Vol 2 Ch 3 Awakening

-Inside Blaze’s Kyōmu no Ryōiki-

BOOM.

Blaze’s body was hurled across the colosseum like a ragdoll, slamming into the far wall with a deep, bone-rattling impact.

“Tch… that actually hurt…” he muttered, coughing as he staggered to his feet. Every nerve screamed in protest, his limbs trembling under the weight of exhaustion. Pain coursed through his battered frame—but through the ache, a fierce grin crept across his face.

Before him, the clone of Ēteru no Eikō evaporated into shimmering ethereal motes, dissolving into the searing air of the Kyōmu no Ryōiki.

“I finally won,” Blaze breathed. “About damn time.”

This hadn’t been an easy victory. He had to push beyond his limits, tapping into every technique he had learned—every scrap of instinct honed through combat and pain. But it was his newly awakened Aura that had turned the tide.

The aura coursed through his veins like liquid fire, enhancing his body, dulling damage, and expanding the reach of his flame-based attacks. His speed had become overwhelming, his reflexes razor-sharp.

From above, a slow, deliberate clap echoed across the scorched domain.

“Bravo,” Ēteru no Eikō purred, descending like a star falling through the blood-red skies. Her voice, equal parts seductive and condescending, curved through the smoldering air. “You've improved so much, so very quickly. As you are now... you might even defeat Echo Prime on your own—though not without... difficulty, of course.”

She smiled cruelly, the violet gleam of her aura igniting as time and space shimmered around her.

“But don’t get too comfortable. There are many others who wield Aura—and not all are so easily outmatched.”

With a flick of her wrist, she summoned her own Aura—Iridescent Violet, elegant and terrible. Space warped around her, bending in ways that defied logic. She slashed her arm.

The wound vanished in an instant.

“Strike me,” she ordered.

Without hesitation, Blaze unleashed his attack.
[Nova Slash]
A blazing crescent of fire roared forward, carving through the air with heat intense enough to melt steel.

But as the arc entered Ēteru no Eikō’s distorted field, time slowed. The attack stalled—then reversed course, as though reality itself rejected Blaze’s will.

“Wha—!?”

Too slow.

The reflected arc slammed into his chest, sending him skidding backward, blood sizzling on the scorched earth.

“Grrhh… Damn that hurt,” he muttered, holding his side. “What the hell was that?”

Ēteru no Eikō walked toward him like a predator toying with its prey, heels clicking softly on the cracked terrain.

“My aura. It distorts time and space—every attack launched at me is reflected. You will find many Kōsō with unique abilities like this… each more dangerous than the last.”

She circled him, eyes gleaming with amusement.

“But you, Blaze… your aura is so very... basic. A standard power-up. Speed, strength, perception, mind… all amplified.”

Blaze’s crimson-violet aura flared up defiantly. “Is that supposed to be an insult?”

“No,” she whispered, floating to stand just inches from his face. “It’s terrifying. You don’t need a complex Aura. You are already a natural disaster wrapped in flesh. Add in your fire, your transformation—which we’ll begin to awaken soon—and you’ll be unstoppable.”

She reached forward, fingers glowing faintly as they hovered near his chest.

“But there’s one thing about you that stands above all others.”

“And that is?” Blaze growled, patience thinning.

Ēteru no Eikō’s smile deepened, amused by his intensity.

“Patience, my dear. You’ve noticed it, haven’t you? Your body heals faster. Your wounds don’t linger. Why do you think that is?”

“I figured… it was you,” Blaze said. “You’ve always healed me.”

“Partially. But the truth runs deeper. Since the day I was sealed within you, you’ve absorbed fragments of my power. One of which… is immortality.”

Blaze blinked, stunned. “Immortal?”

“Yes,” she confirmed, her tone almost gentle for a moment. “Like me, you cannot truly die. Even if your body is destroyed, your soul… your spirit… will remain. But don’t grow reckless. Even immortals can be sealed, locked away—just like the power inside you.”

