KUROGANE ENMA:CRIMSON SYNC

CRIMSON RULE

Enma didn’t dream.

He hadn’t in years. Sleep in F-Block was just closing your eyes and hoping nothing kicked the door in.

But tonight he dreamed in red.

He was standing in a field of glass. Every step cut his feet. Above him, a sun that looked like an eye. Watching. And in front of him, a throne made of bones.

On it sat something that had his face. But older. Scarred. Crowned in red light.

_“Welcome, vessel,”_ it said. _“Sit.”_

Enma woke up choking.

His room was dark. 4 AM. The wrist device was screaming.

*WARNING: CRIMSON SYNC SPIKE. 22%*

The red lines were crawling up his neck on their own. No fight. No pain. Just the King, breathing.

Enma slammed the suppressant bottle to his lips and drank. It burned. 22% to 15% to 9%.

The lines faded. He collapsed back on the bed, shaking.

There was a knock on the door.

“Enma.” Aoi’s voice. “You okay?”

He opened the door. She was in training gear again. Hair tied back. No sword. But her eyes went straight to his neck.

“You had a spike,” she said. Not a question.

“Nightmare.”

Aoi studied him for 3 seconds. Then nodded. “Come on. Training. Now. Before Floor 3.”

“I thought we had 6 hours.”

“We do. Which is why we’re using them.”

---

The training room was underground. No windows. No cameras. Just mats, dummies, and a wall of weapons that Enma wasn’t allowed to touch.

“Rule 1 of Crimson Sync,” Aoi said, tossing him a towel. “It feeds on pain.”

Enma wiped blood off his lip. He’d hit the dummy too hard. 12%.

“Rule 2,” Aoi continued. “It grows when you lose control. Anger. Fear. Desperation.”

She circled him. “Rule 3. At 50% it starts talking back. At 70% it starts driving. At 100%... you’re gone.”

Enma looked at his hands. The faint red scars. “How do you know this?”

“Because my grandfather had it,” Aoi said quietly. “And he hit 100% on Floor 88. The Academy had to nuke the floor to stop him.”

The room got cold.

Enma didn’t ask if he survived.

“Can it be controlled?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Aoi said. “But not the way you think. You don’t fight it. You give it something else to focus on.”

She held out her hand. Palm up.

“Hit me.”

Enma stared. “What?”

“Hit me. As hard as you can. But think of something other than hurting me while you do it.”

“This is stupid.”

“Do it.”

Enma raised his fist. He thought of Jin. Of Hana’s bowl of rice. Of Rule 1.

He punched.

His fist stopped 1 cm from her palm.

Aoi didn’t flinch. “Good. 0% spike. You’re learning.”

She lowered her hand. “Crimson Sync isn’t a weapon, Enma. It’s a leash. The King wants you to use it to destroy. You have to use it to protect. That’s the only way you don’t lose yourself.”

Enma exhaled. “And if I can’t?”

“Then I put you down before you hit 100%,” Aoi said. Flat. Honest. “Promise me you won’t make me do that.”

Enma looked at her. S-Class. Noble. And she was standing here teaching a D-Class how not to become a monster.

“I promise,” he said.

Aoi nodded. “Good. Now again. 50 reps. Think of Jin every time.”

They trained for 4 hours.

Punch. Think of Jin. 0%.

Block. Think of Hana. 0%.

Dodge. Think of Rule 3. 0%.

By the end, Enma was sweating and bruised and 0%.

“Not bad,” Aoi said, tossing him water. “For a null.”

“Thanks.”

The wrist device beeped.

*FLOOR 3 IN 30 MINUTES. TEAM BATTLE. YOUR TEAM: KUROGANE ENMA, RIKA VEX, DORN IRONHEART.*

Aoi frowned. “Rika and Dorn? They’re both C-Class. Nobles. This is new.”

“What does it mean?”

“It means Kuroda wants to see if you can play with others. Or if you’ll kill them.”

She looked at him. “Don’t.”

---

The elevator to Floor 3 was different. Bigger. And there were already two people in it.

*RIKA VEX.*

16. Blonde. Armor that looked like it was made of mirrors. A bow on her back that hummed. She looked Enma up and down and sneered.

