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They walked for nearly an hour before the forest finally thinned. The farther they went, the more the trees transformed—green leaves becoming brown, then gray, until eventually everything looked burned, as if fire had passed through long before they arrived. Not fresh fire… old fire. Fire that lingered in the land like a bitter memory.
Billionzaruto wiped sweat from his forehead as he stepped over a dead root, charred black.
"This place looks like it's been cursed."
"It was," Kaigos replied. "Not by magic—by conflict. This is where the Storm Lineage made their last stand before the Tempest War ended."
Billionzaruto slowed, glancing around with new eyes.
"What happened to everyone?"
Kaigos didn't answer immediately. He approached a stone half-buried in ash. It looked like part of a broken monument—engraved with symbols that time had half-erased.
"They were outnumbered," Kaigos said finally. "Too many Rift Beasts. Too many storms tearing the sky open. When the barrier collapsed, the Lineage made their final stand here. Only a handful survived. And the few who did… they scattered."
Billionzaruto felt a coldness settle in his chest.
"So this is my history."
Kaigos nodded. "This is where your path begins… and where theirs ended."
Billionzaruto stepped farther into the clearing. The air here felt heavier, as if the land was holding its breath. The sky above was wide open, no canopy to block it. The sun looked pale, filtered through faint gray mist.
Kaigos stopped a few feet behind him. "This is where we train."
Billionzaruto turned. "Train to do what exactly?"
Kaigos planted his staff into the ash-covered ground. A faint metallic ring echoed, strangely loud in the vacant air.
"To control what you have. To survive what's coming. And to ensure you do not destroy yourself before the Rift does."
Billionzaruto scoffed. "You can just say it normally. I can take it."
"Good. Then listen." Kaigos lifted a hand, and thin lines of golden energy formed a circle around them. "Your powers are awakening faster than your body can keep up with. You need balance. You need control."
"And you're going to teach me?" Billionzaruto asked.
Kaigos raised an eyebrow. "Do you know anyone else who can?"
Fair point.
Billionzaruto cracked his knuckles and stretched his shoulders. "Alright then. What do I do first?"
Kaigos made a small sweeping motion with his hand. "Start by lighting your eyes."
Billionzaruto blinked. "That sounds… dangerous."
"It is."
"Of course it is," Billionzaruto muttered.
He took a breath and focused. Slow in. Slow out. The world dimmed around him—not literally, but internally, like he was shrinking everything else away to find a single spark.
And then—
Heat flickered behind his pupils.
His vision sharpened. Colors deepened. He felt his heartbeat rise, felt the pressure building inside him. A faint glow pulsed in his eyes, struggling to stay stable.
Kaigos stepped closer. "Good. But keep it steady. Don't let the fire jump."
Billionzaruto gritted his teeth. "It feels like it wants to shoot out."
"It will if you let it. Control doesn't mean suppression. It means direction."
The glow flickered violently—and then burst outward in a small flame.
Billionzaruto yelped and slapped his hand over his face.
"Ow! Damn it—"
Kaigos didn't flinch. "That is exactly why we're training."
Billionzaruto paced in frustration. "It's like trying to hold fire with wet paper."
"It's not supposed to be easy," Kaigos said. "Your eyes contain power most warriors can't channel even with their entire bodies."
Billionzaruto inhaled again and tried once more.
This time, he brought the flame forward slowly—like coaxing a stubborn ember instead of forcing it.
It flickered.
Wavered.
But held.
The air around him warmed, rippling faintly.
"Better," Kaigos said, nodding. "Now walk."
"Walk?"
"Yes. You must maintain control while moving."
Billionzaruto took a step.
The flame surged.
Another step.
His vision blurred.
Third step—
His eyes shot a blast of fire directly into the ground, creating a glowing crater.
He stumbled backward, coughing. "Okay—walking is death."
Kaigos sighed. "Again."
They tried for what felt like hours.
Step.
Flare.
Explosion.
Step.
Dim.
Fizzle.
Step.
Controlled.
Then—BOOM—another blast.
Each failure left Billionzaruto more frustrated. Sweat soaked his shirt; dirt smeared across his arms. He felt like he was fighting himself more than the ability.
