The rooftop air shimmered with heat as Hoshino's flames crackled to life, licking at the wind like hungry serpents. Rei stood still, void energy gathering at his fingertips, invisible to most but suffocatingly real.
Hoshino narrowed her eyes. "This school… is supposed to be peaceful."
Rei's voice was barely above a whisper. "Then why are you burning?"
She flinched. The cigarette fell from her fingers and disintegrated mid-air.
[Synchronization In Progress... Spirit Code: 001 – Ember Veil. Class: Flame-Type. Personality Bond: 24%. Emotional Trigger: Suppressed Regret. Status: Semi-Awakened.]
Yoru stepped back, arms behind her back, watching with calm detachment. "She's unstable. If you push her now, she'll erupt."
"Then let her," Rei replied.
Hoshino roared, unleashing a blast of fire that seared across the rooftop. Concrete cracked and air twisted from the heat, but Rei didn't flinch.
Instead, he stepped forward.
Each step disintegrated the flames beneath his feet as void swallowed fire.
"I'm not here to fight you," he said, tone devoid of emotion. "I'm here to make you remember."
Her body trembled.
"You sealed your own spirit long ago. Locked it beneath regret, behind duty. But the fire never died, Hoshino."
She dropped to her knees, sweat streaming down her face. "Who… are you?"
Rei reached out, placing a single finger to her forehead.
Void met flame.
[Spirit Integration Successful. Host: Hoshino. Title: Ember Veil. Authority Level: 2 Granted.]
Her eyes lit up like burning coal. "I… remember now."
Rei helped her stand.
"You belong to no one," he said. "But you can choose to walk with me."
She chuckled. "You've got a dangerous way of recruiting."
He turned, walking toward the stairwell. "It works."
Behind him, Hoshino followed—her flame subdued, but no longer dying.
Two down.
One to go.
And beneath Kuoh Academy, something else stirred… something ancient, something waiting for Rei's next move.