Blaze, Shadow Warden Captain

First form

Blaze, Shadow Warden Captain

鬼差队长：火流星

Captain of the Shadow Wardens, clad in scarlet and wearing a golden mask. He wields a pair of chain hammers filled with phosphor powder. As the chains whirl, the powder scatters, setting enemies alight on contact. Slamming the hammers into the ground can unleash a shower of phosphor fire around him.

As one who wields fire, Blaze knows well how fierce phosphor flame can be. He has always treated it with caution and respect. The Mindseal within him also keeps the Order above all else, leaving little thought for his own well being.

That changed when he happened to save a wandering healer during a mission. The healer offered him a mask in thanks, remarking that someone of Blaze's standing deserved something splendid to reflect his rank. Blaze meant to refuse, but the healer swore on his life that the mask could help him control Sha-Chi and greatly improve his martial techniques.

Day after day, year after year, Blaze had repeated the same techniques simply to keep the phosphor fire under control. The monotony had long worn on him. And after years as a captain, never rising into the ranks of the Order's masters, the frustration had been burning within him as well.

In that moment, he could no longer find a reason to refuse.

Second form

Blaze, Phosphor Consciousness

火流星：磷火意识

The golden mask concealed the phosphor fire gnawing at the Mindseal, and even seemed to make it burn hotter. In the end, only the faintest remnant of the Mindseal remained. Inside, it had long since been burned hollow.

Then the one behind it all quietly set the strings in motion. Before Blaze could even notice, the candle-threads sustaining his sense of self snapped one by one. The Mindseal was reduced to ash. Towering flames suddenly surged upward, bursting through his skull and leaving him as a dim green fire clinging to his body.

The searing pain spread through every limb like a plague, turning his consciousness into fuel for the phosphor fire. At the height of the burning, a strange, bone-deep cold took hold. Yet the remnant body endured, spraying phosphor fire at will, as if the release of some unbearable itch had given rise to a trace of pleasure.

"You see? Did that wandering healer lie to you?" The voice echoed through what remained of his mind... Yes. The mask truly could help one control Sha-Chi... Only the one who benefited was never him, but the one pulling the strings.