A slow, cocky grin spread across Blaze’s face. “Immortal, huh? Good. That just means I have forever to kill every last Kōsō.”

His grip tightened around the scythe at his back. “Now stop talking. Help me unlock my new form.”

Ēteru no Eikō chuckled seductively, floating upward. “So eager. So predictable. Very well… let us continue.”

Friday, August 23, 10:00 AM, 3074 AE

Aurora High School

“Scarlett. Lyria. I assume you're here for a mission?” Aeloria asked, her voice cool and unreadable as she turned from the window.

“Yes, sensei,” Lyria replied warmly, her polite tone in contrast to the fire in her eyes.

“You know it,” Scarlett shouted, grinning as she cracked her knuckles. “I’m getting bored with just training. I need to stretch, punch something that punches back.”

Aeloria nodded. “Then follow me.”

She led them down the pristine halls of Aurora High, stopping at the principal’s office. Without knocking, she swung the door open.

“Yoho~! Guess who’s here?” she sang playfully.

Principal Nakamura sighed, rubbing his temple. “Aeloria… how many times must I ask you to knock before entering?”

Lyria bowed her head slightly. “Apologies, Principal. We’re here to request a mission—preferably one of higher classification.”

“At least one of you has manners…” Nakamura muttered. He shuffled through a thick stack of mission scrolls and handed one to Aeloria. “Here. This mission involves eliminating a group of humanoid Kōsō attacking a vital farming region. If we lose this farm, the food supply chain collapses.”

Aeloria’s eyes narrowed. “Understood. This is bigger than it sounds.”

“It is,” Nakamura agreed. “I’m assigning your team to this directly. But where’s Blaze?”

“He’s… off training on his own,” Lyria said softly. “We’ll handle this without him.”

Nakamura studied her, then nodded. “Even without him, I trust you’ll succeed. After all, your sensei is the strongest Vanguard alive.”

Aeloria didn’t even acknowledge the compliment—her gaze was already distant, fixed on the horizon beyond the Academy walls.

The mission would take two days on foot.

The path ahead was uncertain. But for Scarlett, Lyria, and the quiet, absent Blaze...

War was only beginning.

-Same day inside Blaze’s Kyōmu no Ryōiki-

Crack—BOOM!

The world twisted in on itself. Reality peeled like scorched paper as Blaze crashed through the molten crust of his Kyōmu no Ryōiki — the Domain of the Hollow Dream.

“You can do better than that, can’t you?” Ēteru no Eikō’s voice dripped with silk and venom, floating above the chaos on a throne of lightless stars. “Or are you still just a weak little brat playing hero?”

From the swirling twilight sky, ethereal guns spiraled into formation, conjured by her will alone. Blaze’s aura surged up like a barrier of molten fire—but even then, the barrage overwhelmed him, blasting him into a jagged wall of obsidian and ash.

“I’m not… done yet…” he growled, teeth gritted against the pressure of her overwhelming presence.

With a flick of her fingers, swords formed midair—long, elegant, and dripping with ethereal menace. A beam of light followed, warping space as it thundered toward him.

“[Nova Slash!]” Blaze roared, hurling a crescent of condensed flame that met her magic midair.

BOOM!

The explosion tore through the scorched battlefield, shaking the very seams of the realm. Lava rivers surged and embers rained down in a hellish storm.

“Much better,” Ēteru no Eikō purred. “But still not good enough.” Her eyes glowed like twin stars as she vanished, reappearing behind him. “Focus. Your aura… is an extension of you.”

He barely reacted before she swept his legs out from under him and buried her fist into his gut with terrifying precision.

[Flaming Whirlwind!]

Spinning, Blaze erupted into a vortex of roaring flame, sucking her into the center with brutal force.

[Sun Strike!]

A burning orb of fire condensed in his palm and detonated against her, blasting her across the ravaged plain.

He exhaled, chest heaving, flame crackling from his skin. “Finally… I landed a hit.”

“Really?” Her sultry voice whispered like smoke in his ear.

She was behind him again—untouched. Smirking.

