The sky above the port city was golden with the setting sun, but for Kael the world had narrowed to a single point: the Axiom he held in his hand. The metal surface was cold, yet he could feel a pulse in it that no one else had understood since the finals. He tensed his muscles and with one swift movement launched the peonza. The sound of the spin was not like its usual hum; it was more a deep, menacing rumble than the silence before a storm. The force of the launch seemed heavier than ever, and his arm still trembled from the energy exerted minutes later. But then something strange happened. The Axiom, so far the paragon of stability, trembled for a moment in the middle of the field. Not from an external impact, but from an internal uncertainty. Kael frowned as he approached, his fingers hovering in the air. This is different from before the finals, he whispered to himself, his pulse quickening to the rhythm of the Axiom. Something had changed in the structure, or perhaps in him. The power he had previously controlled now seemed to have taken on a life of its own, and the realization sent an icy shiver down his spine. Far above him, on the rusty tin roof of one of the warehouses, a dark figure knelt. Reizen had become one with the shadows, his cold gaze never leaving the boy below. He saw the tremor, and he saw in Kael's eyes the uncertainty that came with sudden, immense power. You don't even understand the power you've awakened, he thought quietly, the wind catching his coat. Reizen knew that the Axiom was more than a toy, and what Kael had accomplished in the finals had only scratched the surface. He had opened a door that might never be closed again, and the darkness that waited beyond that door was already moving toward them.
Meanwhile, across town, in a deserted industrial area where the concrete walls were covered in graffiti and memories of the past, the air was filled with electricity. A strange boy stood on the edge of the field, his face as still as stone. Ryujiro didn't mince words. With a single movement, he launched the Dragon Vortex. As the peonza touched the ground, it didn't simply spin, but trailed a black and gold light trailing behind it. At that moment, a sharp bolt of lightning struck the center of the field, the blast echoing off the brittle walls. Ryujiro's opponent's peonza didn't stand a chance: with a single touch, the Dragon Vortex sent it flying off the field, shattering it to pieces on the concrete. Ryujiro felt no triumph, only boredom. This world is too weak, he remarked wearily, catching his returning peonza. For him, victory was not the goal, but a worthy opponent, whom he had never found anywhere before.
Later, after practice, Kael walked home through the narrow streets near the harbor. The smell of the sea and the screams of seagulls usually calmed him, but now he felt a tension in the air. He suddenly stopped. In the middle of the road, in the yellowish light of a lone street lamp, stood a figure. It was Ryujiro. He didn't move, he just stood there like a statue, the Dragon Vortex in his hand, which seemed to vibrate faintly in the dim light. Kael felt the raw, wild energy emanating from the peonza.
You are the one who defeated Virex, Ryujiro said, his voice like sandpaper on metal. He didn't ask, he declared. Kael took a step forward, instinctively reaching for the Axiom attached to his side. "And who are you?" he asked back, trying to suppress the tension in his voice. Ryujiro's lips twitched into a mocking half-smile, his eyes flashing like a predator's in the darkness. "The one who defeats now," he answered simply. The air between the two boys almost froze. There was another rumble in the distance, though the sky was clear. The dragon's shadow cast itself across the street, and Kael knew that his previous battles had been child's play compared to what awaited him now.