The academy courtyard was quiet now, though cracks still ran through the stone where the Shadowspawn had fallen. The Circle had dispersed after the fight, each shaken in their own way. But Kaito lingered.
He knelt near the rubble, where the broken spear lay discarded. Its shaft was splintered, the metal head chipped and bent from the force of his strikes. By all rights, it was useless.
And yet, when he picked it up, his chest tightened with a strange pull. This weapon, crude and battered, had been his ally when his flames betrayed him.
He turned it in his hands, remembering the way it moved, how natural it had felt—how alive he had been without fire.
Maybe this is better, he thought. Something they can see. Something they can believe.
That night, when the others returned to their quarters, Kaito slipped away into the forge beneath the academy. The place was quiet, the glow of the furnace painting the walls with orange light. He set the broken spear on the anvil and ran his fingers over the cracks.
The heat of the forge stirred something inside him. The fire within his veins flickered, restless, eager to break free. He clenched his jaw and forced it down.
No. Not this fire. Not here.
Instead, he lifted the hammer. Each strike echoed through the chamber, sparks scattering into the air. He reshaped the metal head, reforging it sharper, stronger. He bound the shaft with iron rings, mending its spine. Piece by piece, the weapon took new form beneath his hands.
When he was done, the spear stood tall, its polished blade gleaming faintly in the light. Stronger than before. His weapon.
Kaito held it upright, the weight steady, balanced. He gave it a testing swing, the air whistling as it cut cleanly through.
"Not bad," a voice said behind him.
Kaito spun, spear raised. Aria leaned against the forge's doorway, her arms crossed, eyes glinting in the firelight.
"I thought I was the only one who couldn't sleep after a fight," she said softly.
Kaito lowered the weapon, but his pulse stayed quick. "You followed me."
"I noticed you didn't use your fire today." She tilted her head. "Or couldn't."
Kaito said nothing, tightening his grip on the spear.
Aria smiled faintly, though her eyes remained sharp. "You're full of secrets, Kaito. But at least now… you've got a weapon that suits you."
She turned and walked away, her footsteps fading into the quiet hall.
Kaito looked back at the reforged spear, its blade glowing in the forge-light.
He exhaled slowly. "Guess it's you and me now."
For the first time since awakening in this human body, he felt a strange sense of grounding. The fire might betray him. His past might remain hidden.
But the spear was his.
And with it, he would carve his own path forward.