul can't handle this atmosphere, you'll destroy yourself before Commander Ren does."
They stopped in the center of a circle of crimson runes.
"Your previous 'mentor' taught you to steal energy and *hide*. That's a coward's magic," Zylpha said, turning to face him. Her golden gaze was constant judgment.
"I'll teach you to control your soul's chaos and unleash it as a *weapon*."
Kaito felt the challenge, the hatred his Chaos awakened even in the faction that sheltered him.
"I don't know how to control the Chaos. It's unstable," Kaito admitted.
Zylpha's expression turned cutting and cold.
"The Chaos of your soul is the direct response to the Conjunction's tragedy, the loss of your brother, and the pain of betrayal. You'll never control it with your mind, only with your *body*."
Zylpha unsheathed her short obsidian sword. The blade didn't gleam, but absorbed all light, leaving a trail of pure darkness in the air.
"Your training is simple: *attack me*," she ordered.
Kaito hesitated.
"I don't want to hurt you. My magic is unstable."
"Insolence!" Zylpha attacked.
It was a burst of speed so brutal Kaito barely had time to raise his arms. The Dark Elf didn't try to cut him, but used the blade's flat to hit him with the precise force of a hammer.
The impact sent him rolling across the basalt, air escaping his lungs.
"*Error*! Chaos fires with adrenaline," Zylpha shouted. "If you don't release it intentionally, it'll stay inside you. Come!"
Kaito got up. His mind focused on his shoulder's burning pain and the cell's desperation. He tried to direct the Shadow Cloak, the ability that had saved him in Vorthus.
The dark energy rose, but as soon as it formed around him, Zylpha charged.
Her movement was like a predator's. She penetrated the Shadow layer with pure willpower and hit him with her fist in the stomach.
Kaito collapsed, coughing. The blow was devastating, but what hurt him most was his magic's absolute uselessness against her.
"Lysandra taught you to be a *ghost*! I'll teach you to be a *sword*!" Zylpha grabbed him by his tunic's neck and lifted him. Her golden eyes were inches from his.
"Don't defend yourself. Attack the source of your *pain*."
She released a dose of her own magic through her fist, directly into his soul's core.
The sensation was like Lysandra's touch, only ten times more coercive and invasive.
Kaito felt the wave of Tragedy from his soul: the car, Ren's blood on the ground, the Paladins' betrayal, and his captivity's humiliation.
It was too much. His Chaos released.
This time, it wasn't a fog. It was a pulse of purple and black energy that exploded from his chest, so powerful it shattered the basalt's weaker runes.
The pulse had no shape, only brute force, and sent Zylpha flying back.
The Dark Elf landed with grace, though she had to slide several meters.
She stood up, her expression finally showing a hint of respect.
"*That's it*! Raw power. Now, do it again. But don't let the Chaos use you. *Take* the Chaos, shape the pain, and *direct* it!"
For the next hours, training was exhausting repetition: Zylpha hit him, intensified his pain, and Kaito was forced to use his Chaos like a survival reflex.
Zylpha never used her weapons to hurt him, only her body and magic. She was relentless and never yielded.
Finally, Kaito lay on the ground, unable to move.
Zylpha knelt, her face severe.
"Your chaotic soul only responds to force and fear. But there's another way. If you want to control the Essence Devourer's power, you must link it to a *superior will*."
She placed her hand on Kaito's forehead, releasing a controlled torrent of dark energy.
Unlike the aggressive touch, this was a controlled infusion.
Kaito felt the coldness of her power, but also her mind's absolute discipline.
"You'll use me as your *anchor*. Every time you channel that power, you'll anchor it to my will. It's temporary, but it's necessary."
"Now, get up. We aren't done until you can maintain a Chaos sphere in your palm without destroying yourself."
Zylpha's dominion over him wasn't just physical, but total magical servitude.
Kaito was a slave, a weapon, and the training that had just begun promised to be the most brutal forging of his life.