Point of View: Hajime
The mansion's basement was vast, underground, and lined with enchanted stone walls. The air was cold, dry, and saturated with residual power. Hajime had prepared the space for training—or destruction—without drawing attention. Gravity suppression runes and magical silencing seals were etched into every wall, containing any release of energy.
In front of him, Issei was panting, drenched in sweat, hands on his knees. He had been there for an hour, trying to summon even a flicker of power. But the Sacred Gear remained dormant.
"Focus. Not on strength... but on need," Hajime said, arms crossed as he watched. "Your body needs to understand that your life depends on this."
"But I'm not in danger right now!" Issei protested, frustrated.
Hajime snapped his fingers. A black sphere of gravity formed above Issei's head, slowly compressing the air around it.
"You are now."
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
The boy screamed and rolled to the side, dodging the sphere as it crashed into the floor with a dull thud. The force of the impact cracked the reinforced tatami.
"Are you going to keep screaming or start fighting?"
Point of View: Kuroka
Seated atop one of the stone pillars in the room, Kuroka lazily swung her legs, watching it all with a calm smile. She wore a short kimono, tailored for mobility, but had no intention of intervening.
"Nyaa~ Hajime, you're going to break the boy before he even awakens."
"If he breaks, he doesn't deserve the power he carries."
"As cold as ever," she said, stretching her arms above her head with a yawn. "But fine, I'll just watch. Maybe he'll surprise me."
Issei fell to the floor again after trying to counter with a clumsy kick. His body trembled, and every muscle protested with each attempt to rise.
"Ah, man... this is impossible."
"Nothing is impossible. Just unlikely when you're not truly trying," Hajime said, stepping closer, his tone growing serious. "Raynare will come back. Maybe not alone. And next time, I won't be around. Got it?"
Issei swallowed hard and nodded. He was beginning to understand that this new world he'd been thrown into didn't forgive weakness.
Point of View: Rias
Rias Gremory walked slowly through the dark halls of the Occult Research Club. The candles in the main room flickered when she entered, followed by Akeno.
"He's training Issei," Akeno said softly.
"And doing it alone. No help, no oversight," Rias crossed her arms. "He knows we're watching."
"He doesn't care."
"Exactly." Rias stopped in front of the window. "That worries me more than if he were hiding something. Power like his… unbound, without loyalty, without chains... could be a disaster—or a blessing."
"And you want to decide which one it will be."
"I want to understand it first." Rias turned slowly. "There are rumors he's already faced high-level creatures alone. That he has access to artifacts that defy magical laws."
Akeno nodded.
"He also lives with Kuroka. Which is already a diplomatic nightmare. Not just anyone can keep a Nekoshou like her at their side without getting killed or betrayed."
Rias picked up an old grimoire and laid it open on the table.
"We'll keep watching. But if I feel the school's or the city's balance is at risk... I'll speak to him myself."
Point of View: Issei
Hours had passed. Issei's muscles screamed for rest, his knees trembled. Every breath was a struggle. But something felt different now. When Hajime pushed him to the limit, he sensed a pulse in his left arm—like something was trying to answer, to awaken.
"I... I felt something," Issei said, gasping.
Hajime observed in silence, then walked over and tossed him a water bottle.
"That's the beginning. Don't mistake it for power. It's just the first step."
Issei drank the water like it was the most precious thing in the world.
"Hajime… what exactly are Sacred Gears?" he asked, curious.
Hajime crouched down and drew a circle with runes on the floor.
"They're fragments of will, created by Heaven, each with a unique purpose. Some amplify power. Others create weapons, control time, space, dimensions. Some even have their own consciousness. And the most dangerous ones… can consume the soul of the wielder if they're not strong enough."
Issei's eyes widened.
"So it's like a curse disguised as a blessing."
"Exactly. Most Sacred Gears kill the host before they ever reach their true potential."
Issei fell silent for several long seconds. Then slowly nodded.
"But I want it anyway. I don't want to be left behind."
Hajime gave a faint smile. It was almost imperceptible, but it was there.
Point of View: Kuroka
Later, Kuroka was preparing tea in the kitchen while Hajime checked the reinforcement on the mansion's magical seals. The silence between them was comfortable. When everything was ready, they retired to the bedroom.
She threw herself onto the soft mattress with a satisfied purr.
"Nyaa~ I love sleeping here. It smells like you."
Hajime took off his shirt and lay down beside her. Kuroka curled up next to him naturally, as she did every night.
"Was today rough?" she asked quietly.
"He'll need more than strength. He'll need conviction," Hajime replied, staring at the ceiling. "But he has potential."
"Do you see yourself in him?" Kuroka turned, resting her head on his chest.
"No. But I see someone who still has the chance to choose who he wants to be. I didn't get that choice."
Kuroka hugged him tighter.
"But you did what you had to. And you survived. As always."
"Surviving isn't the same as living, Kuroka."
She purred.
"Maybe not. But with me here... we can pretend, nyaa~?"
Hajime ran his fingers through her hair, silently. She was his refuge, his reminder that something human still remained within him.
Point of View: Rias
The next day, Rias saw Hajime from afar, sitting on one of the benches in the school courtyard. He was eating bread and drinking milk like any other student. But she knew—knew that behind that normality, there was a silent fire.
"It's time to talk to him," she told herself.
Akeno appeared beside her.
"Are you going to approach him directly?"
"Yes. We can't afford to wait any longer. He won't come to us."
"And if he refuses?"
"Then… we'll know exactly who we're dealing with."
To be continued…