Eventually he collapsed onto the ash-covered ground with a groan.
"I can't do this. You're asking me to balance a tornado on a toothpick."
Kaigos sat next to him, surprisingly patient.
"You think this is the hardest part?"
"That wasn't encouraging."
Kaigos continued, "Your father struggled with fire. Your mother struggled with lightning. But you… you inherited both, and something new besides. You're not supposed to master this in one day."
Billionzaruto looked down at his hands.
The faintest spark danced between his fingers—weak, flickering, but still alive.
"So what now?" he asked.
Kaigos tapped the ground once with his staff.
"Now we work on lightning."
Billionzaruto groaned louder. "Why do I feel like that's going to be worse?"
Kaigos gave him a rare smirk. "Because it is."
Before Billionzaruto could protest, Kaigos raised his palm.
Golden energy swirled in a circular pattern.
"Stand," the Sentinel instructed.
Billionzaruto forced himself up. His legs trembled, but he steadied them.
Kaigos drew a symbol in the air—an ancient rune—and struck it with his staff. The symbol burst into sparks and hovered above the ground.
"This rune will pull lightning out of you," Kaigos explained. "Not violently, but steadily. Your task is simple: don't let it take more than you allow."
"That doesn't sound simple."
"It's not."
The rune pulsed once.
Billionzaruto felt something inside him tug—like a hand gripping a thread deep in his chest. His breath hitched as sparks crawled up his arms without permission.
Kaigos watched carefully. "Control it. Don't let the rune decide how much power leaves your body."
Billionzaruto shut his eyes and tried to hold the lightning back. It crackled against his skin like a creature trying to break free. The rune pulsed again, harder.
Sparks shot from his elbows.
His fingers twitched.
His heartbeat raced.
"Focus," Kaigos urged. "You're letting fear in."
"I'm not afraid—!" Billionzaruto snapped, though the tremble in his voice betrayed him.
"You are," Kaigos said calmly. "Because you have never had to control yourself before. You only ever fought. And fighting is easier than discipline."
The rune pulsed a third time.
Billionzaruto's eyes widened as a surge of lightning tore out of him, hitting the rune so violently it cracked.
He doubled over, clutching his stomach.
The energy drain left him dizzy and nauseous.
Kaigos quickly struck the rune with his staff, shattering it before it could take more.
Billionzaruto sank to his knees, breath ragged. "That felt like someone ripped my soul out."
"That's because lightning is tied to your spirit," Kaigos said. "Your emotions, your focus, your will. Fire is raw power. Lightning is you."
Billionzaruto stared at him, sweat dripping down his jaw.
"Then how am I supposed to control it?"
Kaigos lowered his staff and crouched to meet his eyes. "By knowing yourself. Truly. Deeply. Lightning reveals the heart—whether the heart is steady or storming."
Billionzaruto swallowed hard.
He didn't like how true that sounded.
Before he could answer, a sudden new tremor ran through the ashlands—small, almost gentle, but unmistakable.
Kaigos's head snapped up.
Billionzaruto sensed it too.
Not a Rift Beast.
Not a storm.
Something else.
Something moving under the ground.
Kaigos stood fast. "We're not alone."
Billionzaruto forced himself upright, adrenaline cutting through his exhaustion.
"Another Beast?" he asked.
Kaigos didn't answer.
Because the ground cracked behind them.
A sharp, burning line split the earth apart—glowing with the same sickly yellow energy they'd seen inside the Rift Beast's chest.
But this time…
It wasn't a creature emerging.
It was a message.
A sigil burned into the earth, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Billionzaruto's eyes widened. "What is that?"
Kaigos's face drained of color, something he rarely allowed.
"That," he said quietly, "is a warning."
Billionzaruto took a step closer—but Kaigos grabbed his arm sharply.
"Don't," he snapped. "That mark… is not meant for your touch. It is meant for your fear."
Billionzaruto swallowed.
His pulse quickened.
The sigil pulsed again, brighter, louder.
"What does it say?" he whispered.
Kaigos's voice was grim.
"It says: The Rift knows your name."
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