---
A chill wind swept through the dim, humming corridors of the strange prison they were trapped in.
Ren opened his eyes slowly. The air felt wrong—thick with pressure, dense with silence. He was chained, not by steel, but by glowing bands of energy that pulsed with a rhythmic beat, like a heart not his own. Next to him, Himari stirred, her aura flickering faintly in defiance. Aiko remained unconscious, curled like a flame struggling to stay lit.
"Where…?" Himari's voice came out hoarse. She touched the restraints, frowning. "This place isn't normal."
Ren closed his eyes again briefly. "It's not physical. This prison's alive… watching us."
Footsteps echoed in the distance.
Haru groaned nearby, lying on his side. "Void-crafted bindings. They're messing with my senses. I can't feel Yuki's aura. I can't feel anything."
Aiko stirred, her breath sharp as she shot upright. Her eyes glowed faintly—whatever she saw inside the void still lingered behind them.
"Yuki…" she whispered.
Ren looked at her sharply. "You saw something."
"I saw everything," she said, her voice trembling. "Not just his power. I saw what he might become… what they want him to become."
A silence fell. Even the air seemed to hold its breath.
Then the sound returned—an eerie hum from above as a figure emerged, their face hidden beneath a hood of light and void. A being neither man nor creature, radiating authority.
"You will train," it said in a voice that didn't echo—but commanded.
"Train?" Ren asked, already tensing his aura. "You kidnap us and expect us to listen?"
The entity didn't flinch. "Because if you do not grow, you will perish before your purpose is fulfilled. Each of you is tethered to the kitsune's path. Whether by fate or chaos, your survival is no longer personal—it is necessary."
Aiko's eyes hardened. "Where is Yuki?"
The figure simply pointed toward the wall—where an image flickered like a tear in space. Yuki, surrounded by fragments of himself, was battling in silence. Time around him moved faster—each second here felt like an hour for him.
"He is in the Core," the figure said. "Where time flows as it must. Where power is forged or devoured."
The bindings faded.
"Now," the voice said, "it is your turn."
The chamber shifted, opening into a vast arena of floating platforms, shifting gravity, and elemental chaos. Training would not be given—it had to be survived.
---
Yuki stares at a floating number above his head.
"What the… 40 power stones?! Are those edible? No? Whatever they are, thanks!"
Ren shakes his head. "You're hopeless."