Flickering Flame

It felt suffocating being in the halls of Pyron Academy.

As Ren strode the halls, his boots matching the metronome-as-people-muffled-whispers' pattern of students chattering, laughing, and sparring, he could still feel more eyes on him than could be seen.

"They know."

Or at least Dante and Sera suspected something.

Dante Raines did not let things go — not when he was interested in how they turned out. And Sera Asahina・・・ Ren had seen the expression in her eyes. She wasn't just guessing. She knew.

That was dangerous.

"I need to stay low. Keep quiet. Act normal."

The only problem? He no longer knew how to act normal.

Everything was different after the Blue Flame woke. He could feel himself better; his reflexes faster, his senses keener, and still he felt lighter, stronger, as if his whole being had changed.

But it wasn't just a gift. It was a curse.

A curse the world had forgotten.

A curse that had just reintroduced itself — by way of his body.

And if anyone else discovered it—the Church, the Cult, the Academy itself—he would be hunted.

Ren's fists tightened and he fought to suppress the lingering burn of his hands.

He needed answers. Now.

Library of the Forbidden

The library was huge, spanning the eastern wing of Pyron Academy, lined with thousands of books on flame techniques, histories, and combat arts.

But Ren wasn't in town for those.

He had to learn whatever he could find about the Blue Flame.

He was moving fast, peering over shelves, fingers grazing along well-worn spines and dusty tomes. Most of them mentioned the purity of the White Flame, the power of the Red Flame—but nothing that matched what he sought.

Then—he found it.

A book without a title. Its exterior was blackened and edges singed, as if it had just survived a fire. A strange pulse began to race through his veins the instant his fingers touched the surface.

"This is it."

Looking around to check that no one was watching, he took out the book and rushed to a quiet corner of the library.

As he skimmed the yellowed pages, he sucked in his breath.

The Blue Flame wasn't a myth.

It was real.

And it had existed before.

The Tale of the Wicked Flame

"In the time before the Great War, when gods and devils roamed the earth, a fire existed like none other—born of the collision of heavenly essence and infernal rage."

"It was neither a blessing nor a gift, but an abomination."

"The Blue Flame did not burn. It devoured."

"It did not purify nor destroy — it erased."

Ren's fingers gripped the pages all the more. His flame had burned away Dante's fire. Just like this legend used to describe.

But the next part made him shiver.

"The Wielders of the Blue Flame were known to be damned. Pursued by the Holy Church and the Hellfire Cult alike, for there were no gods or devils they might themselves the chosen. "They were, you know, something... unnatural."

"And thus was the last wielder of the Blue Flame erased from history."

Ren swallowed hard.

"Then why do I have it?"

"Why now?"

No sooner could he turn the next page—

"Reading something good?"

Ren froze.

Back turned, and the book snap-shut in his hands, he turned to find Sera Asahina staring at him from a few feet away, her arms folded at her side, her stare fixed on him.

She had been watching.

For how long?

Ren kept his face blank. "Just researching."

Sera didn't blink. "On the Blue Flame?"

Ren's heartbeat spiked.

She knew.

The silence bloomed between the two of them before she spoke again, her voice softer, this time, "No one can." "It's real, isn't it?"

Ren didn't answer.

Sera moved forward, her tone curt. "Ren. I need to know the truth."

Ren hesitated. Could he trust her?

Before he could respond—

BOOM.

A powerful explosion hit the academy.

The floor shuddered beneath their feet, bookshelves toppled and a hot wave rushed through the air.

Sera's expression hardened. "That sounded like it was from the front gates." **

Ren suppressed his fear and ran after her.

When they got to the open courtyard, it was mayhem.

Phantoms shrouded in dark robes sat at the academy gates. Heads bent, hoods up, hands raised as fire crackled between their fingers.

Sera stiffened. "Hellfire Cultists."

Ren's blood ran cold.

The Hellfire Cult — the followers of the Red Flame, the worshippers who believe that power should be held only by those who are strong enough to seize it. Ruthless. Merciless.

And now, they were here.

At Pyron Academy.

And they were searching for something.

Or someone.

Sera glanced to Ren, eyes sharpened. "Stay back, Kaizen. This isn't your fight." **

But Ren knew better.

As soon as he saw the Cultists he knew — this is about me.

Because he could feel it.

Even from this distance, through the smoke and chaos —

He felt the gaze of one of the Cultists.

And their fire… burned blue.