The valley of Yurn was known only in fragmented records—an anomaly erased from most magical archives and sealed beneath layers of sacred, demonic, and celestial misinformation. It was here, at the edge of dimensional erosion, that Rei Kazenari now stood, his cloak fluttering in a wind that didn't exist in any natural current.
Mireille stepped forward, running her hand along the blackened trees. "This place doesn't just reject life. It remembers the moment it was denied."
Noira glanced toward the distant ruins. "We're being watched."
Eirenne raised her gauntlet, adjusting the flux field projected by her pact. "Three energy signatures approaching. Two demonic, one celestial. Fast."
Rei didn't move. "Let them come."
From the burning mist emerged a familiar figure—clad in Gremory red, wings spread wide.
Rias Gremory.
She landed with the grace of a noble and the gaze of someone who had read too many dangerous truths.
"Rei Kazenari," she said, her tone neither hostile nor welcoming. "Your presence here has triggered concern among the factions."
Rei nodded. "I expected as much."
With her stood Akeno, her lightning quietly humming at her fingertips, and Michael, the Archangel himself, his expression unreadable.
Michael stepped forward. "You are gathering fragments that were meant to stay dormant. Do you understand what that means?"
Rei's eyes glinted. "I understand better than most. That's why I won't stop."
Karasu's voice echoed. "They seek to weigh your soul—not to judge you, but to measure what threat you pose."
Mireille walked beside Rei, her voice cool. "We don't need permission. Only space."
Rias shook her head. "This world can't afford another war. Not with EXE stirring."
At that, Rei looked toward the cracked sky—where reality itself had begun to peel.
"They've already noticed. We either prepare or perish."
Michael raised a glowing sphere. "Then face the Judgment Flame. Not as punishment, but as trial."
A golden ring surrounded Rei, separating him from his allies. The air inside thickened, space bending under pressure.
> [Heavenly Tribunal Protocol Initiated. Subject: Kazenari Rei. Truth Resonance Test Active.]
Inside, illusions surged.
He saw himself holding Velstra as she faded. He saw Serapha's flame freeze Mireille. He saw Noira turning her blade on him.
Every possibility, every failure, condensed into pressure.
And Rei… did not fall.
He opened his palm.
The fragments sang—not in violence, but in harmony.
"I carry them not for power," he said, his voice cutting through the trial. "But because no one else could."
The ring shattered.
Michael closed his eyes. "Then you are what this age was waiting for… or what it feared."
Rias turned away. "We will not interfere—for now."
But before they could vanish, Rei spoke.
"You'll return. When you see the gate open. When the throne rises."
Akeno glanced back, her eyes betraying curiosity and respect. "And when it does… will you let us stand beside you?"
Rei's response was a whisper to the wind.
"If you can keep up."