Eclipse of the Spirit: The Reincarnated Flame

Night never truly fell after Rei's return.

Instead, the skies dimmed into a twilight that never moved—

As if time had been set to pause by a will greater than cosmic law.

The flames within Rei no longer surged.

They flowed—like rivers weaving through a grander pattern.

A pattern he could now see.

A map etched itself into his mind.

Not of roads or cities—but of threads.

Points of convergence where fate itself wove tightly.

One pulsed in Eastern Europe.

Another trembled beneath the Pacific.

But the brightest flared beneath the Vatican.

Rei stood atop the shrine's outer wall,

Wind combing his dark silver hair,

Eyes reflecting worlds.

Noira approached from behind.

"You're reading destiny like it's a scroll now?"

He smiled slightly.

"I'm not reading. I'm hearing it."

Mireille appeared, holding her data slate.

"Massive distortion detected above Italy. Celestial flux density has tripled in the past hour. Something's… forming."

Eirenne frowned.

"Do we act?"

Rei turned to her.

"No. We respond."

Vatican Catacombs — Sub-Basement XIII

The Holy Vault trembled.

Within—sealed since the dawn of the First War—lay a chamber that had never opened.

Until now.

An armored figure stood before it—Archbishop Valtan,

One of the few humans trusted with fragments of the Angelic Choir.

He watched as the seal cracked.

From inside came light.

Not divine.

Not infernal.

But neutral.

Beyond judgment.

"It's begun," he whispered. "The Second Convergence."

Behind him, a voice of bells and echoes replied.

"The Sovereign Flame has walked outside the veil. He has summoned the next epoch."

It was Cassiel, Voice of the First Sphere.

"Prepare the Sacred Choir. And send word to Grigori.

We must not act blindly again."

Shrine of the North Wind — Inner Hall

Mireille projected a diagram over the tatami floor.

"Cross-referencing old Velstra vaults with recent Sovereign pulse signatures, I believe I've triangulated where the First Node of Second Convergence will manifest."

Rei raised an eyebrow.

"Node?"

She nodded.

"Convergence isn't a battle. It's a seed.

It plants itself in people, places, even history.

Once matured—it rewrites meaning itself."

Eirenne whispered:

"And what if that meaning turns hostile?"

Rei's voice remained calm.

"Then we answer it.

With fire… and memory."

Kyoto Forest Edge — That Night

The wind carried whispers.

Not sounds.

Names.

Old names, from across dimensions, began resurfacing—

Heroes long dead.

Villains long purged.

Ideas long suppressed.

And one name reached Rei as he walked alone beyond the shrine:

"Azeron."

He froze.

Karasu flapped down onto a branch nearby.

"I know that name. So do the Sovereigns.

It was their mistake."

Rei whispered:

"Then it's mine now."

He clenched his fist.

[New Entry in Sovereign System Codex: Azeron — Flame That Should Not Be.]

Category: Forbidden Echo

Status: Reactivated

Location: Unknown

Mireille's voice crackled through comms.

"We've got a hit. An old crater in the Caucasus is radiating a pre-conceptual flame signature. It's not Vildras. It's older."

Rei turned as the others approached, weapons gleaming, eyes resolute.

Noira cracked her neck.

"We going?"

Rei nodded.

"We have to."

Because the Second Convergence wasn't just another rise of power.

It was the reawakening of every flame the world ever chose to forget.