Darkness.
Then pain.
Then the sound of chains rattling.
I woke slowly, every muscle screaming, my skin raw from the transformation. My wrists were bound in glowing red shackles—enchanted, burning just enough to keep me weak but alive. The room was dim, carved from obsidian stone, lit only by flickering torches that cast long, dancing shadows.
And in one of those shadows… she stood.
Keziah.
Her silhouette leaned against the wall, arms crossed, eyes gleaming like twin moons dipped in blood.
"Sleep well, Ember?" she purred.
I didn't answer. I tugged at the chains. They didn't budge.
She stepped forward, hips swaying, voice like honey laced with venom. "You're stronger than I expected. That form… exquisite. But sloppy. You burned too hot, too fast."
I spat blood. "What do you want?"
She smiled. "A story."
---
Flashback: The First War
The room shimmered.
Suddenly, I wasn't in chains anymore. I was standing in a memory—not mine, but hers.
Fifty years ago.
The sky was black with ash. Cities burned. Demons roamed freely, feasting on the living. And in the center of it all stood Keziah, untouched by flame, whispering into the ear of a broken man.
He was sobbing. Holding a photo of his wife. The last thing he had.
"I can bring her back," Keziah whispered. "But you must open the seal."
He hesitated.
She leaned closer. "The Devil will honor the deal. He always does."
He nodded.
And the world ended.
I watched as the seal cracked open, as Hell spilled onto Earth, as Keziah smiled through it all.
She didn't just serve the Devil.
She taught him.
She taught him how to lie. How to twist truth into temptation. How to make humans choose their own destruction.
She was the architect of the apocalypse.
---
Back to the Present
I gasped, the vision fading. Keziah stood over me again, her smile wider now.
"You see?" she whispered. "I didn't break the world. He did. I just handed him the blueprint."
I glared at her. "Why show me this?"
"Because you're next," she said. "You've tasted power. You've felt the fire. And soon… you'll want more."
She leaned in, her lips inches from mine.
"Let me help you burn brighter."
I didn't flinch. "I'd rather burn out."
She laughed, low and melodic. "We'll see."
She turned to leave, her silhouette melting into the shadows.
And I was left alone.
Bound.
Broken.
But burning still.I took a deep breath and exhaled softly.
Then, with a swift flick of my wrists, the enchanted chains shattered like brittle glass, clattering to the stone floor in glowing fragments. The heat in my veins hadn't fully faded, but it was enough. Keziah had underestimated me.
I stood, slow and steady, my body aching with every movement. The cave's exit loomed ahead, a jagged mouth of light cutting through the darkness.
I walked toward it.
And I didn't look back.
---
Five Hours Later – HQ, Northern Outpost
The cold air of the command tent bit harder than any demon's claw. I stood before Captain Shinomiya, arms crossed, shirt torn, blood dried on my collar. She sat behind her desk, posture perfect, her icy blue eyes locked on mine like twin daggers.
Miss Shinomiya was elegance and execution wrapped in frost. Her long silver hair was tied in a tight braid, and the air around her shimmered with a cold mist. An S-rank Ice Cultivator. One of the few people alive who could freeze a demon's heart mid-beat.
She didn't look pleased.
"You disobeyed protocol," she said, voice sharp and clear. "You engaged a Calamity-class threat without backup. You left your partner behind. And you returned alone."
I shrugged. "He was already dead."
Her eyes narrowed. "And you didn't think to call for extraction?"
"I was unconscious. Sorry for the inconvenience."
She slammed her hand on the desk. Frost spiderwebbed across the wood. "This isn't a joke, Shigen! Jian is dead. You nearly died. And now you're telling me Keziah is back?"
I met her gaze, unflinching. "Yeah. She's back. And she's playing a long game."
She leaned back, exhaling slowly, her breath misting in the cold. "You're hiding something."
"Probably."
"Shigen—"
"Look," I cut in, "I burned a forest, killed six Calamity-class demons, and watched my partner get shredded like paper. I'm not in the mood for paperwork."
She stared at me for a long moment. Then, with a sigh, she reached into her desk and slid a folder across the table.
"A demon surrendered to us this morning," she said. "Walked right into the perimeter and asked for you by name."
I raised an eyebrow. "That's new."
"It's a larva-type," she continued. "But don't let that fool you. Our analysts estimate it's Calamity-class. Maybe worse."
"And it wants to surrender?"
She nodded. "On one condition."
I tilted my head. "Let me guess. A pact."
"Correct. But only with you."
I chuckled. "Of course. Because nothing says 'trust me' like a demon demanding a soul-bond."
"This isn't a joke, Shigen," she said again, colder this time. "You know what a pact means. Shared power. Shared mind. Shared will. If you accept, you're letting it inside."
I looked down at my hands. They still trembled faintly. The blue fire had faded, but something lingered beneath my skin. A hum. A whisper.
Maybe this was what Keziah wanted.
Maybe this was the next step.
I looked back up at Shinomiya, smirking.
"Well," I said. "Let's go meet my new roommate."
[END OF CHAPTER 4]