Chapter 30: Embers Awakened
A suffocating silence blanketed the Takumi Training Grounds.
The only sounds were heavy breathing and sweat dripping to the dirt below—
—as if even the world itself was holding its breath.
"You say life is unfair… But who else is to blame, if not yourselves?"
Hideo's voice cut through the stillness—calm, yet sharp enough to pierce bone.
It echoed, not just across the field, but into their chests,
where shame had long settled like dust.
None of the guards moved. None spoke.
They stood frozen, staring at the young man who now stood before them not as a spoiled heir—
—but as a leader.
Their breaths came ragged.
Not from rage, but from the sting of truth.
It wasn't anger that flushed their faces—it was humiliation.
Why were they still here?
Why had their comrades from the war gone on to command battalions—
—while they remained as household guards?
In their midst stood a broad-shouldered man, an old scar near his temple, eyes sharp like a cornered beast.
He said nothing.
But his left hand curled into a fist.
He had heard words like this before.
But never with such fire.
And around him, the others stirred.
Guilt.
Bitterness.
Confusion.
All rising to the surface as Hideo's voice dug into the wounds they'd long buried.
"Some of you probably think, 'They only got promoted because they were lucky.' Or, 'They were just more talented.' What a load of crap."
Hideo began pacing, his voice rising.
"If luck's what you blame, then why haven't you made your own?!
Stop blaming fate. Stop blaming the world.
As long as you keep waiting for 'the right moment,'
you'll remain nothing but stones, trampled under history's feet!"
The scarred man's fist tightened.
He could feel it.
His comrades—shifting, uneasy.
Lowering their gazes.
Looking away.
But in their eyes… something was flickering.
"I know you've been wounded," Hideo continued.
"I know you've failed.
But if you've given up because of that—then maybe you do deserve to be forgotten."
His words didn't lash like a whip.
They struck like a mirror—forcing the men to face a reflection they had long avoided.
A murmur came from the right.
A young soldier barely whispered, "Have we… really been living in fear all this time?"
Another, older, added, "Does that mean… all our experience means nothing now?"
"I'm not here to insult you," Hideo said, his voice lowering—but somehow becoming sharper.
"I speak because I believe in you.
You're not just remnants of the past.
You're strength—untapped, unawakened."
He stopped in front of them.
"But to become something more, you must choose.
Stay as shadows… or rise as the light."
The silence tightened, like air before a storm.
Until—
"NO!!"
One voice erupted.
Then another.
Then, as one, the entire force roared: "NO!!!"
Hideo gave a slow nod.
A thin smile curled on his lips.
He scanned their faces—
—and paused when his eyes met the scarred man's.
No words were spoken.
But something passed between them: The fire in you never truly died.
"I will train you," Hideo said. "I'll forge you until even the world is forced to take notice. But understand—this won't be easy. Some of you will fall. Some will bleed. Some may even die."
"But those who endure—
—you won't just be soldiers.
You'll become legends."
This time, the silence wasn't from fear.
It was determination—wordless, but loud.
Then came the final test.
"If you can't handle that," Hideo said, "leave now."
No one moved.
Not a single step back.
Instead, all three hundred of them stepped forward—
shoulders square, eyes sharp.
Even the scarred man.
And for the first time in a long while…
he felt alive.
From a distance, Hisashi Takumi watched, his eyes glistening.
"He's… really changed them," he whispered.
And that was when it all began—
The Vanguard of Takumi.
Not just soldiers—
—but flames reborn from forgotten ash.