The night was eerily quiet.

Yuto stood at the edge of a cliff, staring down at the ruined city below. The Drazan Empire had pushed through the last line of defense, and now their forces were marching through the heart of the kingdom. The capital was next. The kingdom of Aelwyn was crumbling, and no one seemed to have the strength to stop it.

Except him.

But Yuto wasn’t so sure he was strong enough. Not yet.

Beside him, Princess Lyra’s expression was tense. She had always been a beacon of quiet strength, but even now, as they surveyed the wreckage below, she couldn’t hide the fear in her eyes.

“They’ll be here by dawn,” she said. “And we’re too far from reinforcements.”

Yuto clenched his fists. “Then we fight. We don’t wait to die.”

“I agree,” came a voice from behind. It was Kael, his silver hair glowing faintly in the starlight. “But you’ll need more than just anger to win.”

Yuto turned, already frustrated by Kael’s cool demeanor. “What do you mean? I’ve got this Blood Sigil—what else do I need?”

“Control,” Kael answered bluntly. “The Blood Sigil is powerful, yes. But it’s also unstable. Right now, you can’t call upon it in battle without risking your life. You need focus, discipline. And you need to understand that you’re fighting more than just soldiers. You’re fighting *magic*.”

Yuto growled. “I don’t care about magic. I care about stopping them.”

Kael’s eyes softened, but just a little. “And you will. But you need to be smart about it.”

✧ ✧ ✧

The battle began just before dawn.

Yuto, Lyra, and Kael led a small band of soldiers to the outskirts of the city, where the Drazan vanguard had already set up camp. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and blood as they crept through the shadowed streets. Soldiers were spread out in groups, setting up siege equipment and preparing for the final assault.

“They don’t know we’re here,” Lyra whispered. “We have the element of surprise. We can make it count.”

Kael nodded. “Keep your distance, Yuto. Wait for my signal.”

Yuto didn’t need further instructions. The anger in his chest burned hotter as he saw the soldiers preparing for the massacre. Each of them was an obstacle, a barrier between him and his ultimate goal—getting to Renji, getting to the one who’d betrayed him.

His fingers twitched, and without thinking, the Blood Sigil began to form.

The crimson runes burned through his skin as the power surged in his chest. He was in control this time—at least, that’s what he told himself. The magic swirled in the air like a living thing, hungry for destruction.

The moment Kael gave the signal, Yuto unleashed the Blood Sigil.

Chains of blood-red magic exploded from his hand, cutting through the first wave of Drazan soldiers before they even had time to react. Their armor shattered, and their bodies were flung aside like ragdolls.

Yuto's heart raced. *It worked.* He could feel the magic coursing through him, the power building. He was more than human now. He was something *other*.

But then the pain came—sharp, jagged, like needles piercing his very soul. His vision flickered as the sigil continued to tear through the soldiers, each surge of power draining his strength.

“Yuto!” Lyra cried out as she slashed through a group of enemy soldiers with her sword, but her voice seemed far away. “You have to stop! You’ll kill yourself!”

He could barely hear her over the roar of power filling his ears. His magic was uncontrollable now, overwhelming him. He saw nothing but red—the red of blood, the red of the sigil, the red of his fury.

But then something unexpected happened.

As he struggled to stay on his feet, a familiar voice echoed in his mind:

> *"Yuto... This isn't who you are."*

It was Lyra's voice, but different. Gentle yet firm. Almost as if she were reaching out to him from the other side.

Yuto clenched his teeth, trying to fight the magic back. He was losing control—he could feel it. The rage, the despair—it was all pulling him under.

But then, another voice joined in.

> *"Remember who you fight for, Yuto. This is not the way."*

It was Kael. His words were calm, grounded. Yuto’s mind flashed back to the first lesson he’d had with Kael—the mage had told him that magic, especially Blood Sigil magic, was born from the heart.

With a desperate breath, Yuto clenched his fists again, forcing the sigil to cease its chaotic destruction.

Slowly, painfully, the red light faded. The chains collapsed into nothingness, and the remaining Drazan soldiers froze in terror.

Yuto stood, panting, his hands trembling. His body felt as if it had been through hell, and the cold sweat dripping down his face felt like ice against his skin.

But it was over.

He had done it. He had controlled the power, if only for a moment.

And in that moment, he realized something.

He wasn’t just fighting for revenge anymore. He was fighting for something bigger.

---

✧ ✧ ✧

As the battle raged on, Yuto stood with Lyra and Kael. Their forces had taken the upper hand—thanks to his sudden and unexpected intervention. But Yuto was no fool. He knew that this was just the beginning.

The Drazan Empire was still coming. Renji was still out there, and Yuto had no idea what he was planning.

But he would find out. No matter what.

The world was full of magic, power, and betrayal. And now, with the Blood Sigil and his own will, Yuto was ready to fight against it all.

The wind howled through the ruins of Elthera, a city long abandoned—its streets cracked, its statues worn smooth by time and forgotten wars. Yuto walked in silence alongside Kael and Lyra, the echoes of the recent battle still lingering in his bones.

But it wasn’t just ruins they were after.

It was what lay *beneath* them.

“This is where the First Pact was sealed,” Kael said, pushing open the rusted gates of a forgotten cathedral. “And where you’ll find the truth behind the Blood Sigil.”

Yuto looked around. The cathedral, though crumbling, still held an oppressive weight—like the air itself remembered what had happened here.

“Truth?” he asked. “I thought the Sigil was just... ancient magic.”

Kael glanced over his shoulder. “It’s older than that. And darker.”

---

✧ ✧ ✧

Beneath the cathedral, spiral stairs descended into darkness. Yuto’s boots scraped against stone, and torches lit themselves one by one as Kael passed, revealing an underground chamber carved from black rock and etched with glowing crimson runes.

In the center stood a sealed sarcophagus, covered in chains of the same runes Yuto bore on his skin.

“This,” Kael said, “is the tomb of the first Crimson Hero. The one who made the original pact with the Blood Sigil. His name has been erased from history—but his legacy still breathes in you.”

Yuto stepped closer. The energy here was intense—oppressive, yet familiar. It was like looking into a mirror that showed not his reflection, but his future.

“He died using the magic,” Kael continued. “Just like you almost did. But not before carving a hole through an empire.”

Yuto stared at the runes, his voice quiet. “Then I’m walking the same path.”

Kael nodded. “Yes. But now you have a choice. You can let the Sigil consume you—or *master* it.”

---

✧ ✧ ✧

Later that night, around a campfire just outside the ruins, Yuto sat with Lyra. The stars above this world were scattered and strange, like someone had torn constellations from a map and thrown them across the sky.

“Do you think I can control it?” he asked quietly.

Lyra was silent for a moment. Then she said, “I’ve seen you fight to hold it back. That tells me enough. You’re not just strong—you *choose* to be. And that’s rarer than any magic.”

He looked at her, grateful. But he didn’t smile.

Because something deep within still twisted with doubt.

---

✧ ✧ ✧

In the depths of Drazan, across the sea of flame and ash, a shadow stirred.

A lone figure stood in a vast hall of black stone and flickering torches. At his feet knelt mages, generals, and assassins.

“Are you certain?” the figure asked, his voice sharp as a blade.

“Yes, my lord,” one of the kneeling men said. “The Crimson Sigil has reawakened... in the summoned boy.”

The figure’s lips curled into a smile.

“Then let the hunt begin.”

And in the darkness behind him, a pair of crimson eyes opened.