“D-Class,” she said. “Great. We’re carrying trash.”

*DORN IRONHEART.*

17. Huge. Shield taller than Enma. Bald. Scar across his face. He didn’t look at Enma. He was looking at the floor numbers.

Enma didn’t say anything.

The elevator stopped. The doors opened to noise.

*FLOOR 3: THE TEAM ARENA.*

It was a city. Broken buildings. Streets. Cars flipped over. And in the center, a tower with a flag.

*OBJECTIVE: CAPTURE THE FLAG. ENEMY TEAM: 3 CONTESTANTS.*

On the screens above: *TEAM NULL vs TEAM BLADE.*

A voice: "Contestants! You have 20 minutes. Last team standing wins. Begin!"

Rika was already moving. “Dorn, left flank. I’ll take high ground. Trash, stay behind me.”

She vanished onto a rooftop.

Dorn grunted and walked the other way, shield up.

That left Enma in the middle of an empty street.

_“Alone,”_ the King whispered. _“Good. Kill them all.”_

Enma ignored it and ran.

The first enemy hit him 10 seconds in.

*BLADE TEAM: KAZE.*

Speed type. Twin daggers. He came out of an alley and slashed.

Enma caught the wrist. 8%. He threw Kaze into a wall.

“Kid’s got hands,” Kaze grinned, blood on his teeth. “But can he take three?”

Two more came. *BLADE TEAM: TANK and SNIPER.*

Tank charged. Sniper fired from a roof.

Enma rolled. The bullet took a chunk out of the concrete by his head. Tank’s fist came down. He blocked it. 15%.

The impact cracked the street.

Tank’s eyes widened. “You’re—”

Enma didn’t let him finish. He drove his elbow into Tank’s throat. The big man went down.

Sniper was already aiming again.

Enma looked up. Thought of Jin. 15% to 10%.

He threw a piece of concrete. It hit the sniper’s rifle. The shot went wide.

Kaze was back up, faster this time. His daggers were glowing.

“Team Null is weak!” Kaze shouted. “Where’s your nobles?”

Enma didn’t answer. He was listening.

Footsteps. Above. Rika. She was fighting someone.

More footsteps. Left. Dorn. He was yelling.

Enma made a choice.

He turned and ran. Away from Kaze. Away from the fight.

“Coward!” Kaze yelled and chased.

Enma led him through 3 alleys. Into a dead end.

Kaze stopped, grinning. “Got you, null.”

Enma looked past him. “Took you long enough.”

Kaze turned.

Dorn was there. Shield raised.

The impact flattened Kaze into the wall.

*1 DOWN.*

Dorn looked at Enma. Grunted. “Good bait.”

They moved.

On the roof, Rika was pinned. Two Blade members had her. Her mirror armor was cracked.

Enma and Dorn came in from behind.

Dorn took the hits. Enma took the shots.

It was messy. It was fast.

Enma hit 28%. Then forced it down to 20% by thinking of Hana’s face.

When it was over, 3 more were down.

*5 DOWN. 1 LEFT.*

The flag tower.

The last enemy was waiting. *BLADE CAPTAIN: VEXUS.*

He was 18. Twin swords. And he was holding Rika by the throat.

“Drop the shield,” Vexus said to Dorn. “Or the pretty one dies.”

Rika kicked. Useless.

Dorn stopped.

Enma stepped forward. “Let her go.”

Vexus laughed. “Or what? You’ll hit me? D-Class?”

He tightened his grip. Rika gasped.

Something in Enma went quiet.

Not angry. Not scared. Just... quiet.

*CRIMSON SYNC: 30%*

The red lines came up. But slow. Controlled.

Vexus saw it and frowned. “What is that?”

Enma didn’t answer. He walked forward. One step. Two.

“Stay back!” Vexus yelled and raised his sword.

Enma moved.

He was not fast. He was inevitable.

He caught the sword arm. Twisted. The bone snapped. Vexus screamed.

Enma grabbed his throat. Lifted him.

Rika fell, coughing.

*CRIMSON SYNC: 42%*

_“Break him,”_ the King whispered. _“Break them all.”_

Enma looked at Vexus. Choking. Eyes wide.

