The battle hall of the Space Exploring Officer Academy was a colossal structure—an arena carved from reinforced obsidian-like alloy and encased within an energy dome to contain any collateral damage. Around the circular battlefield rose rows of spectator stands packed with students, instructors, and supervisors. The entire hall trembled faintly from the sheer heat radiating from the center, where two blazing figures clashed in an inferno of orange-red fire.
Ignis and Flamme.
The two stood at opposite ends of the arena, both surrounded by swirling embers and flickering flames that mirrored their determination. Ignis, lean and hardened by years surviving in the old world, wore a sleeveless combat hoodie already scorched in several places, his dark hair damp with sweat but his ember eyes unwavering. Across from him, Flamme, the academy's fire-element prodigy instructor, held her whip loosely at her side. Her long red hair flowed like a banner in the heated air, and her calm but piercing gaze never left Ignis.
This was no casual match. It was the culmination of tension between them, sparked by their conflicting personalities and amplified by Ignis's controversial presence at the Academy. But more than that, it was his final test — a way to prove himself worthy of becoming an instructor. He had passed the written exams, the physical assessments, and even the tactical command simulations with unorthodox brilliance. Only this remained: to face Flamme in battle and hold his own.
The signal flare shot upward, exploding into a sphere of light. The match began.
Flamme moved first. Her whip snapped forward, its length suddenly engulfed in a ribbon of orange fire. She lashed out with speed and precision, the whip slicing through the air with a sharp crack like lightning. Ignis responded instantly, his fist igniting with roaring flames as he sidestepped the initial strike and closed the distance between them.
"Fiery Fist!" he roared, his punch colliding with Flamme's whip mid-swing.
The contact triggered a violent explosion of heat and flame that spread outward like a shockwave. Students in the front row instinctively shielded their faces from the wave of blistering air. The energy dome above flickered as it absorbed the excess force.
Flamme retreated with fluid grace, the whip swirling around her like a living serpent. Ignis pursued, launching a fiery kick that arced through the air like a blazing comet. She ducked under it with practiced agility, spinning to the side and lashing out.
CRACK!
The flaming whip narrowly missed his torso but carved a long black scorch mark across the polished arena floor. Ignis landed lightly, his eyes narrowing.
From the stands, murmurs erupted.
"His attacks are so raw… but powerful."
"He's reckless. There's no way he can match Flamme's technique."
"Don't underestimate him. He's got grit. He wouldn't have made it this far otherwise."
Among the watchers were senior supervisors evaluating Ignis's performance. Their expressions ranged from intrigued to skeptical. Some admired the raw elemental force behind his strikes. Others whispered about his background — a child of the slums, an upstart without proper lineage or formal early training.
And then there were the students. Some idolized Flamme, the young genius who had been allowed to teach without even taking the entrance exam. Others saw in Ignis a symbol of defiance against the rigid hierarchy.
On the arena floor, neither Ignis nor Flamme cared about the whispers.
Flamme attacked again, this time with a feint. Her whip shot forward, but midway through the strike she twisted her wrist, causing the flames to twist and curl. The fire gathered around the whip's length, and in seconds, it transformed into the shape of a serpent. The flaming snake writhed in the air, its maw opening to reveal jagged fangs made of concentrated flame.
Gasps spread through the audience.
"That's Flamme's special technique—"
"—the Infersha Python!"
The flaming serpent lunged toward Ignis, its movements sinuous and unpredictable. It wasn't a simple straight-line attack anymore. It weaved through the air with terrifying speed, leaving burning trails behind it.
Ignis planted his feet, inhaling sharply as heat washed over him. His fists clenched. He knew this was the deciding moment — either he met this attack head-on, or he would be overwhelmed and fail his test.
But as the serpent rushed toward him, jaws wide, something unexpected happened.
The world slowed.
The roar of flames faded to a low hum. The brilliant orange light dulled.
Ignis's gaze locked on the serpent, and in that instant, a memory surged up from the depths of his soul.
Not a simple flashback, but a real memory, sharp and consuming.
A battle.
A battlefield of ice and fire.
His breath caught.
He remembered—
—The day he was not Ignis. The day he was Blaze.
His surroundings blurred. The roaring serpent froze midair. The battle hall dissolved around him like ash carried by the wind. He stood now in a vast space that was both real and not, filled with swirling fire and cold mist. Above, two elemental forces clashed violently.
Flames raged on one side, icy winds howled on the other. In the center, two figures battled fiercely: himself as Blaze, wreathed in roaring fire, and another… Ice.
The clash of fire and ice.
He could feel it again — the raw power coursing through his veins, the heat radiating from every inch of his body, the exhilaration and the fear.
His mind was no longer in the arena. It was in that ancient memory, buried but never forgotten.
He remembered the searing flames that once defined him. The battles that shaped him.
The people he had fought beside.
The boy who awakened him.
The cold rival who had challenged him.
He wasn't standing in front of Flamme anymore. He was standing before Ice, locked in their fierce duel from so long ago.
And that memory was calling him back.
The serpent of fire hung frozen in time before his eyes, but Ignis's mind was already far away.
He remembered the battle between Blaze and Ice.