The beeping of the hospital monitor faded into the background as dawn crept across the sky, bathing the city in pale light. A thin mist hung over the rooftops, curling between metal pipes like quiet ghosts. Shirogane District always felt colder in the mornings—heavy with secrets that hid beneath the concrete.
Kai Ren lay awake.
He had slept, technically. But real rest? Impossible. Every time he closed his eyes, his mind filled with flashes that didn't belong to him.
Flames.
Spears clashing on black stone.
A towering creature with eyes of molten gold.
A warrior—.no, a giant—wielding a serrated blade as tall as a man.
And above all… a roar that shook the heavens.
Kai jolted upright, gasping.
Ravnos chuckled darkly.
Ah… so the memories bleed through. Good. Perhaps you are not entirely hopeless.
Kai pressed a hand to his forehead. "What were those? I saw… I saw wars. Armies. Monsters I don't even have names for."
Fragments, the demon-warrior replied. Scraps of a life far greater than yours. When I walked the ancient continents—when the sky cracked under the weight of gods—I led legions of warriors. I shattered mountains. I bled for a world that feared me as much as it needed me.
His voice dropped.
I died sealing a calamity your history books cannot fathom.
Then with an angry voice---My thanks was betrayal from the people I went to war with.
Kai swallowed. "So why me?"
Ravnos scoffed. I ask myself that hourly.
Before Kai could answer, the door opened.
His mother walked in, holding a tray of food from the cafeteria. Her smile was tired but relieved.
"You're awake, sweetheart."
Kai returned it the best he could. "Yeah. Feeling a little better."
That was a lie. His entire body felt like it had been set on fire and frozen again.
But Ravnos hummed in satisfaction.
You stood yesterday. You will stand again today. Your bones will grow stronger with time… whether they like it or not.
Just outside Kai's door, two figures lingered in low conversation.
Aria Mitsuki leaned against the wall, arms crossed as she replayed the sight of Kai in her mind. No matter how she analyzed it, she kept arriving at the same unsettling conclusion.
"He's carrying something," she whispered. "Something ancient."
Instructor Hayato Kurogane nodded. "I sensed it as well. The aura spike was… wrong. Not like a gifted. Not like a cursed. Different."
Aria hesitated. "Do you think it's… possession?"
Hayato's eyes hardened. "If it is, then it's unlike any I've seen. And it did not originate from this era."
Aria exhaled slowly.
For a moment, her usually cold expression softened.
"…Then he's in danger."
Hayato turned to her. "From whom?"
"Everyone," she replied. "If a demon or spirit is inside him… many factions would kill him to obtain it. Or dissect him. Or bind him."
Hayato's jaw tightened.
"That's why," he said, "we protect him."
Aria nodded.
But then her eyes drifted past Hayato toward a nearby corner—
Where a boy stood watching them.
A tall boy.
Wearing a long black coat.
One hand in his pocket.
He smirked when their eyes met and walked away.
Aria narrowed her gaze.
"Sensei… who was that?"
Hayato frowned. "No one from my division."
"Then why was he listening?"
They both fell silent.
Because neither believed in coincidences.
BACK INSIDE THE ROOM
Kai picked at his food halfheartedly. His mother left to speak with a nurse, giving him a moment alone.
Ravnos broke the silence first.
Boy… today you return to school.
Kai froze mid-bite. "No. No way. I'm not ready. After what happened yesterday—."
You survived a pathetic beating, Ravnos growled, unimpressed. Your spine should not crumble from fear of children.
Kai clenched his fist. "They're stronger than me."
Everything is stronger than you.
Kai's throat tightened. "…You don't have to be so harsh."
Ravnos paused.
Then spoke with a colder, older tone.
I speak harshly because softness kills. I have seen entire clans vanish because they hoped reality would be gentle.
Kai stared at the floor.
The demon continued:
You asked why you? Why a weak boy? It was not my choice. My spirit was forced into the nearest living consciousness as I died. A reincarnation… flawed and incomplete. Your ancestors once worshipped warriors like me.
Kai blinked. "A reincarnation? So… you were human once?"
A long silence.
When Ravnos answered, his voice sounded far away—like dust from an ancient grave.
Once.
Then the door opened again.
A nurse walked in.
But not the one from before.
This one was different—tall, pale, with dark circles beneath her eyes as if she hadn't slept in days. Something about her presence sent a chill down Kai's spine.
"Good morning, Kai." Her smile was polite but too stiff. "How's your head?"
Kai hesitated. "Um… better, I guess."
The nurse stepped closer, placing a cold hand on his forehead.
Ravnos hissed violently.
BOY. BACK AWAY FROM HER.
Kai jerked his head slightly.
"W-what? Why?"
Her aura is wrong. Like rotting wood smeared with magic. She is not a healer… she is hunting.
Kai's eyes widened.
The nurse's fingers lingered on his skin just a moment too long.
Then she whispered:
"…Your pulse is uneven."
Kai's chest tightened.
Something prickled at the back of his neck.
The nurse leaned in closer.
"Tell me, Kai… do you ever hear voices?"
His blood froze.
Ravnos roared.
GET AWAY FROM HER NOW!
Kai flinched and shoved himself backward, knocking into the headboard.
The nurse's smile vanished instantly.
She straightened, face darkening.
"So. You do hear them."
Kai's breath stalled.
He couldn't speak.
The nurse whispered:
"…Found you."
She reached into her pocket.
Something glinted—
A small charm.
Black as obsidian.
Engraved with runes that pulsed faintly.
Ravnos snarled like a beast from the abyss.
She serves the ARKANA CULT. One of the groups who hunted me in the ancient wars. This woman is no nurse—she is a spirit tracker.
Kai's body trembled. "W-what is she doing here—?"
They felt my awakening, Ravnos growled. They came for you.
The nurse took one step closer.
Then another.
Kai felt his chest go tight.
"Stay still," she whispered.
Ravnos roared.
MOVE, CHILD!
Kai threw himself off the bed just as the charm ignited with a flash.
A blast of pressure exploded where he had been sitting.
A burn mark scorched the wall.
Kai landed on the floor hard, gasping.
Ravnos bellowed:
THEY WANT TO RIP ME OUT OF YOU—ALIVE OR DEAD.
The nurse hissed, eyes glowing faintly purple.
"You're coming with me, boy."
Kai scrambled toward the door.
But before he reached it—
The door swung open.
And Aria Mitsuki stood there.
Eyes cold.
Stance ready.
Hand already on the hilt of a concealed short-blade beneath her uniform.
She saw the scorch mark.
She saw the charm.
She saw the nurse's glowing eyes.
Aria's expression hardened instantly.
"You," she said quietly, blade sliding free.
"Step away from him."
The nurse hissed like a feral creature.
Kai clung to the wall, trembling, unable to speak.
Ravnos snarled:
Good. The girl is useful. But not strong enough.
If she dies, boy—RUN.
Instructor Hayato sprinted down the hall the moment he sensed the spike in aura.
But he wasn't alone.
The tall boy in the black coat stepped out of a side hallway and watched him run.
A cryptic smile formed on the boy's lips.
"So," he murmured, "the Demon-Bound has awakened after all."
He slid his hands into his pockets and walked in the opposite direction.
"Things just got interesting."
BACK INSIDE — CHAOS BEGINS
Aria lunged.
The nurse swung her charm.
The clash of aura and steel shook the hospital room—
And Kai realized:
This was only the beginning.
The world had started to move around him.
And everyone could sense what he carried.
The demon-warrior inside him growled:
Welcome to your new life, boy.
The hunt has begun.