I used to think I was lucky to be born again.
After everything I had lost in my past life, waking up as a baby in this strange new world felt like a miracle. I was born into the Shizen people—green-haired, green-eyed, earth-bound souls who lived close to nature. Our village was small but full of warmth. My new parents weren't rich or powerful. They were farmers. But they loved me. Truly loved me.
I had never known that kind of peace before.
The days were simple. The sun rose over green hills. The air smelled like fresh soil. I grew up surrounded by laughter, vegetables, music, and the quiet sounds of people who were content. My father used to lift me onto his shoulders every evening after work. My mother sang while she cooked, always smiling as she looked at me.
I finally had a home.
A real one.
But peace in this world… never lasts long.
One night, everything changed.
The air felt strange. Heavy. The animals in the barns started acting wild. Dogs barked non-stop. Horses kicked at the fences. Even the birds stopped singing. The sky turned dark too quickly, and the stars disappeared behind thick, black clouds.
Then came the screams.
I still remember the first one. A woman's voice, high and sharp, tearing through the night like a knife. Then others followed. Shouting. Crying. Shattering. Our peaceful village was no longer quiet.
I ran outside. I didn't even know why. I just followed the sound. That's when I saw it.
Flames.
The entire west side of the village was already burning. Thick smoke filled the air, making it hard to breathe. And through that smoke… I saw them.
Demons.
They weren't just stories. They were real. I had only heard about them from whispers and bedtime tales. People said they were prehistoric creatures, cursed and exiled from this world a long time ago. Monsters that only lived in old books and nightmares.
But here they were. Hundreds of them. Tearing through homes. Tearing through people.
I froze.
They were huge. Some crawled on four legs with twisted bodies and glowing eyes. Others walked upright, their skin black as coal, with horns and claws. They looked like they had crawled straight out of hell. They screamed and roared and laughed in a language I didn't understand.
And leading them… was something worse.
A Monosoke.
I had only heard the word once. A human possessed by a higher demon. Stronger. Smarter. Far more dangerous than the rest. I saw him at the edge of the flames, floating above the ground like a god. His hair was silver, his skin covered in black markings. His eyes glowed red. Not just glowing. Burning. His presence alone made the air shake.
He raised his hand—and with one gesture, fire poured from the sky. Not regular fire. Hellfire.
It turned buildings into ash in seconds.
I heard my mother scream my name. My father grabbed my hand and pulled me back inside. His grip was shaking.
"We need to hide," he said, his voice low and tight. "Now."
He ran to the back of the house, pulled out a large wooden chest, and opened the lid.
"Get in," he told me.
I shook my head. "No, I don't want to. What about you and mom—"
"Get in, Gentaro!" he shouted. His eyes were wide, full of fear. But also love. "Please."
I climbed inside.
He placed a blanket over me, then closed the lid. It was dark. I couldn't breathe well. I couldn't see anything. But I could hear.
I heard the door being kicked down. I heard growling. Screaming. Wood breaking. Flesh tearing.
My mother's last cry.
Then silence.
I covered my mouth to stop myself from crying out loud.
I don't know how long I stayed in that chest. Maybe minutes. Maybe hours. But eventually, something heavy stepped close. The sound of footsteps. Slow. Loud. Confident.
Then… the lid creaked.
It was opening.
I was going to die.
The Monosoke had found me.
My heart was beating so fast I thought it would explode.
Then a flash of white light exploded across the room.
A voice yelled something powerful.
A burst of wind slammed the lid shut again.
I heard screaming. Not human screaming. Demon screaming.
More lights. More shouting. And then… silence again.
When the lid finally opened, it wasn't the Monosoke standing there.
It was him.
The one they called Ikiryō.
A human possessed by the power of the light spirit.
He looked like a warrior out of legend. White robe. Glowing sword. Golden markings on his arms. His eyes were filled with a light that made me feel safe. Pure. Strong.
He reached out and gently pulled me out of the chest.
I looked around.
The entire village… was gone.
Burned. Destroyed. My parents were gone. Their bodies lay in the rubble, lifeless, soaked in blood.
I didn't even have the strength to cry.
I just stared.
The ground shook again. And then, from the smoke, the Monosoke returned.
Still alive.
His body was covered in cuts, burns, but he was smiling. Like none of it mattered. His eyes locked on the Ikiryō.
They fought.
The two of them clashed with powers I couldn't even understand. Light versus darkness. Fire against sky. It lasted for what felt like hours. The ground split. The sky cracked. Every blow sent shockwaves across the village.
Then finally, the Ikiryō trapped the Monosoke inside a strange, glowing box. Runes covered it. It pulsed with light.
But then something happened.
The Monosoke laughed.
A strange, twisted laugh. He looked at me—dead in the eyes—and said something I still hear in my dreams.
"If I die, I'll live again."
And then he smiled.
And he killed himself.
Just like that.
The box shattered.
The light vanished.
And I felt something inside me break.
Darkness rushed toward me. Like smoke. Like claws. It was the demon. The Monosoke. He wasn't dying.
He was choosing me.
To become his new host.
I fell to my knees. My head burned. My chest felt like it was splitting apart.
"No… no…" I whispered. "Not again. Please. Not again…"
The Ikiryō rushed toward me.
One of his warriors whispered something in his ear. I could barely hear them.
"He's being possessed," the warrior said. "What do we do?"
The Ikiryō looked at me. His eyes full of pain. I saw him hesitate.
Then he spoke.
"This one… is both."
He placed his hand over my heart and whispered something in a soft, ancient voice.
The demon's grip on my soul loosened. Just enough.
But not completely.
I passed out.
And when I woke up, I was still alive.
But I was no longer the same.
I had become something new.
A hybrid.
Half Monosoke. Half Ikiryō.
A walking contradiction.
A cursed child.
The others didn't know what to do with me. They didn't take me with them. They left me on the ground, lying in blood and ash, as if I wasn't worth the trouble.
I didn't move.
I couldn't move.
I laid there… on top of the chest that once hid me. My parents' blood drying on my skin. Demon blood mixed with mine. The world silent again.
I closed my eyes and waited for death.
But instead…
The Hunters arrived.
I heard their boots first. Then the flap of wings. Some of them flew. Warriors in black armor, glowing weapons, scanning the area with glowing eyes. They expected a war.
They found me instead.
Just a boy. Lying alone. Barely breathing.
They looked around at the destroyed village, the demon corpses, the ruins. Then they looked at me.
One of them stepped closer.
"This one…" he said, "survived all this?"
Another replied, "He's no ordinary boy."
They lifted me gently.
And just like that… a new chapter began.