Chapter 3: Burning passion in a Shishinken's heart

The air around the Fire Shrine crackled with intensity, waves of heat distorting the landscape as the Shishinken warriors gathered before its ancient gates. The battle with the Abyssal Knight had shaken them, but what followed left them with even more questions than answers.

Zephyr—who had fought alongside them, who had moved with the same energy as them—was one of them. A Shishinken.

Yet, he had no memory of it.

As the warriors caught their breath, Kael turned to him. "Zephyr, what just happened back there?"

Zephyr tightened his grip on his sword, his expression uncertain. "I don't know. It was like something inside me woke up. I've never fought like that before, but it felt… natural."

Raijaku crossed his arms, his usual cocky demeanor subdued. "So, what? You suddenly remembered how to fight?"

"No," Zephyr admitted, shaking his head. "It wasn't memory. It was instinct."

Before they could dwell further, the Fire Shrine let out a deep, ominous rumble. The flames burning atop its ruined pillars surged higher, turning from orange to an unnatural shade of black and crimson.

A voice echoed from within.

"You seek to restore balance… but balance has already been lost."

A heavy gust of heat surged outward, forcing the warriors back a step. Kael's grip on his blade tightened as he exchanged a wary glance with Mizuchi.

"What was that?" Fuyumon asked, ears twitching.

Zephyr stepped forward, his gaze locked onto the shrine's entrance. "The Elemental Beasts."

Byakuren frowned. "Elemental… Beasts?"

Zephyr nodded. "If we're going to restore balance, we need to awaken the temple. And to do that, we must face the guardian of fire."

As if on cue, the flames swirled violently, and from the depths of the shrine, an earth-shaking roar erupted.

The ground beneath them cracked, molten lava spilling through as the massive form of a monstrous beast emerged. Towering over them was a three-headed dog, each maw overflowing with fire, its eyes burning with an unnatural corruption. It was Cerberon, the Hellhound of the Fire Shrine.

Raijaku let out a low whistle. "Well, that's not good."

The beast snarled, its three heads snapping in different directions, exhaling streams of fire that melted the very stone beneath it.

Kael gritted his teeth. "We don't have time for hesitation. We take it down, now!"

The Battle Begins

Cerberon's left head lunged first, aiming directly for Mizuchi. He barely had time to react before he leaped sideways, rolling away as flames scorched the ground where he once stood.

Kael charged in, sword glowing as he slashed at the beast's front leg, but the moment his blade made contact, a surge of heat repelled him, forcing him backward.

"It's resisting direct attacks!" Kurokami shouted.

"Then we just have to find another way!" Zephyr's voice cut through the chaos as he sprinted forward. Without thinking, he leaped toward the beast, twisting his body midair as he slashed at its shoulder. This time, his attack connected, leaving a deep, glowing scar along the beast's hide.

Cerberon howled in pain, but the injury seemed to absorb the fire around it, sealing itself before their eyes.

Raijaku growled. "Oh, come on, that's just unfair!"

Cerberon's middle head reared back, its throat glowing an intense red before unleashing a massive wave of fire directly at them.

"Scatter!" Kael shouted.

The warriors moved swiftly, dodging the inferno as it scorched the land. The ground beneath them trembled with the sheer force of the flames, but Zephyr—still feeling the strange power coursing through him—stayed in place.

The fire surged toward him.

And then, something inside him shifted.

Instead of dodging, Zephyr raised his blade—and at the last second, the fire veered away from him, dispersing into embers.

The others stared in shock.

"...Did you just redirect fire?" Byakuren asked, eyes wide.

Zephyr didn't answer—he didn't know how he did it, but there was no time to figure it out. He could feel the connection between himself and the flames.

He could control them.

Kael narrowed his eyes. "You're the Fire Shishinken."

Zephyr's heart pounded. He had never even considered such a possibility—but there was no denying it. The fire obeyed him.

And if that was true…

He turned back to Cerberon, whose three heads now glared at him with a mix of rage and confusion. Zephyr gripped his sword tightly and took a deep breath.

"Trust me," he said. "Let me handle this."

Kael hesitated, then gave a sharp nod. "Do it."

Zephyr's Awakening

Stepping forward, Zephyr raised his sword. This time, he wasn't just fighting. He was commanding.

The flames around the shrine began to swirl, bending toward him, circling his blade like a storm of embers.

Cerberon snarled and lunged—but this time, Zephyr didn't retreat. He advanced.

His sword met the beast's fangs, and in that instant, a massive explosion of flame erupted—not from Cerberon, but from Zephyr himself.

The beast recoiled, all three heads howling in agony.

Zephyr didn't stop. His movements became fluid, the fire following his every step. He slashed, and the flames became an extension of his blade. Every strike burned away the corruption that plagued Cerberon's body.

"That's it!" Mizuchi realized. "We need to purify it!"

The others followed suit, attacking in unison, striking at the beast's weak points. The corruption slowly began to peel away, its dark energy dissipating into the air.

Finally, with one last, powerful slash, Zephyr drove his sword into the beast's core. The flames roared one last time before—

BOOM!

A brilliant explosion of golden fire engulfed the battlefield.

When the flames died down, Cerberon was no longer a monstrous, corrupted entity. Instead, it stood before them, its three heads lowered in submission, its eyes clear and wise.

The warriors watched in awe as the beast slowly turned to face Zephyr. Then, in a voice deep as the earth itself, it spoke:

"You have awakened."

Zephyr stared, chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. "I…"

The beast bowed its massive heads before him. "The Fire Shishinken has returned. The balance begins to shift once more."

The shrine, once in ruins, began to glow. The flames that had once threatened destruction now burned in harmony, and the oppressive heat faded into warmth.

Zephyr turned to his comrades.

He wasn't just a traveler. He wasn't just a fighter.

He was one of them.

And this was only the first step.