Trial by Fire

The rain hadn’t stopped. It sliced through the night like icy needles as Kai Blaze raced down cracked sidewalks, the Ember Blade glowing faintly at his side. His heart pounded in his chest like war drums.

All around him, Shadow fall City fell deeper into chaos.

Fires burned in alleyways. Sirens wailed in the distance. Shadow bots stalked the streets, herding terrified citizens into dark trucks. Whatever this invasion was, it wasn’t random—it was planned.

Kai ducked behind a broken billboard and caught his breath. His suit still shimmered with heat, as if it pulsed with life. He stared at the blade in his hand—its fire now calm, flickering with a quiet strength.

> “This is insane,” he whispered.

“Yesterday, I was painting rooftops. Now I’m fighting robots with a flaming sword?”

He looked down at his hands. They didn’t shake. That scared him most of all.

---

A sudden noise caught his attention—metal footsteps. Three bots scanned the street below, red eyes cutting through the rain.

> “CIVILIANS DETECTED. INITIATE CAPTURE PROTOCOL.”

They turned toward a small market. A mother and two kids huddled behind a fruit cart. One bot raised its weapon.

Kai moved without thinking.

> “HEY!” he shouted, leaping from the rooftop.

He landed hard, rolled, and raised the Ember Blade just in time to block a plasma bolt. The blast sent him sliding backward, but the sword absorbed the energy, glowing brighter.

> “Let’s turn up the heat.”

With a roar, Kai charged. The blade sliced clean through the first bot’s arm, sending sparks flying. The second bot fired, but Kai ducked and sent a wave of fire forward, engulfing its legs. It is toppled with a mechanical shriek.

The third one lunged.

Too fast.

It pinned Kai to the wall, claws digging into his armor.

> “You are unworthy,” it buzzed.

Kai gritted his teeth. The fire in his chest flared.

> “You first.”

A burst of flame erupted from his body, throwing the bot backward in pieces. Kai fell to one knee, panting.

The mother and her kids stared at him in awe.

> “Thank you,” she whispered, voice shaking.

Kai gave a small nod, then vanished into the smoke before she could ask anything else.

---

Somewhere above the city, Dr. Vanta watched.

His lab, hidden in a steel tower, buzzed with quiet menace. Screens surrounded him—each displaying a different part of Shadow fall. One screen showed Kai’s recent battle.

Vanta’s eyes narrowed behind his black visor.

> “The boy learns fast,” he said, voice like silk over steel.

“Too fast.”

He turned to a machine at the center of the room: a twisted throne of wires and code. A shadow pulsed from it.

> “It’s time we test him properly.”

---

Kai stumbled into a subway station to rest. The old tracks were quiet, lit only by emergency lamps. His body ached. The Ember Blade cooled in his hand, the fire fading.

He sat on a bench, catching his breath.

> “I’m not ready for this,” he muttered.

> “No. You’re not.”

The voice came from the shadows behind him. He spun around, blade raised.

A girl stood there—Sky.

Tall, hooded, eyes like steel. She wore a tattered coat and a utility belt loaded with gadgets. On one hand, she held a strange silver staff. Her presence was calm, but sharp. Like a blade in silence.

> “Who are you?” Kai asked.

> “Someone who’s trying to keep that sword from killing you,” she replied.

> “You’ve seen it before?”

> “I’ve guarded it. For years. Until you pulled it out and lit the city on fire.”

Kai lowered his blade slightly.

> “I didn’t ask for it.”

Sky stepped forward, unafraid.

> “The Ember Blade doesn’t ask. It chooses. But if you don’t learn to control it… it’ll burn you alive.”

Kai’s eyes flickered with doubt.

> “Then teach me.”

The sky didn’t answer at first. She studied him—his stance, his grip, his eyes.

Then she turned and walked toward the tunnels.