The site of glory is now a ghostly field of rubble.
The arena where Kael and Virex fought is silent. The stands are empty, the concrete is cracked, and everything that happened there is concentrated in a single point in the middle of the field.
The ground where the Axiom and Nova Strike hit has melted. The rock shines like glass, as if the heat is still trapped within. The cracks run deep, and they don't stop at the field—they creep on, as if something is tearing it apart from within.
The silence is unnatural.
From deep within, a soft, rhythmic rumbling can be heard.
Not loud. Not violent.
But it's there. And it won't stop.
A dark, dense fog seeps out from the cracks. It's not like smoke. It's heavier. It moves more slowly. As if it doesn't want to go up, but to spread out.
As if searching for something.
A figure stands at the highest point of the arena.
Reizen Kuro.
He watches the field motionlessly, as if he has been here for a long time. The moonlight only partially illuminates his face, the rest remains in shadow.
He takes a step forward.
The sound of pebbles echoes in the emptiness.
He slowly descends to the middle of the field, exactly where the cracks are densest. He is not in a hurry. Every movement he makes is controlled.
He kneels down.
The black mist reacts immediately.
It wraps itself around his hand like some living thing. It does not attack him. It does not avoid him either.
He accepts it.
Reizen's fingers slowly tighten, as if feeling its weight. The air around him cools, the silence deepens.
His eyes light up faintly.
"Finally… it has begun."
The mist thickens for a moment, then recedes into the cracks.
But the rumbling doesn't stop.
Miles away, the world is no longer silent.
The sky above a mountain peak is torn apart by lightning. The wind cuts through the rocks as if to tear them from their place.
The cliff face suddenly cracks.
A sharp explosion.
The rock falls to pieces, and a figure emerges from the dust cloud.
Ryujiro.
His presence instantly changes the air. The wind shifts, the smaller rocks rise, then fall back.
The Dragon Vortex spins in his hand.
But not steadily.
Its spin is raw. His voice is not a simple mechanical hum—it's more of a deep, distorted vibration, as if something is alive inside him.
The red aura pulses around him.
It doesn't flicker. It doesn't weaken.
It keeps getting stronger.
Ryujiro's gaze is fixed into the distance. He's not searching. He's not thinking.
He knows where he needs to go.
"Virex was just a weak puppet."
The Dragon Vortex suddenly accelerates, and for a brief moment the surrounding air distorts around him.
"Now I'll show you what true destruction means."
He takes a step forward.
The ground cracks beneath him.
All seems calm in the city.
Sunlight breaks through the buildings, the streets slowly awaken.
But something is wrong on the training ground.
Kael stands alone.
He clutches the launcher, the Axiom already inside. His movements are familiar, practiced. The same routine he's done a hundred times.
But now it doesn't feel the same.
He pauses for a moment.
His hand trembles slightly.
Not from fatigue.
Something else.
He slowly starts the movement.
"Launch."
The launcher's voice is sharper than usual.
The Axiom fires.
But the sound… is not clear.
Instead of the usual steady spin, there's a distorted, vibrating noise. Not loud, but disturbing. As if the peonza is off balance.
Kael's eyes follow him immediately.
The Axiom doesn't move like that.
It doesn't stay on course.
It stabilizes for a moment—
then suddenly breaks out.
It veers sideways, slams hard into the concrete, and leaves a deep groove.
Sparks fly.
The spin breaks apart.
The Axiom spins for a moment longer, then slowly, uncontrollably stops.
Silence.
Kael doesn't move.
His hand is still in the air where it was when he launched.
He slowly lowers it.
His palm tingles.
It doesn't hurt.
But it's not normal.
He looks down at the Axiom.
"…what's happening to you?"
No answer.
Just the wind.
But that's not the same.
Suddenly it turns cold.
A single, hard jolt sweeps across the track, kicking up dust.
Kael looks up.
The sky changes in an instant.
The sun disappears behind dark, rolling clouds. Not slowly. Not naturally.
As if something had covered it.
The air above the horizon begins to tense.
And then—
a huge, blood-red bolt of lightning rips through the sky.
Right in the middle of the city.
Kael's gaze tightens.
Now he feels it too.
This is not a mistake.
This is a beginning.