Vol 2 Ch 2 Honing Powers

Shing.

Clang.

Shing!

Once again, steel met steel in a furious clash that rippled through the scorching winds.

The blistering heat of the battlefield flared in rhythm with the unending duel. Blaze and his clone, identical in every way but soul, clashed in a savage ballet of fire and fury. For seven long days within the distorted time of his Kyōmu no Ryōiki—The Domain of the Hollow Dream—Blaze had fought, bled, and screamed against the mirror of his own hatred.

Each breath he drew in this realm tasted like soot and embers, the air thick with the scent of scorched earth and molten rock. The very ground beneath them cracked and trembled, jagged fissures yawning wide to reveal rivers of lava flowing like veins of wrath through the blackened earth. Here, even the act of standing felt like a rebellion against despair.

Above them stretched a twilight sky, a blood-red firmament swirling with eternal firestorms. Embers drifted down like judgment from the heavens, searing the crumbled coliseum in which they fought. Around them lay the ruins of Blaze’s past—the skeletal husks of homes, his home, now consumed in eternal, soul-eating flame. A haunting reminder of what was lost.

[Nova Slash!]

[Nova Slash!]

In synchronized fury, both Blazes channeled the scorching energy of their souls into their scythes. Twin arcs of fire screamed through the air, crossing paths mid-flight in a cataclysmic BOOM that shattered what remained of the coliseum. The flames erupted outward, swallowing debris and memory alike.

Huff... Huff...

Blaze staggered back, panting heavily. Sweat poured from his brow, only to evaporate before reaching his chin. His crimson eyes glowed faintly, dulled by exhaustion, but still burning with that same defiant spark.

“This form is draining me fast... if this weren’t my own domain, I’d have dropped already...”

He stared at his doppelgänger across the molten field—his clone, equal in power, strength, and rage. But not in purpose.

“I have to end this. If I don't...”

The ground trembled beneath their feet again. Blaze narrowed his eyes, forcing his body to remain upright, his thoughts swirling with desperate calculations.

Suddenly, the clone smirked, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

“Come on now. Don’t tell me you’re tired already,” he taunted, his voice laced with mockery and mirth. “I thought you’d be more fun than this.”

But even as he sneered, his breath was ragged. His knees trembled. He was just as drained.

‘I haven’t used this since that fight against the Echo Triad... but maybe—just maybe—this will work.’

Blaze tightened his grip on his scythe, the cold steel humming with the resonance of his soul. Crimson and violet energy began to flicker around the blade, coiling like serpents of fury and vengeance. The air distorted around him, trembling with the weight of power yet to be unleashed.

Haaaa—!

The aura engulfed the weapon, a tempest of wrath made manifest. Then, in one explosive motion, he swung it down—

[Nova Slash!]

The empowered arc screamed across the battlefield, a violet-crimson crescent tearing through the world itself. The clone responded in kind, launching his own [Nova Slash] to meet it head-on. For an instant, time seemed to still—

And then, the clone’s attack was shattered.

The energy wave struck him with unrelenting force, cleaving through his torso in a burst of fire and light.

“No—NO! That’s impossible! You... you shouldn’t have been able to—!”

The clone’s voice cracked, his form beginning to flicker and dissolve into burning cinders.

Blaze stepped forward slowly, his body trembling from overexertion. The fires danced across his jacket’s edges—his black leather coat with crimson piping now torn, smoke curling from the hem. His combat pants, dark and reinforced, were scuffed and singed, his boots cracked from the heat of battle. He looked every bit like a warrior who had walked through hell and refused to fall.

“You’re right,” he said softly. “I shouldn’t have been able to defeat you... not under normal conditions.”

The clone’s eyes, mirrors of Blaze’s own, widened.

“Then how...?”

His voice was laced with desperation, the kind that only came from someone witnessing the impossible.

Blaze looked down at him, expression unreadable beneath the sweat and soot. Then, he clenched his fist.

“I focused every ounce of my spirit into one single attack.”

The clone blinked as his body slowly turned to particles, scattering like ash in the wind.

“Our Reiki is tied to our Spirit. The stronger your Spirit, the stronger your attacks. That’s what I realized—this fight wasn’t about brute force... it was about overcoming myself. My fear. My pain. My past.”

He turned his gaze to the burning ruins of his hometown in the distance—his broken memories, still aflame, still haunting.

“This was a trial... not to kill, but to awaken. I had to evolve. Not just for myself—but for the ones who still believe in me.”

He took one final step toward the fading clone.

“So... thank you.”

But before he could finish, his legs buckled. The scythe slipped from his fingers, and he collapsed forward, unconscious.

The silence that followed was broken only by the crackle of eternal fire.

A smooth, sultry voice echoed in the air.

“Haa... seems he really did become stronger.”

From the shadows of the scorched coliseum, Ēteru no Eikō stepped forward, her heeled feet clicking against the charred stone.

