The night over the valley was unnaturally still.
Rei stood upon the edge of the southern balcony, robes of dusk wrapping around his figure like forgotten memories. The stars above shimmered with ghostly light, distant and silent, as if they, too, were watching. Behind him, the sanctuary pulsed with restrained energy—barriers humming, spirits murmuring, and the lingering scent of blood still fresh from battles past.
> [System Notice: First Flame Fragment — Integration Stabilized at 66%]
The numbers didn't comfort him anymore. Power was easy to measure. Purpose wasn't.
"Still thinking about the vision?"
The voice belonged to Eirenne. She approached slowly, her silver-white hair cascading like moonlight across her shoulders. Her spirit garb shimmered faintly—an elegant contrast of pale blues and black lace. She stopped beside Rei, eyes searching the horizon.
Rei nodded slowly. "I saw her again."
Eirenne said nothing at first, only placed a hand on the stone rail. "The same woman in the fire?"
"She keeps whispering. Each time, her voice gets clearer. Like something old is trying to wake inside me."
"Maybe it's part of the Flame."
"Or maybe it's a warning."
There was silence between them, heavy but not cold. Rei glanced at her, catching the fatigue etched in the corners of her eyes. "You haven't slept."
"I can't," she replied. "Not with what's coming."
She wasn't wrong.
The scouts from the Council had been only the beginning. Since their attack, Rei had sensed growing pressure. Not from the Devil or Angel factions, but from something deeper—entities that moved through time like blades through silk. Shadows that didn't cast themselves.
"Tomorrow," he said at last, "we move to secure the Second Fragment."
Eirenne blinked. "So soon?"
"It's calling. The Spirit Core resonated with it during training. It's not far… but we'll have to leave the sanctuary unguarded."
"Noira will object."
"She always does."
---
In the war chamber, Noira's objection came in the form of a blade planted into the map table.
"You're inviting disaster," she snapped, obsidian eyes flashing with restrained fury. "This place is the only stable nexus for spirit energy in this region. If you leave it open—"
"They'll come for it," Rei finished. "I know."
"Then why leave?"
"Because if we don't get the next fragment, none of this will matter."
Noira stepped closer, her voice dropping. "And if they take the sanctuary?"
"Then we take it back."
She looked into his eyes for a long moment, searching for hesitation. She found none.
Finally, she pulled the blade free and sheathed it. "Then I go with you."
"No," Rei replied. "You stay. Protect the sanctuary."
"I'm not your guardian."
"You're stronger than you think," he said. "And you're the only one who understands the leyline patterns here. If they breach the core, only you can stall them."
The weight of responsibility settled on her shoulders like iron.
Eirenne stepped forward. "I'll accompany him."
Mireille, who had remained silent until now, poured tea with the calm of someone who'd witnessed centuries of war. "Then I shall prepare provisions."
Rei looked at them all—his harem, his spirits, his allies.
"You don't have to follow me," he said.
Mireille smiled softly. "You keep saying that as if we ever listened."
---
They departed at dawn.
The journey took them through the winding paths of the Forest of Veils, a place where time moved differently, and echoes whispered old truths to those who listened too long. The trees were tall and gnarled, their branches thick with red blossoms and silver moss.
Eirenne walked close to Rei, her senses heightened. "The Spirit Core's pulse is stronger here. This whole forest is a memory."
Rei frowned. "What kind of memory?"
"One that refuses to fade."
They found the fragment within the ruins of a sunken temple, half-submerged in spirit mist and shadowed history. It was guarded—not by beings of flesh, but by illusions drawn from Rei's own fears. Images of his past life, faceless enemies, burning cities… and his own corpse staring back at him.
He stood still, breathing slowly.
> [System Alert: Cognitive Intrusion Detected. Defense Protocol Alpha Initiated.]
Karasu's voice echoed like a blade unsheathing. "You know what's real. Cut through it."
Rei closed his eyes. When he opened them, the illusions dissolved.
At the temple's altar hovered the Second Flame Fragment—a shard of burning gold, rotating slowly in the air.
Eirenne stepped forward. "This one feels different."
"It's not just fire," Rei said. "It's choice."
As his hand neared the shard, a pulse of heat surged through the ruins. The skies above the temple cracked open, and from them descended a figure clad in robes darker than night itself—no wings, no halo, no tail. Just eyes like dying stars.
> [System Notice: Unknown Entity Approaching. Estimated Power: Class S+]
Eirenne instinctively raised her arm. "Rei—"
"I know."
The figure landed lightly before them, a strange reverence in its stance. "Kazenari Rei," it said, voice like folding steel. "You should not be here."
"Neither should you," Rei replied.
The entity studied him. "The flames you gather are not merely fragments of power. They are locks. Each one broken invites what lies beyond."
Rei extended his spirit energy. "Then let them come."
With a flash of golden light, the fragment responded to his will.
And in that moment, something ancient screamed beneath the forest.