True Blue Flame

Pain.

It burned through Ren's body, searing into his muscles, weighing down his limbs like chains. His vision blurred, the world spinning around him. Blood dripped from his wounds, staining the stone beneath him as he gasped for breath.

Above him, the assassin stood tall, his black-flamed daggers glinting in the moonlight.

"Disappointing," the assassin murmured. "I thought you'd be more interesting."

Ren curled his fingers over the cold stone. His Blue Flames struggled in vain, unable to be called, unable to burn hotter.

"Is this it?"

He had trained, fought, lived—yet against the Syndicate's true strength, he was nothing.

Weak.

Powerless.

The murderer drew closer, raising his knife to end him.

Ren's breath caught. His heart stammered.

And then—

Something happened.

A pulse.

Somewhere deep inside him—something stirred.

Not just anger. Something more. Something fundamental.

"The Blue Flame… It's not just mine, is it?"

A memory flashed back—a whisper in the dark.

"The Blue Flame is not divine. Nor is it demonic. It is both. It is the fire of creation… and destruction."

Ren's eyes flew open.

The assassin dove down—

But before the blade could strike Ren's throat—

FWOOOOOOM!

A burst of Blue Flame exploded from Ren's body.

The assassin was sent flying, spinning in mid-air before landing on the balls of his feet, daggers up in a defensive position.

His red eyes widened. ".Impossible."

Ren slowly stood up, his body wrapped in churning blue flames, hotter and brighter than ever before.

This was not anger.

It was something else.

The earth beneath him cracked and melted, unable to bear the sheer power of his flames.

Ren breathed—but this time, his breath was released in the form of steam.

He lifted his hand, gazing at the flames dancing around his fingers.

It wasn't heat anymore.

It was power. Pure, unadulterated power.

And for the first time—it didn't feel like it was the one in charge.

He was the one who was in charge.

There was a sudden tension, his hands curled around his daggers.

"So… you were holding back."

Ren tilted his head to one side, his silver-blue eyes blazing with power.

"No," he said. "I just finally woke up."

Then—he moved.

Ren disappeared in an instant.

The assassin's eyes barely had time to open before—

BOOOOM!

Ren struck back just in time, punching his fist into his belly.

The punch tore shock through the air, Blue Flames exploding outward in every direction like a supernova.

The killer was hurled through the destruction, shattering through pillars of stone, crashing over the earth.

He was lucky he had made it on his feet at all, hacking coughing, cloak singed and tattered.

His daggers were shaking in his fists.

Ren had struck him but once.

And it was as if his whole body had almost broken.

Ren curled his fingers, and the uncontained power swirled through him.

The flame was distorted now. It didn't merely burn—it was twisted to his command.

The assassin's red eyes crunched up. ".Tch."

And, without hesitation—he threw his daggers.

They flew forward, encased in black flame, twisting unnatural arcs through the air.

Ren didn't blink.

Instead, he lifted his hand.

The air around him wavered—and the daggers, rather than piercing him—were melted into nothing before they even reached his skin.

The assassin stood frozen. ".What?"

Ren smiled weakly. "You should have run while you could."

Then—he attacked.

He sprinted at him with a burst of speed, earth trembling as he launched himself, covering the distance in less than the heartbeat.

The killer had no time to respond.

Ren's fist crashed into his chest.

Then—

BOOOOOOM!

The Blue Fire blast exploded the ruins, shattering stone, sending shockwaves through the battlefield.

The killer screamed as his body was engulfed by the fire—his black fire being extinguished by the brute force of the blue fire.

He fell, still.

Ren towered over him, panting. The fire that surrounded him twirled, then dwindled away.

His first true triumph over the Syndicate.

And yet…

He stared at his own hands, at the fire still wrapped around his fingers.

For the first time—it frightened him.

"What… am I become?"