The sun barely rose behind the dunes, casting a red glow over the temple ruins as Yukio stared into the ashes of what remained.
The pendant was gone—shattered during his awakening—and in its place rested a faint glimmer of energy just above his heart.
> The Ironblood Core Stage 1… active, yet unstable.
Beside him, Shigure packed their things in silence, eyes watchful.
"Rest is over," the older warrior finally said. "They know who you are now. That means they'll come faster."
Yukio nodded slowly, but his hands were still trembling.
"Was that really... the first form?" he asked. "That power... it didn't feel like mine."
Shigure's eyes darkened.
"It wasn't."
---
A Traveler in the Sandstorm
As they began moving again across the wastes, a sudden wind rose—not natural, not of weather, but summoned.
The sands twisted into a spiraling wall, and from it emerged a figure covered in black wrappings and rust-colored armor, a long scarf trailing behind him like smoke.
He raised a hand. "I mean no harm."
Shigure reacted instantly, blade half-drawn. "Name."
The man removed his scarf slowly, revealing a face aged by battle, half-burnt… and unmistakably familiar.
"Name's Daigo Retsuji. Former Ironblood. And once… Ryouji's right hand."
Yukio's eyes widened. "You knew him too?"
Daigo chuckled bitterly. "Knew him? I bled for him."
---
The Man Who Saw the Fall
They set camp under an outcropping, and Daigo sat across from Yukio, looking him over.
"You've got his eyes," he muttered. "But not his weight. Not yet."
Yukio leaned in. "Tell me. Who was Ryouji before he… broke?"
Daigo lit a small flame in his palm, manipulating it with a flick of his fingers.
"Ryouji was a genius, no doubt. Tactician, fighter, and most of all—a dreamer. He wanted to rebuild the world, not rule it."
Shigure frowned. "Then what changed?"
Daigo's flame dimmed.
"The day the God Fragments were unearthed."
---
Lore Drop – The God Fragments
Long ago, before the Ironblood system existed, the world had ancient rulers known only as the Ascendants. Beings who controlled the flow of time, matter, and thought. They vanished without trace, but pieces of them—fragments—remained, hidden across realms.
Ryouji discovered one during a deep excavation under Mount Haruko. It wasn't a jewel or metal—it was a living memory.
A shard of consciousness.
It spoke to him.
"Only by destroying the foundations… can something greater rise."
Daigo shivered at the memory. "From that day… he was never the same."
---
Yukio's Inner Fire Awakens
That night, Yukio couldn't sleep.
The vision of Ryouji holding the sky apart returned—clearer, more painful.
But this time, something was different.
He saw himself in the sky, not his father.
Wearing the same black armor.
Screaming the same words.
"Let it burn…"
Yukio jolted awake, gasping. The core in his chest pulsed, and for a moment—he heard the voice.
> "You are not him… but you can become more."
---
Enemy Strike – Midnight Ambush
Just before dawn, the camp trembled.
Explosions shattered the stillness as a squad of Nullborn Assassins descended from the cliffs—black-robed beings with no faces, no voices, only blades laced with poison.
Daigo's chain-sword swung out like a hurricane, slicing two instantly.
Shigure vanished in a flash, reappearing behind another with his blade in its chest.
But Yukio… stood still. The visions, the whispers—they were making his body heavy.
> "Move," he whispered to himself.
One assassin charged straight at him.
Suddenly—fwoosh!
Yukio's feet moved without thinking.
A blast of silver energy erupted from his palm, knocking the assassin through a boulder.
He clenched his fists.
"I'm not him. I'm me."
---
Power Clash – Yukio vs. The Null Leader
From the shadows stepped their commander—a tall, four-armed being with a helmet of bone and a voice like cracking ice.
"You carry the core," it hissed. "You are not worthy."
Yukio's Ironblood form surged again—silver plates snapping onto his limbs, his hair flowing upward as if caught in static.
They clashed.
The being's four blades were like rivers—fast, fluid, fatal.
But Yukio… had found rhythm.
He dodged. He countered. He broke two blades.
And then—he heard it.
> "Finish him, my son…"
The voice. Ryouji's voice.
Yukio froze.
That hesitation cost him. A blade sliced across his ribs, sending him flying.
Blood sprayed.
---
The Rescue and Warning
Before the commander could strike again, Daigo intercepted with a roar, ripping its head off with his chain-sword.
He turned to Yukio. "This hesitation will kill you."
Shigure pulled Yukio up. "He's not ready. Not yet."
Daigo didn't argue. He stared at the rising sun.
"They'll keep coming. The closer you get to Verdant Spire, the more you'll bleed."
"Verdant Spire?" Yukio asked.
Shigure nodded grimly. "The final forge. Where Ryouji's armor was sealed… and where your destiny awaits."
---
Back in the Black Citadel
The Master watched the skirmish unfold through a floating crystal orb.
The woman beside him—Lady Kaen—raised an eyebrow.
"He's accelerating. Too fast."
The Master smiled. "Good. Let the boy grow strong. Let him think he has control.
Because when he reaches the Spire..."
He held up a glowing fragment, still pulsing with life.
"…he will become the perfect vessel."