The battlefield lay in absolute stillness. Charred husks of Flame Shikibans—once towering avatars of destruction—now littered the cracked earth like grotesque paper cutouts. Rivers of molten rock had cooled to jagged obsidian, and smoldering embers wavered in the motionless air. The crimson inferno that had torn the sky in two was nothing but a sullen glow on the horizon, as if the world itself were catching its breath.
And then it began.
One by one, the bodies of the fallen convulsed in their armor. Plates of obsidian buckled; the runes of flame-charms flickered, then collapsed. Flesh peeled away in ash-dark flakes, bones turned brittle as blackened charcoal. Each corpse pulsed once, then shattered into spirals of ebony smoke that drifted—alive—toward the only figure left standing.
Daigo Yamamoto.
He had dropped to one knee, one hand pressed against the hilt of KIBA. The rune-etched blade, its edge stained with the blood of his enemies, trembled in his grip. Sigils carved along its spine ignited with a pale white-blue glow, as if the sword itself were gulping down the black flame like a ravenous beast.
A skeletal husk dissolved at his feet. The black flame that remained flickered—tendrils of void curling and stretching—then recoiled, drawn irresistibly toward the blade's aura. Daigo's grip tightened. His heart thundered in his ears, a drumbeat of anticipation and fear.
With a mechanical hush—VRRRT—the first column of flaming shadow vanished into KIBA. A ripple ran up Daigo's arm; pure ether surged through his veins, making his vision stutter. In that moment, he glimpsed teeth and fur, a howling pack beneath a blood-red moon. His jaw clenched, knuckles white against the sword's haft.
Yeaga's voice cut through the haze. "Uh… is his sword eating?"
Ishigo leaned close, eyes reflecting the blade's eerie glow. "It's upgrading. The system's about to log it."
A high-pitched tone rang out—metallic, crystalline—like steel scraping against ice. Then:
VRRRRRMMMMMM…
A holographic interface bloomed around Daigo, pixels coalescing into translucent glyphs and spiraling data fields. It hovered before him, scanning blade and wielder alike in a dance of light.
███ [ACCESS TERMINAL — KAGESHIKI OPSYS v4.91_OMNIA] ███
> DATA NODE: SECURE / ENCRYPTED / BLACK-LEVEL
> ACCESS LEVEL: 9-OMEGA (AUTHORIZED)
> QUERY: KAGESHIKI-ID: (0)₉ / CRYSTEL_9 — ACTIVE STATUS LOG
───────────────────────────────────────────────
:: DATABASE ENTRY — KAGESHIKI CODE (0)₉ ::
───────────────────────────────────────────────
:: SUBJECT HEADER ::
● CODE NAME: DAIGO YAMAMOTO
● AGE: 20 SOLAR CYCLES
● CLASSIFICATION: TYPE-W(Ø) ENTITY-HOST (CRYSTEL-9)
● DESIGNATION: KAGESHIKI (0)₉
● AFFILIATION: KAGESHIKI BLACK FANG REGIMENT [DEFUNCT]
● CURRENT STATUS: ACTIVE (FIELD-SYNC)
● THREAT INDEX: OBLIVION CLASS — VARIABLE [VOLATILE]
:: CORE ENTITY INTERFACE ::
⤷ ENTITY CODE: CRYSTEL ("THE GREY WOLF")
⤷ BOND TYPE: CORE-SYMBIOTIC | CRYSTALLIZED BIO-ETHER FORM
⤷ MANIFESTATION CLASS: ALPHA-LINE | REMNANT-TYPE
⤷ BEASTLINE: YAMATO—BLOODBORNE FANG LINEAGE
⤷ PSYCHIC FORM: SENTIENT / INDEPENDENT ACI (COMBAT AI)
───────────────────────────────────────────────
:: MODULES — PRIMARY CORE ::
▸ [SYNC BLADE MODULE] :: KIBA INTERFACE
↳ STATUS: SYNCED
↳ SIGIL-LAYER THREADING: ACTIVE
↳ CURRENT POWER INDEX: +142% (MULTI-FLAME ABSORPTION)
▸ [COMBAT AI MODULE] :: ACI-CRYSTEL
↳ STATUS: AUTONOMOUS (LINKED VIA NEURAL PATHWAYS)
↳ INTERFACE: TACTILE / EMPATHIC / TRAUMA-LOCK
↳ CONTROL LATENCY: 0.03s
▸ [ENTITY MANIFESTATION] :: ALPHA-FORM CRYSTEL WOLF
↳ FORMATION TIME: 0.6s (POST-COMMAND)
↳ LINK STABILITY: 64% (STABLE)
↳ DURATION CAP: 3M 12S
↳ COOLDOWN: 9M 30S
▸ [BERSERK MODULE] :: HOWL INDEX OVERRIDE
↳ TRIGGER: ADRENAL PEAK / HOST TRAUMA SPIKE
↳ EFFECTS: +280% SPEED / PAIN NULLIFIER ACTIVE
↳ SIDE EFFECT: MEMORY BLEED / TIME DILATION EVENTS
▸ [PHASEWALK MODULE] :: SOUL VEIL INDUCTION
↳ STATUS: LOCKED (32% MERGE POTENTIAL)
↳ FUNCTION: USER+ENTITY FORMAL CONVERGENCE
↳ TRIGGER: UNKNOWN / UNREGISTERED IMPULSE
───────────────────────────────────────────────
:: ESSENCE ABSORPTION PROTOCOL ::
▸ SOURCE MATERIAL: SHIKIBAN SPIRITUAL RESIDUE
▸ CONVERSION METHOD: SIGIL-THREAD REFINEMENT
▸ OUTPUT:
↳ CUTTING FORCE: ↑↑
↳ RAGE FOCUS: STABILIZED
↳ REACTION TIME: 2.1x STANDARD
↳ FEEDBACK LOOP SPEED: ACCELERATED
:: SYSTEM WARNINGS — ACTIVE FLAGS ::
⚠ SUMMON FRAGMENTATION :: RISK MEDIUM-HIGH
⚠ MEMORY PHANTOM REBOUND :: FLAGGED
⚠ GHOST-LINK DESYNC EVENTS :: LOGGED (4)
⚠ IDENTITY BLEED (USER ↔ ENTITY) :: POTENTIAL — CLASS B FRACTURE
───────────────────────────────────────────────
:: ACTIVATION COMMAND ::
▶ CRYSTEL INIT PHRASE: "Crytel… hunt."
