The crowd quieted as the referee raised his arm.
Bright lights swept across the stadium, reflecting off the metal walls like ripples on water.
Orochi Ginba stood calmly on the opposite platform, headphones resting around his neck, his expression unreadable.
He didn't look like someone about to fight. He looked like someone listening.
Ryo caught that small detail the way Orochi's fingers tapped against his launcher like keeping tempo to a song.
It wasn't nerves. It was rhythm.
The referee's voice cut through the silence.
"Three! Two! One! Let it rip!"
The twin launches cracked through the air.
Eclipse Drago hit the stadium in a smooth left arc, red and gold glints flashing from its frame.
Odin ,faster and lighter, tore across the outer ridge with explosive bursts of speed, its path sharp and unpredictable.
Each impact that followed was clean, timed like percussion in a song only Orochi could hear.
The crowd roared as the first clash sent sparks high into the air.
Ryo stayed steady, eyes fixed, body still.
He didn't try to command Drago's movements. He let them flow.
Odin circled wide, bouncing off the slope, accelerating again with its rubber tip.
Orochi's lips moved silently counting beats.
Then his voice rose, low but focused.
"Now, Odin! Blast Beat!"
The Bey tilted mid-run, metal grinding for half a second before it shot forward in a blur of blue light.
It wasn't wild; it was precise, every strike landing on the beat of Orochi's rhythm.
Drago took the first hit and absorbed the impact, sliding along the curve instead of resisting.
The second hit came faster, harder but Drago twisted, catching the motion.
Left spin met right, sparks flaring gold and orange.
Ryo's hand tightened slightly on the launcher. "Reverse Inferno."
The air shimmered.
Drago tilted inwards and shifted its rotation path, reversing the flow of the battle.
Instead of blocking, it rode the recoil, turning each of Odin's strikes into fuel for its next move.
The red aura pulsed faintly around the rim, flickering brighter with each clash.
Orochi blinked, surprised. "What he's redirecting it?"
Drago surged forward, hitting back at the perfect angle once, twice, three times in rhythm with Odin's own attacks.
The stadium filled with the crackling rhythm of spinning metal, echoing like a snare drum.
The tempo climbed.
And then, Odin slipped.
The final rebound sent it up the slope too high, speed bleeding from its spin.
Drago drifted beneath it, steady and controlled, like fire dancing against the wind.
Odax hit the ground again, wobbling.
Drago slowed too, but its spin held strong, unbroken.
Seconds later Odin stopped.
"Survivor Finish! One point to Ryo!"
The audience broke into applause, the tension snapping like a released string.
Ryo exhaled quietly, his pulse steady.
That felt different sharper, smoother.
Not calculation. Instinct.
Across from him, Orochi smiled faintly, slipping his headphones back over his ears.
He closed his eyes, listening to the faint hum of Odin still cooling on the floor.
"I could hear it," he murmured. "The shift in rhythm. You changed tempo mid-battle."
Ryo met his gaze, calm. "Then I guess the music's only getting faster."
Orochi's smile grew. "Good. Let's see how loud you can play."
The crowd roared as both bladers reset their Beys.
Drago's frame caught the light again faint traces of heat still shimmering along the metal.
Ryo felt the energy pulsing, alive but waiting.
Round two would be different.
He could already feel Drago's wings beneath the surface, waiting for that perfect launch.
The stadium lights dimmed between rounds. Heat still shimmered off the floor where the last impact had landed. Ryo stood silent, his hand resting on the launcher. Across from him, Orochi grinned, spinning Odin between his fingers.
"Not bad," Orochi called out. "But you're holding something back. I can feel it."
Ryo didn't answer. His heartbeat was steady, but inside, something pulsed warm, heavy, alive.
He closed his eyes. The noise of the crowd faded, the smell of ozone slipped away, and the ground under him dissolved.
Light took its place.
The flame-space unfolded around him again endless red and gold, calm at the center, alive at the edges. Drago floated there, wings half-formed in light, the aura burning slow and deep.
Ryo stepped closer. "You called me back."
Drago's voice filled the air, low and resonant. You're still holding the chain, Ryo.
Ryo frowned. "I thought I wasn't."
You loosened it, Drago said, a faint ripple of flame running across his scales. But not enough. You fear what happens if you truly let go. You still fight the fire instead of riding it.
"I'm not afraid," Ryo said quietly. "I just don't want to lose control."
The dragon's eyes glowed gold. Control isn't the enemy. Fear is. Trust me, and trust yourself. Let the fire breathe.
For a moment, neither of them moved. The flames around them dimmed, pulsing softly with the rhythm of Ryo's breath.
He nodded once. "Then show me the limit."
Drago's wings flared wide, scattering a shockwave of red light. No limits. Only rhythm.
The world cracked apart again, light pulling him back into his body. The crowd's roar returned like a wave.
Ryo opened his eyes. The stadium floor glowed under the lights. Orochi was ready, launcher raised.
"Round two ready!"
Ryo exhaled slowly and felt the warmth still flowing through his hands. The fire hadn't faded. It waited.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One! Let it rip!"
The moment the string pulled, Drago's wings snapped open. Red and gold energy flared out from the frame, spiraling around the Bey like a storm. Sparks showered across the bowl as Drago curved into its path, faster than before, a comet of flame.
Odin shot forward in a clean, powerful arc, blue sparks bursting from its core. The collision was instant, the sound a deep, heavy crack that shook the stands.
Orochi's grin widened. "Now! Blast Beat!"
Odin tilted high, hit the ridge, and dove down with a streak of white light. The force of the descent tore sparks through the stadium floor.
Ryo's eyes tracked it, calm but sharp. "Drago… match it."
The Bey tilted mid-spin, aura tightening into a spiral. The two collided again, the burst of pressure lifting both from the ground for half a second before they slammed back down.
The floor hummed from the shock. The crowd gasped as the two Beys began to blur, red and blue trails twisting together into a burning helix.
Then the flame flared.
Drago's aura expanded, swallowing Odin's path whole. The wings glowed brighter, metal plates cutting through the air like knives. The left spin dug deep, reversing Odin's momentum in a single motion.
"Eclipse Destruction!" Ryo's voice cut through the roar.
Drago climbed the wall, red light streaking behind it, then dove straight into Odin's center. The impact detonated with a sound like thunder.
A burst of sparks erupted, painting the air in molten gold. Odin's frame cracked, fragments scattering across the stadium floor.
Silence. Then
"Burst Finish! Two points! Ryo wins the battle!"
The crowd exploded. Cheers, shouts, disbelief every sound merged into one wave of noise.
Orochi caught his breath, staring at what was left of his Bey. Then he laughed softly, shaking his head. "Guess that's what happens when you poke fire."
Ryo looked down at Drago, spinning steady at the center of the arena, aura fading in slow rhythm. The warmth still reached his hands.
He picked it up carefully, a faint smile on his face. "We're getting closer."
For a second, he thought he heard a voice quiet, proud, carried by heat. You're learning to trust, Ryo.
He nodded once. "Yeah. One step at a time."
The scoreboard flickered:
Ryo – 3 | Orochi – 0
As the crowd continued cheering, Ryo turned toward the exit. His steps were calm, but the fire behind his eyes was anything but.