The gates of the Temple slid open with a thunderous groan—stone grinding against stone, like a beast yawning after centuries of slumber.
Light poured out.
Not sunlight. Not firelight.
Something older… purer.
Kairos shielded his eyes as he stepped inside. And the moment he crossed the threshold, the world changed.
The heavy, ash-filled air outside vanished. Inside was serenity.
A great domed hall stretched before him—walls etched with phoenix runes and constellations he couldn't name. Pools of glowing water reflected not the ceiling… but memories.
Yes. Living memories.
He stepped closer to one. In it, he saw a boy—barefoot, smiling, holding a wooden sword. His mother's laughter echoed faintly beside him. Then the scene shimmered, fading into mist.
"Is that… me?"
The moment he spoke, a whisper answered.
"Kairos."
He froze.
A voice soft as silk, yet piercing as steel.
And when he turned—she was there.
A girl stood across the hall, barefoot on ancient marble.
Long silver hair. Crimson eyes. A flowing robe of starlight.
And around her wrists… glowing shackles made of golden script.
Kairos blinked.
"Who… are you?"
She smiled. "You don't remember me. That's okay. You weren't meant to."
She stepped closer, every footstep leaving behind blossoms of fire that quickly faded.
"My name is Ayaka Tenrou. Guardian of the Flame. And your… anchor."
Kairos tensed. "Anchor?"
Ayaka tilted her head, expression unreadable. "When your father sealed your powers, he knew the Void inside you would one day awaken. He needed something—someone—to keep your soul stable when that day came. So he made me."
His heart skipped.
"You're saying… you were created?"
"No." Her voice was firm now. "I was chosen. Born from light. Raised in silence. I've waited here… seventeen years, Kairos. In this temple. In chains of duty. Waiting for the boy who would carry the fire of kings… and the curse of the stars."
Kairos's throat went dry.
All this time… he thought he was alone. Hunted. Abandoned. But here stood someone who had suffered in silence for him.
He stepped forward. "I didn't ask for this…"
Ayaka nodded. "Neither did I."
For a long moment, silence fell. Then Ayaka reached out her hand.
"Let me show you what you truly are."
Kairos hesitated. Then took her hand.
---
Vision Realm: The Inner Flame
The world warped again.
Kairos found himself standing in a sky made of mirrors. Around him, endless versions of himself flickered—some screaming, some laughing, some burning alive.
Ayaka stood beside him, unshaken.
"This is your soul," she said. "Split. Broken. Bound by memory, pain, and Void. But deep inside… there's still a flame."
She pointed.
In the distance, a single figure stood—Kairos as a child, holding a small flame in his hands. But shadows coiled around him, whispering, mocking.
"You're weak."
"You'll burn everything."
"You're just a mistake."
Kairos stared, breathing hard. "That's what I've always felt. Ever since the Guild took me in."
Ayaka looked at him gently. "Because they feared what you carried. They trained you to hate what made you strong. But strength isn't the absence of pain… it's the will to walk through it."
Kairos clenched his fists. "How do I… become whole again?"
Ayaka stepped closer. Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"You don't. You accept the cracks… and let the flame flow through them."
She took his hand. Fire and light surged between them. And then—
The world exploded.
---
Back in the Temple
Kairos gasped, collapsing to his knees.
His body was burning—but it didn't hurt. His arms were etched with new glowing patterns—half phoenix, half void tendrils. And in his chest, something stirred.
Power. Real. Awake. Terrifying.
Ayaka stood beside him, her golden shackles gone.
"I've passed the flame to you. My duty is fulfilled."
Kairos looked up, breathless. "What happens to you now?"
She smiled—bittersweet.
"I'm free. But not from this world. From the waiting."
She reached out and gently brushed his cheek.
"You're not alone anymore, Kairos. But the war ahead will be unlike anything you've faced. You'll need allies. Truth. And… heart."
Before he could speak again, the temple walls shook.
BOOM.
A crack split the air. Dust fell from the ceiling.
Ayaka's smile faded.
"…They found you."
---
Outside the Temple
A figure stood on a cliff above the entrance. Cloaked in shadows. Masked. Holding a weapon pulsing with violet light.
The bounty hunter.
The Guild's tracker.
And his blade… was humming with a name etched in silver:
"Kairos of Akaros — Kill on Sight."