UTILE

Kazenari Rei was an ordinary human, once lost in the despair of his mundane life. But when the collapse of his world arrived — powered by the cataclysmic force known as Honkai End — Rei’s soul was chosen for rebirth. Not as a hero. Not as a savior. But as something the world of High School DxD is not prepared for.

Armed with the power to awaken Spirits in ordinary humans — a twisted hybrid of the Date A Live system and Honkai resonance — Rei now walks among devils and angels as an unpredictable force. With a personality as calm as flowing water but wrath as deadly as a collapsing star, Rei keeps to the shadows, choosing neutrality… for now.

Eclipse of the Spirit: The Reincarnated Flame

The sky over Kuoh was no longer blue. It shimmered in pulses—violet streaks moving like veins across a translucent canvas. Birds didn't fly overhead. Spirits watched instead. Time seemed to hold its breath.

Within the underground layer of Rei's shrine, the ten flames circled the eleventh. This one wasn't brighter. It was deeper—a resonance that reached beyond time. The Crown of Remembrance had embedded itself into Rei's soul like an echo looking for its first voice.

"Readings are stabilizing," Mireille said, hunched over a cluster of ether-sensitive crystal relays. "But this flame… it sings in backward causality. It's triggering events before they happen."

Noira leaned on her blade. "Meaning?"

"Meaning," Eirenne replied, "our enemies might start dying before they arrive."

Rei was silent. He'd been that way since leaving the Hall of Ten. But inside, the resonance swirled.

> [System Notification: Reverberation Protocol Activated. New Subsystem: Temporal Echoes Registered. Caution: Flame Synchronicity May Destabilize Local Time Threads.]

Fragment Deployment — Sub-Faction: Crimson Oath

A blast tore through the spirit grid over Eastern Europe. Rei appeared with the team moments before the breach began.

Mireille blinked. "Did we time skip?"

"No," Rei answered. "We resonated backward."

The rupture opened. From it spilled a spirit-shaped storm of thorns and red mist. A Sovereign Fragment classed as "Echo Wound"—a spirit that only existed when remembered through pain.

It spoke no words. But every survivor nearby screamed the same name: Seressa.

She had been a hero in another line of time. Now, she was an enemy in this one.

Rei walked into the mist. "Let her remember why she died for others."

Seressa's domain was built on emotion-triggered recursion. Every time Rei attacked, she reverted the moment. His flames flickered uselessly.

Then he stopped attacking. He remembered her. Not her power. Not her mistakes. Her choice to die for people who betrayed her.

He channeled the Crown of Remembrance. And spoke her name.

The mist screamed. Then… it wept. She took shape—a woman once clad in crimson banners, now ragged, eyes full of grief.

Rei nodded. "Enough to know you deserved more."

She extended her hand. He accepted it.

> [Integration Complete: Seressa, Flame of Broken Vows. Slot 12 Established. Classification: Martyr-Echo Sovereign.] [Warning: System Stability Reaching Upper Limit. Fragment Reinforcement Required. Suggest Harmonization Ritual.]

Noira watched Rei float above the ritual chamber. Twelve flames circled him now, each projecting distinct harmonic tones.

Eirenne whispered, "He's moving past what this world allows."

Mireille adjusted her glasses. "He's no longer collecting fragments. He's becoming their origin point."

A crack formed across the sigil-etched wall of the shrine. Karasu spoke at last. "The loom is watching. Vereth won't wait much longer."

Rei opened his eyes. "The echoes are lining up. The last trials are near."

Chapter 151: Reverberation Protocol