The sun was barely a flicker behind thick clouds as Yukio, Shigure, and Daigo approached the final gate.
A massive stone arch loomed before them—covered in countless names etched in ancient Kanji. Some glowed faintly. Some were scratched out violently.
> "What is this place?" Yukio whispered.
The Warden stepped out from the mist, her cloak now torn, revealing scars running down her arms like veins of light.
> "This… is the Hall of Reflections. The place where every Ascendant sees their final truth."
Yukio frowned. "What kind of truth?"
The Warden didn't answer. She simply touched the stone arch.
And the ground shattered beneath them.
---
A World of Shards
Yukio landed hard—on his feet. The sky was cracked glass. The earth beneath him, a shifting puzzle of mirrors floating in space.
> "Where the hell am I?"
His voice echoed.
Then… his reflection stepped out of the nearest mirror.
But it wasn't a copy—it was him, dressed in darker robes, eyes glowing red, aura heavy like ash before a fire.
> "You always wanted power," the mirror-Yukio said. "But do you deserve it?"
---
Trial 3: The Self That Could Be
The final trial had begun—not against a monster, not against memories—but against himself.
> "You killed her," the dark reflection whispered. "You let your mother fade. You left your friends to die. And you did it all because you wanted to be chosen."
Yukio clenched his fists. "I did what I had to do."
> "So you say."
The reflection stepped forward. "Then prove it."
It summoned a blade—Yukio's own sword—but twisted, as if forged from molten guilt.
---
The Fight Within
Their swords clashed.
Steel screamed.
Each blow echoed like a scream from the past. Yukio's arms trembled—not from exhaustion, but from doubt.
The reflection whispered as they fought:
> "You think you're becoming strong? You're becoming me."
Yukio pushed forward, slicing through the illusion.
> "Then maybe you're what I need to become!"
But the reflection only smiled, even as it faded.
> "If you walk this path, Yukio… you'll burn the world before you save it."
---
The Archive Room – A Father's Memory
As the illusion dissolved, Yukio found himself in a library of light and shadows.
Walls of memory stood like shelves. Voices hummed from every corner.
At the center stood a pedestal.
On it—
—a memory core. Black crystal. Pulsing red.
> "This belonged to your father," said the Warden, who appeared beside him.
Yukio stepped forward.
> "I never knew him. Only stories."
The Warden nodded. "Then it's time to see his truth."
---
The Father's Past
Yukio placed his hand on the crystal.
The world blurred.
He stood in the body of a man—a younger version of his father. Same eyes. Same stubborn fire.
War raged in the background. Elders screamed. The Verdant Expanse burned.
Yukio's father held a newborn in his arms—Yukio.
A woman stood beside him, blood at her lips. Yukio's mother.
> "You must take him," she said, coughing. "Hide him from the Council."
> "They'll hunt us," the father replied.
She smiled faintly. "Then let them. He's not just a child… he's the key."
The vision shifted.
Yukio's father stood before the Spire Elders—arguing.
> "You want to contain the Flame. But it's not a curse. It's alive."
The Elders hissed.
> "Silence! You dare question the will of the Origin?"
His father stepped back.
> "No. I dare to change it."
---
The Origin of the Curse
The vision shifted once more—showing the truth that had been buried:
Yukio's bloodline wasn't cursed.
It was chosen—designed by the Spire Elders to carry the Flame that once guarded the world. But the Elders, corrupted by fear, turned it into a weapon. They sealed it within a family line.
Yukio's line.
Him.
> "You were never cursed," the Warden said softly. "You were forged."
---
The Final Flame
As Yukio returned to the present, his eyes burned with crimson light.
The memory core had dissolved—its energy absorbed into his soul.
Daigo and Shigure appeared beside him, both shaken by their own visions.
> "What did you see?" Shigure asked.
Yukio's voice was calm now. But heavy.
> "The truth. The Flame isn't evil. It's a piece of something greater."
He looked up—toward the final gate of the Spire.
> "It's a part of me."
---
Meanwhile – The Sarcophagus Breaks
Within the top chamber of the Spire, the masked figure knelt.
Before him, the sarcophagus fully opened.
From it rose a being of molten armor and broken wings. Its voice was deep and layered—like a thousand screams in harmony.
> "The heir has accepted the truth."
The masked figure removed his hood.
It was another version of Yukio—older, scarred, broken.
> "Now it begins again."
The entity smiled.
> "Then let us burn this world one last time."