Enishi, while unconscious, drifted back into the endless dark world. But this time, the old man was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, it was only his ring.
The silence broke with static. The ring pulsed, then twisted into a human form made of pure electricity, a faceless figure of sparks and arcs, every movement humming with power. Only its smile was visible, sharp and eerie, glowing like a wound in the dark.
It stepped toward Enishi, the air vibrating with every word.
"I did not choose you."
The smile vanished, its voice echoing like thunder in a cavern.
Enishi scoffed, though his chest felt heavy.
"I never wanted to be chosen. And if I wasn't, then fine, I'll take you off the moment I wake up."
The figure tilted its head back and laughed. The laugh wasn't human. It was jagged, cracking like lightning splitting stone.
"How amusing. How could a son of Hoshinori not know how sigils work? Or are you the abandoned one they've been hunting?"
Its form shook violently, arcs of lightning scattering into the void before reforming again. When it finally stilled, its smile was gone, replaced by a void-like expression.
"The only way to remove me… is in death. And my purpose is to make certain that day never comes."
The air around them rumbled like a storm building. Its body flashed brighter as its voice deepened:
"I was Taiyou once, fire, the burning sun in another's hand. Now I am Inazuma, lightning, bound to you. But hear me well… you were not chosen. That bond is incomplete, unstable. Perhaps it should have been your father. Perhaps your child, one day. But not you."
Its form began to dissolve, crackling apart piece by piece, but its words cut deeper as it vanished:
"A word of advice, boy… never use me. For I will not only devour you, but everything you have ever loved."
The second the ring fully vanished in the dark world was the exact moment Enishi awoke in the real one. He opened his eyes to see nothing but his limp body lying in a hospital bed, his mother and his lover, who had flown all the way from Nikko, crying at the sight that he'd awoken.
He tried sitting up but felt he couldn't.
His mother screamed for a doctor to come and examine her son. As the doctor walked in, he froze in shock to see Enishi's eyes glowing a calm dark blue, his hair turned a dirty grey patched white.
Regaining his composure, the doctor spoke carefully.
"Mr. Hoshinori, I'm afraid your body has suffered severe trauma from the house fire and several lightning strikes. It's unlike anything humanity's ever seen, if I'm being honest."
His words brought his mother and lover to tears, and left Enishi in utter disbelief.
"W-Will I ever recover?" he asked.
"Oddly," the doctor began, studying the monitor, "after multiple scans, it seems your body is systematically repairing itself, in the most brutal way I've ever seen. The veins that were severed internally are being lightly shocked by residual lightning from the strike, stopping internal bleeding completely, but causing irreversible nerve damage in your brain, while also stealing your ability to feel the pain from it."
Enishi froze, staring into his blanket, trying to recall the conversation he'd had with the ring, and then realizing what it had said.
"Ever use me. For I will not only devour you, but everything you have ever loved."
Those words echoed in his head, ringing over and over… until he passed out.
Suddenly, his body convulsed violently. His entire frame arched off the bed.
"By God," the doctor gasped, paralyzed, staring at Enishi's vitals. "Nothing is failing him. This isn't a seizure."
He reached out, but the instant his hand touched Enishi, he was jolted back, electrocuted by the boy's body.
"This isn't a seizure," the doctor muttered in disbelief. "Pure electricity is being conducted through his vital injuries. I… I've never seen anything like this before."
Ayase screamed at him, her voice cracking.
"YOU'RE A DOCTOR — DO SOMETHING! HE'S CLEARLY IN PAIN!"
The doctor could barely speak, trembling as Enishi's eyes rolled back and foam lathered at his mouth.
"T-There's nothing I can do," he said quietly, horrified. "He's… effectively killing and healing himself at the same time."
And then, just as suddenly, he stopped.
Enishi awoke once again, as if nothing had happened. This time, he could move just fine.
He lifted his hand, staring at the ring, his scar completely healed, yet when he clasped his fist, pain flooded him, invisible but unrelenting.
