The dawn of the rest day was unusually still. The winds in Arinval Forest carried no scent of rain or threat only calm, like the quiet before something great.
Kirozan stood at the center of the forest clearing, arms folded, waiting. Rei, still sore from his Pulse Dash mastery, arrived with steady steps. There was a difference in his eyes now less frustration, more clarity.
Today wasn't about footwork. Or technique. Today was about truth.
"Before we spar," Kirozan said, "you need to understand the core of combat: Aura.
Rei tilted his head. "I've been using it already, haven't I? Pulse Dash?"
"You've been forcing movement. Like swinging a sword with no grip. Now… you learn to wield it."
Aura is the life force that flows through every living being an extension of will, emotion, and identity. In battle, Aura can be used to enhance strength, speed, perception, or even project external force. Some warriors cloak themselves in it. Others let it burst through in shockwaves.
But not all Auras are equal.
The **Hierarchy of Aura** was forged centuries ago not by rank or status, but by resonance. Each color reveals the core of a person's spirit:
⚪ White Aura — Tier 1 (Support)
Calm, analytical, and reflective.
Rare among fighters. Seen in healers, strategists, and spiritual monks.
Not powerful in raw combat, but invaluable in team synergy.
🔵 Blue Aura — Tier 2 (Tactical)
Fluid, adaptable, and intelligent.
Common among elemental manipulators and ranged fighters.
Balanced strength, focused more on technique and versatility.
🟢 Green Aura — Tier 3 (Martial)
Grounded, disciplined, and enduring.
Favored by frontline warriors and close-range combatants.
Physical strength and durability amplified.
🟡 Yellow Aura — Tier 4 (Speed)
Reactive, instinctual, lightning-fast.
Often seen in assassins and fast-paced duelists.
Sacrifices defense for overwhelming bursts of speed and agility.
🟣 Violet Aura — Tier 5 (Mystic)
Elusive, unstable, linked to memory, illusions, and psychological combat.
Extremely rare. Difficult to master. Considered a wildcard in battle.
⚫ Black Aura — Tier 6 (Destructive)
Violent, chaotic, raw power incarnate.
Rare and feared. Users often burn out young—or lose control entirely.
Unpredictable and devastating.
🔴 Crimson Red Aura — Tier 7 (God-Tier)
Absolute domination. Aura of kings.
Only Seven Kings in all the world bear it.
Each higher shade *typically* outpowers the lower but not always. A Green who trains to the bone can overcome a lazy Violet. Aura *amplifies who you are*, not just your raw talent. It evolves.
Rei listened, eyes narrowed. "So you've beaten Violets with Green?"
Kirozan smirked. "I've broken Crimson with Green."
But Rei wasn't ready yet.
The initial explanation had left a spark, but no flame. Sensing this, Kirozan didn't rush. Instead, he walked forward and tapped the center of Rei's chest.
"Feel it. Not as a weapon. As a rhythm."
For the next hour, they trained in silence.
Kirozan guided Rei through breathing techniques slow inhales, sharp exhales, standing still, walking in circles, arms out, eyes closed. He asked Rei to feel each step, listen to the echo of his heartbeat, follow the pulse in his limbs.
At first, nothing. Then flickers. A hum in his fingers. A shimmer when he moved too fast.
"Don't force it," Kirozan instructed. "You don't punch with Aura. You breathe it."
Slowly, Rei began to channel that flicker guiding it from his chest to his arms, then legs. The forest air shimmered faintly around him as trails of colorless energy danced across his skin.
His control improved.
He learned how to draw the energy down to his fists, how to make it respond to his movement rather than resist it. No bursts. No flares. Just presence.
But Kirozan didn't rush him.
He simply turned, walked a few paces to the edge of the clearing, and gestured toward a large stone boulder.
"Rei. Channel your aura into your arm. Just your arm. And strike that."
Rei looked at the boulder, confused. "That thing? I've tried punching it before. Didn't even crack."
"That was before. Now try it with who you're becoming."
Rei stepped forward and closed his eyes. He inhaled slow and sharp. He pictured his arm, every muscle, every vein. And he willed the pulse he'd felt earlier — that flicker into his right fist.
At first, nothing. Then a heat. A tingle. A vibration building from his core, threading through his shoulder, down his forearm, concentrating in his clenched hand.
