Part 1: The Iron Wall of Fallen Eclipse
The group led by Kaori found themselves cornered in a vast wasteland, just a few hundred yards from the decaying factory. Standing in their path like immovable monoliths were Zero and Ren.
Zero slammed his massive fists together, sending a visible shockwave through the air. "No one passes. Especially not that brat with the Phoenix eyes."
"Move!" Kaori hissed, unsheathing her short blade. "Get out of the way, or I'll carve a path through you myself."
Kaito stepped forward, snapping his war fan open. "Kaori-san... wait. This titan won't fall to ordinary blade strokes. Mei and I will handle this."
Ren chuckled, twirling poisoned daggers between her fingers. "Interesting... You think people without Eye Powers can actually stand against us?"
As the confrontation outside reached a breaking point, Takuto was already deep within the cavernous, sunless belly of the old factory. The room was a graveyard of bizarre stone statues. Baltos sat leisurely upon a stone throne, a twisted smile playing on his lips.
"Look at them, Takuto," Baltos said, gesturing to the statues. "They were once students at your academy. Now, they are my masterpieces." He reached out, gently stroking the cheek of a stone figure. "Human beauty is fleeting—ruined by age, pain, and decay. But under my Stone Eye, they become eternal. No aging, no ruin. That is true art."
"You're insane, Baltos!" Takuto's voice trembled with white-hot rage. "You treat human lives like clay for your sick fantasies!"
"Soon... you will join them," Baltos purred. "Imagine your Phoenix eyes, frozen in glowing crimson within a cage of stone. A true magnum opus."
Takuto began to circulate his Stella Flow. He didn't rush; he built the pressure layer by layer. His irises bled into a fiery red.
[Step 1: Phoenix Gaze – Activated]
The heat radiating from him blew the dust away in a circular wave. "I'll grind your 'art' into dust with my flames," Takuto growled. "I won't stop until you tell me where Aoi is!"
Baltos stood slowly, removing his glasses to reveal eyes that were turning a deathly, stony gray.
Suddenly, an object crashed through the ceiling. It was Hana. She landed gracefully but her face was pale with dread. Above them, Shina looked down from a rusted catwalk with a mocking smirk.
"Hidden in the shadows for so long, Hana-chan," Shina called out. "Time to tell your big brother the truth."
"Hana? How did you get here?" Takuto gasped. "And Shina... what are you talking about?"
"Takuto-kun," Shina laughed. "Your 'sweet' little sister is no ordinary girl. She's the owner of the Wolf Eye who nearly killed me at the harbor. She's the beast that's been protecting you from the dark."
Hana stood with her head bowed, her body shaking. This was her greatest fear—that Takuto would look at her with horror. "I'm sorry, Onii-chan... I just wanted you to live a normal life. I didn't want you to see the monster I've become."
Takuto was silent for a heartbeat. Then, he walked over and placed a hand gently on her head. "I'm the one who should apologize, Hana. I kept secrets to keep you safe, too. But we're in the same boat now. Forget the past—we have to save Aoi."
Hana's eyes welled with tears, but they were quickly replaced by a fierce resolve. She stood tall, unleashing her power.
"Yes, Onii-chan! I'll fight by your side!"
Hana's eyes transformed into a brilliant, predatory yellow. Sharp claws extended from her fingertips. Beside her, Takuto's Phoenix Eye burned even brighter. Their combined Stella Flows resonated, shaking the entire factory. For the first time, a flicker of genuine concern crossed Baltos's face.
Part 2: The Iron Giant vs. The Gale and Steel
Outside, the clearing had become a war zone. Zero smashed his fists into the earth, sending boulders flying like shrapnel. "Die, you little gnats!"
Kaito waved his fan with elegant precision. "Gale Wall!" A localized hurricane rose, redirecting the debris. Simultaneously, Mei vaulted into the air, using her spear as a lever.