Her appearance was a vision of impossible allure. Long, flowing silver hair shimmered like cascading starlight, catching embers in its strands. Her deep violet eyes, glowing with cosmic energy, regarded Blaze with amused affection. Her revealing dancer’s attire—woven from translucent blues and purples, adorned with silver embroidery that glimmered like constellations—flowed with each step. The chains around her hips jingled faintly, and the jewel in her diadem pulsed like a heartbeat.

She stared down at the dissipating clone and smirked. Her bare leg glided forward and—

Crunch.

She brought her heel down on its head, the final embers snuffed out beneath her foot.

“But he’s still so very... naive. A child walking into a storm.”

She crouched beside Blaze’s unconscious body, brushing a strand of his hair aside with delicate fingers.

“Still, a good start. This realm... it gives you what you need most. Even if you don’t know it yet.”

Her voice dripped with something dangerous. A mixture of seduction, arrogance... and a hint of pride.

Scooping him up gently—his battered form limp against her curves—she turned toward the ruins of his childhood home. The scorched doorway still stood, a blackened skeleton of the life he once knew.

Inside, the remnants of a bedroom lay undisturbed in fire and ash. She laid him gently upon a half-burnt bed, its frame cracked but enduring.

She stood over him, violet eyes glinting as the firelight danced across her iridescent skin.

“Next on the list...” she whispered, stroking his cheek, “will be to master that aura... and complete your transformation. So rest well, little Blaze.”

Her smile was enigmatic.

A star falling through shadow.

Thursday, August 22, 6:00 PM — 3074 AE

[Photon Burst]

WOOOM—

[Blazing Fist]

BOOM.

Scarlett’s flaming fist collided with Lyria’s beam of radiant energy. Sparks flew as fire clashed with light, each girl pushing against the other with sheer will.

“Raaaa!”

With a fierce roar and one final surge, Scarlett shattered the beam and blew a crater into the forest floor. Trees splintered. Earth cracked. Smoke and flames billowed skyward.

Scarlett dropped to one knee, panting. “Huff... Man, you’re seriously strong, Lyria.”

Lyria smiled and extended a hand, her expression both gentle and proud. “Well, I’ve been training in secret too. I guess it’s finally showing.”

Scarlett took the hand and stood, brushing ash from her arm. “Hey, Sensei… there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask. About what happened during the mission against the Triad of Ach—uh…”

“It’s Triad of Echoes,” Lyria corrected with a playful eye roll.

“Yeah, those guys.” Scarlett scratched the back of her head. “The power I used when I almost died… I’ve been trying to tap into it again. But no matter what I do, it just won’t come back.”

Aeloria’s voice came smooth and sharp from behind, her tone calm yet distant. “You won’t be able to use that power.”

Scarlett turned, eyes narrowing. “What? Why not?”

Aeloria floated into the air with ethereal grace, her blindfold fluttering slightly. “Because that power is tethered to death. You only accessed it when you were dying. That state is the key.”

She waved her hand, and streams of Reiki formed shimmering images in the air—each one playing out a fragment of Scarlett’s near-death transformation.

“You see,” Aeloria continued, “your Death Powers awaken only at the edge of your mortality. If you fully die, your body is rebuilt by the aspect of Death itself—revived, and forever altered. But I will not allow my student to be sacrificed for power.”

Her feet touched down silently before Scarlett. Despite the blindfold, the weight of her gaze was crushing.

“…There is another way,” she added.

Scarlett’s eyes lit up. “Tell me.”

“You must bargain with Death herself. But to enter her domain while alive, you’ll need to put yourself in a suspended state—a mock death. No heartbeat. No breath. Just the void.”

Scarlett exhaled slowly. “I… think I’ve met her. During that mission—when my hair turned white. I was slipping away, and I saw her. She said something I couldn’t understand… something about how it would be revealed in time.”

Lyria’s jaw dropped. “Wait. You met Death? Why didn’t you say anything before?!”

Scarlett shrugged. “It didn’t seem real. But I remember her eyes… cold as space.”

Aeloria smiled faintly—almost sinister. “Perhaps I should rewind time and teach those Echo fools a lesson for touching my precious student,” she said in a chilling, teasing tone. Then her expression hardened. “But in truth… I know what she meant. I know everything about this universe, after all.”

Scarlett leaned forward eagerly. “So tell me!”

“No,” Aeloria replied flatly. “You must learn it on your own.”

With a simple snap of her fingers, golden threads of Reiki enveloped the two girls—restoring their stamina and mending their wounds.

“Now then,” Aeloria said, turning her back with a casual wave, “let’s take some missions.”

While Blaze remained in the Kyōmu no Ryōiki—his domain of eternal fire and fractured memories—Scarlett, Lyria, and Aeloria hunted Kōsō across worlds. Their reputation soared. What began at [Delta Rank] quickly rose to [Epsilon Rank].

