FIRE THAT SHOULDN’T EXIST

A throbbing pain coursed through Ren's ribs, a dull ache with a rhythm all its own, just below his uniform. Dante's final blow had been vicious, stealing Ren's breath away, but it hadn't brought him down. Barely.

The students at the arenas were laughing, whispering, anticipating for him to fall just as he always did.

But not this time.

Some part of him had been altered.

A warmth, a thump, something alive deep in the pit of him. It wasn't the usual warmth of White Flames, nor the scorching rage of Red Flames. It was crisper, sharper — almost unnatural.

And Dante knew it.

The Red Flame user rolled his shoulders a few feet behind him, golden eyes focused on Ren like a predator weighing its prey. He had sensed it—that brief trailing off, that twitch of something uncanny under Ren's skin.

"Today, you are different, Kaizen."

Ren gritted his teeth. He couldn't respond. But not without revealing himself.

Garrick, the instructor, stood off to the side with his arms crossed. "Fight back, Ren. Or do you plan on embarrassing yourself again?"

The students erupted in laughter.

Ren made himself breathe evenly again. He needed to think. He wasn't able to use his Blue Flame. Not yet. If he told it now, in front of Garrick, in front of Dante, in front of the whole school, his life would never be the same again.

"I need to last. Long enough for them to lose interest."

Dante was not about to let that happen.

A flood of heat—Dante un-shamed.

His fist exploded in a carmine flame, rocketing toward Ren's ribs like a meteor.

"Too fast—"

Ren hardly twisted away in time, the flames singing the edge of his uniform. His heart beat like a drum in his ears. "No, he didn't need to counter — no, he couldn't.

Another attack. A flaming roundhouse kick.

It narrowly missed Ren as he ducked. The heat alone seared the air above him, the skin on his body tingling.

Dante grinned. "You're avoiding more than normal."

He was relentless with Ren.

A fire-coated elbow strike—

Ren turned his body to take a step back.

A punch to the jaw with flaming-laced knuckles—

Ren hardly ducked, the heat of the blow singing his cheek.

His instincts were keener, his reflexes quicker than they'd ever been. It was the Blue Flame. Even as it was being drowned, it was keen-sensing him.

Dante's grin widened. "Now I'm interested."

He vaulted forward like the speed of a bullet—faster this time than Ren's ability to respond.

A knee to the gut landed hard. Hard.

Ren's body slammed into the arena floor and the stone shattered under him. He sucked in a breath, but the air was not air — white-hot pain radiated throughout his guts.

The students cheered.

"Kaizen's done for."

"Same as always. A useless weakling."

"He should just drop out."

Ren clenched his teeth. Not this time.

Dante stood above him, a fist of Red Flames still alight. "That's it?" He clicked his tongue. "Come on, Kaizen. I saw it. You're holding back."

Ren froze.

Dante crouched, dropping his voice to a whisper only Ren could hear. "I don't know what it is but there's something inside you. Something... different."

Ren's pulse spiked.

Dante wasn't guessing. He knew.

And if the strongest Red Flame user, Dante Raines, from Pyron Academy felt his cursed power—how long would it take before everyone felt it, too?

Panting, hunching, Ren wish himself upon his feet. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Dante smirked. "Liar."

His fist ablaze once more, the flames hotter than before. "Fine, then. I'll just beat it out of you."

"Damn it—!"

Dante wrenched his flaming fist at Ren's face.

Instinct took over.

Ren's body moved on its own.

He caught Dante's wrist.

Just a moment and everything froze.

Then — blue light erupted from Ren's palm.

There was a shockwave of cold fire that rippled through the air and extinguished Dante's flames in an instant.

The room fell deathly silent.

All the students stared, stunned, confused, terrified.

Ren felt his heart hammering in his ears. His right hand glowed, the flickering lines of Blue Flame caressing each fingertip. Silent. Fluid. Cold.

Dante's eyes widened. His flames had been erased.

Ren swallowed hard. He had just voided the most unvoidable rule.

Flames couldn't be erased. White Flames beat Red Flames, and Red Flames charged through White Flames. But they could never erase each other.

But—Ren's Blue Flame had just done that.

Instructor Garrick stood up, his face crackling black.

"Ren Kaizen."

Ren's chest tightened.

"What the fuck did you just do?"