▶ LINK SYNC TIME: 0.6s
▶ EMPATHIC RATIO: 64% / RISING
───────────────────────────────────────────────
:: HISTORICAL RECORD LOG ::
▸ ORIGIN SITE: HOWLING GROVE RITUAL (YEAR 952 A.S.)
▸ ENTITY TYPE: REMNANT SURVIVOR — CLASS: BANISHED SPIRIT BEAST
▸ LINEAGE: BLOODBORNE FANG, 3RD GENERATION
▸ NOTES: FULL KAGESHIKI UNIT LOST TO TEMPORAL SEVERANCE
▸ ARTIFACT RECORD SCROLL 21-X:
"That which bears memory in tooth and blood.
That which remembers you more than you remember yourself."
───────────────────────────────────────────────
:: EVOLUTION PROTOCOL — PENDING ::
▸ PHASE-HOWL PATHWAY :: 03 — [ALPHA ECLIPSE] INCOMPLETE
▸ SYNC RATIO REQUIRED FOR ADVANCEMENT: >84%
▸ STABILIZATION RECOMMENDATION:
→ INITIATE: PSYCHOSPIRITUAL PROTOCOL 2.8-X
→ MONITOR: SYNC SPIKE (OBLIVION CLASS)
→ AUTHORIZATION OVERRIDE: PENDING (ADMIN LOCK)
───────────────────────────────────────────────
:: FINAL STATUS SUMMARY ::
> KAGESHIKI NO. (0)₉: DAIGO YAMAMOTO
> ENTITY CODE: CRYSTEL_9 — ACTIVE
> COMBAT POTENTIAL: EXTREME / VOLATILE / UNSTABLE
> RECOMMENDATION: DO NOT ENGAGE UNLESS OVERRIDE KEY ACTIVE
> SYSTEM MONITOR: ONLINE — FEED STABLE
> [END TRANSMISSION / LOCKED LOG FILE ID: K-9_X.31b]
███ TERMINAL SESSION END ███
The interface blinked out, leaving only the echo of its last pulse in the air. Daigo's chest heaved; each breath felt like inhaling a gale of ice and flame. Crytel—his grey‑crystal wolf companion—stood at his side, fur bristling with residual ether. The beast's eyes glowed with sentience, reflecting a storm in Daigo's own gaze.
Yeaga hovered nearby, excitement wrestling with awe on his face. "Alpha Eclipse, huh?" His grin was half-maniacal, half-impressed.
Ishigo cracked his knuckles, the faint click echoing in the ghostly silence. "Sounds like boss‑fight mode."
Daigo did not respond. He lowered KIBA until its tip kissed the scorched soil. The sigils flared, a pale heartbeat against the obsidian ground. He stared down at the blade, into the sigils—like gazing into a star about to go supernova.
"I'm not there yet," he said, voice low, as though confessing to a ghost. The words trembled with both resolve and fear.
Crytel let out a muted rumble, brushing his massive head against Daigo's thigh. The wolf's crystalline mane shimmered, as though it too were absorbing the ambient power.
He straightened, lifting the blade in a slow, deliberate arc. The air crackled, rippling with the promise of unleashed fury. Daigo's eyes narrowed, and for a long moment, he simply stood—an island of determination amid the blackened battlefield.
Then, without warning, the ground trembled.
A distant echo—like the approach of a thousand paws—rolled over the shattered terrain. Shadows stretched, and the dying embers coalesced into mournful motes of light. In that instant, Daigo knew: the upgrade was not the end. It was a beginning.
He inhaled sharply, centering himself. Crytel crouched, ready to spring. Yeaga and Ishigo exchanged a glance that said, We're with you—no matter what.
Daigo raised KIBA once more, the white-blue runes pulsing in synch with his heart. "Crytel… hunt," he whispered, activating the next level of their bond.
The blade's glow intensified. A low howl rose from the wolf at his heel, crystalline fangs bared in challenge. Ether coalesced around Daigo's form, shaping itself into the silhouette of a great wolf's head behind him—jaws parted in a silent roar.
Mappa-style energy crackled across the scene: jagged streaks of violet lightning laced the air, and every shard of obsidian hummed in resonance. The battlefield, once still as death, now thrummed with anticipation.
Daigo planted his feet. The air around him seemed to warp, bending light and shadow. KIBA sang—a single, crystalline note that split the horizon. The residual black flames from the Shikibans spiraled into the sky, merging with the aura of his sword.
"Let's go," he said, voice steady.
Yeaga drew his weapon, Ishigo summoned his own power, but Daigo knew this was his moment alone—his crucible.
In the distance, the ether currents churned, beckoning like hungry eyes. Daigo took a step forward, and the ground cracked beneath him, lines of power radiating outward.
He had absorbed their souls. Now, he would unleash their fury.
And as he advanced into the unknown, every ember in that blasted plain blazed alive, a silent testament to the power of a warrior who would stop at nothing to protect what remained of his world.