Jump City.
From the rooftop, Muzan gazed down upon the beating heart of his new world. The city pulsed with neon veins—clubs alive with bass, traffic snarling through midnight streets, laughter spilling from alleys only to be smothered by the whispers of crime.
To mortals, this was chaos. To Muzan, it was an orchestra. Every heartbeat, every flicker of fear or joy was music, and he was the conductor waiting to seize the stage.
He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, a blur of white hair and shadow. His presence was invisible to human eyes, but his demonic aura brushed the edge of the city like a storm cloud rolling in.
And far above, in a tower shaped like a giant "T," someone noticed.
Raven sat cross-legged in her room, eyes closed, the hum of her mantra steady. Darkness coiled gently around her, forming a protective sphere as she tried to silence the noise of the city. Meditation was her only refuge, her only weapon against the endless whispers of her father, Trigon.
But tonight… something intruded.
Her violet eyes snapped open. A ripple in the air, subtle yet overwhelming, pressed against her soul. Not her father's influence, not demonic residue she knew, but something… other. Something alive.
It was like standing too close to a storm and feeling the static charge crawl across her skin. Her heart betrayed her, skipping a beat.
She rose, cloak swirling, and stepped into the night.
Muzan was perched on a streetlight when she found him. The pale glow illuminated his perfect features—long white hair cascading over his shoulders, eyes glowing crimson like burning embers. He looked out of place among the grime of the city, as though the world itself had conjured him from a painting.
For a moment, neither spoke. The city buzzed beneath them, unaware of the collision of powers above.
Raven's cloak settled around her as she hovered just a few feet away. Her voice was calm, but edged with suspicion.
"You're not human."
Muzan turned his head, his smile sharp and amused. "Neither are you."
Her eyes narrowed. "You're radiating enough darkness to choke the entire block. Who are you?"
He tilted his head slightly, studying her. "A lost traveler. Someone who found himself in a world that doesn't deserve him." His gaze softened, his smile curling into something more personal. "But you… I've known about you long before this night, Raven."
Her stomach tightened. "Known me?"
"Your power is unique. The daughter of a demon lord, hiding behind fragile walls." His tone was velvet, laced with curiosity and hunger, but not the hunger of a predator. More like a man who had waited his whole life to see a dream step out of fiction. "Tell me, do you ever wonder if those walls will hold?"
Raven's cloak tightened around her shoulders, her defenses instinctively rising. She could feel it now—his energy. Not chaotic like her father's. Not mindless like the countless demons she had fought. It was controlled. Refined. Dangerous.
And beneath it… there was familiarity. A strange sense of recognition she couldn't place.
She forced her voice steady. "Whatever you are, stay away from this city."
Muzan chuckled, low and rich. "Oh, I will… for now. But don't mistake me for the kind of monster you've fought before. I don't crave destruction for its own sake. I seek something greater." He leaned forward slightly, crimson eyes locking onto hers. "Freedom. Power. And perhaps… companionship."
Her breath hitched before she could stop it. His words weren't laced with threats, but with certainty. Like a promise whispered in the dark.
Then, without warning, he stepped back into the shadows. His body dissolved into tendrils of black mist, vanishing as though the night itself swallowed him whole.
"Wait—!" Raven reached out, but he was already gone.
Back in her room, Raven sat on the edge of her bed, her meditation shattered. Her heart still beat faster than she liked, and her fingers twitched as if they could still feel the weight of his presence.
She told herself it didn't matter. He was just another threat. Another dark figure she would have to fight if necessary.
But her thoughts betrayed her.
That face. Those eyes. That strange sense of recognition.
And his words—companionship.
Raven pulled her cloak tighter around herself, staring out the window at the city lights. For the first time in a long while, she couldn't slip back into meditation. Her mind was too loud, replaying their encounter again and again.
Whoever he was, whatever he was… she knew one thing with absolute certainty.
This was only the beginning.