He thought of Jin. Of Aoi saying _“don’t make me do that.”_

He dropped Vexus.

The man hit the ground, gasping.

*CRIMSON SYNC: 35%*

Silence.

Then the sirens.

*TEAM NULL WINS. TIME: 11 MINUTES 02 SECONDS.*

Dorn stared at Enma. No words. Just a nod.

Rika was still on the ground, glaring. “Don’t think this means I like you, trash.”

But she didn’t look away from his scars.

The arena faded. They were teleported back.

Aoi was waiting.

She took one look at Enma. 35%. Fading. And exhaled.

“You did good,” she said quietly.

Enma nodded. He was tired. So tired.

---

They got him back to his room. Aoi made him drink the rest of the suppressant. 35% to 12% to 5%.

Then she sat on the floor next to his bed.

“You scared me,” she said.

“You came anyway.”

“Yeah.” She smiled a little. “Stupid habit.”

They sat in silence.

“My grandfather,” Aoi said suddenly. “His name was Ren. He was like you. Strong. And he wanted to protect people. But the King kept telling him the only way was to kill everyone who could hurt them.”

She picked at her sleeve. “At 90%, he came to me. I was 8. He said ‘Aoi, if I lose, you have to stop me.’”

Enma didn’t speak.

“I couldn’t,” Aoi said. “The Academy did. They erased Floor 88. And him.”

She looked up at Enma. “So when I say stay under 50%, I don’t mean it for the Academy. I mean it for me.”

Enma reached out. His hand hovered over hers. Then he took it.

Her hand was warm.

They didn’t let go.

The wrist device beeped.

*MESSAGE: VISITOR APPROVED. F-BLOCK: HANA KURO.*

Enma sat up. “Hana?”

Aoi frowned. “How did she— I didn’t authorize that.”

The door opened.

Hana stood there. Two guards behind her. She looked terrified and determined.

“Enma,” she said. “They took Jin.”

The room went cold.

“What?” Enma stood.

“Last night,” Hana rushed. “Black vans. They said ‘Academy relocation’. I tried to stop them but—”

Enma’s vision went red.

*CRIMSON SYNC: 25%*

Aoi grabbed his arm. “Enma. Breathe.”

“He’s 11!” Enma’s voice cracked. “They took an 11 year old!”

“I know,” Aoi said. Firm. “And we’re going to get him back. But not like this. Not at 100%.”

Hana was crying now. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t—”

Enma looked at her. At Aoi. At his shaking hands.

The King was screaming. _“GO. KILL THEM. BURN IT DOWN.”_

Enma closed his eyes.

Rule 1: Don’t die.

Rule 2: Don’t break.

Rule 3: Don’t forget.

He opened them. 25% to 18%.

“Where?” he asked.

Aoi answered. “Containment Level B7. Under the Wall.”

“Then that’s where we go,” Enma said.

Aoi shook her head. “You can’t. Not yet. If you leave the Wall before Floor 10, Kuroda will call it forfeit. Jin dies.”

Enma’s fists clenched. Blood.

“Then what?” he asked.

Aoi stood. “Then we climb faster. Floor 4 tomorrow. Floor 5 the next day. We get to Floor 10 in a week instead of a month. And then we break into B7.”

Hana wiped her face. “I’m coming too.”

“No,” Enma and Aoi said at the same time.

Hana glared. “I’m not staying here while—”

“You are,” Enma said. Softer. “Because if I fall, someone has to remember me. Okay?”

Hana looked like she was going to argue. Then she nodded.

Aoi squeezed Enma’s hand once. “Rest. We start at dawn.”

They left. Hana last. She looked back at him from the door.

“Come back human,” she whispered.

The door closed.

Enma sat on the bed. Alone.

*CRIMSON SYNC: 15%*

_“They have him,”_ the King said. Soft now. _“Only I can get him back fast.”_

Enma picked up the suppressant bottle. Empty.

He threw it across the room.

Then he laid down and stared at the ceiling.

Tomorrow: Floor 4.

In a week: Floor 10.

And then: War.

Rule 1.

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