The blade rested on scorched metal, a streak of silver in the dark floor. Fire had touched everything else—burned dummies, blackened walls, cracked tiles—but not the weapon. It looked untouched. Waiting.
Longer than a dagger. Shorter than a sword. Just the right size for speed. For strikes that never missed.
Faint red lines ran along the steel, sharp and carved deep like old scars. The hilt, dark and smooth, felt like it still remembered his grip.
But it wasn't in his hand.
Ash's fingers twitched. 'It shouldn't be here.'
He stepped forward. One step. Then another. The heat wrapped around him, but it didn't stop him.
'Kael never moves without a reason. This isn't just some dumb prank.'
He stopped inches from the blade. His hand hovered over it, but he didn't touch it.
"You've got a lot of nerve," he said, voice low.
Kael turned slowly, a smirk already forming. "Did you find it?" he asked like he already knew the answer. Like he'd been waiting.
'This must be very amusing to him.'
Ash's brow twitched. "Why'd you take it?"
Kael tilted his head. The smirk didn't fade. "Thought I'd help you out. Training without it sharpens the senses, doesn't it?"
'Uh-huh. Like I don't know what you're planning.'
Ash's fingers closed around the hilt. Warm. Like it had been burning. The heat pulsed through his skin.
"You really think this is funny?"
Kael stepped back, fire curling around his fingertips. "I think it worked."
'This power-hungry freak... He'll do anything for a fight.'
Ash rolled his shoulders, letting the tension crack down his spine. "Next time, ask."
Kael laughed under his breath. "Yeah… that's not happening."
Their eyes locked. Ash didn't blink.
He shook his head. "Let's just get this over with."
Blade in hand, Ash shifted his stance. Feet firm. Grip tight. Eyes steady.
Kael mirrored him. Flames licked the air around his hands. The smirk was still there.
They didn't speak again.
They didn't need to.
Kael's lips curled. His eyes narrowed, heat building behind them.
"Let's see you dodge this."
His hand snapped forward. Fire burst out, twisting into burning orbs that flew at Ash.
Ash moved. His steps were light, sharp. He didn't flinch, didn't stop. The flames rushed past, missing by inches. He watched Kael's fingers, tracked the shape of each fireball. Two came too close.
His blade flashed—quick, clean. Sparks flew as he cut through them, the flames snuffed out midair.
Kael let out a short laugh. "Not bad."
Fire coiled tighter around him.
"But let's see how you handle this."
He spread his arms. The fireballs still left in the air didn't shoot forward. They spun. Shifted. Twisted like they had minds of their own.
Ash's stance shifted.
'Not random. He's guiding them. Watching how I move. They're not meant to hit me—they're boxing me in.'
The fireballs struck.
Not from one side—but from all sides. They moved together, fast and sharp, bending through the air like snakes.
One skimmed Ash's side. Light flared—but there was no pain. He brushed his fingers over his shirt. Smooth. Unburnt.
The fabric held. Built for fire. No one in their family wore anything else. Not when their blood could burn cities.
Kael's clothes were just the same. Fire didn't scare them—it belonged to them.
Ash rolled his shoulder.
"Nice try."
His grip tightened.
Kael tilted his head. "Enough playing around. Your turn."
'So he wants me to really use it... Well, it's not like I can win with or without it.'
Ash's lips curled. "If you say so."
A familiar voice echoed in his mind.
"[Activating Skill: Storm Vein]"
A crack of energy surged through him. His chest pulled tight—then everything snapped into focus. The room didn't slow, but his mind raced ahead.
Kael's hands twitched.
The flames twisted.
The air bent before the blast.
" [Activating Skill: Static Surge]"
A pulse ran through his body. Light buzzed under his skin. He stepped—and the world blurred behind him.
'With this, I should be even faster.'
The distance vanished. Ash shot forward, blade a streak of silver.
Kael didn't move back.
The ground cracked.
