❖ Outside the Archive – Perimeter Ridge, Nightfall
She was small.
Young.
A messenger, they thought.
She walked barefoot toward the sealed dome, shoulders trembling, arms outstretched.
Guards and pilgrims moved aside.
She held a flame in her palms.
And a whisper on her lips.
"I bear the heat of the second torch... I am unclaimed... let me in... let me in..."
It was a lie.
Red Sigil had implanted the Wrath Core Fragment into her spine the night before. She didn't know what it was. Only that it hurt, and that if she walked far enough, the pain would stop.
The fragment hummed as she approached.
The archive shimmered.
And opened—slightly.
Just enough for the System to respond.
[Proximity Flare Detected – False Wrath Signature. Countermeasure Triggered.]
Inside, Brix stood.
The System whispered:
[Forged Aura Detected. Hostile intent. Sin Disrespect Classification: Grade A.]
"She's lying," Brix said aloud, teeth baring.
"They're mocking."
He walked to the door before anyone else could react.
Didn't ask for permission.
Didn't speak to the Master.
Just stepped through.
❖ Outside – The Archive Steps
She saw him.
And for a moment, the girl's pain stopped.
She smiled.
"I'm sorry," she said.
Then her back arched.
The fragment inside ignited.
Flames exploded from her chest, coiling upward like a summoned beast.
The Red Sigil's real agents—hidden in the crowd—smiled.
"She'll pull him far enough out," one muttered. "He takes the bait, we take the limb."
But Brix didn't retreat.
He stepped forward.
The heat didn't stop him.
The screaming didn't shake him.
And when the flames lashed toward him like living chains—
He caught them.
[Ember Guard Activated – Explosion Nullified]
[Wrath Echo Sync: 92%]
His hands burned through the false flames.
And then he reached her.
Not the flame.
Her.
He grabbed the fragment glowing in her chest—and tore it free.
She collapsed, screaming.
Alive.
But empty.
The fragment pulsed in his palm—still alight, still volatile.
Then Brix turned to the crowd.
"You wanted a wrath?"
He crushed the fragment in his bare hand.
And the explosion leveled the front steps.
Two Red Sigil agents launched forward.
Invisible. Armed. Enchanted blades drawn.
Brix didn't dodge.
The first blade struck his ribs—and stopped.
Metal hissed, liquefying on contact.
Brix's arm bent backward, elbow snapping.
He didn't scream.
He laughed.
The second attacker blinked.
Then her head wasn't there anymore.
Lio stood behind her, blade clean, expression blank.
"Didn't say I wouldn't help," he said.
[System Alert: External Strike Repelled. Warning Issued to Perimeter Factions.]
[Student Loyalty Locked: WRATH + PRIDE – Combat Synergy Recorded.]
Kairon turned over inside the archive, one eye fluttering open.
He blinked once.
"...is it noisy again?"
The flames receded.
The dome resealed.
And in the square, silence returned—
except for the trail of melted stone, two burned corpses, and one girl sobbing into the ashes of her own breath.