The air shifted.
The chamber's silence cracked beneath a low, guttural rumble. Dust trickled from the ceiling, and the glowing markings along the walls pulsed in rhythm with Kiyoshi's racing heartbeat.
Daiki raised his kunai. "That doesn't sound friendly."
Rei's stance hardened. "Get ready. Something's here."
From the shadows behind the broken pedestal, a figure stirred. Not human—its form was twisted, born of chakra warped and bound for centuries. Stone and flesh fused into a grotesque shape: a hulking beast with jagged arms like blades, eyes glowing faint crimson.
Kiyoshi's Ketsuryūgan flared open instantly, his chest tightening. "It's a guardian… left to protect the relic."
The creature roared, the sound shaking the chamber, and lunged.
Rei moved first, kunai flashing as she struck at its arm, sparks flying as steel met stone-hard flesh. "It's too tough!" she shouted, leaping back.
Daiki darted low, weaving hand seals. "Then let's soften it up! Fire Release: Phoenix Flame Barrage!"
Small fireballs peppered the guardian, exploding against its chest in bursts of heat. The smoke cleared—its stone hide was charred, but barely cracked.
"Seriously?!" Daiki cursed.
The guardian swung its blade-like arm, and the shockwave sent both Rei and Daiki skidding across the floor. Kiyoshi stood firm, his Ketsuryūgan analyzing every movement—the chakra flow inside the beast, the cracks along its body.
"There—its core," he muttered, spotting a faint glow at its chest, beneath layers of stone. "That's its weak point."
The guardian roared again, charging straight for him.
Time slowed. Kiyoshi's vision narrowed, his Ketsuryūgan sharpening every detail. He sidestepped at the last instant, the beast's arm carving into the stone floor where he'd stood. He slammed his palm against its arm, forcing chakra outward—pushing against it with raw strength he barely controlled.
Pain seared through him, but the guardian staggered. Rei seized the moment, vaulting onto its back and driving her kunai deep into one of the cracks.
"Daiki! Now!" she shouted.
Daiki grinned despite the sweat dripping down his face. He formed seals, heat building in his chest. "Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
A roaring stream of fire engulfed the guardian's chest. The stone began to crack, glowing brighter, exposing the core within.
Kiyoshi's eyes blazed crimson. He surged forward, pouring everything he had into one strike, his fist driving into the exposed glow.
The chamber erupted with light and sound as the guardian let out a final, shattering roar. Then—silence.
Stone fragments rained down, the beast collapsing into lifeless rubble.
The three of them stood in the settling dust, breaths ragged, bodies trembling. Rei lowered her kunai, Daiki flopped onto the floor with a groan, and Kiyoshi knelt, his hand pressed to his chest where the relic's pulse still beat furiously.
"That…" Daiki panted, "…was not in the mission description."
Rei glanced at Kiyoshi. "You saw it before we did. You guided us."
Kiyoshi exhaled slowly, eyes still glowing faintly. "…The Ketsuryūgan showed me. But it wasn't just me. We brought it down together."
For the first time, Daiki didn't joke. He just grinned tiredly. "Guess we're not half bad as a team."
The chamber quieted, but the markings along the walls still glowed faintly. Kiyoshi felt it again—that whisper beneath the relic's pulse, urging him deeper, hinting that this battle was only a test.
The true path hasn't even begun.