Flames burst upward, a wall of fire roaring between them. The heat rolled over everything, the metal walls glowing faint red. Shadows stretched and snapped as the fire climbed higher.
Ash swung. Steel cut through air. Sparks exploded. The edge of his blade glowed—fire licking at the metal.
But he didn't stop. His eyes locked on Kael.
Lightning coiled around his arms. It didn't just hum—it moved with him. His steps were sharp, his path clean. One fireball curved toward him, but he'd already turned. Another wave flared—but he was past it before it peaked.
He struck.
One fast step. A clean angle. His blade aimed straight for Kael's ribs.
Kael's gaze snapped to him. His shoulders moved. Fire twisted tight around his frame—a burst that shot between them.
Ash jumped back.
His blade crashed into the wall of fire. The clash sent embers flying. Red sparks lit the ceiling like stars.
Kael didn't smile this time. He stood still, arms raised. The fire didn't sit on his skin anymore.
It came from inside him.
The air thickened. The flames pulsed like breath.
"So, you've been training."
Ash's grip tightened. Sparks crept along his fingers, crawling up the hilt of his blade.
'Of course I have,' he thought. 'What do you think someone stuck at stage one would be doing? And you're still going easy on me.'
"Don't hold back."
Kael tilted his head. His eyes glowed, sharp and knowing. "You noticed."
Ash gave a single nod, his gaze fixed.
"I saw your fight at the tournament. You were stronger than this."
Kael's smirk twitched at the corner. "This is enough for you."
Flames curled up his arms, alive and ready.
"Any more, and I might actually hurt you."
Ash let out a breath. The energy in his veins hummed, steady and warm like a silent promise. 'This time, I'll win.'
"Is that so?" ash said.
He dropped low. Power surged through his legs. He moved.
Faster.
Kael's arms shifted, fire dancing up his sleeves. Ash's blade sliced through the air between them, a blur of silver.
A wall of flame rushed forward. Kael's palm thrust outward, heat crashing down.
Ash's feet skidded right, barely touching the ground before pushing off again. The fire missed him by inches.
Kael came next.
Flames wrapped around him like armor. He charged, swinging in a wide arc.
Ash ducked low, twisting past the blow. Electricity burst from beneath his soles, boosting his speed. The air shook around him as he lunged forward. His blade struck Kael's arm.
Heat exploded.
Kael grit his teeth. Flames gathered at his hands, shaping into spheres.
Ash didn't stop. His nerves lit up with sparks. Every step brought him closer. 'Here goes.'
He threw his blade.
The weapon spun, a sharp streak aimed straight for Kael's left arm.
Kael didn't flinch. He let it pass, a grin tugging at his lips.
"Really? You think I'll fall for that again?"
Ash didn't answer. Sparks flickered in his eyes. 'It's not like I expected this fool to notice.'
"No," he said. "That's why I planned something better."
His body tensed. Power buzzed just under the surface. [Storm Vein] sharpened everything—Kael's breathing, the tremble of fire on his skin, even the way his stance shifted.
Ash moved again.
[Static Surge] kicked in. His steps lightened. Speed built fast. He circled Kael, staying low, feet silent on the metal floor. Light from the fire cast long shadows, hiding the thin rope trailing behind him.
Kael followed him with his eyes, fire steady in his palms. He didn't move.
Ash weaved past a burnt table, pacing tighter. The rope slithered behind him, wrapping through the wreckage like a snake, waiting.
Kael didn't blink.
He thought he understood.
Then Ash cut left. Swerved right.
The rope snapped.
Kael's arms jerked to his sides. The bindings wrapped fast, digging into skin, yanking tight. His stance broke. One foot slid. Flame flared up in panic—but the rope held.
His fingers twitched.
Too late.
The fire broke. The heat lost shape.
Kael's breath caught. His eyes dropped.
The rope gleamed in the firelight—tight, unmoving.
"What the hell—"
Ash stood now, still and sure. Sparks danced between his fingers. His blade stayed planted in the ground. A smirk tugged at his face.
