Reborn in Flame and Blood

The sky cracked open.

A fissure of light ripped through charred clouds, dry-roasting the heavens like a knife through meat. Thunder screamed. The earth shook. And from the center of that divine tempest, he dropped.

Kanji, bare, bloodied, and confused.

Like a comet, he slammed into the battlefield, molten earth bursting up around him. Soldiers screamed. The sky dimmed. In a split second, a System prompt snapped awake in front of his eyes:

[Initializing Soul Nexus…]

[Warning: No Class Detected.]

Select Path — Forced Awakening Activated.

He saw three golden cards hovering in front of him, each radiating heat and hunger.

• Blood Warden

• Hellblade Vagabond

• Warden of Ruin [Mythic] (Corrupted: Divine Seal Interference)

Kanji's lips curved. "Mythic, huh? I'll take the broken one."

Class Obtained: Siren of Ruin. 2ND HUMAN CLASS.

[Soul Core: Fragmented. Adaptive Evolution Active.]

[Weapon Needed: None. You Are the Weapon.]

He breathed out — and the flame within him responded.

A roar cut the fog: a black-armored beast, twenty feet tall, wielding a great cleaver of bone. Demonic symbols blazed on its chest.

Kanji moved.

With preternatural speed, he charged the beast, grabbed an upturned sword from the ground, and drove it into the demon's eye in the same smooth motion.

[Enemy Slain. +3 Soul Fragments.]

[Soul Gauge: 11%]

[Obtained Skill: "Eclipse Step"]

The world slowed around him. His body shimmered. The soldiers that minutes earlier had screamed in terror now looked on, dumbstruck.

And among them—she watched.

Lyra Veyne stood high above the battlefield, within the splintered remains of the silver cathedral.

Her slim figure wrapped in ceremonial white and gold, her eyes sharp behind round glasses never blinked. Her hair flared like wildfire in the wind. Her lips curled.

Not in awe.

In amusement.

"He's… not what I expected," she whispered, voice silk-threaded with poison. "But the chaos in him… yes. He'll do."

A knight staggered up next to her, still breathing hard. "Priestess Lyra! That—thing—what is he?! "

She didn't answer. Instead, she moved to the front of the group, boots crackling on broken glass, eyes fixed on Kanji like a scientist examining a creature she had just released.

"He's mine," she whispered. "And he's not even aware of that yet."

Back on the practice field, Kanji turned as she came toward him through the dust and flame. Every man who laid eyes on her froze. The graceful sweep of her waist, the detached intelligence in her gaze, the total mastery in her stride — she walked as if she already possessed the conclusion of every narrative.

He met her gaze.

"You summoned me?" he said, his sword still dripping black ichor.

Lyra stopped a few feet away. Arms crossed. "Not quite. I just opened the door. You're the one that kicked it down."

Kanji tilted his head. "You look like a priestess. You speak like a warlord."

She smiled, slow and sharp. "And you look like a savior. But your eyes share a different story."

Lightning flashed again. The battlefield was silent.

Then Lyra spoke again, her voice low. "I brought you here to prevent the end of the world. But I have a hunch you could be."

Kanji moved near, eyes glinting. "I will try ."

[Sync Soul with "Lyra Veyne": System Update in Progress…]

[WARNING: UNDETECTED REACTION. ]

Definitely —

The air was thick with the odor of sulfur and boiled flesh.

Kanji stood above the corpse of the demon, muscles wound tight, heart racing. The soil beneath him still glowed from his impact. Stunned soldiers around him stood with their weapons half-cocked, not knowing whether to cheer him — or kill him.

He didn't move.

His eyes were locked on her.

Lyra Veyne.

Tall. Elegant. Confidence in every step. That cold smirk on her lips told him she'd already learned to calculate ten steps ahead of everyone else in this ruined cathedral. Her white robes rustled about muscular legs not meant for a tender priestess. She seemed to have been born for a throne room — or the middle of a battlefield, issuing the command.

She was watching him the way one watches a new, untried weapon.

Kanji didn't like that.

He narrowed his eyes. "Let me guess. I'm the chosen one? The divine warrior? Savior of the pathetic?"

Lyra arched a brow. "You're quick. "Most cry out for their mothers or demand to know where the hell they are."

"I already know," Kanji said, his voice flat. "Not home. Not dead. The only other explanation is" summoned."

[System Note: Strength of Mind: Succeeded.]

[World: Aetherion — Realm: Extrapolated Primal]

[Summoner: Lyra Veyne, High Priestess of the Emberlight Church]

[Mission: Stamp out the Corruption. Reignite the Flame of Order.]

[Divine Contract: Awaiting Signature…]

Kanji's jaw clenched.

"I didn't sign up for anything," he growled.

Lyra stepped closer. "You didn't have to. You were dying. The instant your soul departed your world, I took it."

She said it so casually like she was plucking a flower.

"You kidnapped me."

"I resurrected you."

"Same thing."

A pause.

Lyra's gaze skimmed to the glowing mark that was slowly coalescing on Kanji's chest—the sigil of the goddess who'd supposedly picked him.

Kanji noticed it too. He grimaced, touching it as if it were an itch. "And this… what is it?"

"Proof you've been caressed by Aurelia, Goddess of Flame and Harmony."

Kanji laughed—sharp, bitter. "I don't do gods."

"Neither do I," she replied smoothly, "but sometimes, exceptions are made."

He looked at her closely now. She wasn't afraid of him. She should be. He had just killed a nightmare demon with nothing but a snatched-up sword and his raw fucking will. And she had just stood there as if she could take him down with a few words and a flick of her wrist.

Kanji's instincts were warning all over the place : She was dangerous. Maybe more than him.

He stepped back. "Why me?"

Lyra tilted her head. "Because I read every prophecy, cracked every forbidden text , and sacrificed every other candidate."

His hands clenched. "You sacrificed—?"

"They weren't strong enough."

Her voice carried no remorse. Only cold logic.

Kanji exhaled slowly. The glow from the fight was wearied. The adrenaline burning out.

He was in a new world, tethered to some celestial system, and already knee-deep in someone else's war. He didn't like being played. He was no fan of heavenly contracts. And he damn well didn't care for her smug tone.

But something told him — deep in his bones — this wasn't random. This wasn't luck.

He came here for a reason. And not just to rescue the world.

To break it.

[New Quest Acquired: Goddess Aurelia Flame Sanctum.]

Refuse the Contract, which serves as an optional article. Face Consequences.]

[XP Reward: 2,500 | Fate Token: +1]

Kanji spat on the ground. "Fine. I'll play along. For now. But if anyone tries to chain me — goddess or no — I will tear them in half."

Lyra's smirk returned. "Good. I don't want my new toy to break too soon."

He glared. "Try calling me that again."

She leaned in, close enough for him to sense her breath.

"Toy."

Kanji held her gaze. Then grinned. "Careful. I bite."