"We Who are Hated by Life Itself"

Chapter 3

re·mem·brance
noun: a memory or recollection, especially of the dead

┌─── ⋆⋅SPRYZEN⋅⋆ ───┐

Lost Lúinor with a burst finish! It's over, Lost Lúinor completely destroyed Storm Spryzen. Spryzen's shattered halves lay at the bottom of the stadium.
Why?
What happened to the unbreakable bond between blader and bey?
Shu Kurenai stood, stunned, angry at Lui, angry at himself. All that rage, couldn't it be put to something useful?

"Why won't it work?" Shu questions.
"It seems like your bond has weakened, Shu Kurenai." The oily voice of Theodore Glass says from above the young blader."Legend Spryzen doesn't think of you as a worthy wielder."
"No." Shu grits his teeth. "I'm powerful, strong enough to wield Spryzen."

"You'll never get stronger being the blader you are now." Free's taunting voice sounds like metal scraping against metal in Shu's ears. Shu grits his teeth, clenching his fist around Spryzen.
"Hm, it seems you've failed me once again." Theodore Glass taunts.

Sweat drips down Shu's face and arms. He's been practicing one launch for hours but every single time, it fails. Every single time he tries, his bey loses control. He's poured every ounce of strength he has into trying to control it.
"Tsk." Theodore comments. "It seems as if even after hours of practice, you still fail to perfect your launch. Maybe it was a wrong decision, scouting you after all."
He turns his back on the young blader, the seeds of doubt have been planted in him. Phase 1 is complete.

"Do you want to become stronger?" Theodore asks. They're standing in a dark room next to an artifact that can supposedly grant incredible power.
"Is that even a question." Shu's iron resolve always shows. 

"Then abandon Shu Kurenai"

┌─── ⋆⋅ASHTEM⋅⋆ ───┐

"So what's in it for me?!" A green haired male slams his fist down on Theodore's desk.
"Norman, I don't have time for such tomfoolery." Theodore's complexion is unbroken, no emotion showing at all. This only seems to anger the blader even further.
"What? I've stood by your side for how long? All the sacrifices, everything." Norman rolls up his sleeves to show the rows of scars lining his arms. "Is this not proof enough, proof of everything I've done for you?"
"It seems you have not learned enough about the world." Theodore lets his signature smile seep through. Nothing about it is sincere. "The world can take whatever it wants Norman, it seems I haven't taught you that less on well enough."
"For fuck's sake Theodore..." Norman swears under his breath. "All this effort, and I haven't received anything. And what happens..." Norman lets out a tired, almost demented chuckle.
It wasn't unlike Norman to act as such but it still threw Theodore off. His normal demeanor was so...indifferent. It was strange seeing him become this passionate about something. Theodore made a mental note to take that into consideration for later.
"You replaced me, Glass, after everything. You've replaced me." Theodore chuckled lightly at the mention of his own last name. How ironic. Glass is something that is see-through, clear. Nothing like Theodore who's emotions are indiscernible. His motives hidden under the fake guise of Ashtem, or was it the fake guise of Theodore Glass.
It seemed the man known as Theodore glass had lost himself completely, he, however had no issues with that. It made achieving his goals easier.
"I admit you have served your purpose well." Theodore stood up, contemplating every word, every action. Everything is a calculated decision, and the blader standing before him knows it.
"A purpose to fulfill, is that all I'm here for? To play a part in one of your absentminded fantasies and then get cast aside. You're delusional, Ashtem, truly delusional." Norman looks at him with tired eyes. His raging anger subsided, replaced with something even more frightening, betrayal.
"The thing about fantasies, Norman, is that fantasies are fake. Here, I have nothing holding me back, I can be anything. I can be...

A god."

┌─── ⋆⋅DOOMSCIZOR⋅⋆ ───┐

What is it Shu? Are we just not good enough for you?
"What a weakling," Daigo spat out loud. That was what Shu Kurenai was after all. Nothing but a weakling who let his own insecurities eat him alive. Everyone had united under him. he gave the illusion of strength to the Beigoma Academy Beyclub.
He gave the illusion of a confident prodigy blader. A prodigy who always had the answers to everything, someone who the whole team would look to difficult times. But that was all just an illusion, wasn't it. Shu Kurenai was able to let his own problems become everyone else's. And more than that, he was just able to abandon everyone else.
Now it became painfully obvious that everything he had said to Daigo ever, had been fake. All the times when Daigo had confided in him, everything had just been fake. Shu had never meant to help him, he was just so caught up in his own insecurities. And about beyblade nonetheless.
Daigo felt himself lift his arm up, the arm clutching his bey that he had come to know so well. Bile rose in his throat, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes.