The monastery floor cracked open beneath their feet. No fog, no water, no silence this time—only fire. A blood-red horizon stretched endlessly, the air thick with the reek of ash and burning flesh. Towers of black stone rose like jagged teeth, and the ground itself pulsed as though alive, every throb echoing with rage.
At the center of this hellscape stood a woman in black silk, her kimono adorned with flowers that bled as though alive. Her pale face was flawless, serene—yet her crimson eyes burned with unending fury. Behind her loomed a dozen demonic visages, writhing shadows with horns and gnashing teeth, their maws dripping molten flame.
She smiled when she saw them.
"You've taken my sisters," the woman whispered, her voice too calm, too still, the sound of quiet before an earthquake. "The child of innocence. The fairy of terror. Now you stand before Wrath."
The demons behind her howled, their cries shaking the very air.
Hina's volcanic aura flared at once. She spat fire from her clenched fists, her molten hair lashing like whips. "Then let Wrath come!" she shouted.
The ground split open. Lava surged upward, rivers of fire tearing through the earth. The demonic heads roared and rushed forward, biting, clawing, their bodies endless shadows of rage.
Zumi swung his staff, its length expanding into a colossal pillar. He swept it in a wide arc, obliterating a dozen of the shadow-demons, scattering them into sparks. But they reformed instantly, fueled by wrath itself, stronger and angrier with every strike.
The woman laughed softly, a sound like bells breaking. "Wrath cannot be destroyed. Strike me, and I will rise again. Kill them, and they will only burn hotter."
The demons surged, latching onto Zumi, clawing his arms and legs, pulling him into the rivers of lava. He gritted his teeth, flames scorching his skin, but refused to yield.
"Zumi!" Hina roared, blasting a column of molten fire into the swarm, carving a path through the shadows. But her strength wavered; for every demon she destroyed, two more rose, shrieking, their eyes glowing red.
Celestia's voice boomed, shaking the world.
"The Trial of Wrath is not strength against strength. To conquer Wrath, one must master it. Bind rage, or be consumed."
Zumi's heart thundered, every nerve screaming to fight, to burn, to tear. But he forced himself to stillness. His grip on the staff loosened. He inhaled, deep, steady.
The staff shrank, from a pillar to a simple rod of polished wood. He stood tall, unmoving, while the demons clawed closer, their fire searing the ground.
"I will not feed you," Zumi said, his voice iron. "I am not your vessel. Wrath bends to me."
The demons halted. The woman's crimson eyes narrowed.
Hina, trembling, forced herself to mirror him. She quelled her fire, let the molten flames die down to embers, her volcanic aura cooling until she was nothing but heat and breath.
The world shifted. The demons screamed—not in rage, but in agony—as they unraveled into smoke, devoured by their own unquenched fury.
The woman's smile faded. For the first time, her hands trembled. She stepped forward, her kimono dragging black fire across the ground. Slowly, she bowed her head.
"You did not fall. You did not let me consume you. Then Wrath acknowledges you."
Her body dissolved into shadow, the demonic visages vanishing with her. The fragment surged forward, sinking into Zumi's chest, burning like molten steel.
[Celestia Speaks]
The Trial of Wrath — Third Fragment Complete.
Reward: 3 of 5 Fragments obtained.
Two remain. When the fourth is claimed, the gates of Hell will open. The final fragment awaits in its abyss.
The fiery world collapsed, leaving only the monastery once more. Zumi stood tall, sweat dripping from his brow, chest heaving. Hina leaned against him, her aura flickering with exhaustion but her spirit unbroken.
"Wrath," she whispered, voice raw. "That trial nearly… burned me alive."
Zumi placed a steady hand on her shoulder. His golden eyes glowed faintly in the dim light. "Then remember this, Hina—we don't master darkness with fire or blade. We master it by never bowing to it."
Celestia's presence lingered like a heartbeat in the silence, a reminder that the path only grew darker ahead.
The wasteland of ash screamed around them. Titans stitched from corpses clawed upward, their mouths gurgling with the voices of Zumi's loved ones.
"You cannot save us."
"You are too late."
"Even gods fall."
Hina's flames guttered, fading into smoke. The demoness laughed, her grin wide with madness. "Yes… drown in despair. You will learn that all hope rots."
Zumi gripped his staff, but instead of answering with a strike—he sang.
🎵Born in shadows, broken and cold,
A boy in the slums with no story told.
Ashes for dreams, hunger for breath,
Each step was a bargain with silence and death.🎵
The wasteland stilled. The titans paused, their hollow mouths faltering as the words carried through the ash. The golden glow of his staff pulsed with the rhythm of the song.
🎵But one night it whispered, a flame without name,
A black fire burning, reshaping my shame.
It carved me a purpose, it tore me awake,
The will of the lost boy no god could unmake.🎵
Hina gasped as her volcanic aura flared back to life, ignited by his voice. The corpses shrieked, covering their ears as cracks split their stitched forms. The demoness snarled, her chains rattling.
"NO!" she screamed. "SILENCE!"
But Zumi only sang louder.
🎵I walked out of sorrow, I left chains behind,
Carrying scars, but a sharpened mind.
Each wound became armor, each tear turned to steel,
The boy of the gutter would learn how to kill.🎵
The titans surged, but Zumi's staff split into afterimages, striking in perfect rhythm with each line. Every blow shattered another giant, bursting them into dust.
🎵The black flame beside me, it whispered: "Endure."🎵
Through torment and fury, my spirit grew pure.
No crown and no kingdom could shatter my stride,
🎵The slum-born has risen, with gods to defy.🎵
Hina joined him now—not in song, but in roar. Her fists ignited in volcanic fire, every punch detonating with his chorus. Together they carved through the despair, flame and voice intertwined.
The demoness staggered back, her smile fracturing.
🎵And when I step forward, the earth starts to weep,
Your fate is decided, your graves dug too deep.
The black flame is watching, its hunger is near,
Run if you wish—your defeat is clear.🎵
The wasteland itself trembled. The titans collapsed in waves. The voices crying out in despair were drowned beneath the roar of the song. Even the demoness's laughter cracked into a shriek as her body split with fractures of light.
🎵From nothing I rose, from ruin I came,
A man forged in torment, now carved into flame.
Challenge me, curse me, deny if you must—
But victory follows the one born of dust.🎵
Chains shattered. The titans dissolved. Hina's fire rose higher than ever, blazing into the gray sky, burning it to nothingness.
🎵I sing as I strike, and the world will obey:
Those who stand in my path…
…will be ashes today.🎵
The wasteland exploded in light. The demoness screamed as her body unraveled, her laughter turning into a sob. "If even despair can be silenced by song… then perhaps she truly can be saved."
The fourth fragment surged into Zumi's chest, burning ice and fire at once.
[Celestia Speaks]
The Trial of Despair — Fourth Fragment Complete.
Reward: 4 of 5 Fragments obtained.
The Gates of Hell now stand open. To claim the final fragment, you must descend into the abyss itself. The Goddess of Darkness is chained within. Pull her from Hell, or lose her forever.
Hina's hand trembled as she gripped his arm. Her eyes were wet, but her smile was fierce. "Zumi… your song. It shattered despair itself. I'll follow that voice even into Hell."
Zumi exhaled, his staff glowing faintly in the silence. "Then I'll sing louder. Even in Hell's deepest pit, she will hear me."