The arena lights dimmed, but Toru Kurotaki remained. His fists were bruised, his breath heavy. The sound of Riku's name still echoed in his ears from yesterday's ceremony. EX Rank. The title clung to his thoughts like a storm cloud.
"First EX-Rank in decades…" he muttered, teeth gritted.
He slammed his palm into the ground, letting out a roar of frustration that reverberated through the mountainside training field. He wasn't angry at Riku. He was angry at himself—for being left behind.
Toru's mind flashed to an old photo. A black-and-white image of a warrior standing atop a mountain, glowing with the radiance of his Essence. That was his great-grandfather, Kazuo Kurotaki—one of the six legendary EX-Ranks. Killed in battle against a rift-born catastrophe.
"I'll surpass him… and I'll surpass you too, Riku."
He activated his Essence: Titanheart Blaze. Crimson energy surged around his arms like molten magma. His aura was violent, unstable—but powerful.
For the next several hours, Toru pushed himself beyond his normal limits—facing three Essence Knights he summoned via advanced illusion tech. Sweat poured down his neck, flames roared from his body, and each punch grew heavier than the last.
But it wasn't enough.
Each time he defeated a knight, he saw Riku's image flash in his mind—nonchalant, composed, soaring in Divine Avatar form.
"I won't lose to someone with a pretty face and divine powers!" he shouted, obliterating a clone knight with a scream-laced punch.
When he collapsed to his knees, gasping, his essence flickering out, he grinned through the exhaustion.
"Great-grandpa... I'll carry your legacy. I'll become the next EX-Rank."