For now, there was nothing Kei could do but experiment. Fire's effect on the Storm Combat Body. How Dark-style devouring would interact with it. Whether sealing arts could stabilize or reinforce it...
Too many unknowns. Too few materials.
But that was fine.
He was still young.
He had time.
And for now, he had something else to look forward to.
At home
Kei passed through the gate and closed it behind him. Kōen was out back, sparring with Hayate and dodging Shadow's midair feather attacks. It was clear the three were starting to sync.
Good.
"You three, keep it up," Kei called. "Kōen, you'll need that agility soon."
"Yip!"
"Woof!"
"Caw."
With that, Kei stepped inside, unsealed a few study scrolls, and sat cross-legged. Research time.
Wind nature transformation. Morphology. Seal arrays. Meridian overlays. Theoretics of chakra flow, body mapping, and tactical augmentations.
Kei was building something more than techniques.
He was building a language. A grammar of power.
He paused occasionally, jotting thoughts into his margin notes—ideas about amplifying air pressure using rotational seals, or counterbalancing Fire Style recoil through meridian cushioning.
Each page fed into the mental scaffolding he was quietly constructing: a personal doctrine of chakra warfare.
Two hours passed.
Then he stood.
It was time.
He stepped out into the courtyard, holding a storage scroll in one hand.
Hayate trotted over, sniffed Kōen's ears, then gave a little sneeze. Shadow tilted his head and ruffled his feathers, letting out a dry huff. Kōen glanced at them both, tail flicking in amusement.
Kei observed in silence.
They were becoming a team.
"Kōen. Come here.""
The fox padded up, golden eyes shining.
Kei unsealed the scroll—100 crimson-red peppers spilled out in a neat pile. Each one glowed faintly with natural heat.
"Today," Kei said, "you evolve."
Kōen blinked. Then grinned.
[Summoning Beast: Koen]
[Race: Crimson Fire Fox]
[Talents: Lightness, Agility]
[Shared Talent: Reflex]
[Evolvable]
[Evolution Requirement: Red Fire Pepper (100)]
[Evolve]
Kei exhaled slowly, watching the peppers dissolve into chakra-infused flame. He could feel it—an almost magnetic pull through the contract link. Kōen wasn't just absorbing fire. She was becoming it. Every flicker that wrapped around the fox sent a low vibration through Kei's bones, like standing near a generator. The system called it evolution. But to Kei, it felt like metamorphosis.
In an instant, crimson peppers shimmered and ignited with spiritual flame. The fire danced—not burning, but pulsing like molten breath.
The flames spun, drew together, and enveloped Kōen.
It was like a coat of flickering fire.
Not hot. Not destructive.
Just warm.
Comfortable.
Kōen relaxed into it, eyes fluttering closed.
For a fleeting second, Kōen's mind wandered—remembering cold rain, bitter roots, and the burn of hunger. Life had always been motion. Hunt. Flee. Hide. But now, warmth surrounded her. Not just physical heat—but the kind that came from belonging. A name. A pack. A path forward.
She let it take her.
Kei watched as the glow pulsed. Shifted. Compressed.
Then he saw it—
A ripple of change.
Kōen's fur grew sleeker, redder, tipped with flickers of orange-gold. Her form elongated, her posture sharpening. Grace incarnate.
Then— two new tails burst forth.
She now had three.
[Ding!]
[Evolution Complete]
[Opening Summoning Beast Attribute Page...]
[Summoning Beast: Koen]
[Race: Crimson Fire Fox]
[Talents: Lightness of Fire, Dexterity of Fire, Fire Style Affinity]
[Shared Talents: Intelligence]
[Evolvable]
[Next Evolution Requirement: Flame Heart Stone (1000 grams)]
[Ding! Strength and talents shared with host.]
Power surged through Kei.
Chakra grew richer, more reactive. Heat no longer stung. Sparks no longer burned.
He focused—and a flicker of flame danced on his fingertip.
Not summoned. Not forced.
Just... called.
"Fire Style Affinity," Kei murmured. "Heat resistance. Internal ignition. External harmony."
The Storm Combat Body was wind incarnate. But wind was only flow. And flow came from contrast. Hot and cold. Pressure and pull.
Heat once disrupted the technique.
Now?
It might empower it.
He looked at Kōen, who sat now in the ash-kissed grass. Sleek. Proud. Silent.
Then she yawned.
Kei smiled.
"You're not bad, you know."
Kōen's tails twitched.
Shadow cawed softly from above.
Hayate let out a gentle bark.
The courtyard pulsed with power—and something else.
Harmony.
Teamwork.
A new beginning.