The moment the ancient basilica's gates groaned open, time rippled.
The air within was heavy, not with age—but intention. Every stone was a memory forged in silence. Dust didn't settle here; it floated as if time held its breath. Spirit sigils, long erased from common systems, blazed faintly along the walls—red, gold, and violet etched into black marble.
And at the heart of it all stood her.
The Precursor Flame Spirit.
She lay suspended in a prism of aether-glass. Her body seemed ageless—clad in ornate silk and iron, her long hair drifting as if underwater. Her eyes were closed, but the power she radiated cracked the leyline stones beneath her.
Mireille murmured, "That's no ordinary spirit."
"She's not from this cycle," Eirenne added, tightening her grip on her spirit staff.
Karasu's voice dripped with awe. "The Sovereigns locked her away before the First Accord. Before the systems. Before 'flame' had a language."
Rei stepped forward. "Then let's give her a name again."
---
Memory Shard Interface Initiated
> [Spirit Designation: ???] [System: Unknown. Class: Origin. Type: Flame/Void Hybrid.] [Dormant Consciousness Detected.] [User: Kazenari Rei recognized. Compatibility: 97.84%] [Initiate Synchronization? Y/N]
"Do it," Rei whispered.
As he placed his hand upon the prism, fire spiraled upward—not to destroy, but to entwine. The flame didn't burn him. It asked him.
A voice echoed—not a woman's, not a child's. A concept made audible:
"Why do you seek a name that was never given?"
Rei closed his eyes.
"Because you were forgotten not by time, but by force. And I don't forget what was stolen."
The prism shattered.
The spirit floated down, eyes still closed, feet barely brushing the obsidian floor. When her eyes opened, stars blinked within them.
---
Introduction of the Precursor Flame
She looked at Rei.
"You carry the Eighth Flame. And more."
"I carry truth," Rei said. "And I want to give you yours."
She tilted her head. "Then give me a name."
Rei thought of the runes in the Memory Palace. Of lost records. Of symbols even Karasu couldn't translate.
He reached into the Flame Codex.
"Velka," he said. "The flame before systems. The blaze that doesn't consume—but remembers."
The spirit closed her eyes—and smiled.
> [New Spirit Formed: Velka, Precursor Flame] [Spirit System Adapting — Custom Integration Protocols Building... Complete.] [New System Skill Unlocked: Remnant Pyre — Allows summoning of spirit echoes from forgotten timelines.]
Mireille stared, awed. "You've just created a class outside every known chart."
Karasu barked laughter. "You made a new color for fire."
---
Beyond the Basilica — The First Response
Far above, as the activation of Velka echoed through leyline architecture, a breach tore across the dimensional lattice.
From it descended Sovereign Obelion.
Unlike Icarion, Obelion did not wield flame or law—but gravity. Truths that crush. His form was a black monolith with shifting limbs—his presence made the land beneath him quake.
He landed in the middle of Japan—splitting mountains upon arrival.
> [Sovereign Protocol: Immediate Extraction of Origin Entity Velka. Status: Hostile Acquisition Permitted.]
Back at the basilica, Rei felt the sky fracture.
"He's here," Velka said, eyes narrowing.
Rei nodded. "Then we test what your fire can truly do."
---
Spirit Synchronization Initiated
For the first time, Rei merged not with a system-bound spirit, but a primordial force. Velka's flame didn't blend with his. It became him.
His body shimmered with dual flame and void script. His eyes reflected not stars—but the spaces between them.
Eirenne stepped forward. "Whatever you've become, Rei… we follow."
Noira smirked. "One primordial at a time, huh?"
Mireille began linking leyline anchors. "Let's make sure the rest of the world survives the clash."
Rei raised his hand.
A ring of flame and memory formed in the air.
And through it, Obelion descended.
Massive. Towering. Absolute.
"Flame anomaly," Obelion boomed. "You are unrecognized. Your existence violates Sovereign Continuity."
Rei stepped forward, cloaked in Velka's flame.
"I'm not here to be recognized. I'm here to remind you what you buried."
And the sky shattered once more.