The hospital room was too quiet.
It felt heavy, like the silence was pressing down on everything. Machines beeped softly beside Yuna's bed, showing she was still alive… but barely. Their soft lights didn't give any comfort. They just reminded Yor that time was running out.
Yor Satoshi sat quietly, holding his sister's cold hand. He hadn't moved for hours. She wasn't awake. She hadn't opened her eyes in days. Her breathing was weak, her skin pale.
He couldn't forget the sound of her scream.
That scream had burned into his mind.
The monster came so fast. No one expected it. A giant black creature with glowing red symbols had crossed the borders of Sector 13 and attacked. It was strong — stronger than anything Yor had ever seen.
And Yuna… had protected a younger child during the attack. She got hit instead. A single claw, poisoned and sharp, had struck her down.
Now, she was here. Silent. Still. Dying.
---
Their home wasn't special. The Satoshi family lived like most people in Sector 13 — barely surviving. The house was small and old. People didn't know that their family was once famous. Long ago, Yor's ancestors had great powers. They could control monsters, bend energy, and were known across the world.
But all that had faded.
No one remembered them now. Their bloodline had grown weaker over time. Now, Yor's father fixed broken machines, and his mother worked long hours to support them. They lived like everyone else — just trying to make it through the day.
His father, Hiro, was tired all the time. He came home late, ate very little, and rarely smiled. His hands used to train with weapons. Now, they fixed trash cans.
His mother, Akari, still lit incense every evening. She never explained why. Maybe she prayed to their ancestors. Maybe she just hoped for peace. Yor wasn't sure.
But incense couldn't heal Yuna.
And forgotten bloodlines didn't matter when you had no money.
---
Yor wasn't just sad anymore.
He felt broken inside.
Every day he sat beside Yuna's bed, he felt helpless. He had tried everything. He begged doctors. He asked for help from teachers. He even tried sneaking into a place where black market healers worked. He almost got arrested.
No one listened.
Because he was just a kid.
But something strange started happening.
---
It began on the third night.
Everyone was asleep. The city outside was quiet.
And then — Yor felt something.
A warmth in his chest. Deep, soft, not like fire — but like something old waking up.
And then he heard it.
A voice — not loud, not clear — more like a feeling that spoke inside his soul.
"Do you still carry the flame?"
Yor's eyes shot open. He sat up straight in bed.
There was no one in the room. But the air felt heavy. He touched his chest. His heartbeat had slowed down. But underneath it, there was something else — another kind of beat. Like something ancient was moving inside him.
And then, images filled his head:
Ash falling like snow.
A broken tower under a silver moon.
A monster with thirteen glowing eyes, roaring into darkness.
A man with golden eyes, standing alone against it all.
Yor gasped, falling forward. His whole body shook with fear and confusion.
And then, for a second, he saw his reflection in the window.
His eyes… were glowing.
Like fire.
---
Far away from Sector 13, in the dark Ruinspire Mountains, three people in cloaks knelt before a black stone altar.
One of them looked up. His eyes were gold.
"The bloodline stirs," he said. "The Ember Line is not dead."
There was a pause.
Then, low, dangerous laughter filled the room.
"Then the game begins again."
---
The next morning, Yor said nothing to his parents.
He walked through the city and stopped in front of the Sector Guard building — a place filled with soldiers and officers.
Inside, a tired man with a burnt beard looked at him.
"What do you want, kid?"
"I want to enter the Selection Trials," Yor said.
The man frowned. "How old are you?"
"Thirteen."
"Do you have a Code Card?"
"No."
"Then forget it," the man said. "No card, no entry. You need a license, a sponsor, and an Awakening Code. You're not even registered."
Yor's fists clenched, but he didn't move.
"I want to fight," he said quietly.
The man laughed. "You want to die? Go home, kid. Trials are for warriors. You're just a child."
But something about Yor's eyes… made the man stop laughing.
There was something deep in them. Something dangerous. Something ancient.
Yor turned and walked away.
He wasn't giving up.
He was just getting started.
Because somewhere inside him…
The Unseen Flame had awakened.
And one day, it would burn the whole world.