**Chapter 3: Ashfire**
The air was thick with heat and dust.
The collapsed subway tunnel burned with the remnants of Aiki's unleashed power — molten streaks of gold etched across the floor like scars.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Then Seno stepped forward, his boots crunching over the crystallized ash. His cloak was half-burned away, his chest marked with glowing cracks that pulsed faint red. His voice was calm, but his eyes — those crimson eyes — burned with fury.
"You finally let it breathe," he said. "The Spirit Edge… and it still sings for me."
Aiki tightened his grip on the sword. The weapon was vibrating faintly, almost purring in his hands — as though it *enjoyed* this. "You talk too much."
In an instant, Seno was in front of him. Aiki barely blocked the strike. The impact split the air — sparks and shards of energy erupting like lightning.
They moved faster than the eye could follow.
Every swing of Seno's hand distorted space, every clash of Aiki's blade sent shockwaves through the debris. The tunnel walls shattered, the light flickering like a dying heart.
Seno's grin widened as he parried another strike. "You don't understand, Aiki. The more you use that sword, the less it belongs to you."
Aiki countered — the Spirit Edge flaring gold as it cleaved through Seno's defense. The cut sent him crashing through a wall. For a moment, victory seemed close.
But then the ash around Seno began to swirl.
It flowed toward him — hundreds of black tendrils slithering into his wounds, knitting his body back together. His shadow rose behind him, taking the shape of something monstrous — a creature made of writhing smoke and bone.
Enji's voice echoed from above. "Aiki, he's feeding on the Rift! Pull back!"
Aiki didn't move. His pulse was hammering, the Spirit Edge whispering louder now — a thousand overlapping voices, hungry and warm.
*"End him. He's not human anymore."*
Aiki's vision blurred. The sword's aura crept up his arm like fire, burning his skin. Golden veins began to pulse under his flesh.
Seno noticed — and smiled. "It's already choosing, Aiki. You're not the wielder. You're the vessel."
Rage surged through Aiki's chest. "Then I'll be the vessel that kills you."
He dashed forward — and everything exploded.
Ash and gold light collided midair, shaking the entire tunnel. Cracks split across the ground, swallowing chunks of stone. Sakura's barrier trembled, fracturing under the sheer force of it.
When the light faded, Aiki was on one knee, panting, the Spirit Edge buried halfway in the ground. The sword's glow flickered violently.
Seno stood across from him, half of his face masked in black ash, smiling with something between pity and delight.
"You think you can control it. But every time you draw that blade, you're one step closer to becoming what I am."
Aiki forced himself to his feet. "Then I'll drag both of us down before that happens."
Seno's smirk faltered. The Spirit Edge flared again, brighter — a storm of gold spirals and ash swirling around them both.
Outside, the barrier shattered. Sakura and Enji stumbled back, shielding their faces.
Sen watched from a distance, gripping his chain blades, muttering, "They're going to tear the whole city apart."
Back inside the rift's heart, Aiki and Seno charged again.
Their voices were drowned out by the storm, by the sound of two worlds colliding — and somewhere deep inside the sword, something ancient began to wake.