KAI POV
The cell door slams shut behind me and I can't breathe.
My father called me a mistake. My brothers laughed while discussing what to do with my money after I'm dead. My family—the people who are supposed to love me—just told me they're relieved I'm being executed.
I slide down the cold stone wall and pull my knees to my chest. Twenty-nine minutes left to live, and I've never felt more alone.
Then I hear footsteps in the hallway.
"Please," a familiar voice says to the guards. "Just five minutes. He's my best friend. I need to say goodbye."
Ryo.
My heart jumps. Of all the people who betrayed me today, Ryo wasn't one of them. He's been my friend since we were seven years old. He taught me how to ride a bike. I taught him how to talk to girls. We promised each other we'd be brothers forever, even if we weren't related by blood.
The guard unlocks my cell. "Five minutes, Tanaka. Don't try anything stupid."
Ryo walks in and the door locks behind him. He looks perfect as always—designer clothes, styled hair, confident smile. His shadow wolf spirits shimmer around him like dark smoke, proof of his B-rank power.
Everything I'm not.
"Kai." He sits down next to me on the floor like we're back in high school, hanging out after class. "Man, I can't believe this is happening."
"Believe it." My voice sounds dead even to my own ears. "In twenty-eight minutes, they burn my soul to ash."
"It's so unfair." Ryo shakes his head. "You didn't do anything wrong. You were just born different."
Something warm sparks in my chest. Finally. Finally, someone who understands.
"Thank you," I whisper. "Everyone else acts like I deserve this. Like being defective makes me less than human."
"That's insane." Ryo puts his hand on my shoulder. "You're my brother, Kai. Blood or not, you're my brother. I just wanted you to know that before... before the end."
Tears burn my eyes. I don't even try to stop them. "I'm scared, Ryo. I don't want to die."
"I know. I'm so sorry." He pulls me into a hug and I actually feel safe for the first time all day. "I'm going to miss you so much."
We sit there for a moment, two friends saying goodbye.
Then Ryo's phone buzzes.
He pulls back and checks it quickly. "Sorry, I need to take this. Work emergency."
He stands up and walks to the far corner of the cell, speaking quietly into his phone. I can barely hear him over the ringing in my ears from crying.
But then my ghost-sight flickers.
The woman in the bloody wedding dress floats through the cell wall. She points at Ryo with one pale finger, her mouth moving like she's trying to warn me about something.
I squint, trying to focus on what Ryo is saying.
"...yes, I understand," Ryo says into the phone. His voice is cold. Professional. Nothing like the warm tone he used with me two seconds ago. "The testimony is ready. I'll say he showed me forbidden demon texts. That he asked me to help him summon something dangerous."
My blood turns to ice.
"What about the money?" Ryo continues. He's facing away from me, not realizing I can hear him now. "You promised fifty million yen. I want it transferred before midnight... No, I don't feel bad about it. Kai's a defective. He was going to get caught eventually. At least this way I get paid for doing the right thing."
The world stops spinning.
Fifty million yen.
My best friend—my brother—sold me out for money.
"Perfect," Ryo says. "Transfer it to my account. And make sure the Sanctum knows I was the one who provided the evidence. I want the credit... Yes, I know testifying against my best friend looks bad, but people will understand. He was practicing forbidden demon magic. I had to report him. It's what heroes do."
He laughs. Actually laughs.
"Thanks. This will really help me buy that new apartment I've been looking at. Maybe I'll name it after Kai—the Defective's Revenge." Another laugh. "Sorry, that's dark. But seriously, transfer the money. I have to go comfort him some more before the guards take him away."
He hangs up.
I don't move. Don't breathe. Don't make a sound.
The woman ghost floats closer to me. Her sad eyes meet mine, and I finally understand what she's been trying to tell me all day.
Everyone will betray you. Trust no one.
Ryo turns around with that same fake sad expression. "Sorry about that, buddy. Where were we?"
"You were telling me how much you'll miss me," I say quietly.
He sits back down next to me like nothing happened. Like he didn't just admit to destroying my life for apartment money. "Yeah. It won't be the same without you, Kai. You were always the good one. The kind one."
"The stupid one," I add.
"Hey, don't talk like that—"
"How much are they paying you?" I look him in the eyes. "To testify against me."
Ryo's face goes blank for one second. Just one second where his mask slips and I see the truth underneath.
Then he smiles. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Fifty million yen." I watch his eye twitch. "For saying I practiced forbidden demon contracts. For providing the evidence that sentenced me to death."
The fake concern melts off his face like snow in summer. What's left behind is cold. Empty. The face of someone who never really cared about me at all.
"You heard that?" He doesn't even sound sorry. Just annoyed.
"Every word."
Ryo sighs and stands up, brushing off his expensive pants. "Well, this is awkward. I was hoping to leave before you figured it out. Would've been easier for both of us."
"Easier?" My voice breaks. "Ryo, you're killing me for money! We've been friends for sixteen years!"
"Friends don't pay for penthouse apartments, Kai." He shrugs like he's talking about the weather. "And honestly? You were always holding me back. Everyone knew I was best friends with the defective Nakamura kid. It hurt my reputation. This way, I get rid of the embarrassment and get paid. Win-win."
I can't form words. Can't process this.
"Don't look so shocked." Ryo heads for the cell door. "Everyone has a price. Mine was fifty million. Your family's price was their reputation. Yuki's price was marrying into Sanctum leadership. We all sold you, Kai. You were just too naive to see it coming."
He bangs on the door. "Guard! I'm done here."
"Wait—" I stumble to my feet. "Ryo, please. Don't do this. I'll find a way to pay you more. I'll give you everything I have—"
"Everything you have?" He laughs. "Your father already claimed your trust fund. You're worth more dead than alive, buddy."
The guard opens the door.
"Goodbye, Kai." Ryo walks out without looking back. "Enjoy your last twenty minutes."
The door slams shut.
I stand there in the empty cell, destroyed worse than any execution could manage.
My family disowned me. My fiancée condemned me. My best friend sold me.
Everyone I ever loved wanted me dead.
The demon's voice whispers through the stone walls, louder now, more insistent: "Your mother saw this coming. She warned them you were special. They killed her for it. And now they're killing you. Call my name, little Sovereign. Let me show you what real loyalty looks like. Let me show you how to make them pay."
I close my eyes.
Eighteen minutes until execution.
And somewhere in the Forbidden Vault beneath my feet, something ancient and terrible starts laughing.