Morning crept over the ruins of Emberfall with a soft, reluctant glow, as if even the sun wasn't sure it wanted to shine on the broken village. The air felt heavy—thick with dust, smoke, and the memory of what had happened the night before. Billionzaruto stood alone on the ridge overlooking the remnants of homes that once echoed with laughter. Now only charred wood and silence remained.
He swallowed hard. A part of him wished the night had been a nightmare—something he could shake off with a splash of cold water. But the faint smell of burnt earth clung to the wind, reminding him that everything was real. Too real.
Raiken approached quietly from behind. Despite his age and scars, he walked with the calm presence of someone who had survived more storms than he cared to admit.
"You didn't sleep," Raiken said gently.
"I couldn't." Billionzaruto kept his eyes forward. "Every time I closed them, I saw… all of this."
Raiken stepped beside him, taking in the view with a long, steady breath. "Guilt is a heavy stone, Billionzaruto. If you're not careful, it will bury you."
"I just want to understand why," Billionzaruto said. His voice cracked, but he didn't try to hide it. "Why the Shadow Tempest wants me. Why they destroyed my home. Why they keep coming."
Raiken's expression hardened—not with anger, but with truth. "Because you are the key to something they fear. And something they want."
The wind shifted, carrying embers across the ground. Billionzaruto watched them skitter like dying fireflies.
"Then tell me what that means."
Raiken placed a hand on his shoulder. "Not yet. Knowledge without strength becomes a curse. You saw what happened last night—you nearly burned yourself from the inside out. If I tell you everything now, the weight of it will crush you."
Billionzaruto clenched his fists. He hated that answer, hated the secrecy, hated the feeling that his life was being shaped by forces he couldn't see. But he also knew Raiken wasn't trying to control him. He was trying to protect him.
"Fine," he muttered. "Then at least teach me how to control all this."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Raiken's mouth. "That, my boy, I can do."
He motioned toward the forest beyond the ridge. Unlike Emberfall, it remained untouched—alive with green leaves, rustling branches, and the faint scent of morning dew. "Your training begins today. But not the way you think."
Billionzaruto raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to make me meditate on a rock again, are you?"
Raiken chuckled. "No. Today is different. Today we train your heart."
"My… heart?"
"Yes. Because lightning obeys the mind, speed obeys the body, and fire…" Raiken paused, eyes sharpening. "Fire obeys the heart. If your heart fractures, so will the flames."
They walked into the forest path. Sunlight dripped through the leaves in warm patches, a soft contrast to the chaos inside Billionzaruto. Birds chirped overhead, unaware of the danger that lurked just beyond the horizon.
After a few minutes, Raiken stopped beside a small creek. The water flowed clear and gentle, whispering over smooth stones. "Sit," he instructed.
Billionzaruto did, crossing his legs.
"Close your eyes," Raiken said. "Feel the world, not as a threat, but as a friend."
Billionzaruto inhaled slowly. At first, all he felt was anger—sharp, restless, pulsing. His heartbeat echoed in his ears like distant thunder.
Raiken's hand pressed lightly against his back. "Let it rise," he murmured. "But do not let it rule."
Billionzaruto focused on the water's sound. It was strange—fragile yet steady. The cool breeze touched his skin, calming the heat simmering beneath it.
But then a memory slipped in. The face of a small girl from Emberfall—the one who had asked him to show her a lightning trick. She hadn't survived the attack.
His breath hitched. His chest tightened. And suddenly—
FWOOM.
Flames burst from his eyes, scorching the grass. Billionzaruto jolted back, gasping.
"I can't do this," he said, voice shaking. "Every time I think I'm calm, something breaks inside me."
Raiken stepped in front of him. "Because you're trying to silence your emotions. You cannot silence a storm, Billionzaruto. You can only learn to guide it."
Billionzaruto looked down, trembling. "Then show me how."
Raiken nodded. "Again."
They repeated the exercise. Again, emotions surged—grief, fear, anger. And again fire flared, though weaker this time. By the tenth attempt, Billionzaruto's face glistened with sweat, but the ground was no longer burning.
"You're improving," Raiken said.
"Feels more like I'm failing slower."
Raiken chuckled. "Progress often looks like failure until it doesn't."
Billionzaruto let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. For the first time since Emberfall fell, he felt the slightest ember of hope.
But that hope shattered an instant later.
A rustling echoed from the trees. Then another. Then footsteps—slow, deliberate.
Raiken's expression sharpened. "Stay behind me."
Billionzaruto's heart leapt. "Shadow Tempest?"
Raiken didn't answer. He didn't have to.
A figure stepped out from the treeline—cloaked in black, mask reflecting the sunlight with a cold gleam. Then another figure appeared. And another. Within seconds, they were surrounded by six masked warriors.
"Billionzaruto," one of them hissed, voice distorted. "The Master of Stormfire. You will come with us."
Billionzaruto's pulse spiked. Flames flickered at the edges of his vision.
Raiken whispered, "Stay calm. Remember the water."
But Billionzaruto wasn't thinking about water. He was thinking about Emberfall. The people lost. The village destroyed.
He stepped forward, lightning crackling up his arms. "You think I'm going anywhere with you?"
The lead warrior tilted his head. "If you resist… we will burn this entire forest."
A spark snapped inside Billionzaruto. Something deep, something ancient.
He raised his chin. "Try it."
And the world exploded.
Lightning blasted from his palms, splitting the ground. Speed energy surged through his muscles, turning the world into streaks of motion. Fire roared from his eyes—hotter, brighter, more focused than ever before.
The warriors lunged.
Raiken leaped beside him, thunder rolling beneath his feet. "Do not lose control!" he shouted.
"I'm trying!" Billionzaruto yelled back.
The clearing became a storm—blue light, orange fire, steel clashing, trees cracking. Billionzaruto ducked under a blade, slid across the dirt, and sent a bolt of lightning into a warrior's chest. Another leapt at him; he sidestepped with blinding speed and slammed a burning kick into their mask.
Raiken blocked two attackers at once, spinning in a spiral of thunder. But there were too many. And they were getting stronger.
One of the warriors managed to grab Billionzaruto's arm.
He felt cold—unnatural cold—crawl up his skin.
A sealing technique.
"No!" Billionzaruto screamed.
His instincts took over. Fire erupted everywhere—wild, chaotic, desperate. The warrior flew back, armor melting.
Raiken shouted again, voice strained, "Billionzaruto! Your heart—control it!"
But Billionzaruto wasn't hearing him anymore.
The fire inside wasn't listening.
Everything blurred. His breaths grew sharp. His vision tinted red.
A voice—dark, whispering, ancient—curled inside his mind:
"Let me out."
Billionzaruto staggered. The flames around him turned pitch-black for a split second before snapping back to orange. The warriors froze, startled.
Raiken's face drained of color. "No… not now…"
"W-what was that?" Billionzaruto gasped.
But there was no time.
A sudden flare of energy sliced through the air—an unfamiliar power. The warriors reacted instantly, retreating into smoke that vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Silence returned to the forest.
Billionzaruto fell to his knees, chest heaving, fire fading into sputtering sparks.
Raiken rushed to him, gripping his shoulders. "Listen to me," he said urgently. "Whatever you heard… whatever tried to awaken… you must resist it. That force inside you is older than your bloodline. And far more dangerous."
Billionzaruto's voice trembled. "Raiken… what's happening to me?"
Raiken hesitated—just long enough to confirm Billionzaruto's fear.
"The real battle," he said softly, "isn't with the Shadow Tempest. It's with the fire inside you."
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