The training grounds of Kaizen Academy were vast, filled with elemental arenas, summoning circles, and floating platforms. But Jin Ryo wasn't allowed anywhere near them.
Instead, he was led to a forgotten clearing in the Verdant Hollow, a forest just outside the academy's walls—quiet, untouched, and cloaked in fog.
"Why out here?" Jin asked, wiping dew off his boots.
Instructor Kael stood ahead of him, leaning on a long, black-bladed staff. "Because if you lose control, the Academy won't survive it."
Jin stared. "You think I'm dangerous?"
"I think you don't know what's inside you yet," Kael said. "But the spirit does. And it's trying to wake it up."
Kael spun his staff once, then drove it into the ground. A circular rune expanded beneath Jin's feet.
Training Field: Bound Arena – Type Null.
No spirit affinities. No outside interference. Just raw power.
"Let's begin," Kael said. "Call it."
Jin blinked. "Call what?"
"Your spirit."
"I don't even know what it is!"
Kael's voice turned cold. "Then figure it out."
The ground trembled. Black mist began to rise from the rune. Jin's mark burned, and once again, he heard the whisper.
"Break the first chain."
Pain exploded in his chest. His eyes darkened. And the world shifted again.
In the void, Jin stood before the chained gate. One lock had fractured.
Now, it shattered.
A pulse of pure darkness erupted outward, and a piece of the gate groaned open. From the crack, something crawled forth—not fully formed, but enough to take shape.
It was a spirit.
But not like the others.
Its body was armored in black bone, wings torn but massive, eyes glowing red like twin eclipses. Around its limbs, chains still clung, trying to hold it back.
"You who are broken… shall unbreak me."
It lunged forward—and entered Jin.
The Bound Arena exploded in shadow.
Kael raised a barrier just in time as black energy tore through the trees. When the smoke cleared, Jin stood in the center, eyes glowing faint red, and behind him… a phantom form loomed.
The chained spirit. Half-awakened. Watching.
Kael lowered his barrier slowly. "So," he muttered. "You really are the vessel."
Jin's voice echoed oddly, layered with the spirit's own. "Its name… is Noctis."
Kael gave a rare nod. "Then it's time you learn to control him. Before he controls you."
Meanwhile, far to the west, in the ruins of an ancient temple, a figure in crimson robes placed a hand on a cracked obsidian mirror.
The mirror shimmered.
Inside it, the image of Jin—surrounded by shadow—flickered.
"So… the Abyss Vessel has awakened," the figure said.
Behind them, a monstrous spirit stirred.
"Let the war begin."