The room still smelled of ash. Cracks ran through the walls, and the shattered glass crunched beneath the Circle's boots as they stood in uneasy silence. The battle was over, but the aftermath was worse than the fight itself.
Kaito sat apart from the others, his hand still faintly glowing, wisps of blue fire curling between his fingers before fading into smoke. No matter how tightly he tried to contain it, the flame pulsed, restless. Like it wanted to be seen.
Finally, Daxen spoke. His voice carried authority, but also a tension he could not hide.
"That fire of yours… it shouldn't exist."
Jin crossed his arms, ice steaming from his skin. "I told you. No human could summon something like that. Not without—" He stopped himself, narrowing his eyes. "Where did you get it, Kaito?"
Kaito's jaw tightened. He wanted to tell them. To say everything—about the dragon he once was, the sky he once ruled, the power that had followed him into this fragile body. But the words burned his throat. He couldn't. Not yet.
"I don't know," he said at last, his voice even. "It was just… there, when I needed it."
Liora's mental voice whispered through their minds, unsettling as always. "A half-truth. He is protecting something. Something vast."
Aria's gaze lingered on him, sharper than before. She opened her mouth as if to press further, then closed it, her lips thinning into silence.
The Circle shifted uncomfortably, each member weighed down by the unknown.
Daxen finally stepped forward, his shadow rising tall against the flickering lights. "Secrets are dangerous, Kaito. Dangerous for you—and for us. But…" He paused, studying the faint glow still flickering at Kaito's hand. "You saved us tonight. That much I cannot deny."
For the first time, his stern expression softened. "So for now, you remain with us. But understand this—trust is earned, and yours is running thin."
Kaito gave a small nod, though his chest ached with the burden of what he held back.
Outside the cracked window, thunder rumbled across the night sky.
And far away, in the dark corners of the world, eyes watched. Crimson eyes, patient and cruel. The Shadowspawn's master stood within his abyss, replaying the vision of that blue fire, lips curling into a faint, hungry smile.
"So the dragon's flame survives," he whispered. "Good. Let him grow strong. The brighter the fire burns… the sweeter it will be when I extinguish it."
The shadows coiled tighter around him, and the cavern echoed with a low, inhuman laugh.
Back in the ruined classroom, Kaito closed his hand, smothering the last flicker of flame. But even as darkness returned, he knew this was only the beginning.
The Circle was watching. The enemy was waiting. And the truth he carried was more dangerous than any Shadowspawn.
For now, his secret remained his own.
But secrets had a way of burning their way to the surface.