The air around his fingers shimmered.
"Now," Kirozan said.
Rei punched.
The boulder cracked then shattered, a clean split down the middle as fragments flew into the grass.
Rei froze, breath caught.
He looked down at his hand, still glowing faintly.
"I couldn't even dent it before…"
"That," Kirozan said, stepping closer, "was Aura in your fist. Now try your legs."
Rei blinked. "My?"
"Run," Kirozan cut in. "But run with Aura."
Rei crouched slightly, channeled the energy downward, and took a step
And vanished.
A gust of wind followed.
He reappeared ten meters ahead, stumbling slightly, wide-eyed. "That was faster than Pulse Dash!"
"Because Aura doesn't just move you," Kirozan said. "It amplifies you. Everything you are. Your will, your speed, your strength, even your senses."
Rei stood stunned.
He tried again. Channeling Aura through his arms his grip tightened unnaturally. Through his back his posture straightened, breathing steadied. Through his legs bursts of motion, weightless and fluid.
Every movement, every breath, was sharper.
More him than ever before.
He was a furnace not burning out, but rising.
Excitement surged through him, almost overwhelming. He began shifting aura between limbs right hand, left hand, legs, chest exploring, refining, adjusting the flow.
It was like learning to walk again.But this time, with thunder in his veins.
Kirozan watched in silence for a long moment.
Then, finally, he nodded.
"Now," Kirozan stepped back, "show me your Aura bring out every last bit of Aura you can."
Rei stood still.
"How?" he asked.
Kirozan's eyes darkened. "Think about everything. Not just pain. Think about why you're here. The weight you carry. The promises you made."
Rei clenched his fists.
At first, nothing happened. Then a flicker. A pulse under his skin.
"Focus," Kirozan said. "Channel it. From your core. Let it rise let it breathe."
Rei's legs quivered. His body trembled.
Images flooded his mind.
* Flames.
* Screams.
* The sound of timber cracking and a girl's voice calling his name.
* His sister's hand, reaching through the smoke.
* His voice shouting, "I'll come back for you!"
He hadn't.
Tears streamed down his face as he dropped to his knees.
"I made a promise," he whispered. "I promised her I'd get strong. Strong enough to burn every throne in this cursed world."
Kirozan said nothing.
"YOU HEAR ME?!" Rei screamed to the sky. "I'LL BRING THEM ALL DOWN!"
And that's when it happened.
The ground trembled.
Birds burst from trees.
A sound like a low thunder rumble echoed from his chest.
Aura exploded from Rei's body.
Not a color. A surge.
White at first. Then shifting violently blue, green, yellow, flickering like lightning before settling into a deep, violent **amber-gold**, crackling with threads of crimson.
The force flattened the grass. Trees nearby bent.
Kirozan staggered back, wide-eyed.
"Impossible…"
Elsewhere…In a frozen fortress to the north, King Varyon of the Glacier Court paused mid-conversation. His breath misted in the air as he turned toward the open window, sensing something in the wind.
In the golden palace buried beneath the desert sands, Queen Solmira of the Dunesong Empire dropped her jeweled cup. "No… it can't be," she whispered, her golden eyes wide with unease.
Atop the forested cliffs of the eastern isles, King Kael, the Blind Seer, opened his eyes for the first time in twenty years — and wept in silence.
Deep beneath the ocean in the abyssal domes, King Nerion of the Tidesworn Hall clenched his trident, the sea trembling around him.
In the Iron Citadel of the western wastes, King Drogar of the Ashborn Horde roared with laughter, cracking his gauntlet-clad fists together. "Finally… a new storm."
And within a celestial floating spire among the clouds, King Saeros of the Skyreach Throne looked down from the heavens, a faint smirk tracing his lips. "So… destiny dares again."
One by one, across the Seven Kingdoms, they felt it.A ripple.A quake in the flow of Aura.A resonance that had no name.
And in the heart of Thornvale, standing atop the dark marble balcony of his obsidian palace, the King of Thorns — the man who once mentored Kirozan, the strongest of the Seven — turned his gaze toward the southern horizon.
The petals of his cursed black rose crown stirred in the wind.
A long silence passed…
Then, he smiled.
"Another has been born."