The city never slept, but tonight it trembled.

Rain lashed the steel towers of City X, slicing through the neon haze like shards of glass. Inside an abandoned industrial complex on the city's outskirts, three figures stood around a restrained young man, his wrists and ankles locked by gravity cuffs glowing with dull crimson light.

Blaze.

The faint hum of the cuffs mixed with the echo of dripping water. He was soaked, bruised, and his once-white hair clung to his face, silver streaks catching the faint light. Even in chains, his eyes burned with the same defiant brilliance that had made him one of Eternal Era's most unpredictable strikers.

Han Dae-Sung, the hunters' leader, adjusted his dark coat, stepping closer. His face was sharp and unreadable — the kind that had seen too much blood and never flinched.

"You should've stayed a player, not a legend, Blaze," he said quietly. "We could've made you rich. Instead, you keep making enemies."

Blaze said nothing. His breathing was steady despite the pain — his mind drifting not to the men in front of him, but to the voice of his mother.

> "Don't lose yourself, Dante. Talent can win games, but character wins battles."

The memory stung more than the cuffs.

Min Joon-Ho, the second hunter, leaned against a steel pillar, spinning a combat baton between his fingers. "You sure this kid's worth the bounty? I thought the council stopped hunting athletes."

"They stopped hunting normal ones," Seo Mirae replied, eyes fixed on Blaze. Her tone carried a strange mix of fascination and fear. "But this one's different. He has… resonance. I can feel it."

Dae-Sung smirked. "Exactly. He's the last survivor of the Anderson line — and the prototype for the Resonant Martial Genome. A living key."

Blaze lifted his head slowly. "You people think you can cage power… but power doesn't belong to anyone."

Dae-Sung's smile widened. "Then prove it."

He pressed a button on his wristpad.

Electric current surged through Blaze's cuffs. His body jerked violently — crimson lightning sparking across his skin. His blood vessels glowed faintly under his flesh as his Cosmic Telepathy tried to override the cuffs' neural field. The hunters watched as the air thickened around him, the temperature dropping for a moment — then spiking.

"Contain him!" Mirae shouted.

The ground vibrated. Sparks exploded from the cuffs. A blinding pulse burst outward, knocking Dae-Sung back a step. His expression hardened.

"He's adapting mid-shock. That's not supposed to be possible!"

Blaze's head tilted upward, eyes burning scarlet-gold. The same pressure that once shook stadiums now rolled across the dark warehouse like a storm.

Inside his mind, two forces clashed — the calm precision of Cosmic Telepathy, the raw, violent momentum of Elemental Speed — colliding and fusing under unbearable pressure.

And from that fusion…

Something ignited.

His aura erupted into flame — not red, but deep orange streaked with sapphire. The cuffs shattered like brittle glass, fragments dissolving in the blaze that radiated from his core. The fire didn't consume — it forged.

The birth of his third ability — Aura Forge.

The air screamed as the concrete floor cracked beneath him. Metal beams melted under the sudden surge of thermal energy. In a single motion, Blaze stood, his body wrapped in coiling flames shaped like dragon wings.

Joon-Ho charged first, baton crackling with kinetic energy. "Down, hotshot!"

Blaze moved — a blur of light and flame. One step and he vanished, reappearing behind the hunter, driving his knee into his ribs. The blow sent Joon-Ho flying across the hall, crashing through a steel crate.

Dae-Sung drew his plasma blade, slashing through the steam. "So this is the monster they feared."

"Monster?" Blaze whispered. His eyes glowed brighter. "No… just a striker who won't stay benched."

He launched forward with blinding acceleration — Elemental Speed interwoven with the heat of Aura Forge. The floor erupted in flames behind him. The sword met his palm mid-strike, and with a twist, he redirected it into the wall, molten steel hissing as the blade melted.

Mirae fired an energy dart from her gauntlet, but Blaze deflected it with a flick of his wrist — the projectile dissolving in the inferno swirling around him.

Then, for a moment, silence.

Blaze stood surrounded by fire, his breathing calm. "You wanted the key," he said softly. "Here's the lock."

The flames condensed into a spiral above his right arm — the same motion he used when preparing a strike. He stepped forward, pivoting on one foot, and thrust his hand like a kick — a phantom of his signature Jörmungandr shot formed, but pure aura instead of a ball. The energy blast hit the steel ceiling, exploding through it like a miniature sun.

The hunters dove for cover as the explosion ripped the roof open. Rain poured through the gap, steam rising where drops met fire.

