The match was over before it had begun.
Not due to victory or defeat—but absence.
Juliet Carl had vanished in the middle of the tournament bracket, leaving nothing but her velvet cloak and a storm of rumors in her wake. The entire stadium buzzed with questions, while social feeds exploded with footage of the fight and Juliet's seductive tactics.
But in the marble-walled chamber of Mishima Co- operation silence ruled.
Shin Mishima, an aged yet regal man clad in deep violet robes, stood before a long window overlooking the drenched arena. He tapped his cane—polished ebony with an inlaid obsidian core—twice on the floor. His gray eyes reflected nothing.
> "And so... she escapes again. Like a wisp of smoke."
Behind him stood Aoyama, a grim-faced man with cybernetic implants trailing up his neck. He bowed.
> "Security feeds were wiped. Juliet's trail ends in the east rooftop corridor. No sign of teleportation tech, but… someone cloaked her escape."
Mishima turned slowly.
> "Carl. Elites. They play their own games—but this is MY board. Juliet touched the wrong piece."
He raised his hand. A hologram flickered to life above the table: Genji Takashima's profile. Age. Combat record. Bloodline markers. But a red warning pulsed at the top:
"Phoenix Anomaly – Subject Unstable – Maoshinara Heir Confirmed"
Mishima studied it with narrowed eyes.
> "We let a wildfire grow unchecked. That ends now."
He turned to Aoyama.
> "Initiate Code: WARDEN. Suspend all Phoenix-division combatants from active matches. Especially Genji. The public will believe it's due to 'Juliet's misconduct.' Behind the scenes…"
He stepped closer to the flickering profile, fingers brushing across the hologram.
> "…We begin extraction."
---
G.O.D Dormitory – Genji's Room – 11:37 AM
Genji stood in front of the mirror, shirtless, hair still wet from the rain. His Phoenix pendant pulsed faintly against his chest—each flicker synced with his heartbeat.
He stared at himself.
Not out of vanity. But out of fear.
> "You almost burned her."
The memory of his palm—engulfed in flame, ready to lash out at Juliet—haunted him. If he hadn't hesitated…
She would've been ashes.
> What's wrong with me? he thought.
Just then, a knock.
> "Genji? It's me. Nari."
He blinked. "Nari…?"
The door opened, and in stepped a woman with long charcoal hair tied in a braided crown. She wore a researcher's coat over a tactical bodysuit—emblazoned with the Mishima insignia—but her aura was unlike any teacher or combatant Genji had ever met.
Cold. Knowing. Watching.
> "I'm not just a school researcher," she said before he could ask. "I'm your mother's sister. Naomi Takashima 's blood. That makes me your aunt."
Genji's eyes widened.
> "What the hell…? You've been here this whole time?"
> "Hidden. Waiting. Watching."
She closed the door behind her, locking it.
> "There's no time to explain everything. They've moved the board, Genji. Shin Mishima plans to isolate you. No more matches. No more training. They fear you."
He stepped back. "Why would they fear me?"
She stepped forward.
> "Because of what sleeps inside you."
Nari pulled a scroll from her coat and tossed it onto the desk. It unfurled with a ripple of ancient symbols.
A dragon. Crimson-scaled. Eyes like suns. Wings eclipsing a ruined mountain range.
> "This is Vilerasa. The Dragon God. The spirit sealed within the Maoshinara bloodline. The very reason your mother refused the crown."
Genji stared. "That thing is… inside me?"
> "Dormant," Nari nodded. "But Juliet… she felt it. That's why she provoked you. Touched you. Got close. She was testing the seal."
He clenched his fists. "So I'm some… bomb?"
> "No," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You are the only one who can awaken Vilerasa without destruction. The Choosen Flame."
His mind spun. "Juliet… she said she wanted to burn with me."
> "And she might. But Mishima wants to control you. They'll carve you open if they must."
Suddenly—
> BOOM!
An explosion rocked the dormitory.
The lights flickered.
> "Too late," Nari whispered. "They've begun."
Underground Detention Complex – Same Time
Aoyama descended the iron stairs, flanked by armored security. The lower halls of Mishima were off-limits to students—places used only for the most dangerous anomalies.
They passed containment cells: Failed experiments. Cursed spirits. Cryo-stored mutants.
> "Room 07A," Aoyama said. "Prep it for Takashima."
The guards saluted. Inside the cell, mechanisms hummed—an extraction altar built of spiritsteel, designed to sever soul from body.
Aoyama tapped his comms.
> "Begin phase two. Locate the target."
---
Genji and Nari sprinted between trees, explosions and drones echoing behind them. Nari moved like a ghost—knocking away spirit-sensors and scattering mist bombs to blur their trail.
> "There's an old Maoshinara shrine at the forest's edge," she called. "The dragon seal reacts strongest there."
> "And what then?" Genji asked. "You awaken it and I explode?"
> "We don't awaken him," she replied. "We make him choose you."
They reached the clearing.
Stone pillars rose like fingers of forgotten gods. The air thickened.
In the center: a stone tablet glowing with crimson script. The ancient words of Vilerasa.
Nari motioned. "Place your hand on it."
Genji hesitated.
Then—he did.
> WOOOOOOOM—
The sky cracked.
Fire roared.
Memories not his own flooded his mind. A war of gods. A dragon bleeding into oceans. A woman—his mother—standing atop a mountain with Vilerasa behind her, refusing its power.
> "Your blood sings," Vilerasa's voice thundered in his head. "You carry the flame... but will you carry the burden?"
Genji gritted his teeth.
> "I don't want to be a god."
> "Then burn like one."
Flames erupted from his body—red, gold, and violent. His eyes flashed green, then crimson.
He screamed.
Then—collapsed.
Nari caught him.
> "You passed the first test," she whispered. "He stirred. That's enough for now."
But from behind them—
> CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.
Shin Mishima stepped from the shadows, surrounded by guards and elite students.
> "How touching," he said. "The heir awakens. But in the wrong hands."
He raised his cane.
> "Seize them."
---
Flames blazed. The forest lit up like dawn.
Genji stood.
Eyes burning.
Not with rage—
But purpose.
> "Touch her," he said to Mishima, voice barely human, "and I'll make them pay ."
Behind him, wings of red flame stretched outward—half-formed. Flickering.
> "Vilerasa…" Nari whispered, stepping back. "He's choosing."
And from within Genji—
A voice chuckled.
> "Let them come."
---
TO BE CONTINUED…