He gritted his teeth, remembering everything from the black void. Without thinking, he tried to remove the ring, when a voice echoed in his head.
"I wouldn't try that if I were you."
Enishi froze mid-motion, his heart pounding.
"W-Who said that?" he whispered, shocking his mother, his lover, and the doctor.
"Don't worry about who or what I am," the voice said calmly. "I'm neither on your side nor against you. I'm merely here to fulfill my job. That is… until you bite off more than you or I can chew."
Enishi froze again, his blood running cold. He had no idea what, or who, was speaking to him.
A few days later, Enishi was discharged, mostly because the doctors had no idea how to treat him.
On the ride home, he didn't speak to his mother or his lover.
All he could do was stare out the window and think about his next step, about what he'd gotten himself into, and whether this was the life he truly wanted.
"Well, I'm here, Enishi. Are you gonna talk to me?" his lover said, frustrated that he was ignoring her. Watching him twiddle the ring in silence, she repeated, "I said-"
"SHUT UP, RAYA!" he snapped, shocking his mother, who swerved the car slightly in alarm.
Raya froze. Enishi had never raised his voice at her before.
"EN, THAT'S NOT HOW YOU TALK TO WOMEN!" Ayase yelled. "She flew all the way here just to see if your ungrateful ass was okay, and this is how you speak to her?"
Enishi said nothing, avoiding both their eyes, staring blankly out the window.
After a tense silence, Ayase sighed.
"You wanna tell me how that fire started?"
Enishi's chest tightened. The burst of fire from the ring flashed in his mind, filling him with dread.
"You… you must've left the stove on or something. I don't know," he lied, trying to sound casual.
When they arrived at the new house, the old one having burned down, Ayase quickly found a replacement in the area, paid foremostly by insurance. Enishi walked in first, silent, leaving his mother and Raya behind. He didn't even carry a single box, just collapsed onto his bed.
Minutes later, Ayase stormed into his room and threw him off the bed with one arm.
"OW! What was that for?" he yelled, rubbing his head.
"You don't wanna help with boxes? You don't get the bed," she said firmly. "Where's Raya gonna sleep?"
"SHE CAN SLEEP WITH ME ON THE BED!" Enishi snapped.
"Nope. You don't get that privilege, kid. You take the floor." She grinned playfully as Raya entered, laughing.
"Too bad, Enishi. Have fun on the ground," she teased, giggling with Ayase.
Later that night, Enishi lay on the cold, hard floor, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
He stared at the ceiling, then at the ring, and finally whispered,
"How long have you been alive?"
Silence. No response.
After a while, he sighed, convinced he'd gone insane, that the voice was just a symptom of everything he'd endured.
Then, suddenly, the voice returned.
"How long I've lived doesn't concern you," it said calmly. "But if you must know, I've lived over 500 lifetimes. You are my 501st."
Enishi sat up slowly, heart pounding, listening as the ring continued.
"You needn't speak aloud. We're symbiotic, I already know your next question. My name is Inazuma. My previous name was Taiyou, and before that, Tsukuyomi. Though as a Hoshinori… I'd assume you already knew that."
Enishi blinked. "What does my last name have to do with knowing your origin?"
"Oh? You know not about the Sigils?" the ring asked, almost amused.
"No," Enishi said cautiously. "I've never heard of those. What are they?"
"Sigils," Inazuma began, "are gods' tears, seven droplets for seven deadly sins. Each one is a piece of divine jewelry that grants its chosen user an elemental power, one that resonates with the emotion they feel upon putting it on. But with that power comes corruption, the mind is warped by the sin it represents.
There are seven deadly Sigils, each tied to a sin. I represent Wrath.
You, Enishi… were not the one I chose to be my next wielder. And with that comes punishment."
The voice darkened, almost solemn.
"Sigils have but one job: to protect their user, no matter what. But since you were not chosen, that protection does not extend to you. I will still guard your life, but if you dare to use my power, I will harm you as much as I help you. For I am bound by one law: never grant the unchosen the mercy of the elements."