Lumina City's nights reeked of smoke and desperation. By day, it glittered in wealth and neon skylines, but its true bones were crime gangs, syndicates, and predators who thrived in the shadows. Kai had spent his life avoiding them. Tonight, he was walking straight into their jaws.
Ryo's call had come just hours after training. Bro, where the hell are you? The Black Fangs are on the streets again. They've got new muscle something weird, man. It's not normal.
Kai hadn't told him anything. Not about Seraphine, not about the pendant, not about the battle that nearly killed him. But panic in his best friend's voice left no room for hesitation. Now, as he moved through rain-slick alleys, Seraphine strode silently at his side.
"You shouldn't involve me in your human quarrels," she said flatly, though her presence proved otherwise.
"They're not just quarrels," Kai muttered. "Ryo's pulled me out of enough trouble to last a lifetime. If these gangs have… whatever those things were" he thought of shadow claws raking the air "then I can't sit back."
Her golden eyes slid toward him. "You're fragile still. One mistake and the Fallen will claim you."
"Then keep me alive," he shot back, the fire in his tone startling them both.
For a moment, silence. Then the barest curve of her lips half annoyance, half admiration.
They found Ryo cornered behind a shuttered noodle shop. He was battered, lip split, still swinging a steel pipe at three men in black jackets stamped with a serpent's fanged maw. At first, they looked like ordinary gangsters but the air around them was anything but human.
The leader turned, crimson light flickering in his eyes. His grin split wide, revealing teeth sharpened to jagged points. "So this is the one," he hissed, locking on Kai. "The mortal chosen by the artefact. Azrael wants your head mounted on a spike."
Kai froze. Hearing Azrael's name aloud felt like a blow to the gut. Ryo spat blood, confused and terrified. "Kai… what the hell is going on?"
No time to explain. One of the thugs lunged, moving far faster than human reflex should allow. The pendant seared against Kai's chest, instinct roaring awake. His hand snapped up a light burst outward, blasting the attacker back into a dumpster with a crash.
Ryo's jaw dropped. "What the Kai?! Since when could you"
"Later!" Kai barked, his voice deepened, steadier than his own. Power thrummed through his veins like wildfire.
The leader snarled, shadows spiralling around his fists. "You think a child can defy us?"
Kai steadied himself, recalling Seraphine's words. "I don't think. I fight."
He surged forward, his fist colliding with a shadow-cloaked strike. Light and darkness clashed violently, sparks raining into the puddles at their feet. The leader staggered but lashed out, carving across Kai's ribs with a blade of solid darkness. Agony tore through him, blood soaking his shirt.
He stumbled. The pendant flickered. I can't…
Then Seraphine's voice cut through the haze, sharp as steel. "Focus! The artefact does not shield cowards it amplifies will! Show it your resolve!"
Her words ignited something deep inside him. Gritting his teeth, Kai dragged the pain inward, refusing to fall. Neon blurred and bent around him, drawn into the heat in his veins. With a cry that split the storm, he drove his fist forward again every ounce of defiance flooding the strike.
The blow shattered the shadow-blade. Light ripped through the gang leader, tearing the corruption from his flesh until he collapsed, unconscious but alive.
The remaining gang members bolted, fear scattering them into the rain.
For a long moment, only Kai's ragged breathing filled the alley. Then Ryo dropped his pipe and stared, pale and wide-eyed. "Kai… what the hell are you?"
Kai wiped the blood from his mouth, his hands trembling. He glanced at Seraphine, who stood composed, unreadable. Then back to Ryo. "I'm still me. But things have changed."
Ryo swore under his breath. "Changed? Bro, you just lit up like a supernova and punched a demon gangster into next week! You'd better start talking"
Before Kai could speak, Seraphine stepped forward. Her aura pressed against Ryo like the weight of a mountain. "He owes you nothing, mortal."
Ryo stiffened, paling, but Kai stepped quickly between them. "Stop. He's my friend. If I can't trust him, then what's the point of any of this?"
Seraphine's gaze lingered, then softened by a fraction. "You're reckless," she murmured again.
Kai met her eyes, his pulse racing—not just from the fight but from the way sparks always leapt between them. "Yeah. But it kept him alive."
Later, in a crumbling apartment above the alley, Ryo paced with a furious rhythm. "So let me get this straight you've got some magic necklace, you're blasting shadow monsters, and now this goddess-looking lady is your… what? Trainer? Bodyguard? Girlfriend?"
Seraphine bristled, golden eyes narrowing. "Careful, mortal."
Kai flushed, nearly choking. "She's not.. I mean we're not " He glanced at her, and the unspoken tether in her gaze froze him. Dangerous. Undeniable.
Ryo groaned, throwing his hands up. "Oh, for Kai, you're living in an anime and forgot to tell me."
Despite the pain in his ribs, Kai laughed. Short, cracked, but real. For the first time in days, he felt like himself.
Seraphine turned away, though Kai caught the faintest blush touching her immortal composure.
The levity didn't last. From the cracked window came a whisper, riding the rain like poison. Cold. Mocking.
Every step you take binds you tighter, little mortal. You shine, and the darkness will not rest until you are devoured.
Azrael Thorn.
Kai's blood ran cold. He clenched the pendant in his fist, fire hardening in his eyes. If the Fallen wanted him, then he'd give them a fight they'd never forget.
But deep down, he knew: this was only the beginning.