LOCATION: OUTER FLAMEHOLD — DEFENSE RIDGE
"You cannot claim fire until it burns you."
— House Ezura, Solagun (Fire Dominion)
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The ground was shaking now.
Beasts were everywhere—leaping over broken walls, crawling up the shield lines, smashing through half-covered barricades like they were made of foam.
Blades were swinging and guards were shouting everywhere.
Real shouting. Not like in training. This was panic-shouting with flame coming out their hands.
Some of them didn't even have weapons. They just threw fire straight from their fingers, or their arms, or from glowing Marks on their backs.
One guy yelled something in old Solagun and a straight-up wall of fire shot out and roasted three beasts at once.
Another guard just walked up to one of the crawling ones and burned its whole head off. Didn't even flinch. Just cooked it like it was normal.
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Taye was spinning again, fire dancing around him like a show-off. He kicked a beast into the air and then snapped his fingers—and boom, flames lit it up mid-air like a flying suya.
Kọ́lá was worse.
He was laughing while punching things with fire fists. He burned a crawling one so hard, it exploded and caught another on fire just from standing too close.
They were fast, sharp and deadly. The ground was hot but the air was hotter.
Everything smelled like smoke and sweat and monster guts.
Damaso? Well he looked like someone's little brother who snuck into the wrong field trip.
He was just… surviving. Kinda. Mostly running and trying not to get stomped or burned or both.
And Ayanda?
Still yelling inside his head like a teacher that already gave up.
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> "Move left!" Ayanda screamed inside his head.
"LEFT, not rotate like a confused stick bug!"
He tripped over a broken chunk of ground and landed hard.
> "Pathetic. Is that the height of your jump? My flames can hop higher than that by accident!"
"I'm trying!" he yelled, rolling away as claws scraped the ground behind him.
> "Try harder!"
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He stabbed his baton at one of the smaller beasts. It zapped again.
This time… it actually worked. The thing twitched and collapsed.
He blinked.
"I got one!"
> "Yes. Congratulations. Let's throw you a party. We'll serve toast, because that's what you'll be soon if you don't move!"
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More guards joined the fight. Some of the beasts ran. Some just exploded into ash thanks to Lord Ezura's glaive. Ayanda was mumbling insults the whole time, calling every move Damaso made "trash-flavored nonsense."
Eventually… it was quiet again.
Breathing still hurt. His arm was cut. His shirt was ripped again. The Mark on his chest was glowing like it was proud of him, which made no sense because he almost died.
---
He walked back inside the tower like a zombie with tax problems.
Didn't say anything to anyone. He didn't even care that Kọ́lá called him a meat shield on the way in.
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LOCATION: HOUSE EZURA – DAMASO'S ROOM – LATER
He closed the door behind him and dropped on the bed. Didn't even make it fully on—just half-body flopped and groaned.
"…we won," he whispered.
> "They won," Ayanda corrected, suddenly standing at the foot of the room.
He sat up.
She was holding the sword now. It was glowing red. Her eyes too.
"...Oh no."
> "Oh yes."
> "You're weak. You're slow. You're built like unfinished soup."
She walked forward, dragging the tip of the blade on the floor.
> "Training begins now."
"I can't breathe."
> "You won't need to."
"But... but I'm tired."
> "Perfect. We'll train tired then."
"I think I broke my arm."
> "Good. You'll learn to swing with the other."
He stared at her. She stared back. More like glared, a cold stare.
He didn't say no, he couldn't.
Because she looked like she'd set his soul on fire and eat the ashes with a spoon if he did.