The air was heavy.
Stone walls pressed in around the crew as they descended deeper into the relic's labyrinth. Faint etchings pulsed with a dull blue glow, veins of ancient energy that seemed alive, humming beneath the floor like a heartbeat. Every step carried an echo that lingered longer than it should have, like the walls were listening.
Raijiro cracked his knuckles. "This place stinks of a fight."
Seijun twirled her staff, the faint growl of the azure tiger spirit purring along its shaft. "It's not a stink. It's tension. Like the relic's waiting for us to make the wrong move."
Reika snorted, water trailing lazily in rings around his wrists. "Then let's make the wrong move faster. I'm starving."
Kakari smirked, but his hand lingered on the hilt of his katana. He didn't like how the air pressed against his lungs, heavier with every step. Something was watching them.
And then—they reached it.
The chamber opened into a cathedral-like expanse. Vast pillars rose into shadows, carved with runes older than any clan. In the center of the hall, embedded in the ground, was a massive circular seal etched into the stone. Energy coursed through it like veins of liquid silver.
And at its center stood the Protector.
A towering figure clad in segmented armor of white and obsidian, its helm faceless, only a vertical slit glowing crimson. In its hands was not a sword, not a spear—but a massive gear-like shield almost taller than itself, the edges jagged, rotating faintly as if grinding against reality.
The Protector raised the shield, and the room's hum became a growl.
> "Trial Initiated. Intruders must be broken."
The voice wasn't human. It reverberated directly inside their skulls.
---
⚔️ The Protector Awakens
The seal beneath their feet flared, and a dome of energy sealed the chamber.
Raijiro grinned. "Guess it's us or him."
He launched forward, Iron Art surging red over his arms. His fist slammed against the gear-shield—
CLANG!
The impact rang out like a cathedral bell. Raijiro's knuckles sparked, but he was thrown backward, skidding across the stone. The shield hadn't budged an inch.
The Protector stepped forward. The shield rotated faster—then released a grinding wave of force like a collapsing mountain.
> "Resonance Art: Graviton Gearwave."
The wave tore across the floor, splitting stone like paper.
Seijun planted her staff, blue light bursting out in the form of her tiger spirit. It roared, slamming against the shockwave, dispersing part of it—but still, the backlash hurled her into a pillar.
"Damn it!" she coughed, gripping her staff tighter.
Reika leapt forward, water forming into serpents around his arms. "My turn!"
He thrust them forward—Twin Leviathan Strikes—two water serpents lunging at the Protector from either side.
The shield rotated with impossible precision, intercepting both strikes. The serpents hissed, wrapping around the jagged edges, but the gear spun faster—tearing the water apart like shredded cloth.
Kakari's jaw clenched. "It's adapting."
---
💥 Phase One: The Relentless Shield
The Protector advanced, each step sending tremors through the seal. It wasn't just defending—it was pushing them back, dominating space with its colossal shield.
Raijiro spat blood and charged again, Iron Art glowing brighter, coating both arms this time. He hammered blow after blow against the shield, each strike ringing through the chamber.
"Break already, you oversized dish!"
The Protector responded by slamming the shield into the ground. The gears rotated inward—
BOOM!
A shockwave burst outward, a crushing dome of pressure. Raijiro was thrown upward, blood spraying from his mouth before he crashed back down.
Seijun darted in, staff glowing, her tiger spirit spiraling around her weapon like a cyclone. She vaulted and brought it down—"Azure Fang Breaker!"—the spirit's jaws clamping against the shield's edge.
For a heartbeat, the gears slowed.
Kakari saw it. "Reika! Now!"
Water coiled sharp like spears around Reika's arms. "Got it!" He launched a barrage, piercing toward the gaps Seijun's tiger had made.
The Protector twisted, letting the water strike—but then the shield's core opened.
Click.
A secondary gear rotated inside, catching every strike and dispersing the force into the ground. Sparks flew. The Protector's crimson slit flared brighter.
Kakari cursed under his breath. It wasn't just a shield. It was a nullifier.
---
🌌 Phase Two: Kakari's Awakening
The Protector slammed its shield forward, sending Seijun tumbling. Then it turned—its faceless helm locking onto Kakari.
And the relic seal beneath his feet pulsed.
He staggered, gripping his chest. Something hot coursed through his veins, not lightning, not illusion. A raw pressure that made his vision flicker. His katana vibrated in its sheath—until it split apart, transforming before his eyes.
The blade folded inward, reshaping into twin tonfa-like staves, faint runes glowing across their surface. Black, grey, and ash-colored veins pulsed over them.
"W-what the—?" Kakari whispered.
The Protector raised its shield, as if acknowledging him directly.
> "Primary Candidate Detected. Black Pulse Synchronization—initiating."
The relic was responding to him.
Kakari's eyes widened as his vision shifted—the world sharpening, edges defined by streaks of black static. His muscles felt lighter, faster, stronger. Reflexes firing before he could think. His Raikōgan pulsed with inverted light.
And when the Protector swung its shield down at him—
Kakari moved.
Faster than he ever had.
The tonfa crackled with black sparks as he crossed them, catching the strike. His arms should've shattered. Instead, the impact reverberated outward, scattering fragments of energy across the floor.
Raijiro's eyes widened. "Kakari?!"
---
⚡ The First Black Pulse Technique
The Protector twisted, gears grinding, trying to crush him. Kakari gritted his teeth. Something inside the tonfa pulsed—an instinct, a command. He let it flow.
> "Black Pulse—Pulse Break!"
He shoved forward, and a burst of black energy rippled out—not raw lightning, but a compressed shockwave that shattered the gear's momentum. For the first time, the Protector staggered backward.
The chamber fell silent.
Seijun blinked. "…He actually pushed it back."
Kakari's breathing was ragged, but his stance was steady. A grin split across his face. "Heh. Guess it's my turn."
---
🔥 Phase Three: Turning the Tide
The fight exploded again.
Raijiro surged forward, fists blazing red. "Let's go, partner!" He hammered the shield's side, forcing the Protector to angle defensively.
Seijun's tiger roared, striking the opposite flank, staff strikes glowing like lightning arcs.
Reika surged water underneath, freezing it in jagged spikes to trap the Protector's footing.
And Kakari—faster than ever—darted in, tonfa crackling. Every strike carried not just lightning, but that Pulse Break shock—staggering the Protector's gears, interrupting its resonance cycles.
The once-unstoppable wall was slowing. Cracks spread across its armor. Sparks flew from the shield's grinding core.
The Protector raised its helm skyward, crimson slit blazing.
> "Emergency Protocol: Gear Cataclysm."
The shield split apart into dozens of spinning fragments, orbiting it like blades.
Everyone froze.
Kakari narrowed his eyes, Raikōgan glowing brighter. "Then we'll just break every last one."
---
🌑 End of Chapter
The chapter closes with the crew charging together—Kakari leading the strike, Black Pulse tonfa glowing in his hands, his first true step into power that wasn't his clan's… but his own.