"I don't care how tough your skin is," Mei shouted. "Steel Pierce!" Her spear glowed with a silver hue as she dove like a missile. Zero blocked with his forearm, but the steel-enhanced tip bit deep into his hide, drawing the first drop of blood.
Meanwhile, Ren was a blur of poisoned needles, but Kaori was faster. She moved like a bolt of crimson lightning, her "Red Lightning Speed" allowing her to dance between the blades.
"Too slow, Ren!" Kaori reappeared behind her, slashing downward. Ren flipped backward to evade, but she landed right in front of a shimmering violet rift.
"Purple Eye: Void Portal!" Ayano shouted. Kaori's blade, which had entered a portal elsewhere, exited right next to Ren, slicing into her shoulder.
"You brats..." Ren hissed, clutching her wound. "Now I'm actually angry."
Ren and Zero shared a grim look. They both pulled out vials of a pitch-black liquid: The Shadow Core Serum.
As they drank it, the atmosphere curdled. Zero's bones began to crack and reshape. His muscles swelled to three times their original size, and his skin turned into a polished, obsidian-colored Cast Iron. Mei's steel vines snapped like wet paper against his expanding frame.
"Try it now," Zero growled, his voice like grinding metal. "Your spears won't even feel like ant bites." He stepped down, and the earth shattered in a ten-foot radius.
Ren's transformation was even more horrific. Bony spikes erupted from her spine, and her fingers lengthened into organic scythes. Her face distorted into a Chimera—a predatory monster with bared fangs.
She moved five times faster than before—a flickering shadow that even Kaori's eyes couldn't track. "I'll peel the skin from your bones... layer by layer," Ren whispered into Kaori's ear. Before Kaori could react, a clawed hand tore through her side, sending her flying.
The tide had turned. Kaito's wind could not budge Zero's iron mass, and Ayano's portals were too slow for Ren's monstrous speed.
"Mei! Watch out!" Kaito screamed, but it was too late. Zero's massive iron fist shattered Mei's spear and slammed her into the dirt with bone-crushing force.
The Crimson Aegis was broken. The battle had shifted from a fight for justice into a desperate struggle for survival.
Part 3: The Void in the Shadows
Deep in the sunless bowels of the factory, the air was so heavy with pressure that breathing felt like inhaling lead. Aoi hung suspended, bound by shimmering violet chains of concentrated gravity.
In front of her, Kage sat cloaked in darkness, his cold gaze piercing through the gloom.
"Why are you doing this?" Aoi gasped, struggling against her bonds. "Is it for our Eye Powers? If you want mine, just kill me and take it! Why lure Takuto into this trap?"
Kage's low, guttural laughter vibrated through the basement walls. He stood slowly, looming over her. "You think I'm just some common thief collecting eyes? I don't want your sight, little girl. What I want is the 'Darkness' sleeping inside Takuto."
"What... what are you talking about?"
"The Phoenix Eye isn't just a beacon of light," Kage whispered. "It is a catastrophic hellfire. On the day his heart is consumed by agony, rage, and shadows, that flame will truly wake. On that day, he won't be a hero. He will be the greatest 'Monster' our side has ever seen."
Kage swept his hand through the air, manifesting a dark mist that showed visions of the battle above—Takuto and Hana fighting for their lives.
"The more he sees his friends suffer and die, the faster that darkness grows," Kage continued. "I won't kill him. I will break him until he is shaped into our true leader. And you, Aoi... you are the perfect trigger for that transformation."
Horror filled Aoi's eyes. Kage didn't want Takuto's life; he wanted his soul.
"Do you know the legend, Aoi?" Kage's voice turned melodic. "Three hundred years ago, there was Lord Cosmos, the first owner of the Original Phoenix Eye. He was a champion of light. He mastered the four stages: Step 1: Phoenix Gaze, Step 2: Phoenix Ember, Step 3: Aura Flare, and finally, the god-like Step 4: Phoenix Nova."
