The city never truly slept. Its neon lights flickered like dying embers, humming over cracked streets filled with whispers of things unseen. Beneath the illusion of normal life — students hurrying to classes, workers crowding subways, lovers laughing on late-night walks — there was another world. A hidden layer of reality that only a few ever glimpsed, and fewer survived.
Kaien Draven had always been just another face in that crowd. A boy with black hair that refused to stay down, violet eyes that drew unwanted stares, and a constant feeling that he didn't belong. He sat near the back of his high school classroom, staring out the window as his teacher's voice droned on about history.
The truth was, Kaien's history was about to change forever.
---
The Whisper in the Dark
It started with the whisper.
That night, as rain lashed the glass of his apartment window, Kaien woke to a voice calling his name.
"Kaien… Draven…"
He shot upright in bed, his heart pounding. The voice was low, almost like it came from inside his own chest. His room was empty, shadows stretching unnaturally long across the walls.
He rubbed his eyes. "Tch. Must be dreaming…"
But then the whisper came again — sharper, commanding.
"Awaken… Slayer of Shadows."
The temperature dropped. His breath turned to frost. The walls trembled as if something was clawing its way out of the dark. Kaien staggered back just as a tear split open across his room — a jagged crack of pure blackness, leaking purple mist.
From it stepped creatures.
Eyes glowing scarlet. Claws dripping venom. Shadows given form.
Demons.
---
The First Hunt
Kaien grabbed the nearest thing he could — a broken piece of metal pipe he had kept from a construction site near school. His hands shook, but instinct screamed louder than fear.
The first demon lunged. Its body was a writhing mess of black tendrils, jaws snapping wide enough to crush his skull. Kaien swung. The pipe connected, knocking it aside, but the force rattled his bones.
"Not enough…" he muttered, panic rising.
Two more demons emerged, circling him like wolves. Their laughter was guttural, unnatural, scraping at his ears.
Then it happened.
The voice returned.
"Take it… Take the blade. Claim your destiny."
From within the rift, light burst forth — not golden, not holy, but deep violet, burning with power. A sword.
Its hilt was wrapped in black leather, its edge glowing faintly as if made from crystallized night.
Kaien didn't think. He reached out.
The moment his hand closed around the weapon, a shockwave tore through the room. Purple lightning streaked across the floor. The demons froze, their laughter replaced with snarls of fear.
And Kaien… he felt alive.
Strength surged through his veins. His heartbeat slowed. His fear dissolved into something colder — determination.
"Alright…" Kaien whispered, eyes glowing with the same violet fire as the blade. "Let's see how strong you really are."
The first demon leapt. Kaien moved faster than thought, his sword slicing clean through its chest. The creature shrieked as black flames consumed it, leaving nothing but ash.
The others attacked in frenzy, but Kaien was no longer human in that moment. He dodged, countered, struck — his movements sharp, almost graceful, as though he had fought this battle countless times before.
By the time the last demon crumbled into shadows, Kaien stood drenched in sweat, chest heaving, the blade humming with power in his grip.
---
The Aftermath
When the rift finally sealed, silence filled the room. His walls were cracked, his window shattered, but the blade in his hand remained.
Kaien stared at it, trembling.
"This… this can't be real."
But it was. He could still smell the ash of demons, still feel the burn of power in his veins.
Somewhere in the city, a church bell rang midnight.
And in that moment, Kaien knew his life as a normal student was over.
---
The Watchers
Far away, in a hidden chamber beneath the city, cloaked figures observed through a mirror of obsidian. Their leader, a tall man with white hair and golden eyes, narrowed his gaze.
"So…" he said slowly, voice echoing. "The boy has awakened."
Another figure stepped forward. "Do you believe he is the one? The Slayer of Shadows?"
The leader smirked. "We don't need to believe. The demons already do. And soon… the world will as well."
---
The New Dawn
The next morning, Kaien walked to school as if nothing had happened. His violet eyes were sharper, colder, and the blade was gone — but not forgotten.
In his chest, the whisper remained.
"This is only the beginning."
Kaien clenched his fist. He didn't know what the demons wanted, why they came for him, or what destiny the voice spoke of.
But he knew one thing.
He would fight.
And if the world was truly being swallowed by shadows… then he would rise as its Slayer.