Blaze turned toward the exit. His body trembled — power still raw and uncontrolled. But his will burned hotter than ever.

Then — a voice.

"Dante!"

He froze. Through the shattered doorway, soaked and breathless, stood Diego — drenched in rain, eyes wide with relief and fear.

"I found you! Jason's on his way with the cops — we need to move!"

Blaze clenched his jaw, nodding. "Can you still run?"

"Not faster than you, flame-boy."

"Then keep up."

They sprinted through the corridor, alarms wailing as the facility's remaining systems overloaded. Dae-Sung's voice echoed behind them, distorted by the static.

"Run while you can, Blaze! We'll find you — and next time, you won't wake up!"

Outside, the storm raged.

Blaze burst through the front doors, boots splashing through puddles as arcs of aura fire trailed behind him. His body pulsed with unstable power — the heat from Aura Forge threatening to consume him if he didn't control it.

Diego grabbed his arm mid-run. "You're burning up — calm it down!"

"I can't," Blaze hissed. "It's not like my other abilities — it feeds on emotion."

"Then focus on something that keeps you grounded!"

Blaze shut his eyes briefly — and saw his mother smiling, frail hands reaching toward him across time.

The flames dimmed slightly, their chaos becoming rhythm.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

Headlights cut through the storm ahead — armored vans and flashing red sirens. The police had arrived, Jason at the front, rain dripping from his hair and coat. His expression was grim until his gaze found Blaze — then softened with relief.

"Dante!" Jason shouted, sprinting toward them as officers surrounded the building.

Blaze slowed, collapsing to one knee. Jason caught him instantly. The smell of burnt ozone and rain filled the air.

"You did it," Jason said, voice low, steadying him. "You're safe now."

Blaze looked up, eyes dimming as the aura flames finally subsided. "They… wanted me as a weapon."

Jason's jaw tightened. "You're not a weapon, kid. You're a player — and the best damn striker this galaxy's seen."

Behind them, Diego leaned against a patrol van, exhausted but smiling faintly. "Told you I'd find him, Coach."

Jason nodded, pride glinting through his exhaustion. "Yeah… you did good."

But Blaze wasn't listening. He stared past the flashing lights and officers, past the broken building — to the horizon glowing faintly with dawn.

"Coach," he murmured, voice rough but firm, "I don't want to run anymore. I want to face them — all of them. On the pitch, where it matters."

Jason looked down at him, rain streaking across his face. "Then rest, Blaze. Because when you step back onto that field… the galaxy will know you're back."

Thunder cracked overhead, drowning the sirens. The storm began to ease, the rain softening to drizzle.

Blaze straightened, his gaze unyielding — flames still faintly flickering around his hands.

---

Later that Night

Inside the hospital wing of the Eternal Era training center, Blaze sat by the window in silence, IV lines attached to his arm. His body ached, but the exhaustion felt almost peaceful.

Outside, the stadium lights shimmered in the distance.

Diego entered quietly, tossing a data chip onto his bedside table. "Footage from tonight's security cams. You melted half the compound."

"Remind me to apologize to the city later," Blaze said with a dry smile.

Diego smirked. "You scared me back there. Thought you were gonna blow up with that power."

Blaze turned his hand over, staring at the faint ember flickering between his fingers. "Aura Forge… It doesn't just burn. It reforges. It takes pain, anger, and turns it into strength. But if I lose control…"

"You won't," Diego interrupted. "Not while you've got people who've got your back."

Blaze looked at him — a rare moment of genuine gratitude in his eyes. "Thanks, Diego."

Jason stepped in then, a holo-pad under his arm. "Doctors said you'll be cleared for light training in three days."

"Training?" Blaze arched an eyebrow. "Already?"

Jason grinned faintly. "You awakened a third ability, kid. I'm not letting that go unrefined. If we want to stay in the top twenty, we use everything we've got."

Blaze nodded slowly, a smirk pulling at his lips. "Then let's forge something new."

Jason glanced at him, recognizing the familiar fire — the same one Dante once carried before the centuries swallowed him. "Get some rest, Blaze. Tomorrow, we start rebuilding."

As Jason left the room, Diego leaned against the doorframe. "You ever realize we're the only team in the galaxy that treats football like war?"

Blaze chuckled softly. "That's because for some of us, it is."

He turned back to the window — where the faint outline of the Eternal Era stadium glimmered beneath the dying storm.

The night might have ended, but something far greater had begun.

> The Reforging of the Titan.

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