Sarina crossed her arms, frowning playfully at Kael. "Is your work actually done, or are you just slacking off?"
Kael nodded smoothly, leaning back. "My work is completely handled. I manage my time perfectly."
Sarina placed a hand on her waist, her pink eyes glinting. "Then tell me, Kael... what about our business deal?"
Kael's eyes widened in sudden panic. "I forgot!" The moment the words slipped out of his mouth, he slapped his hand over his lips, his face turning pale.
Sarina chuckled softly, glancing over at Renjiro. "Renjiro, I don't think he realizes that I can use my void magic freely now."
Kael quickly raised his hands in defense. "Wait, wait! I already picked out the product line, so we can discuss the blueprint right now!"
Sarina nodded, leaning against the desk. "Oh? Then let's hear it. What's the product?"
Kael straightened his posture, his tone turning confident. "We're going to build a high-tier autonomous vehicle—a car with zero driver seat and no steering wheel."
Sarina gasped in surprise. "Self-driving cars? Kael, those have been on the market for years."
"Sure, but current models only function safely at low speeds," Kael explained, leaning forward. "The moment a vehicle hits high speeds, standard environmental sensors lag and fail to process obstacles fast enough."
Sarina studied his expression, shaking her head slightly. "Developing real-time high-speed spatial sensors is going to cost a fortune."
Kael laughed warmly. "Your father said the exact same thing when we first pitched a similar concept years ago."
Renjiro leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "So what's the plan then?"
Sarina looked down at the floor, her cheerful mood quietly fading as a soft, distant expression took over her face.
Noticeably shifting his tone, Kael asked gently, "Sarina? What's wrong?"
Sarina snapped out of her thoughts, lifting her head with a bittersweet smile. "Nothing... I just missed my dad for a second."
Kael poured a fresh glass of water from the carafe and handed it to her. "Here. Take a sip."
Across the office near the glass window, Nyxara was sitting with the two young demon children, Sarue and Arue. The little ones were listening to her in awe as Nyxara softly explained that while Kael looked like a normal human, he possessed ancient, boundless strength that he was still learning to master.
Suddenly, Kael froze mid-sentence.
An agonizing, sharp burning sensation flared inside his eye sockets. His golden pupils were forcefully shoved upward as secondary, pitch-black pupils sprouted from within his irises—a terrifying, double-pupil mutation taking over his gaze.
Sarina's smile vanished as she caught sight of his face. "Kael... your eyes look weird again!"
Kael stumbled back from the desk, panic rising in his chest. "What?! Not again—!"
THUD!
Before he could finish his sentence, Kael's knees buckled, and his body collapsed hard onto the plush carpet, completely unconscious.
Renjiro rushed over, kneeling beside him. "Did this happen to him before?!"
Kael's five manifested souls stepped closer. Drakes and Vajr nodded in unison. "Yeah... but he didn't pass out last time."
Xiyan adjusted his cuffs, his calm voice echoing through the room. "That's because I was piloting his physical vessel when it happened earlier."
Sarina gasped, her eyes widening as realization struck her. "Wait... so if he fainted this time... does that mean his soul was pulled out of his body?!"
Xiyan offered a solemn nod. "Precisely. His consciousness isn't inside this vessel right now."
Renjiro carefully lifted Kael onto the leather sofa. Leaning down, Renjiro pulled back Kael's eyelids, watching in grim fascination as the secondary black pupils continuously expanded toward the center of his golden irises.
FLUP!
Kael opened his eyes to find himself once again standing inside a pitch-black, silent void.
Frustration and fear boiled over inside him. "You bastard, Darkness!" Kael yelled into the empty space. "Why the hell am I back here?!"
FLASH!
The pitch-black void shattered into a blinding, infinite white room. Floating directly in front of Kael was a sleek, glowing black system panel, hovering quietly in mid-air.
A soft, chime echoed as golden words materialised across the dark interface:
[System Successfully Mounted]
Kael stared at the screen, sweating. "Wait... Sara has a system, but she doesn't get dragged into white rooms like this."
Instead of a robotic voice, new golden words smoothly appeared on the screen:
[Sara was originally a system entity who transitioned into a living vessel. You are a living host who has mounted the primordial system.]
Kael swallowed hard, trying to stay calm. "Fine... whatever."
The panel flickered, displaying a new, chilling line of text:
[Do you wish to conquer and bind the souls of Drakes, Xiyan, Nyxara, Vajr, Azune, and the Broken Soul?]
Kael tilted his head, his brow furrowing in irritation. "Conquer them? What does that even mean?"
A soft, mechanical voice finally echoed through the white expanse as the floating panel condensed into a tiny, glowing black sphere.
[Conquering them will grant you absolute, permanent authority over their abilities. However, they will no longer be able to physically manifest outside your body.]
Kael didn't hesitate for a single second. "No."
The dark sphere hovered in front of his face, its voice reverberating gently.
[Are you certain, Host? This will permanently restrict your direct absolute control.]
Kael nodded firmly. "I'm sure. They're my partners, not my slaves."
[Selection Confirmed. The Darkness System will reside within your soul core rather than your physical vessel. The interface panel can be summoned by you at will, visible to external living beings, but hidden from the sight of your internal souls.]
Kael let out a breathless, relieved laugh. "Got it..."
CRACK!
The white space shattered like glass around him.
Kael snapped his eyes open, sitting up on the office sofa with a sharp gasp.
His vision was clear, his golden eyes back to normal. Looking around the room, he noticed Sara standing near the coffee table, chatting with Renjiro and Sarina.
Kael rubbed his temples, swinging his legs over the edge of the sofa. "Sara? When did you get to the office?"
Sara turned around, offering a soft smile. "I arrived while you were lying unconscious on the couch. Are you okay?"
Kael stood up, stretching his arms as a subtle, new energy hummed deep within his soul core. "Yeah... I actually gained something from it this time."
Sara glanced over toward the window, where the two demon children were happily playing with Nyxara and Vajr. "By the way, Kael... are those two really Sarina and Renjiro's children?"
Kael chuckled, shaking his head. "I doubted it at first, but Sarina said they found them wandering near the entrance."
Sara nodded thoughtfully. "I see... but why was Sarina telling everyone outside that they were her kids?"
Kael shrugged his shoulders casually with a smirk. "Don't ask me... go ask the proud new mother yourself."