Darkness surrounded Rei again.
But this time, it wasn't silent.
It breathed.
The void pulsed with a soft, rhythmic glow like a heartbeat echoing in endless night. Red veins of light flickered through the emptiness, guiding him deeper.
Rei tried to move.
His legs responded but lightly, as if gravity didn't exist here. His fingers tingled, glowing faintly with crimson sparks.
"What… is this place?"
His voice echoed, stretching into infinity. Then
A figure stepped through the darkness.
Tall.
Luminous.
Familiar in a way that made Rei's chest ache.
The figure wore a long, tattered cloak of white and black, his hair silver and falling in careless waves. His eyes were crimson exactly the shade glowing in Rei's own.
He smiled.
"Welcome, Rei."
Rei froze.
"That voice... from the classroom…"
The figure nodded.
"I've been waiting for you to awaken."
Rei's throat tightened.
"Who… are you?"
The man stepped closer. The void shimmered around him as if it bowed to his presence.
"Some call me the First Marked."
His eyes softened a strange warmth behind the dangerous light.
"But you… may call me Father."
Rei's heart stopped.
"…F-Father?"
The man chuckled softly.
"You look like her. Especially the eyes."
Rei stumbled back.
"No-no. My parents… died"
The man's expression darkened.
"That's what they told you."
A pulse of energy rippled through the void.
"You were stolen from us. Hidden. Masked. Raised as a human so your mark would never awaken."
Rei stared at him, breath trembling.
"So I'm not… human?"
The man shook his head gently.
"You're more."
He raised his hand. The void brightened. Red sparks gathered around Rei, forming swirling circles.
"You were born with the rarest gift of our bloodline."
Rei felt a warm crackle under his skin, spreading from his sigil.
"What gift?"
The man's crimson eyes gleamed.
"The power to command the rift itself."
Rei's heart pounded.
"The… rift?"
The man nodded.
"That space between worlds. The same force that brought you here. The same force that took your mother."
Rei's breath hitched.
"My… mother?"
The man's voice softened.
"She sacrificed herself to seal the Hollowborn. To save your life. To give you another chance… even if it meant living far from us."
Rei felt tears burn at the corners of his eyes.
He didn't even remember her face.
The man stepped closer, placing a warm hand on his son's shoulder.
"You are the last of our line, Rei."
Repression, fear, confusion everything pressed in on him.
"But I… don't know how to control any of this…"
The man smiled sadly.
"That's why I brought you here."
The void suddenly trembled.
"Your two protectors cannot reach you now."
Rei blinked.
"Aira… Ryouma…"
"They both care for you."
A short pause.
"But one of them would die for you."
Rei's heart squeezed painfully.
"Aira…"
The man nodded.
"She has always remembered you. Even when fate tried to erase you from her mind."
Rei swallowed hard.
"But… why? Why does she"
The man chuckled faintly.
"Because she wasn't allowed to forget."
Rei froze.
"What do you mean?"
His father's voice deepened, full of sorrow.
"Aira Kagetsu is tied to you by a promise made long before either of you were born."
Before Rei could speak,
A violent tremor shook the void.
His father's eyes widened.
"No… they found us too soon."
---
Back in the Real World Aira's Desperation
Aira Kagetsu ran through the collapsing hallway, her breaths sharp and uneven. Her uniform clung to her skin, soaked in sweat and dust. She ignored the cuts on her arms, the bruises forming on her legs.
"Rei… Rei-kun… where are you…"
Her voice cracked.
The emptiness around her felt suffocating. The lights flickered violently as if the school itself were losing power.
Ryouma limped behind her.
"Aira slow down your aura is unstable"
"SHUT UP!"
The words tore out of her raw, shaking.
"I can't slow down! I can't if I lose him again if he's gone"
Her steps faltered.
Her knees hit the floor.
She clutched her chest, sobbing softly.
Ryouma stared at her shocked by something he had never seen.
Aira Kagetsu.
Crying.
"Aira…" he said quietly, stepping beside her. "He's not dead."
Her head snapped up.
"How do you know?!"
Ryouma looked away.
"Because… if he died… the mark inside me would have reacted."
Aira blinked.
"You… have a mark?"
Ryouma didn't answer.
"Aira," he said slowly, meeting her trembling gaze, "we can't save him if you collapse."
She wiped her tears harshly.
"I'm not collapsing."
Then she stood.
Eyes sharp. Heart burning.
"I'm going to bring him back."
Ryouma exhaled.
"I'm coming with you."
Aira didn't refuse.
---
Back in the Rift The Attack
Rei's father pushed him back.
"Rei. Listen to me."
His voice was urgent now.
"You're not ready but you must do something."
Rei nodded shakily.
"W-What?!"
"Choose."
Rei blinked.
"Choose what?!"
His father extended his hand. Light erupted around them, splitting the void into two paths.
"One path returns you to the world."
The left path glowed soft and white.
"But the other…"
The right path burned crimson and black.
"Leads you deeper into your bloodline. Power beyond anything you've ever known."
Rei's breathing quickened.
"Why would I choose that?"
His father's expression grew grim.
