The sky was a bruised violet when Blaze stepped onto the training field.
Thin fog curled over the artificial grass, clinging to his boots as he walked to the center circle. The stadium lights hummed faintly above the only sound breaking the silence of dawn.
He took a slow breath. The air felt heavy, metallic. His pulse echoed in his ears.
Without a word, he lowered himself into stance.
Left leg forward.
Arms loose but ready.
Focus not on what he saw, but what he felt.
With a whisper of thought, the Aura Flame flickered to life.
Crimson and blue fire coiled around his arms, unstable and violent. It danced erratically, feeding on the turmoil inside him.
"Control," he murmured.
He tried to strike a fast sweeping motion meant to channel the energy into a sharp, precise arc. Instead, the aura exploded outward, rippling through the field like a fiery wave.
