THE STORM OF THE EASTERN FRONT
Word spread across the kingdom like wildfire.
"Ushinai is alive."
"The Ashen Dawn survived."
"War is coming."
From the eastern frontier came desperate messengers—refugees starving behind broken walls, surrounded by Inferna troops, waiting for death. Many within the Ashen Dawn feared it was a trap. Others argued they could not ignore innocent lives.
Ushinai listened to every voice before speaking.
"If we only save people when it's convenient," he said quietly,
"then we're no better than the King."
The army marched east.
What awaited them was devastation beyond expectation. Entire villages stood empty. Corpses lay buried in lines. Smoke permanently stained the sky. When Kael returned from scouting, his face was pale.
"This wasn't a battle," he said. "It was a warning."
"From who?" Lyra asked.
Kael swallowed.
"From Ember."
Far away, the King sat upon his throne as news arrived.
"Commander Ember has reached the east."
Ember entered the war chamber like living fire—hair like burning charcoal, eyes molten, heat clinging to his presence. He knelt only out of formality.
"Let me burn the boy and his mercy cult."
The King dismissed him with a flick of his hand.
"Do as you wish. Bring me his heart."
Ember smiled as if victory was inevitable.
Their armies met in a burned valley. Ember stood alone before the Ashen Dawn, arms crossed, smiling.
"You finally came, little prince of ashes."
Inferna erupted around him like a volcano. Heat twisted the air. Ash fell like black snow.
The battle began.
Ember unleashed INFERNA ART: PYRE DELUGE, a tidal wave of living flame that melted earth and erased soldiers in an instant. Ushinai countered with Soulflame Barrier, holding the inferno back only barely as cracks spread across the shield.
"This guy isn't human!" Kael shouted.
But Ushinai stood firm.
Then Ember struck toward the weaker units.
Ushinai moved—too slow.
Lyra leapt in front of the blast. Terran armor formed around her body, but the flames tore through it. She crashed to the ground, screaming as heat ravaged her flesh.
"LYRA!" Ushinai cried.
"This is war," Ember said calmly. "Mercy won't save your friends."
Something inside Ushinai broke.
Memories flooded him—his father's smile, his village burning, the people who believed in him. The Bonds of Ash ignited violently.
His Soulflame changed.
White.
Black.
And now—crimson.
A new presence formed around him.
SOULFLAME ASCENDANT MODE.
Ember's grin vanished.
"That… isn't possible."
"I won't let you hurt another soul," Ushinai said, his voice terrifyingly calm.
Their clash shattered the valley. Inferna collided with purifying flame. Shockwaves flattened forests. Ember laughed wildly, exhilarated.
"YES! THIS IS WAR!"
"No," Ushinai answered. "This is protection."
When Ember charged with a volcanic strike, Ushinai met it with SOULFLAME: ABSOLUTE JUDGMENT. A beam of fused power blasted Ember backward for the first time in his life.
Defeated, burned, and bleeding, Ember laughed weakly.
"You really are his son."
Ushinai raised his hand—then lowered it.
"I'm not your executioner."
Ember stared in disbelief as darkness took him.
The Ashen Dawn won—but victory tasted bitter.
Hundreds lay dead. Lyra was gravely wounded. Zell was missing. Some celebrated mercy. Others cursed it.
"You let him live!" one soldier screamed. "He killed my brother!"
Ushinai met their grief with sorrow.
"If I become a monster to stop a monster," he said,
"then I become the King."
As Ember was bound and carried away, he whispered:
"The King fears you becoming whole. If you want to defeat him… find the Abyssal Forge."
"A secret your father died protecting."
That night, far away, the King smiled faintly.
"Let the boy grow."
And on a cliff overlooking the ruined eastern plains, Ushinai stood alone. Lyra joined him, limping.
"You won," she said softly. "Why do you look so defeated?"
"Because every victory shows me how much more I must become," Ushinai replied.
"And how far mercy will push me."
The wind howled across the east—
carrying the scent of war.