Toru's hands trembled as his aura flared violently, unlike anything he had felt before. His body burned—not from overexertion, but from something awakening deep within. Something ancient… inherited.
He fell to one knee, the training field distorting around him, rocks lifting off the ground, the air vibrating with a pressure only true power could create.
And then—his mind slipped into memory.
He was six. Sitting in his father's dojo, legs crossed, chin tucked.
"Toru," his father had said, eyes distant. "There's a power that runs in our blood. Your great-grandfather wielded it in the Rift War. The others called it Titanblood Dominion. It wasn't just strength. It was command over raw essence—unfiltered and overwhelming."
His grandfather had stepped forward then, placing a heavy hand on Toru's shoulder.
"But it comes with a cost," he had warned. "Most Kurotakis couldn't awaken it. Your father couldn't. I couldn't. But if you do… don't let pride blind you. Use it for something greater than yourself."
Back in the present, Toru's chest heaved. Tears streamed from his eyes without him realizing it.
"Titanblood…?"
Suddenly, a deep red aura ignited around him—thicker and heavier than any Essence he'd ever felt. It pulsed from his core like heartbeats turned into earthquakes. His veins lit up with glowing crimson trails, and his eyes became molten gold.
Above him, a ghostly silhouette of his great-grandfather's warrior form loomed like a titan—just for a second—before vanishing into the stormy clouds.
Toru stood. Taller. Stronger. Changed.
With a roar that split the sky, he punched forward—and the very atmosphere cracked before his fist.
He looked down at his arms, now encased in hardened flame-touched armor made of pure Essence.
"Titanblood Dominion… it's real."
For the rest of the day, he trained—sprinting through the cliffs, lifting boulders with his bare hands, sending shockwaves through steel dummies.
Every strike, every breath, brought him closer to mastering this legacy.
"I'm not just coming for Riku," he said through grit teeth. "I'm coming for the entire ranking system."