Kage projected an image of an ancient, radiant warrior.
"But one of his successors sought that same godhood. He was pure of heart until the person he loved most was slaughtered by his enemies. In that moment, his desire for peace was devoured by a thirst for revenge. His crimson flames turned pitch black. Instead of protecting humanity, he became a demon that bathed the world in blood. History is about to repeat itself through Takuto."
"You want... to turn him into a Black Phoenix?" Aoi's voice trembled.
Kage smiled wickedly. "Exactly. When everyone around him is gone, his Step 4 will open not for the light, but for the abyss. He will be our ultimate weapon."
The Breaking of the Stone
Back in the main hall, Baltos waved his hand, sending pulses of grey light from his Stone Eye into the surrounding statues. The frozen figures groaned, their lifeless eyes flickering with a dull light as they shambled toward Takuto.
"Look, Takuto... your classmates," Baltos mocked. "They've missed you. Go on, children, greet your friend!"
Takuto recoiled in horror. "Stop! Don't do this! Don't you recognize me? It's Takuto!" He couldn't bring himself to raise his fists against the faces of people he used to laugh with in the classroom.
As a statue swung a heavy stone axe at him, Hana blurred into motion, her claws shredding the stone limb to dust.
"Onii-chan! Wake up!" Hana shouted. "They aren't human anymore! Their souls are trapped in these husks—they are just Baltos's puppets. Destroying them is the only way to set them free!"
Hana moved like a predatory wolf, a whirlwind of yellow light and silver claws, pulverizing the statues. Her words finally reached Takuto. His gaze hardened.
"You're right, Hana... I have to pull them out of this hell."
Takuto took a deep breath, pushing his Stella Flow to its absolute limit. His Phoenix Gaze intensified, and crimson energy began to swirl around his bare fists. He dove into the fray. With every strike, his fists emitted such intense heat that the stone statues didn't just break—they melted and exploded on impact.
"Baltos! Your sick game ends here!" Takuto roared.
As the last of the statues crumbled into dust, Baltos stood from his throne, a cruel glint in his eyes. "This sibling bond of yours... it's truly irritating."
In a flash, Baltos pulled a jagged stone needle from his coat and hurled it—not at Takuto, but at the defenseless Hana.
"Hana! Look out!" Takuto lunged in front of her, shielding her with his body.
The momentum left him off-balance, and for one fatal second, his eyes met the full glare of Baltos's Stone Eye. Time seemed to freeze. A grey, deathly aura surged from Takuto's feet, racing up his body.
"NO! ONII-CHAN!" Hana's scream shook the factory, but it was too late.
In seconds, Takuto was encased in cold, hard stone. A lifeless statue. The light of the Phoenix vanished. Hana fell to her knees before the statue of her brother, sobbing his name in despair.
But then, the impossible happened.
Faint red cracks appeared on the stone face where the eyes should be. The ground began to quake. A heat so intense it turned the air into a shimmering haze erupted from the statue.
CRACK!
The stone shell shattered into a million fragments as a pillar of fire erupted toward the ceiling. From the embers, Takuto emerged with a terrifying new presence.
[Step 3: Aura Flare – Awakened]
His eyes were no longer just red; they were a deep, piercing Pure Crimson. Faint, glowing red markings—like tribal tattoos—trailed from beneath his eyes down to his jawline. His hair flickered with actual embers, and his Stella Flow surged around him like a living cloak of fire.
Takuto looked at Baltos, his voice vibrating with power. "For turning my friends and innocent people into your 'art'... I will never, ever forgive you."
Watching from the rafters, Shina trembled, her heart racing like a machine gun. She stroked her own cheek with feverish obsession.
"Oh... Takuto-kun..." she whispered, a delirious Yandere smile spreading across her face. "You're so strong. I want to be consumed by that aura. Now... I want you for myself even more."
[END OF CHAPTER 32]
[END OF ARC 3: THE MISSING SISTER'S GATE]