Rayon strode through the streets of Odrion, his long black coat flowing behind him. The city smelled of smoke, wet stone, and the faint tang of iron. Neon signs flickered in the darkness as he made his way to a familiar tavern near the river, where Cairo and Severin had set up temporary quarters. Vorthalaxis coiled lightly around his arm, marking its presence with black, shifting scales. Erethon silently trailed, a sardonic shadow in Rayon's mind, watching with amusement.
As Rayon entered, the tavern patrons instinctively lowered their gazes. It was as if the world already knew the difference between the man who once walked these streets and the man who now stood before them.
Cairo was the first to see him, leaning casually against a counter, a half-empty glass in hand. Severin sat nearby, rolling a dagger between his fingers, eyes sharp as ever. Both froze.
Cairo: "Rayon… is that really—"
Severin: "No… it can't be. You're different."
Rayon's crimson eyes swept over them, still casual, still full of the arrogance and command that defined him.
Rayon: "Different? You're not ready to comprehend yet. Sit."
He pulled a chair, deliberately slow, letting the tension simmer. When he sat, Vorthalaxis shifted, wrapping lightly around his arm, a silent reminder of the Fourth Seal's weight.
The brothers exchanged glances, suspicion and awe mingling in their eyes.
Cairo: "You've… changed. How? You look… untouchable."
Severin: "I've never seen you like this. Your aura… it's insane."
Rayon smirked, leaning back, hands lightly brushing the edge of the table.
Rayon: "I've unlocked my full potential. Insanity doesn't touch me; it fuels me. Hollow Strings now run through everything I do. Nothing can faze me. You'll see soon enough."
They poured drinks. The liquid burned down their throats, warm and heavy. Cairo and Severin listened, still unconvinced, as Rayon casually described his journey, his victories over the First, Third, and Fourth Seals.
Cairo: "We thought we were strong… but it seems the world has changed around us while we slept."
Severin: "And you… you're no longer just Rayon. You're a storm."
Rayon raised a brow, a thin smirk curling.
Rayon: "Good. Because storms don't ask for permission to destroy. Speaking of destruction… tell me what you've been up to."
Cairo and Severin exchanged looks before speaking.
Cairo: "I broke the Ninth Seal. Its occupant… integrated with me. Its abilities flow through me now. Martial, elemental… I can feel its presence, but it obeys me. Not fully, but enough."
Severin: "I took the Tenth Seal. I absorbed what was there. The being beneath the seal… it's fused with my core now. Its strength enhances mine, but I'm still not on your level. Not even close."
Rayon's smirk widened.
Rayon: "I expected nothing less. I've borne a few seals myself. You've done well, but remember… I still outrank you in raw potential. You're strong, yes, but I am the storm."
The three of them drank again, the air thick with unspoken understanding and shared danger. Then Rayon's crimson eyes glinted.
Rayon: "Enough talking. Let's remind the Awakeners Circle why they shouldn't ever cross us."
Rayon, Cairo, and Severin moved as a trio, the air heavy with their combined presence. They didn't walk; they descended. The Circle's members had been guarding the remaining seals, believing they were untouchable.
Now, three individuals, each augmented with seal-derived powers, arrived. Hollow Strings glinted faintly in Rayon's hands, Vorthalaxis's black scales reflected the streetlights, and both Cairo and Severin emanated faint auras, the echoes of their newly integrated seals pulsing with latent energy.
Rayon's grin widened.
Rayon: "Hello, gentlemen. We've come for a chat."
The Circle didn't answer. Pride and fear tangled across their faces. They thought they were prepared. They weren't.
Rayon's hollow strings shot forward like silver lightning. Every strike precise, every movement flowing seamlessly with his insane reflexes. The strings didn't just bind—they dissected, restrained, and controlled. Nocturnyx had taught him the thrill of combining predatory instinct with precision, and he wielded that lesson like a weapon.
Cairo moved like a shadow, striking with fluid martial grace, enhanced by the Ninth Seal's latent abilities. His strikes were invisible to the eye, each hit augmenting his strength, his speed, and subtly sapping the opponents' energy.
Severin was less flashy but lethal in a surgical way. The Tenth Seal's occupant had granted him the ability to manipulate spatial energy—walls, floors, even air itself could be bent around him to amplify attacks or redirect blows.
Together, the trio wasn't merely strong. They were unstoppable. The Awakeners Circle fought back with all they had, but their attacks were pale against Rayon's full potential state. Every strike they threw, every maneuver they attempted, Rayon adapted instantaneously. Pain only made him stronger. The Insanity within him devoured essence, partially consuming energy and experience from the Circle, granting him temporary skills and insights.
Rayon: "Oh… that was cute. Try harder."
The trio moved as one, Cairo and Severin supporting Rayon, their fused powers complementing his insanity-driven adaptations. No one member of the Circle could focus on more than one of them at a time. The synergy was absolute.
Erethon (briefly, in Rayon's mind): "Remember, the seals you've borne are not just sources of power—they are blueprints. Each integration strengthens your instincts, expands your versatility. Cairo's Ninth Seal enhances his perception and fluidity. Severin's Tenth Seal strengthens his spatial manipulation and battlefield control. But you… you're beyond all that. Each seal you absorb adds layers of chaos, precision, and lethality. That is why no one can touch you fully."
Rayon ignored him, smirking. The Circle had begun to falter. Hollow Strings constricted, binding limbs and twisting attacks back upon their originators. Even the strongest members of the Circle were now simply reactants in Rayon's storm.
Yet, as expected, he didn't kill them. Full potential Rayon respected power when he saw it, and while the Circle had failed to match him, they weren't worth death—yet. They needed to remember him.
Rayon: "Call the rest. Let them see what happens when the world underestimates you."
Cairo chuckled, Severin grinned faintly. The Awakeners Circle understood—they had lost, utterly, and were being humiliated by a force they could barely comprehend.
Rayon's crimson eyes scanned the horizon, calculating, already plotting the next move toward the remaining seals. Full potential Rayon had arrived, and the world would never see him the same way again.
The game was far from over—but for now, the Circle had learned their place