Flame and Memory
The ruins outside Mumbai had grown silent. Where once firestorms raged, now only broken walls and blackened trees remained.
In the heart of the courtyard stood Ishita, eyes closed, her hands trembling as crimson light coiled around her. The Scarlet aura rose in fierce waves, restless and violent, like a storm that refused to obey.
Li Wei stood before her, calm as always. His faint Soul aura spread around the courtyard in delicate threads, steadying the unstable air.
"Again," he said softly.
Ishita exhaled, focusing. The Scarlet aura flared into wings, brilliant and terrible. But within seconds, they cracked, flames lashing wildly toward the walls.
Rehan shot forward instinctively, golden aura flaring to block the blast. Dust settled, his chest heaving. "She could've burned herself alive!"
Li Wei raised a hand, silencing him. "If she cannot face Scarlet's hunger, then Scarlet will consume her. This is training — not for strength, but for survival."
---
The Lesson
Li Wei turned back to Ishita. "Scarlet is not a weapon. It is emotion unbound — grief, rage, love, loss. That is why it destroys. You must give it an anchor."
Ishita's breath shook. "An anchor…? But I only feel fire. It hurts."
Li Wei's expression softened. He knelt slightly, meeting her gaze. "Then let it hurt. Let it remind you of what you've lost — and why you fight. Pain can consume you, or it can steady you. The choice is yours."
His Soul threads stretched, touching her flames gently. The red fire hissed against the pale blue light, but instead of clashing, they began to coil together.
"Scarlet and Soul. Rage and memory. One burns, the other remembers. Together, they can balance."
---
The First Breakthrough
Ishita closed her eyes again. She let the pain flood her — the image of her parents, twisted into demons, the moment their bunker turned into a nightmare.
Her flames surged, threatening to spiral out of control. But she held onto the memory — not just of their deaths, but of their laughter, their warmth.
The flames shifted. The wings reformed — this time steadier, brighter, more controlled.
Rehan's eyes widened. "She… she's holding it."
Ishita opened her eyes. Scarlet light reflected in them, but this time, there was no wildness. Only resolve.
"I… I can feel them. My parents. They're still with me."
Li Wei nodded. "Good. That is your anchor. Never let go."
---
Rehan's Doubt
Later, as Ishita rested, Rehan approached Li Wei. His fists clenched at his sides.
"You're teaching her to balance Scarlet with Soul. But what if it doesn't work? What if one day Scarlet consumes her like it consumed that demon?"
Li Wei's gaze was calm, but sharp. "That is always the risk. Power without memory is chaos. That is why we remember — so we do not become what we fight."
Rehan's jaw tightened. He remembered Kaalrath's last cry — not as a demon, but as a father. If even demons were once men… then are we killing enemies, or just broken souls?
He looked at Ishita, asleep under the faint glow of her Scarlet aura.
And for the first time, he wasn't afraid of her power.
He was afraid of what it might cost her.
---
Foreshadow
The night deepened. Ishita's flames dimmed to embers as she slept. Li Wei sat in meditation, his Soul threads quietly weaving protective wards around the camp.
Rehan stood watch, his golden aura flickering faintly. His thoughts were heavy, darker than the ruins around him.
And far beyond, in the abyss, the seals of the remaining Upper Demons trembled. The memory of Kaalrath's fall had reached them. Their slumber was not peace — it was hunger.