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"Bearer of flame... do you seek power?"
The voice was a whisper laced with heat and hunger, like a coal breathing in the dark. It didn't echo in the air, but inside Kairo's mind, vibrating through his soul. The Vault before him pulsed like a living heart, a dark obelisk of obsidian veined with molten light. Every thrum sent ripples through the air, distorting it with heat and tension.
The system flickered erratically as if reacting to something not meant to be touched.
[Vault Synchronisation Pending…]
Synchronising with Core Signature: Shadowflame Variant
Trait Evolution Available: Accept or Decline?
WARNING: Consequences Unknown. Proceed?
Kaelen stepped beside him, his eyes narrowed, his voice cautious. "You hear it too?"
Erza and Gray exchanged glances from where they stood at the temple's broken threshold, their weapons drawn, senses on edge. The unnatural pressure that rolled from the Vault made the ruins feel like they were tilting inward—like gravity was being rewritten.
"It's like it's… alive," Gray muttered, gripping his arms as a chill passed over him.
Kairo didn't respond immediately. His breath trembled in his throat. The heat of his magic—normally a comfort—now flickered with uncertainty, like it too was unsure of what lay before them. Still, something stirred within him. Curiosity. Resolve. Hunger.
"I need to know what's inside," he finally said. "I need to know what my magic is truly capable of."
Without waiting for permission, Kairo stepped forward and pressed his hand to the Vault's surface.
There was no sensation of contact.
Only darkness.
⟡
When Kairo opened his eyes, he was no longer in the ruins.
He stood in a void of ash and fire, shadow curling like smoke across an infinite sky. The air pulsed with an otherworldly rhythm—breathing, as if the dream itself was alive. Distant screams echoed and died, over and over. This wasn't memory. This wasn't an illusion.
It was something deeper. Older.
A throne made of blackened bone and ash loomed ahead, settled upon a plateau of crumbling stone. Sitting upon it was a figure cloaked in black flame—its outline constantly shifting, its presence immense.
It looked up.
Its face was Kairo's.
Only twisted—its eyes molten gold, its smile cruel and knowing.
"You carry the Hollow Flame," it said. Its voice was layered—his voice and something darker beneath. "Cursed and pure. Gifted… and forgotten."
Kairo approached, jaw tight. "I didn't ask for this power, but I'm not afraid of it."
The figure chuckled. "Not yet."
"I want to master it. Not be ruled by it."
The shadowed double leaned forward. "Then prove it."
A tremor split the ground beneath them.
Kairo's own shadow peeled away, twisting upward and contorting into a monstrous form—blackened wings, burning veins, a cruel mirror of his power unleashed without restraint. Its grin was made of embers. It radiated raw destruction.
『Trial Initiated: Shadow of the Hollow Flame』
Objective: Defeat the Corrupted Version of Yourself.
BOSS FIGHT
Shadow Kairo – Lv. 10
HP: 1,500
Skills: Shadowflame Bolt, Shadowflame Veil, Phoenix (Corrupted), Flicker Dash
Kairo barely had a moment before it lunged.
The battle was chaos incarnate.
The corrupted version of himself was faster and more ruthless. It wielded the same magic—flames of black and crimson—but with none of the restraint. Every attack was lethal. Every movement was calculated to crush his resolve.
Kairo dodged a Flicker Dash strike, the corrupted phoenix roaring overhead in a spiral of heat. He countered with his own Phoenix—a graceful blaze that soared around him protectively. Their wings collided mid-air in a shockwave of dark fire.
He gritted his teeth, chaining Shadowflame Bolt and Veil together in rapid succession. But the shadow adapted. It was like fighting a memory that had grown teeth.
Then came the moment. A mistake—barely a flicker. The corrupted shadow overcommitted to a leap. Kairo's eyes flared.
Now.
He inhaled sharply, fire gathering around his fists as a new command whispered into existence.
『New Skill Unlocked: Hollow Flame Break (Lv. 1)』
— A powerful explosion of light and shadowflame.
— Stuns enemies for 3 seconds.
— MP Cost: 80
He roared and slammed both fists into the ground.
A pillar of light and black fire exploded upward, engulfing the shadow. For a moment, the screams stopped.
When the fire faded, the throne was ash, the sky was still, and the doppelgänger was gone, crumbled like burnt paper in the wind.
Kairo stood alone.
⟡
His eyes opened to the cold ruins of the Forgotten Temple.
The Vault was now dark—its glow extinguished, the pulse gone.
But something had changed.
『Trait Evolution Complete』
Shadowflame Core → Hollowflame Core
— Grants bonus dark/fire damage
— Unlocks Hidden Skill Tree: Hollowflame Ascension
— Increases resistance to mental influence
— WARNING: Attracts interest from Unknown Entities
Erza was at his side instantly, helping him stand. "You collapsed the moment you touched it."
Gray sheathed his sword. "Whatever that thing was, it's gone now. "You alright?"
Kairo nodded slowly, though his eyes lingered on the now-dormant Vault. "I made a choice. One I have to live with."
Kaelen frowned. "You feel… different. Heavier. Like something's watching."
Kairo didn't deny it. "It's not just power I touched in there. Something else… saw me."
⟡
Later that night, back at the Fairy Tail guild, Kairo sat beneath the stars on the roof, cross-legged, his notebook open beside him as his system projected his new stats.
[Level 8]
HP: 230
MP: 200
STR: 16
AGI: 22
INT: 26
WIS: 22
LCK: 7
Unspent Stat Points: 5
New Skill Tree Unlocked: Hollowflame Ascension
— Tier 1: Soulbrand Ember (Passive): Nearby enemies suffer -10% magical defence.
He felt stronger—but colder too. His Hollowflame pulsed quietly within, no longer flickering with doubt. It had become part of him. Claimed him. But it had also opened a door.
Somewhere in the far distance of the night sky, where no star should have gleamed, a cold flicker pulsed once, faint, but watching.
Something had taken notice.
And it was coming.
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