Episode 11 — The Breaking Point.
The roar of Hoshinawa was deafening, a storm of voices shaking the mountain air. Yet for Shin, all sound faded into silence.
He saw only Raizen.
Across the shattered tiles of the arena, the crimson-eyed prodigy stood calm, his aura licking upward like flames made flesh.
The final battle is about to begin.
......
The gong had not even fully faded before Raizen moved.
With a blur of motion, his fist slammed into Shin's guard.
The impact rang like thunder.
Pain shot through Shin's arms as the blow forced him back several steps, his heels scraping across stone. His chest burned, his breath already ragged.
The difference was immediate—Raizen was stronger. Faster. Sharper. Every strike carried the weight of iron forged in fire.
Shin snapped forward with a counter, his fist glowing faintly gold, the shape of a dragon's maw flickering into life. But Raizen turned his body, his stance flawless. Shin's strike glanced harmlessly away.
From the stands, the Iron Fang disciples erupted in triumph.
"Raizen! Raizen! Raizen!"
The chant rattled the air, a tide of certainty.
Before Shin could raise his guard again, Raizen's knee crashed into his ribs.
Crack.
The air tore from Shin's lungs. His body hurled sideways, bouncing hard across the cracked tiles. Dust filled his throat. He coughed, blood spraying onto the ground.
He's too strong… I can't even slow him down.
Raizen's Cruelty
Raizen advanced with terrifying calm. His crimson aura flickered around him, each flame sharp as a blade. He did not rage, he did not gloat. His voice, flat and merciless, carried further than any shout.
"You don't belong here," he said. "You're nothing but a stray. A dog Ryuzen picked up when no one else wanted you."
Shin tried to raise his fists, but he was too late. Raizen's strike snapped against his jaw with brutal force.
Blood burst from Shin's lips as his head snapped sideways. He staggered, his knees wobbling.
Gasps echoed through the arena. Silver Dragon supporters cried out in fear, while Iron Fang's side roared with savage delight.
Raizen's eyes glowed faintly red as he stepped closer. His words cut sharper than his fists.
"Give up now. Before I crush you completely."
The Masters' Voices
At the master's seats, even the elders shifted uneasily.
Master Ryuzen, calm as a stone in a river, finally broke his silence. His voice thundered across the arena, sharp with urgency and uncharacteristic desperation.
"This is not the end, Shin! Stand! This is not where your path ends!"
The Silver Dragon supporters rose together, shouting his name, their voices swelling like a tide of defiance.
But across the way, Master Gendo leaned forward. His iron-gray eyes burned with cruel certainty.
"End this, Raizen!" he barked. His voice cracked like thunder. "Finish him! End this rivalry once and for all!"
His words were not encouragement. They were execution.
The crowd gasped. Hope and dread clashed in their hearts, leaving silence heavy as iron.
The Spiral Downward
Shin's arms trembled. His ribs screamed with every breath. His knees wobbled beneath him. The crimson blaze before him blurred his vision, swallowing everything.
Another punch came.
Then another.
Raizen's fists hammered his body with merciless precision. A strike to the chest. Another to the ribs. A third crashing into his cheek. Each impact rang like a bell tolling the death of hope.
Shin staggered like a ragdoll, his body bent beneath the storm. Finally, a savage kick hurled him across the floor. His cheek pressed against the stone, his body refusing to rise.
His arms twitched weakly. His breath came shallow, ragged.
Maybe… I was never meant to win. Maybe Raizen's right. I'm just a stray. Nothing more.
The crowd's shouts blurred together, voices melting into noise. The world dimmed.
The Flashback
But then—light.
A flicker in the darkness.
Shin was no longer in the arena. He was small again—an infant wrapped in warmth.
Gentle arms held him. A soft blanket pressed to his cheek. Two figures stood above him, their forms obscured by radiant light. Their faces were hidden, yet their voices rang clear.
The woman's voice was soft, trembling with love:
"He will be our light."
The man's voice followed, firm and unyielding:
"His name… will be Shin."
The infant laughed, his tiny chest filled with warmth. The sound was joy itself—pure, unbroken, undeniable.
That warmth pierced through the broken boy lying on the arena floor.
Tears welled in Shin's eyes as the vision faded, but the echo of those words burned within him.
The Awakening
His lips trembled. His voice was faint, but steady.
"I… am not nothing."
The arena fell silent.
Shin pressed his palms against the cracked stone. His arms shook. His ribs screamed. But inch by inch, he rose. His back straightened. His eyes sharpened.
"I will not give up!"
The words boomed across the arena, louder than chants, louder than fear.
A golden aura shimmered faintly around him. At first, it flickered weakly. Then it steadied, burning brighter, sharper.
His pupils vanished. His eyes turned pure white, glowing with the radiance of something eternal.
Gasps tore through the stands. Elders stood in shock, their voices trembling.
"Impossible…" one whispered.
The ground shook as Shin's aura surged. Dust and loose stones lifted into the air, swirling like leaves in a storm.
Raizen's crimson blaze still burned stronger, hotter—but the golden light carried defiance that could not be broken.
Shin raised his fist. Light shaped itself into the gaping maw of a dragon.
The Cliffhanger
The crowd split into two storms.
"Shin! Shin! Shin!"
"Raizen! Raizen! Raizen!"
For the first time, Raizen's calm cracked. His lips curled into the faintest smirk, his crimson aura erupting higher as if to answer the challenge.
"Finally," he muttered. His fists clenched. His eyes glowed brighter. "Now show me what you really are."
Crimson fire and golden flame clashed in the air before either moved. The very ground trembled, cracks spreading beneath their feet.
At the heart of the storm, Shin stood tall. His white eyes blazed.
The boy once called a stray no longer wavered.
The final clash was about to begin.