The Kurogami clan was not a household one. It was a name whispered with respect and fear, a family of martial monsters whose legacy stretched back centuries. They were the ones who lived by blood and battle, who carved their history into the continent with fists and flame.
Raizen Kurogami was born into this furnace. From the day he could stand, the world demanded strength of him. His first toy was not a wooden horse but a weighted practice blade. His lullabies were the sound of his father striking the training posts in the courtyard until his knuckles bled.
"Remember this, Raizen," his father told him during one of those endless nights, his towering figure framed in torchlight. "Pride is strength. But pride without caution is suicide. No matter how far you climb, there will always be someone stronger."
Raizen hated those words.
Not because he didn't respect his father—but because he refused to believe them.
From childhood, his growth was terrifying. By six, he shattered the training posts that adults struggled with. By ten, he was throwing men twice his size to the ground. By twelve, his aura was already sharp enough to cut stone. Elders called him a prodigy, the greatest talent in generations.
And everyone reinforced it. Servants bowed lower when he passed. Younger clansmen envied him. In the village nearby, parents pointed to him as an example for their children: That boy will surpass all.
Even within his own family, Raizen believed he was the sun.
His sister, Ayaka, was gifted as well—graceful, disciplined, and frighteningly intelligent. But while she trained in silence, content to master technique after technique, Raizen burned brighter. He won duels, crushed opponents, and declared that he would carry the Kurogami name higher than it had ever reached.
It was intoxicating. Every cheer, every bow, every whispered "chosen one" wrapped around him like destiny itself.
But his father's words always lingered, a shadow that refused to fade: There is always someone stronger.
Raizen swore to erase them. To prove he was the exception.Becuase he believed he was bette.
At The Academy, his arrogance only grew. He dismantled opponents, mocked challengers, and walked through the halls as though they were built for him alone. To him, the academy was not a proving ground—it was a stage. And the other students? They were extras, pawns, stepping stones.
Until today.
Until the boy with the calm blue eyes stood before him.
Renji Kurozawa."The Alpha killer"
The fight was short, brutal, and absolute. Raizen fought like the beast he was raised to be, every strike a killing blow, every flame a roar of dominance. But Renji did not fall. He did not even waver.
And then, with terrifying simplicity, Renji crushed him.
As Raizen's body hit the ground, blood spilling from his lips, consciousness slipping away, the words he had spent his whole life denying clawed their way back into his skull.
There is always someone stronger.
For the first time, Raizen understood what they meant.
And it broke him.