The squad didn't return through normal channels.
The Sagittarius Gate had flung them out on the far edge of the Veltraxis Belt, a ring of fractured moons and metallic debris that circled the dying star known as Kyros. It was cold, unstable—and eerily quiet.
Erza sat alone on a floating platform of scorched obsidian, his coat shredded, his shoulder still darkened by the lingering Inverted Arrow wound. Every breath pulled fire into his lungs.
Not pain.
Power.
The arrow hadn't pierced his body—it had pierced his core. And something inside it had awakened.
✦ Regrouping
Auren and Seris patched together a beacon node to call for extraction. Lysra crouched nearby, carving runes into the surface with her dagger, muttering. Korr sat silently, his fists clenched, bruised from fighting time itself.
No one spoke for a while.
Finally, Seris looked to Erza. "You took that shot head-on."
He didn't answer.
"You're reckless," she added. "But… you saved us."
Auren leaned against the comms relay. "We weren't ready for a Gate that warps action itself. Sagittaros doesn't fight to kill—he fights to break momentum."
"He'll succeed," Korr rumbled, "unless we hit first."
Lysra's eyes flicked to Erza. "You felt it too, didn't you? When you burned through the arrow."
Erza exhaled, finally lifting his gaze.
"I didn't just use Leo's flame."
He stood, his aura faintly rippling with white-gold light. His voice was steadier now.
"I shaped it."
✦ What the Flame Remembers
Erza pulled a crystal shard from his belt—the one that had once been part of the Dream Lich's Core. He held it out, and it pulsed in response to his touch.
"The dream taught me something," he said. "Fire isn't just destruction. In Leo's constellation, it represents will sharpened to a point. Discipline. Pride. And clarity."
He stepped forward.
And his flame shifted—not flaring wildly, but forming a tight, radiant circle around his fists.
"Before, I just fought with Leo's power," he continued. "Now… I'm learning its language."
Auren raised an eyebrow. "You're saying Leo has techniques?"
Seris nodded. "Celestial Techniques. Each constellation's core holds three mythic forms. They're more than attacks—they're manifestations of the star's truth."
Erza smiled faintly. "I think I just unlocked the first one."
✦ Leo's First Technique – Solar Lacer
The space around Erza shimmered. His eyes glowed with the constellation's golden pattern. Behind him, a translucent lion's paw coalesced—massive, regal, and curved with solar flame claws.
"Leo Celestial Technique: Solar Lacer."
He slashed his arm forward.
A line of focused flame erupted—sharp and narrow—cutting through the platform itself with pinpoint accuracy. It didn't explode. It didn't flare.
It simply cut through time-distorted stone like it was silk.
Lysra whistled. "That's not fire. That's a blade of will."
Seris stepped closer, watching the heat fade. "Solar Lacer isn't about power. It's about control."
Korr chuckled. "About time we started getting smarter."
✦ Meanwhile – On the Inverted Side
In the throne chamber of Noctyros, Noctharion sat in meditation.
The Inverted Archer, Sagittaros, knelt before him—wounded, his antlers cracked.
"You failed," Noctharion said.
"I tested," Sagittaros replied.
Noctharion rose. "And what did you learn?"
Sagittaros bowed his head. "Leo has awakened technique. The flame no longer wanders. It cuts."
The Inverted King turned to the void, where broken constellations swirled like dead suns.
"Then we begin the next inversion."
He raised a hand.
"Unseal the Twins."
✦ Back on the Fringe
The squad gathered near the signal beacon as a Dominion-class retrieval ship descended.
"You're still injured," Seris said to Erza as he staggered slightly.
"I'll heal."
"You burned an astral technique straight through a dimensional wound," Auren added. "That's not normal."
Erza looked at them.
"I don't want to be normal."
He turned his eyes to the dark sky where constellations blinked in and out of order.
"I want to burn paths into the heavens. If they're warping the stars…"
He clenched his fist.
"Then I'll become a flame they can't bend."
End of Chapter 28