"Because the Hollowborn you faced was only a scout."
Rei's blood ran cold.
"A… scout?"
"Yes."
His father's voice darkened.
"The real one the Alpha hungers for you."
The void trembled violently, shadows closing in.
"You must choose now."
Rei stared at the two paths.
Go back to Aira…
Or awaken deeper power…
His father's voice pierced the roaring void.
"What do you fight for, Rei?"
Rei's heart answered before his mind.
"Aira."
The void exploded with light.
Rei's father smirked.
"Then you chose right."
Rei stepped toward the white path
But the Alpha appeared.
A monstrous silhouette with six burning eyes and jagged teeth burst through the void. Its roar shook the entire realm.
Rei staggered back in terror.
"I It's here?!"
His father stepped forward, energy swirling around him.
"I will stall it. But you"
He grabbed Rei's wrist.
"Protect the girl. The moon-child."
Rei's breath caught.
"Aira…"
His father nodded.
"She is the key. The last key."
The Alpha lunged.
His father shoved Rei into the white light.
"GO!"
Rei's vision shattered.
His father's voice echoed one last time.
"Become who you were born to be!"
---
Rei Returns And Awakens
A blinding flash tore through the school corridor.
Aira and Ryouma shielded their eyes.
When the light faded
A silhouette stood at the center of the hall.
Bruised.
Breathing hard.
Eyes glowing faintly red.
Rei.
Aira froze.
"R… Rei-kun…?"
Rei lifted his head slowly exhausted, shaking, but alive.
"Aira…"
Her eyes filled with tears instantly.
She ran.
Ryouma didn't stop her.
Aira crashed into Rei's chest, arms wrapping around him desperately.
Rei stumbled but held her tight.
Her face buried in his neck.
Her tears soaking his collar.
Her fingers gripping him like he might disappear again.
"Rei… Rei… don't ever… scare me… like that again…"
Rei's voice trembled.
"I'm sorry… I'm here… I'm back…"
She pulled back, cupping his cheeks with both hands.
"You idiot why would you awaken alone?! Why didn't you call me?!"
Rei blinked.
"I didn't want you to get hurt."
She stared at him.
Then
She hugged him tighter.
"You're more important than my life."
Rei felt his heartbeat explode.
Even Ryouma looked away, jaw clenched.
---
The New Power
Aira pulled back, wiping her tears.
"Your eyes… they're glowing."
Rei swallowed.
"I met my father."
Both Aira and Ryouma froze.
Aira's voice trembled.
"Y-Your father… is alive…?"
Rei nodded slowly.
"And he said… I have a power. One I don't understand yet."
Ryouma stepped forward.
"What kind of power?"
Rei looked at his hand.
Red light sparked around his fingertips.
The air bent around him like reality itself was responding to him.
His voice was quiet but firm.
"The power to open rifts."
Aira stepped back, eyes widening in terror.
"No… Rei… that power… it can destroy worlds."
Rei looked at her.
"But it can also save them."
Aira covered her mouth, shaking.
Ryouma cursed under his breath.
"This is bad. The Alpha will come for him now."
Rei's chest tightened.
"Aira what did my father mean by 'you are the key'?"
Aira froze completely.
Her heartbeat echoed in the silence.
Rei stepped closer.
"Aira… what are you hiding?"
Ryouma looked tense.
"Aira. Don't."
Aira looked at Rei eyes filled with fear, love, and an overwhelming truth she never wanted to reveal.
"I… know why the marks chose you."
A long pause.
"And I know why… I always remembered you."
Rei's breath caught.
Aira whispered,
"The truth is… you and I… were bonded before birth."
Rei's eyes widened.
"Aira… what…?"
She trembled.
"Our families made a pact. If a Marked Child was ever born… the Moon Child of our clan would be tied to him."
Rei swallowed.
"Tied… how?"
Her voice softened.
"In soul… in power… in fate."
Aira's hand rose slowly, touching Rei's cheek.
"We belong to each other, Rei-kun…"
Rei felt his chest explode in warmth.
Her eyes glimmered like melting silver.
"But that also means…"
Her voice broke.
"…if you die, I die too."
Rei's blood turned to ice.
"Aira… what?!"
She smiled painfully, leaning her forehead against his.
"That's why I can't lose you."
Rei's heart thundered.
"Aira… I"
But before he could speak
A shadow burst open in the ceiling.
A monstrous roar filled the corridor.
Six glowing eyes stared down.
The Alpha had arrived.
Aira grabbed Rei's hand.
Ryouma stepped forward, aura roaring black.
Rei's eyes flared red.
And the Alpha whispered
"Found you."
---
The rift ripped open behind the Alpha.
Reality cracked.
The school shook violently.
Aira's grip tightened.
"Rei don't use your power your body isn't ready!"
Rei stared at the monster.
Then at Aira.
Then at his trembling hands.
His voice was cold.
Determined.
Fatal.
"I won't let it take you."
The Alpha lunged.
Rei's sigil exploded.
Aira screamed his name.
Ryouma cursed.
And the entire school was swallowed by red light
TO BE CONTINUED…
---