The world holds its breath as the night burns.
Out in the wastelands beyond Sector 9, the air fractures — a ripple of black-gold energy surging outward like a heartbeat. The ruins shudder. Fire twists into shadow, and shadow into form.
From the ashes steps a figure — tall, radiant in darkness, eyes burning crimson beneath a crown of black flame. His presence warps the air, pulling light inward until it bleeds into him.
He is Noctis Ignis, the Flame of Night.Born not from evil, but from truth — from every regret, every failure, every suppressed scream that Ronak buried to stay pure.
"You sought to save them," he whispers, voice echoing in two tones — one human, one void."I'll make them strong enough to never need saving."
The shadow flame consumes his surroundings. Machines buried for decades awaken, their circuitry fusing with molten ember. Old Helios Enforcers rise again — now twisted, reborn with black energy veins crawling through their armor.
The city's underbelly answers his call: forgotten soldiers, discarded test subjects, vigilantes who once believed in Ignis but were abandoned when the light faded.
Under his gaze, they kneel.
He does not promise salvation — he promises perfection.The birth of The Eclipse Syndicate.
Their emblem: a broken sun devoured by a crescent of flame.Their creed: "Light is mercy. Mercy breeds weakness. Weakness must burn."
Meanwhile, in the old Hero Academy ruins, the young team watches in silence.Ronak kneels, trembling — a man witnessing his reflection walk free. The golden fire within him flickers uncertain, the once-pure blaze now shadowed with fear.
Blitz's hands spark with nervous electricity.Nira's telekinetic field trembles.Echo whispers, voice low and uncertain:
"He's you…"
Ronak rises slowly, his expression calm but haunted.
"No. He's who I was."
He turns toward the city — now darkened by clouds of burning black vapor rising from Sector 9. The skyline glows faintly red, as if the night itself has caught fire.
"He remembers everything I've tried to forget.Every death. Every failure. Every sin I buried in the flame."
The young heroes exchange glances. Even in their fear, they can see it — the weight of a god reborn, fighting to stay human.
Ignis looks to the horizon, fists igniting once more — not gold, not white, but something new: a tempered, silver flame.Balanced. Focused. Human.
"If he's the shadow of what I was," Ronak says softly,"then I'll remind him what I became."
Above them, the sky splits — one half glowing gold, the other black as pitch.The war between light and shadow has escaped the soul.Now, it walks the streets of Future Pride.