"A blade does not break in an instant. It fractures, piece by piece."
The world was burning.
Smoke coiled through the battlefield, thick and suffocating. The scent of scorched steel and blood clung to the air, sharp enough to sting the lungs.
Rei's grip tightened around his blade. His fingers burned, the heat of hellfire licking at his skin, but he didn't let go. He couldn't.
Because behind him—Aya was watching.
She was curled against the crumbling ruins, her small frame trembling. Her eyes met his, wide with something between fear and desperate hope.
"Rei…" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
His throat tightened.
Stay alive.
That was all that mattered. If nothing else, Aya had to survive.
But Alistair stood in the way.
The moment their swords met, the world shattered.
Rei's hellfire katana clashed against Alistair's seraphic greatsword, unleashing a shockwave that tore the ground apart. The impact sent embers and golden sparks spiraling into the crimson sky.
Rei's boots scraped against the dirt as he skidded backward. His muscles screamed, his vision blurring from the heat, but he forced himself to focus.
Alistair did not move.
"You still hesitate," Alistair said, his golden eyes filled with something colder than hatred—conviction. "That girl… she is the reason you hold back."
His gaze flickered to Aya.
Something inside Rei snapped.
Before he could think, his body moved.
Hellfire exploded beneath his feet, launching him forward like a shadow streaking through the ruins. His katana whipped through the air, carving a path of obsidian flame toward Alistair's throat.
Clang!
Alistair met him mid-strike, their swords grinding against each other. Sparks danced between them, the clash of divine and abyssal forces shaking the ground.
But Alistair wasn't done talking.
"She carries an uncorrupted Sin Covenant." His voice was calm. Too calm. "You know what that means, don't you?"
Rei gritted his teeth, pushing harder against the blade-lock.
"It means," Alistair continued, his divine aura flaring, "she is a threat to both sides."
Golden light surged.
Rei barely had time to react before a blast of seraphic force slammed into his chest.
Boom!
He was sent flying, crashing through a pillar of rubble. His back hit stone, his ribs cracked, and his breath tore from his lungs in a ragged gasp.
But none of that mattered.
Because when he looked up—Alistair was already moving toward Aya.
"Aya—run!"
She flinched but didn't move. She just stared at Alistair, frozen in place as the knight raised his greatsword.
"She cannot be allowed to exist," Alistair said, voice steady. Like he had already made peace with it.
Aya whimpered, crawling backward, her fingers digging into the dirt.
"Please…"
Rei moved.
His body screamed in protest, his bones grinding against each other, but none of it mattered. Nothing mattered except reaching her.
But he was too far.
Too late.
Alistair's blade fell.
Blood splattered onto the ruins.
Aya's small hand, once reaching for Rei, went still.
The battlefield fell silent.
Not even the wind dared to move.
For the first time in years, something in Rei broke.
A slow, creeping hollowness spread through his chest—deeper than pain, heavier than grief. It swallowed everything. The fire, the rage, the battle—all of it faded into the background, drowned beneath a tidal wave of aching, unbearable stillness.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
He was supposed to protect her.
"Aya—"
Her lips moved. No voice came out.
Something inside Rei snapped.
The sky cracked. The earth screamed. The air ignited.
A roar tore from Rei's throat, raw and inhuman, like a beast clawing its way out of a man's body.
Hellfire exploded outward, a tidal wave of crimson fury engulfing the battlefield. The force of it sent Alistair staggering back, his divine armor hissing as unholy flames licked at its edges.
Rei could feel everything—the scorching heat radiating from his own body, the way the ground melted beneath his feet, the blood dripping from his fingertips.
And beneath it all—
Nothing.
No hesitation. No grief. No pain.
Only cold, burning wrath.
Alistair steadied his stance, his greatsword raised. The flicker of hesitation from before was gone.
"If you continue down this path, I will cut you down, Rei."
Rei laughed. The sound was broken, jagged—more like the death rattle of a man who no longer feared dying.
"You think you can stop me now?"
He lunged.
The sky bled black. The earth howled.
His blade, now darker than the abyss, sang its final curse.
Alistair raised his greatsword—
Too late.
The world burned.