CHAPTER-41

HOLOGRAPHIC INTERFACE LOG

KAGESHIKI DATABASE ENTRY — ID: (0)11

ACCESS LEVEL: CLASSIFIED // VISUAL FEED: ACTIVE

>> Kageshiki Name: Ishigo Nakano

>> Biological Age: 19 Solar Cycles

>> Designation Code: Kageshiki No. (0)11

>> Ability Code: Blue Flame Requiem

> ABILITY CLASSIFICATION:

Category: Advanced Elemental Manipulation

Tier: Type-Z [Restricted Access]

> PRIMARY EFFECT:

Generates anomalous blue flames capable of erasing Type-V Shikiban matter at 127x natural decay.

Flames exhibit no heat flicker, resembling liquid mercury interlaced with refracted starlight.

Auditory anomaly detected: low-frequency layered hum—registers as whispers from multiple interlinked consciousnesses.

> ACTIVATION PROTOCOL:

Step 1: Grasp primary weapon

Step 2: Vocalize command: "Blue Flame Requiem"

Step 3: Flame channels via conduit

Fallback Mode: If disarmed—skin-to-skin contact initiates ability.

> WARNING: SYSTEM LIMITATIONS

Draws from user's bio-ether, not oxygen.

Extended use leads to:

— Organ overheating

— Skeletal microfractures

— Neural misfires

— Core collapse

Max Safe Duration: 57.3 seconds per cycle

> HISTORICAL ORIGIN:

Linked to Higanryu Sect—warrior lineage erased circa 1103 AS.

Scroll Fragment 47b implies Blue Flame Requiem is incomplete.

Final evolution theorized: AZURE INFERNO — Flame matrix that transcends physical law.

> STATUS:

Power Registered // Sync in Progress

Potential Class Upgrade: OBLIVION-TIER — pending assessment

[END OF LOG // ENTRY SEALED]

The flickering hologram faded to static.

Ishigo Nakano stood still in the dark, cold light of the projection chamber, his breath fogging faintly in the air. His eyes traced the glowing text as it dissolved. None of it felt like data.

It felt like prophecy.

He stared at his hand, clenching and unclenching it. Tremors. They weren't from fear. They were from resonance—that haunting hum still echoed faintly in his mind. Like ghost voices singing through his bones.

"Blue Flame Requiem."

He whispered the words without meaning to. And then—ignition.

The world shifted.

The air warped, thickened—like stepping into another reality. Blue fire hissed out from his fingertips, flowing like quicksilver wrapped in ghostlight. It didn't burn. It bled into him. Merged with him.

The floor hissed beneath his feet, heatless but unforgiving. His body was glowing with spectral veins of power.

"Ishigo—what the hell?!"

Daigo's voice cracked across the chamber. He and Yeaga had stumbled backward, eyes wide with disbelief. The blue light danced across their faces like starlight against midnight ice.

Ishigo didn't hear them. He felt the power crawl through his skin like a thousand whispers.

His voice came out hollow. "This… This isn't fire."

He raised his hand toward the frozen ice pillar at the edge of the chamber. The flames flared—beautiful, calm, deadly. When they touched the ice, there was no melting. Just silence—and then disintegration. The entire structure crumbled into fine dust and vanished into the air.

Not a trace left behind.

"Holy…" Daigo exhaled, stumbling forward. "You just—deleted it. That was ice, bro. You didn't burn it. You erased it."

Ishigo let the flames retract. But they didn't fade—they sank into him, like the fire had veins now. Like it lived inside his heartbeat.

"It's like it's part of me," he murmured. "But not something I control."

Yeaga, ever calm, narrowed his eyes. "No... it's something that wants to control you."

Suddenly, a sharp ping rang through the room.

[HOLOGRAPHIC INTERFACE: TEMPORARY SYSTEM INTERRUPTION]

SYSTEM ALERT

BLUE FLAME REQUIEM USAGE DETECTED

Output: 6.02%

Core Heat: Critical

Biological Damage Threshold: EXCEEDED

WARNING: Immediate Cessation Advised

[...Resuming Visual Feed…]

Ishigo gasped. His legs trembled. Sweat poured down his back. His chest burned—not from fire, but from within. His organs felt… swollen. Searing. A hidden pain bloomed under his ribs.

Daigo rushed forward. "Ishigo, stop! You're burning up!"

Ishigo collapsed to one knee, gripping the ground. His nails dug into the frost-covered stone. Every part of him felt like it was at war. Flame versus flesh.

"This power…" he choked, "It's a death sentence."

Yeaga approached silently. "If you don't use it, you die. If you use it too much… same result."

Daigo tried to lighten the mood, but his voice lacked conviction. "Heh… that's one hell of a gamble."

But Ishigo wasn't laughing. He turned toward the remains of the Ice Shikiban scattered nearby—blackened bone, decayed frost. Daigo nudged one of them with his boot.

"They're not flaming. Why not?"

"They're frozen constructs," Ishigo said, voice low. "They need to rot, not burn."

Slowly, as if on cue, the corpse disintegrated—particles floating into the air and spiraling into Daigo's weapon. His blade glowed.

"Hell yeah!" Daigo grinned. "This thing's getting juiced up!"

Ishigo didn't respond. He was too busy listening—to the humming in his blood, to the lingering pain in his spine, to the name echoing in his mind.

Reika.

He stood, eyes burning with resolve. "Where is she? She hasn't returned since Level 3."

Yeaga crossed his arms. "She'll survive. She always does."

Daigo chuckled. "She ditched us like dead weight. Classic Icy Queen move."

But Ishigo didn't laugh. "She's strong, yeah. But this next level… it's different. I can feel it."

He turned toward the northern gate, where the snow drifted in like ghosts. "After Level 4… I'm going to find her."

Daigo raised an eyebrow. "In this hellscape? You serious?"

"I have to be."

Yeaga nodded. "Then you'd better survive your own flames first."

ELSEWHERE...

Reika lay motionless on the frostbitten ground, snowflakes dusting her black hair. Her green eyes, sharp and cold, stared up into the blank sky.

Her fingers gripped the hilt of her blade, half-buried in snow. The cold didn't bother her. It never had.

Tch. Those idiots better not be dead.

She stood, stretching out her limbs. Her nightdress was torn, her arms lined with bruises. But she moved with silent grace, like a shadow coiled tight.

The gate to Level 4 towered in front of her—an ancient structure frozen in time, humming with raw malice. Ice crept across its edges, whispering secrets no one could hear.

She approached slowly, eyes narrowing.

When will I unlock my power?

Her grip on the katana tightened.

No more running.

No more waiting.

Whatever awaited in Level 4—pain, death, monsters—none of it mattered.

She was Reika Kagetsu. And she had already endured worse.

With a final breath, she stepped forward.

And the gate to hell opened.