Rin awoke in darkness, the cold bite of damp stone pressing against his skin. His limbs ached, and a faint metallic scent filled the air. Blinking against the gloom, he realized he was lying on the floor of a cavernous chamber, circled by an intricate design etched deep into the stone—a summoning circle, pulsing faintly with a crimson glow. The thick air was heavy with the scent of blood and dust.
From the shadows, a slender figure emerged, her presence commanding yet enigmatic. The faint light revealed pale gray skin stretched taut over delicate bones, but her features remained obscured by the darkness. Her voice, when she spoke, was raspy and low, as if each word scraped the air.
"I—Who are you? Where am I? What happened to Lilith?" he demanded, voice cracking from exhaustion and confusion.
"You sure do ask a lot of questions, don't you?"
The rasped voice sent a chill down Rin's spine.
"I am your creator," she said, her words deliberate, "and for this 'liking person,' I'm guessing she's the woman you were with. I didn't waste my precious mana summoning someone as weak as her."
Rin's mind raced, the word 'creator' hanging heavy in the air. "My creator? What does that even mean? Are you my mother?"
"No, I am not your mother," the voice replied with a rasp, "yet I am a part of you."
"I'm confused. What do you mean?" Rin pressed, struggling to make sense of it all.
"I have a task for you," she said. "You are to capture the strongest demon currently existing in this country."
His eyes flickered involuntarily, shifting from their usual purple to a glowing yellow and back again. He didn't understand why, but a strange compulsion welled inside him—a trust in the words this mysterious figure spoke, an urge to obey.
"Follow me, and you'll learn the truth," she promised. "I will even retrieve that woman from the demon's belly and nurse her back to health."
Rin's voice barely held hope. "The truth? Can I find out who I am? Where I came from? Why my body feels… different? What is my echo?"
"Of course," she said. "You are, in a way, an extension of me—stronger, but inexperienced. You will grow until you can stand against those who have ascended beyond the gods."
"Ascended beyond gods? That's… possible?"
"It is. But you must shed the false idols you once worshipped. They will only slow you down. And more importantly, get rid of that thing you wear."
Rin glanced down. The cross Father Axel had given him hung around his neck.
"That cross… it's a blessing, right? It protects me, boosts my power."
"No. It was given to kill you." The rasp cut sharper. "He knew what you were from the moment you were found. The only way to kill you was through a demon."
Rin's heart thundered. "Kill me? What do you mean?"
"Tell me, Rin, that day when you saw Casey go missing—what came out of your eye?"
"Casey? Wait, you know about that?"
"I know everything about you, dear Rin. But answer my question. What came out of your eye?"
"Blood. Blood came out of my eye."
"And what color was that blood?"
"Red."
"Wrong. What came out was blood, but not red. It was black—like that of a demon. Because you yourself are a demon. What came out of your eye was a side effect of your echo awakening."
"My echo? Wait—I have an echo?"
"Yes. The father knew you had one, so he made sure you couldn't use it. That's why the cross. He hoped it would get you killed in the demon extermination."
"But what about everyone else? Why were they sent?"
"Sacrificial lambs. In his eyes, it was necessary, and God would surely forgive him."
"Enough questions for now, Rin."
From a separate summoning circle, a fragile form appeared. It was Lilith—her body gaunt, bones sharply visible beneath pale skin. She trembled weakly, her frame so thin it seemed she had been starving for days.
Rin's breath caught. He remembered the bloody battle, her missing arm.
The figure before him extended a pale gray hand. Rin watched, fascinated and horrified, as the slender fingers glowed faintly with shimmering mana. The magic wove through Lilith's broken limb. Layer by layer, muscles knitted together, bones reshaped and grew as if time itself had reversed. Skin healed over the wounds, smooth and unblemished, restoring her arm to its original form—as if the brutal fight had never happened.
"I'll have her looking good as new by tomorrow," the woman said, her voice still rasping but now tinged with a hint of amusement. "Because that is when you will depart."
Rin knelt beside Lilith, relief washing over him as her breathing steadied and color returned to her cheeks.
The woman's eyes glinted in the dim light. "After all, I can't have my prized possession losing because of some mere woman."
Lilith stirred, her eyes fluttering open. She looked at Rin, a mixture of gratitude and exhaustion in her gaze. Then she nodded firmly.
"I'm coming with you," Lilith said quietly. "You saved me. I owe you that much."
The woman smiled faintly, a cold, knowing smile. "Good. You will both need each other. Your mission begins October 15th, 608."
Rin swallowed hard, the weight of what lay ahead settling deep in his chest. He was no longer just a survivor. He was a weapon forged by forces beyond his understanding, tasked with a mission that could change the fate of the world. And now, with Lilith by his side, he was ready to face the darkness.