The storm hadn't stopped since last night.
Lightning crackled across the sky like scars, and the forest just outside Aozora Temple whispered like it held secrets too old to speak.
Sagaru stood beneath the rain, soaked to the bone, his chest still glowing faintly where the Kriteem seal had cracked open. His heartbeat now echoed not just in his body, but in the earth itself.
He wasn't alone anymore.
Something… or someone… was watching.
🌫️ The Encounter
He heard a voice.
Soft. Calm. Almost like a lullaby.
> 「サガル,やっと会えた.」
("Sagaru, we finally meet.")
He spun around, hand on his blade, aura flaring.
A girl stood in the clearing — untouched by the rain, hair fluttering as if the wind bowed before her.
Her eyes were a strange color — one crimson, one icy blue. And across her neck ran a faint scar glowing faintly like an ancient rune.
Sagaru narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she walked forward and placed something on the wet stone between them:
A folded piece of old parchment — the same one from his nightmare.
> "This belonged to your mother," she whispered.
🥀 The Letter from the Dead
Sagaru's hands trembled as he unfolded it.
His eyes widened.
It was written in a dialect only a few remaining soulbinders could read — the tongue of the First Magic Era.
She gently touched the edge of the letter. "Don't worry. I'll translate."
Then she read aloud:
> "To my son, Sagaru. If this letter finds you, it means the seal has begun to shatter.
You were not born like others. You are a bridge — between what was and what must never be again.
Forgive us for hiding the truth. Forgive us for binding your powers.
And forgive us most… for making you face Lambu alone."
He froze. "My mother… knew Lambu?"
The girl nodded, a tear slipping from her crimson eye.
> "Your mother and Lambu were once comrades.
He wasn't always the Veinborn Warden…
He was the Guardian of Light — your godfather."
🌌 Lambu's Tragedy: Revealed
Far away, in the Veinborn Fortress, Lambu sat quietly in front of a black crystal.
Through it, he saw the girl.
He whispered:
「レン…まだ私の名前を覚えているか.」
("Ren… you still remember my name, don't you?")
He clenched his fists as memories flooded in.
There was a time when he fought to protect the realm. When he swore to Sagaru's mother — to protect the child born under the comet's shadow.
But that world betrayed him.
They feared him.
They used him.
And in the end… they killed her.
🌸 Back in the Forest
Sagaru was speechless.
"Why… why didn't anyone tell me? Why did he fall?"
The girl, Ren, sat beside him on the rock.
> "Because truth is heavier than any sword.
And Lambu's pain is deeper than any wound.
He was cursed not by a demon… but by the gods who feared his purity."
Sagaru's voice trembled: "Then why is he trying to destroy the world?"
Ren finally looked up, her face darkening.
"Because the gods made a mistake. They left one divine artifact alive — you."
💀 Ambush of the First Curse
Suddenly, the wind stopped.
The trees bent unnaturally. The rain fell upward.
Ren jumped to her feet. "He sent one already. Sagaru, behind—!"
A giant creature burst from the shadows — its body made of rotting roots and burnt bones. A Cursed Beast, summoned from the Veinborn World.
It roared:
「器は死ななければならない!」
("The Vessel must die!")
Sagaru's eyes turned gold.
He threw off his cloak, revealing the full seal across his chest — no longer bleeding, but burning.
> "I don't care if I'm a mistake.
I don't care if I was born to end things."
He summoned his weapon — not a sword, but a glowing staff, ancient and alive.
> "I'll rewrite my fate — one cursed soul at a time."
The battle began.
⚔️ Battle of Will
The beast charged, its roar shaking the trees. Sagaru leapt over it, spinning the staff like a comet's tail, striking its jaw with a burst of golden flame.
Ren moved like a phantom, blades of ice forming in her hands as she sliced through the beast's limbs.
But it reformed — stronger, faster.
Then came a second whisper — not from the beast, but from the sky.
Lambu's voice.
> "Let him bleed, Ren. Let him feel the weight of the world he was born to protect."
Sagaru's knees buckled. His head throbbed.
A hidden curse was activated — planted in his blood years ago.
Ren screamed, "No! He's not ready!"
🩸 The Awakening Begins
Just as the beast raised its final strike, Sagaru's body erupted in golden-blue light.
Wings formed — not of feathers, but of burning runes. The mark on his chest opened, revealing an ancient eye beneath his skin.
He screamed — a cry that shattered the clouds.
In one strike, he erased the beast from existence.
But as the smoke cleared… he collapsed.
🌓 Final Lines
Ren knelt beside him, tears in her mismatched eyes.
"You're changing... faster than we feared."
She turned toward the heavens, where Lambu's presence still lingered.
> "He's waking up, Lambu. And when he rises… even your pain won't save you."
Far away, Lambu smiled — the first real smile in years.
> "Good. I want him to rise.
Only a true storm can test a true god."