Renji opened his eyes into a silence so absolute it pressed against his eardrums. Black stretched in every direction, thick and endless. His own body felt weightless, like he was suspended in tar.
Am I dead?
He tried to breathe, but even his breath made no sound. His chest rose and fell in perfect silence. The thought clawed into his skull: Is this what eternity feels like? To stare into nothing, to never hear your own voice again?
Then—purple fire erupted before him, a spiral of flames coiling into the shape of a distorted face. The flames didn't light the void; they only carved it deeper, throwing jagged shadows across Renji's form.
And beneath it, music.
A slow, broken hymn on a piano — each note warped, off-key, stretched until it groaned.
"Hahahaha…" The laughter rolled out, not from the flames, but from inside Renji's chest. "What a delightful little soul. Rage and despair thick as tar… and yet you still amuse me."
Renji stumbled back, clutching his throat. His voice cracked, barely a whisper: "Wh… who are you?"
The fire-face stretched into something like a grin.
"I am Nyx. The darkness that coils between stars. The silence in every grave. The void that swallows kingdoms and songs alike."
Renji's body shook, teeth chattering. "…So… you're going to kill me?"
Nyx's laughter scraped across the void, high and distorted, echoing from every direction.
"Kill you? I saved you, boy. Without me, your skull would already be pulp beneath their boots."
Renji clenched his fists, anger seeping through the fear. "Then what do you want from me?"
The fire leaned close, whispering in a voice that was suddenly velvet, intimate.
"What I have always wanted. A host. A vessel to pour myself into. You humans call yourselves elementals — water, wind, stone. But there are seven of us who do not scatter our gifts so freely. Light, Fire, Ice, Lighting Earth, Metal and of course darkness. We are Primordials. We wander the world freely. We wait. We choose. And when the time comes… we claim."
Renji swallowed hard. "…So you chose me."
"Yes."
"Then I can fight like them now? Use… real power?"
"Power?" Nyx hissed, his voice splitting into dozens of whispers overlapping each other. "You have not even tasted the edge of it. But know this — every gift drips with cost."
Renji's voice shook, but the question still came. "Why me?"
The flames flickered, pulsing like a heartbeat. The grin stretched wider.
"Two reasons. First — your hatred was so rich, so intoxicating, I could not resist. It tasted better than blood."
Renji flinched.
"And second…" The flames leaned closer, the whispers sliding into his ear. "…You smell of him. My first. My only other host.
The purple fire guttered low, and the void swallowed Renji again.
********************
Renji's eyes fluttered open. The stench of blood and smoke was gone, replaced by the sharp, bitter scent of herbs. A dim lantern burned above, its light flickering across rows of glass bottles and shelves crammed with dried roots.
He was lying on a cot.
"Mister!"
The small voice jolted him. The mink girl was at his side, ears twitching, eyes wet but bright with relief. She squeezed his arm with both hands. "Oh, good… you're awake!"
Renji blinked, throat dry. "…Where…?"
A door creaked. An old elf shuffled in, robes brushing the floor. His silver hair hung in thin strands around a lined face, but his eyes glowed faintly green — the mark of healing magic.
"You're fortunate," the elf said in a calm, measured tone. "Your bartender friend and this little one dragged you to my shop. Without them, you might not have lasted the night."
Renji's head throbbed. Memories of the alley, the screams, the darkness flooding his body — all of it struck like a hammer. He clenched his fists beneath the blanket.
The mink girl glanced down, voice small. "Those bad men… they're gone now. The vampire carried you, and I helped. But… I don't have anywhere to go. They took everything I had."
The elf's gaze softened. He placed a gnarled hand on her shoulder. "Then you will stay here, child. This shop could use small hands, and my spells can do much, but not everything. You'll have a roof, food, and work."
The girl's face lit up with cautious hope. She turned back to Renji, tail flicking. "See? We're both okay now."
Renji swallowed hard, staring past her at the ceiling beams. Okay… is that what this is?
********************
The plains stretched wide beneath a gray morning sky, grass swaying in waves against the wind. Renji stood alone, cloak drawn tight, the distant hum of the village muffled behind him.
He flexed his hands. The memory of the alley pressed down on him — the fists, the helplessness, the blood. And then… the void. The purple mark still burned faintly on his chest beneath the fabric, pulsing with a rhythm that wasn't his own.
That wasn't a dream. It's in me now.
He closed his eyes and reached for it.
Darkness spilled from his fingertips, sluggish at first, then snapping outward in jagged streams. They curled into shapes half-formed — claws, spears, even a blade that wavered before dissolving back into mist. The effort drained him, sweat running down his temple, but his lips tugged into the faintest smile.
So this is it… elemental power.
A whisper coiled through his mind, smooth and cold.
Clumsy. But you learn quickly, boy.
Renji flinched, glancing around the empty field. "Nyx…"
You wonder about your strength, the voice continued. How you measure against others. Foolish human, do you not feel it?
Renji frowned — and then it struck him. A strange weight, heavy yet clear, pressing down in his chest. It wasn't random. It wasn't guesswork. It was a presence, a certainty.
"I can… feel it," he murmured. "My class. I'm Warrior rank now. And when it changes… I'll know."
Yes. Your kind are always so eager to climb the ladder. But know this: strength is not only taken. It is given. By blood, by despair, by hunger. If you want to rise, you must be willing to feed me.
Renji's hands trembled, the shadows retreating back into his skin. He didn't answer — not yet. Instead, he stared at the horizon, the wind catching in his hair, and clenched his fists.
"I don't care what it takes. I'll never be powerless again."
The purple mark flared once, then settled.