Embers of a New Fate

The classroom hummed with its usual energy — students giggling, flames pulsing along their fingers as they flaunted their powers. It was there, in Pyron Academy, the most elite school of flame users, that the chosen ones learned their magical ways.

And yet Ren Kaizen had been exception for years.

For seventeen years he had become the outcast in these halls, a Flameless failure among those born blessed by either the White Flames of the gods or the Red Flames of the devils. But today, something had changed — for the first time.

He could feel it.

There was a weight in the air — a pressure we had never felt before. His once dull and coldbody burned with a strange, new heat. His senses sharper, his mind pearled, as if a new life had been engraved overnight.

And it hadn't gone unnoticed.

On the other side of the room, Dante Raines, the strongest Red Flame user at Pyron Academy, was watching Ren as he walked towards his seat. His golden eyes were like cold steel, dull and unreadable, lsquo — suspicion, curiosity, or maybe a whole lot of challenge.

Ren didn't respond; he simply sat down and controlled his breath.

"Did he sense it?"

"Although" Ren helped his friends, but Dante noticed something. A predator born as much as he was made, a warrior hardened by conflict, Dante's instincts were a scalpel honed to a point.

And at this moment, those instincts were zeroed in on Ren.

"I need to be careful."

TRAINING HALL – First Combat Class

"Listen up!"

The students snapped to attention as a commanding voice boomed.

Instructor Garrick Thorne — a six-foot-four wall of muscle — paced in front of them. His mere presence was sufficient to quiet the chitchat. His face was like an old battlescarred generalry his eyes surveying the students like a warlord over his armies.

"We will be doing combat assessments today. He crossed his arms, the red folds of his cloak fluttering. "Some of you have improved. Some of you—" his gaze lingered on Ren, "are still useless.

This elicited laughter among the students, but Ren just remained silent. He had long since become desensitized to insults.

"The rules are simple." Garrick gestured to the circular space in the middle of the hall. "Two students will fight. Whoever strikes the decisive blow or forces his opponent to submit first, wins."

The students muttered in eagerness, flames sparking before them.

Ren, arching his brows, gripped his fists beneath the table.

"I can't reveal my flame. Not yet."

"First match—Sera Asahina versus Marcus Vale.

The room tilted the minute Sera's name was called. The students' eyes turned towards the girl who was called the 'Celestial Fire.'

Sera moved forward with subdued confidence, the silver strands of her hair pulled back in a braid, sapphire eyes like sharp jewels burning with intensity. She gestured with her wrist and a cloud of White Flame erupted around her.

In front of her, a powerful Red Flame user with a beard called Marcus Vale smiled, he clashing his hands together and summoning dark-red flames all over his arms.

"Ready?" Garrick's voice boomed. "Begin!"

As soon as the words escaped his lips, Marcus launched forward, Red Flames blazing like a wildfire. He threw a stiff punch, right to Sera's ribs.

But she didn't flinch.

With the kind of grace that should be impossible for a creature with a human body, Sera rotated to the side, her White Flame manifesting as a glowing spear in her palm. She thrust it forward, the tip halting inches from Marcus's throat.

Silence.

Then—BOOM. The spear dissolved, and Marcus toppled onto his back, wheezing.

Garrick nodded approvingly. "Winner—Sera Asahina."

The room broke into cheers, but Ren barely heard them. His mind was still reeling.

"She's that fast?!"

Ren had always known Sera was strong, but to see her like this, her movements precise, her flames at her fingertips, controlled with perfect mastery—that was another thing entirely.

But he did not have time to sit back.

"Next match—Ren Kaizen versus Dante Raines.

The room fell dead silent.

Then, the laughter started.

"Wait, seriously? Ren? Against Dante?"

"This is going to be over in a matter of seconds."

Ren's stomach twisted. He recognized that this was inevitable. Garrick had always used him as a punching bag to "motivate" the class even before his Blue Flame had awakened.

On the other end of the hall, Dante smirked wickedly. His Red Flames licked his fingertips, casting macabre shadows against the stone walls.

"Well, well, well." Dante cracked his knuckles. "I was hoping to get warmed up today."

Ren huffed out a breath and took a step closer.

"I can't use my Blue Flame. Not yet."

His hands were at his sides as he entered the arena. His heart pounded, but his expression was steady.

"Begin!"

Dante moved like a blur.

A flaming punch hurled directly at Ren's face.

Instinct took over—Ren ducked, turning sideways in time. The air behind him rippled from the sheer heat.

Dante raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You're faster than before."

Ren said nothing. He didn't plan to attack — he just needed to get through without his secret being discovered.

Dante smirked. "Then we'll see how long you last!"

He vanished.

Ren's eyes hardly followed the movement before a knee on fire smashed into his gut.

He felt pain erupting in his ribs as he sailed across the ground. He coughed, gasping for air.

The class cheered.

But as Ren righted himself, something within him snapped.

The heat in his veins throbbed, alive and hungry.

"Not yet."

He fought to maintain control, claws digging into his palms. Dante noticed.

The smirk of the Red Flame user deepened. "Why are you holding back?"

Ren didn't answer. He couldn't.

Dante's eyes gleamed. "Come on, Kaizen. Show me what you're hiding."

Another reminder—only, this time, the speed.

Ren tensed, instincts working in concert to activate the Blue Flame.

But he couldn't.

Not yet.

For once he did, there would be no turning back.