Kaito didn't make it to the forest.
The adrenaline of the Black Ripple had masked the toll the Ring took on his body. As he cleared the outer walls of the arena, his nervous system buckled under the feedback of Kage's energy. He collapsed in the charcoal pits of the Smolder District—the very place he had worked for ten years.
When he woke, he wasn't under the sky. He was in the Sub-Zero Vaults.
The Vault of Silence
The Flame Clan kept their greatest threats in a prison carved from volcanic glass and lined with "Frost-Iron"—a rare metal that absorbed heat and spiritual energy. The room was barely larger than a coffin, and Kaito was suspended by chains that pulled his arms wide.
His right hand was encased in a heavy, leaden gauntlet. They couldn't remove the Ring, so they had tried to bury it in metal.
"You've caused quite a stir, Smolder-trash."
General Pyrois stood at the edge of the cell, his face lit by a single, flickering torch. He looked at Kaito not as a person, but as a chest of gold he couldn't quite open.
"The Ring of Kage hasn't been seen in four centuries," the General whispered. "The legends say it holds the 'Unity Style'—the power to command all elements. But look at you. You're just a shivering boy."
The Interrogation
The General stepped forward, pressing a glowing, heated finger against Kaito's collarbone. The smell of burning skin filled the small cell.
"How do you activate it? Is it a blood-seal? A mantra?"
Kaito gritted his teeth, refusing to give him a sound.
"Let me out, boy," Kage's voice rumbled, muffled by the Frost-Iron. "The metal is cold, but the friction remains. I can boil his blood from inside his veins if you just let go."
No, Kaito thought. If I let you out now, I'm just a weapon. I'm not a person anymore.
The Science of the Soul
Pyrois grew impatient. He signaled to a hooded figure in the corner—a Flame-Alchemist. The man approached with a tray of needles made of white-gold.
"If you won't speak, we will map your meridians," the Alchemist said. "We will find where the shadow flows and we will harvest it."
As the first needle pierced Kaito's shoulder, something changed. The needle was meant to block his flow, but it acted as a lightning rod. It bypassed the leaden gauntlet and touched the spiritual "skin" of the Ring.
The Internal Break
Inside Kaito's mind, the darkness flared.
"Kage," Kaito whispered internally. "You said Thunder is friction. The Frost-Iron... it's stealing my heat. It's creating a temperature difference."
"Clever brat," Kage laughed. "The greater the cold, the more violent the spark when the heat returns. Use the Frost-Iron. Turn the prison into a battery."
Kaito stopped resisting the cold. He leaned into it, letting the Frost-Iron drain every bit of warmth from his body until his heart slowed to a crawl. The Alchemist panicked, thinking he had killed the prize.
"He's flatlining! Increase the heat!"
The Alchemist unleashed a wave of fire to revive Kaito. That was the mistake. The massive influx of heat hitting the frozen Kaito created a Thermal Shock.
The leaden gauntlet on his hand began to hair-line fracture. The blue-black sparks of the Thunder Style didn't just flicker; they screamed.
"My turn," Kaito rasped, his eyes glowing violet through the dark.