As the forge lit up with a blinding glow and the chamber filled with the thick, molten heat of lava, Colt took a deep breath, feeling the old rush of the forge return to him. The once-dormant volcano, now awakened by Rei and his party, roared with new life, veins of lava coursing through channels like lifeblood returning to a long-dead heart. The heat was overwhelming, the very air warping around the bowl of magma in the center of the volcanic chamber.
With practiced precision, Colt took the Chaos Scepter—the strange artifact that Rei had entrusted to him—and dropped it into the seething pool of magma. The weapon hissed as it met the lava, sinking slowly into the crucible of fire. Moments later, Colt reached in with a pair of tongs and drew it out. The scepter glowed, veins of chaotic energy pulsing within its core. As he raised his hammer, preparing to strike, the entire forge seemed to hold its breath.
Then, the scream tore through the chamber.
"AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHH!"
Everyone turned at once.
The scream came from Rei.
But it was not Rei as they knew him. He was floating, suspended in mid-air by unseen forces. His eyes blazed with a fierce violet light, and arcs of thunder crackled from the Chaos Scepter and struck his body like divine lightning. His arms flailed for a moment before they fell limp, his head tilting back as if caught between worlds.
"Rei!" Emilia and the others called out in panic.
They surged forward, but Colt raised a hand to stop them, sweat beading on his brow. "Don't touch him!"
"What's happening to him?" Ben asked, panic rising in his voice.
Colt's eyes were wide with awe and fear. "I can't believe it... The Chaos Scepter—it's sentient. It's linked to Rei's soul. Every strike I make to forge it, he feels it. We have to be perfect. One wrong move and—he'll die."
A deadly silence fell.
Emilia, Luc, Arizona, Alya, Ben—each of them drew their weapons or summoned protective wards. They knew what they had to do. No matter what monsters the forge drew or what disasters came crashing down upon them, they would protect Colt. Because protecting Colt meant saving Rei.
Within Rei's mind, there was only blackness.
He was drowning. At first, there was no light, no sense of direction. Just the oppressive pull of something vast and formless. But then, like a lantern flickering to life in the abyss, his consciousness ignited.
When Rei opened his eyes, he found himself not floating in magma or surrounded by allies, but standing on solid ground. A place bathed in the golden hue of childhood memories. Before him was a park, familiar in every detail, and standing there with a toy in his hand was a young boy.
"Hayate," Rei whispered.
The boy turned, grinning brightly. He looked exactly as Rei remembered—a small frame, messy hair, and a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Let's disassemble it," Hayate said, holding up the toy.
Rei—now looking like his childhood self—nodded eagerly. "Yes, let's do it!"
From his pocket, Rei pulled out a tiny screwdriver, handing it to Hayate. As Hayate started unscrewing the toy's casing, Rei carefully arranged each screw and part in an orderly fashion on the grass.
"So, should we start it again?" Rei asked.
"You took the words right out of my mouth," Hayate replied.
Together, they reassembled the toy, watching with wonder as it whirred to life again. The joy was simple, pure, and whole.
Time fast-forwarded.
Now, they were in high school. The boys were older, taller, and their dreams even bigger.
Hayate handed Rei a book, one on software engineering. "Here, take this. I'm going to focus on hardware. You become the best in software. Together, we'll make something the world has never seen."
Rei clutched the book tightly, his eyes shining with purpose. "We'll show the world what we can do when we unite."
Hayate chuckled. "Now that's a bit overdramatic."
Rei laughed with him. The future was bright.
But light has a way of casting long shadows.
The memory twisted.
Rei was walking home, head high, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He turned a corner and bumped into someone—hard.
A tall boy, a local bully.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Rei said quickly.
But the apology didn't register. The bully snarled and dragged Rei into a nearby alley. Two more boys appeared, blocking the exit.
Rei's hands trembled. "I didn't mean—"
A fist came flying.
But it never reached him.
Hayate had appeared out of nowhere and yanked Rei back, taking the punch to his gut.
"Hayate!" Rei shouted.
As Hayate doubled over in pain, Rei's anger exploded. He dropped into a stance and used his training in jujutsu, flipping one attacker and sending the others running with practiced strikes.
Hayate grinned through the pain. "Still overdramatic."
More time passed. Rei was standing at the door of a sleek building.
"So you came, ########," Hayate greeted him with a smirk.
Rei smiled back. "Yes, I came back."
Inside the lab, Hayate led him to a model.
"This is it—the prototype. An electric car that runs on tiny batteries, enough for a whole year of functionality. It'll finally compete with fuel-driven cars."
Rei was stunned. "The first of its kind."
Together, they worked—Rei on simulations, Hayate on hardware.
But one evening, as Hayate urged him to rest, Rei nodded and closed his eyes.
When he opened them, he was back in the simulation room. Hayate waited beside him.
"Run the test."
Rei did.
It worked. Hayate cheered, laughing, excited. The two friends embraced their shared dream.
But something felt wrong.
A sudden shift.
Rei stood at the threshold of Hayate's house. Dread filled his chest.
He opened the door.
Hayate was lying there, motionless. Dead.
Blood soaked the floor. Girls stood around him, smirked, watching him while holding a dagger, When they saw Rei, they said
"Look, he killed an innocent man!"
"Yes, I saw it. He used this dagger!"
The girls threw the dagger at Rei's feet.
Rei stared, eyes wide. "No... not again... not again... not again..."
The world shattered.
The house, the voices, even Hayate's body, fragmented into glass-like shards.
Darkness reclaimed everything.
And from that abyss, the voices echoed:
"He killed him..."
"He's a murderer..."
Rei fell, endlessly, consumed by guilt, confusion, and sorrow, as if the very core of his soul was being unraveled.
suddenly, a dark violet hand grabbed him.
Outside, in the forge, his body trembled.
The forging of the Chaos Scepter had only just begun.