"Gotcha."
Kael tugged once. Then again. Muscles tensed, fire coiling higher. Nothing gave way.
"You're quick," he said, rolling his shoulder, eyes narrowing. "But still predictable."
Ash didn't move. Arms crossed. "Let's see you break out, then."
Kael's grin sharpened. "If you think this'll hold me, you're not thinking big enough."
He raised his arms.
Flames roared. The ropes didn't burn. Fire slid over them, slipping off like oil on glass.
Kael's fingers twitched. He focused. Still nothing.
A quiet chuckle slipped from his throat. Rough. Dry.
"Huh."
Ash shifted slightly. One foot tapped the floor, just beside the rope's anchor point.
"That rope's the same stuff as our uniforms. Fire doesn't work on it."
Kael stared down at the binding. Silent. His grin widened slowly.
Ash frowned. 'Wait… why's he smiling?'
"Heh. Well, this won't do," Kael said, his arms relaxing though flame still curled at his fingertips.
"You did well. Haven't met many people who could plan this far ahead…" His voice dipped, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Except Max."
The ground split with a deep crack beneath Kael's boots.
His shoulders stretched wider. Muscle piled on muscle, thick cords rising under his skin like coiled wire. His neck strained. His back curved as heat rippled from him in waves.
Ash stared. Kael's eyes glowed—bright red, alive with something that wasn't fully human.
Kael's hands twitched. Nails stretched out, sharp and curved, glinting in the firelight. The space around him shimmered, the heat bending it like glass.
Ash didn't move, didn't breathe. 'What the hell… I thought he wasn't supposed to use that. When did he learn to control it?'
"I thought you couldn't control that."
The rope around Kael's arms pulled tight, fibers digging in. But his body kept growing.
The rope didn't last.
With a loud snap, it tore apart. Threads flew loose, falling like ash as Kael stood tall again—taller, broader, something else entirely. Power bled off him in thick waves. Heat flooded the room.
Ash's fingers curled in reflex. 'Damn it.'
Kael exhaled, long and slow. His body shrank back, muscles easing. But the fire in his eyes stayed.
His chest rose once, twice.
"Yeah," he said, his voice lower, rougher. His fingers moved, claw tips pulling back into skin.
"I got kicked out of the academy because of it."
His laugh came short, cracked like dry wood.
"But the good thing is… I had to train with Dad instead."
He rolled his neck. The fire didn't leave his arms—it just waited there, just like him.
"He taught me a lot—especially how to stop losing control."
Ash watched in silence.
Kael's cocky smirks, his trash talk—those were just noise. This? This was what he'd been hiding.
Real power.
Ash's eyes flicked to the floor. His blade sat behind Kael, too far for comfort.
'Stupid. I let it get that far behind.'
The same familiar voice echoed in his mind.
"[Vein Energy 75%]"
'Shut up. Not now.'
Ash moved.
His body leaned forward, legs pushing off hard. Wind pulled at his coat as he flew past Kael, inches from the fire.
Kael turned, but Ash was already down low. His hand snapped out, closing around the hilt. A twist. A pivot.
Steel flashed upward.
Kael's fists caught fire. He swung.
Blade met flame. The hit cracked through the room, pushing back the heat for just a second. Sparks jumped off the edge of Ash's blade. Their arms trembled with the force.
Then they broke apart. Feet slammed the floor, both landing wide apart.
Ash shifted his grip. The blade vibrated in his hand, still shaking from the clash.
Kael bounced his shoulders once. Flames licked his arms, ready.
They didn't speak.
They didn't need to.
Both moved again.
Then, right before they could strike—
A voice cut in, rough and bored, crackling from the speaker above them.
"As much as I enjoy watching you guys beat each other up, I'm ending it here. We just got a call from Dad."
Silence.
Ash froze mid-step.
Kael's fire sputtered out. His hands dropped.
Just like that, the weight in the room vanished.