“I saw it land. I know it hit—"

“It did,” she admitted with a coy smile. “But I merely bent the flow of time around myself. Rewound my body to before your attack landed.”

His eyes widened. “T-That’s cheating!”

Her laugh was low and intimate. “No, sweet flame. It’s war—and all is fair in war and seduction.” She leaned closer. “Besides… I can tell you’ve felt it. Haven’t you? That itch just under the surface? Why don’t you give it a try?”

Confusion rippled through Blaze—until he understood.

He screamed.

The Kyōmu no Ryōiki twisted around him, responding to the pulse of awakening. His body cracked with energy.

Hair turned silver, streaked with radiant violet. His skin shimmered faintly. His crimson-black outfit morphed, veined with flowing starlit designs. And on his face, a mask formed—Ascended Flame.

Forged from iridescent celestial alloy, the mask shimmered from silver to crimson, adorned with arcs of flame and stardust etchings that pulsed with power. Violet, flame-shaped eyes glowed beneath a crown of ghostly astral fire. A deep echo vibrated in his voice as he stood reborn, surrounded by an aura that pulsed with living energy—violet and crimson intertwined.

Ēteru no Eikō clapped once, amused. “Congratulations. How does it feel to awaken your Kōsō form?”

“…Disgusted,” Blaze muttered, his voice layered with cosmic distortion. “I hate that I need this power. But I’ll use it—because it’ll let me kill every last Kōsō in my path.”

He smirked beneath the mask. “And how poetic it’ll be… for them to die by their own power.”

In a blur, he vanished. Ēteru’s eyes widened just a sliver before—

[Sun Strike!]

The impact sent her hurling like a meteor across the burning landscape.

She dug her heels into the molten ground, skidding to a stop. Her arm hung limp, ribs fractured.

‘Impressive… Twenty times stronger in a single awakening. If I were at full power, that would’ve been a scratch. But this... this is potential,’ she thought, eyes gleaming.

“You awakened the full form in one go… I expected trials and failure,” she said, time reversing around her body as wounds knit and bones popped back into place. “But you won’t be able to maintain it. Tomorrow, we will work on that. For now—rest.”

“I don’t need rest! I can master it—!”

Click.

She appeared before him, time itself stilled. With one elegant strike to the neck, Blaze collapsed.

“I wasn’t asking, brat. I was ordering you.”

She stood over his unconscious form, a smirk curling her lips. “Such a handful… But for my plan to work, he must become so much more.”

Sunday, August 25, 6:00 AM, 3074 AE

The Farmer’s Farm

The morning sun cast golden light over the quiet fields. Birds chirped lazily, unaware of the storm that loomed ahead.

Scarlett, Lyria, and Aeloria walked at a casual pace. There was no rush—the Kōsō only struck on the fourth day. They had time.

Upon arrival, they were greeted by an elderly farmer and two helpers: a middle-aged man with brown hair and blue eyes, and a young woman with long crimson hair and golden eyes. Both dressed plainly, humble in appearance, yet something about them tugged at Lyria’s instincts.

“They’ve fought off countless Kōsō,” the farmer explained, “and they’ve been a great help. Never left the farm once.”

Suspicious? Yes. But for now… allies.

Scarlett stretched with a yawn. “Whatever. As long as they’re not trying to eat us, I’ll play nice.”

Lyria gave a polite nod. “Thank you for having us. We’ll help however we can.”

The three heroes spent the day assisting on the farm. Aeloria, however, reclined on the rooftop, arms folded behind her head, legs crossed. The wind tousled her silver hair as she gazed skyward, expression unreadable.

She looked like she belonged among the stars—untouchable, aloof.

Beneath her, Scarlett sparred with Lyria in the field, their blows sharp and fast. Sparks danced between them—Scarlett’s brash fire against Lyria’s focused grace.

The two mysterious strangers watched from the fence, silent and still.

And far away, deep within his own dreamscape, Blaze burned.

Tomorrow, the real trial would begin.

And not all of them would walk away unscathed.