The Red Dragon's voice filled my mind, deep and coiling, curling around my thoughts like molten steel.
"Your future… I waited for this. Out of all the past descendants, you have the most interesting future. I can't wait to take it. When fire bends to the whispering wind, and the twin shadows rise in the sky, a child of two currents shall walk unseen. The scales of light and dark tremble at his steps, yet he knows not the weight he bears. One choice shall fracture or heal the bones of the world, and the hearts of dragons shall answer in kind. The hour hides in plain sight, the path invisible, and only when the storm devours the sun will he see what has always been written."
The words seared into my mind. Every ancestor who had carried fire before me, every life that had faced the dragon's burden, converged here. Their struggles, their victories, their failures—they weren't just history. They were mine, threaded into my bones.
"What… what does it mean?" I whispered, voice trembling.
"You will know true suffering," the dragon replied, and the void pulsed, alive with promise and pain.
I blinked.
The world snapped back.
Sand. The crashing waves of heat radiating off me. Kagetsu, hood shadowing his face, purple shinobi gi clinging to his body, lunging with lethal precision. His sword streaked toward me, fast, clean, deadly.
I didn't move.
The fire erupted.
Not timid. Not flickering. Alive. Molten. Hungry. It coiled through my veins, my chest, my muscles, and even my thoughts. My sword thrummed violently in resonance, vibrating with the power that had waited for this moment.
My hair flared crimson and gold, whipping around my face like living flame. My eyes ignited molten red, molten pools of predatory intent. My gi transformed, living fire twisting and curling around my body.
I lifted my sword.
The crown appeared. Floating above my head, molten, alive, pulsing like living fire. Authority. Dominance. Power. Waves of heat pressed outward, bending the air, warping the sand beneath my feet.
And then it spoke.
"How would you like to die, Kagetsu?"
Not me. Not William. It was it. Confident. Egotistical. Predatory. The words radiated through my mind and out my mouth simultaneously, sharp as a blade.
Kagetsu's lunge was perfect, intended to cleave my neck in one motion.
The sword met the fire. Sparks hissed, sand sprayed, metal twisted violently in his hands. His strike bounced off, repelled by the molten heat, and he staggered back, off balance, flinching. The pressure radiating from me shoved him against the sand like a wave, and he scrambled to regain footing.
Every step I took sent waves of heat rippling through the sand, distorting the air, bending the world around us like molten glass. Every movement of my sword radiated intent and lethal precision.
"You really thought you could stop me?" The voice of the fire spoke again, mocking, confident.
I tilted my head. Grin flashing through the flames. I liked this. The boy I had been, uncertain, hesitant… it was gone. This was fire. This was power. This was being the strongest.
I stumbled backward, my chest tightening, lungs struggling against the pressure. The heat… it wasn't just heat. It was solid, oppressive, a living weight pressing against me. My hair stuck to my face, sweat mingling with ash.
The boy I knew… I couldn't tell it was him.
His hair flared red and gold, whipping around his face. His gi burned like molten armor. His eyes—God—molten red, alive, predatory.
The crown floated above him, molten and pulsing, bending the air, making the sand ripple like water.
Kagetsu lunged again, sword swinging—but it didn't cut. Sparks flew, metal twisted violently in his hands, the heat reflecting it back. He staggered. Flinched. Every instinct screamed retreat, but he couldn't.
And then I realized: the boy I knew was gone.
The flames, the crown, the sword, the molten heat… it all moved as one. Every motion predatory, confident, unstoppable.
I stumbled backward, eyes wide. Heart hammering. Chest tight.
For the first time, I was truly afraid of William.
The bloodlust radiating off him—a devil raised from hell itself. My stomach twisted. My hands shook. Every instinct screamed get back, don't get close.
"The boy I knew… I couldn't tell it was him," I thought, and the words tasted like fear in my mouth.
Kagetsu, struggling, muttered, voice strained under the heat: "Wow… you had a lightshow. Changed your hair color, huh? Still… you're going to die."
But I could see it—his confidence faltering, hesitation creeping into his posture, sword wavering.
I didn't smile. I grinned. Fire licked my gi, molten crown above my head pulsing. Every step radiated lethal intent. Every movement screamed power, dominance, and the hunger to destroy.
This is what it's supposed to feel like.
The boy I knew—quiet, unsure, hesitant—was gone. In his place stood fire, hunger, dominance, and molten intent. And the devil inside it laughed, waiting, hungry, ready.