Scarlett and Lyria, under Aeloria’s intense tutelage, learned to control and amplify their Reiki—strengthening body, mind, and soul. Their battles grew more intense. Their bond stronger. They were no longer mere trainees… they were warriors.

But while they celebrated victories, something darker brewed within the Abyssal Rift.

Deep inside the warped dimension, monstrous voices echoed.

“These humans are getting cocky,” one Kōsō hissed. “They think taking down a few weaklings means they’ve won.”

“Perhaps,” another muttered. “It’s time to remind them of their place.”

“Then send those two, Toru Kaiden, the Storm Warden… and Levisa Virei, the Flameborne Sovereign. Let them learn what true despair feels like.”

BOOM!

CRASH!

Ēteru no Eikō’s body hurtled through the air, trailing streaks of violet and crimson light as Blaze’s blazing fist smashed her through a line of ruined, flaming towers. The buildings crumbled behind her, consumed by his wrath-fueled aura. Embers danced like fireflies in the twisted sky of his Kyōmu no Ryōiki.

From the crater, she rose with grace, brushing ash from her sleek robes, completely unharmed. A wicked smile curled on her lips.

“Ara~ You’ve improved, darling. Your rage… it’s intoxicating. But…” Her eyes gleamed with seductive mockery. “You’re still a mere spark, not yet the wildfire you need to be.”

Blaze dropped to his knees, his breath ragged. The crimson in his eyes dimmed, his hair returning to its dark, sweat-matted state. His aura flickered, unstable. The heat of his own fury weighed heavily on his bones.

“Tch… Damn it,” he spat, trembling. “This power… it’s burning me from the inside out. I need to master it—soon.”

Ēteru no Eikō turned away, her voice echoing with divine command.

“That is enough for now. Rest. Tomorrow, you’ll face a clone of me. Defeat it…” Her tone turned dark, sly. “And we’ll begin shaping your True Form.”

No further words. No sympathy. She vanished into the molten haze like a mirage of cruelty and perfection.

The Next Day – Kyōmu no Ryōiki

The heat was worse.

The air burned.

Blaze stood bloodied, panting, barely holding himself upright. His opponent, a clone of Ēteru no Eikō, was merciless—far more ruthless than the original. Every strike he tried to land was dodged, countered, or punished with brutal precision.

But Blaze refused to fall.

“I’m not stopping now… I’ll tear through you. If this is the wall… I’ll break it!”

With a scream, his aura flared again—Violet streaked with Crimson, lighting up the scorched dream-realm like a second sun.

His violet eyes sharpened, focused purely on victory.

He charged.

Meanwhile – The Mortal Realm

Blaze’s body sat still, cross-legged in meditation. Days had passed, yet he hadn’t moved. His muscles should’ve wasted. His throat should’ve dried. But Reiki energy surged around him, preserving his body, extending the limits of mortality so his mind could wander endlessly in the dream-territory of fire and fury.

No one could pull him back.

Not yet.

Elsewhere – The Divine Planes

“Wowwwww~ Blaze is really fired up, huh?” Nyra giggled, swirling her finger over the glowing surface of her crystal ball. “He’s like a raging volcano with legs… How exciting~!”

She leaned in closer, power trickling from her fingers as she twisted the strands of fate with a gleeful smile.

“But you know… I think this battle’s been a little too easy for them. Maybe I’ll just nudge the next Kōsō a bit—make things fun.”

A faint ripple of chaos sparked in the threads of destiny.

WHAM!

“Owwwww!” Nyra yelped, holding the massive bump forming on her head.

Floating above her was a beautiful, radiant figure with glowing green eyes and flowing golden hair—Seraphina, her divine counterpart, arms crossed and not amused.

“I warned you, goddess. No tampering with fate. You're in timeout now.” She pointed firmly at the glowing corner of Nyra’s domain, marked with a floating “FATE VIOLATOR” sign.

“But–but I was just helping! Honest! This’ll make Blaze stronger, don’t you see?” Nyra pouted, already sliding backward on her heels.

“I don’t care if you were trying to ‘help.’ You're a goddess—you know better.” Seraphina’s tone was stern, and her fist was still clenched. “Get. In. The. Corner.”

Nyra sniffled dramatically. “You’re so mean… I hate you. Why do I always get in trouble? I’m the one with the cool powers!” She flopped into the corner like a scolded child, still muttering curses under her breath.

As Seraphina turned and took the crystal ball with her, Nyra’s eyes narrowed.

“Stupid Seraphina… always ruining the fun. I’ll get my payback one day…” she grumbled, thudding her head against the wall hard enough to dent it.

But behind those hazel eyes, plans were already taking shape. Plans that would shake Blaze to the core.

Her next game?

Would make Blaze’s current trial look like a warm-up.