KAI POV
"Your second contract slot is open," Nyx says. "We need to find you—"
A scream cuts through the night air.
We're still on the rooftop, twenty minutes from Shibuya Crossing, when the sound echoes from the street below. Not just one scream—dozens. People running. Panicking.
I rush to the edge and look down.
A Phantom materializes in the middle of the intersection—a massive spider-like creature made of writhing shadows and teeth. Its presence alone makes streetlights flicker and die. Civilians scatter, but the Phantom is faster. It grabs a woman with one twisted leg and lifts her toward its mouth.
"Ignore it," Nyx says behind me. "We don't have time. Oracle's deadline—"
"Is in twenty minutes. I know." I watch the woman scream as the Phantom's jaws open wider. "But if I let her die, I'm no better than the people who killed my mother."
"You're trying to save your father. That woman is a stranger."
"She's still a person." I turn to Nyx. "Isn't that what you felt through our bond? My humanity? What made you choose me?"
Nyx's expression flickers—annoyance mixing with something that might be respect. "You're going to get us killed with your moral compass."
"Probably. You coming?"
She sighs, but she's smiling. "Fine. But we make this quick. And you're doing the fighting—you need practice before we face Oracle."
Before I can ask what she means, she shoves me off the rooftop.
I fall three stories, shadows instinctively erupting from my hands to catch me. They form a cushion of darkness that breaks my landing. I hit the ground running.
The Phantom senses me immediately. It drops the woman and turns, its multiple eyes glowing with hunger. Up close, it's even more terrifying—each leg is thick as a tree trunk, its body pulses with corrupted spiritual energy.
"Nyx!" I shout. "What do I do?!"
Her voice echoes in my head through our bond: Feel your rage. Channel it. Remember everyone who hurt you and pour that fury into your shadows.
I think about Kenji poisoning Mom. About Yuki smiling while I burned. About Ryo counting his blood money. About Oracle trapping my real father for fifteen years.
The rage explodes through me.
Shadows burst from my body like black flames. They twist and coil, forming shapes—claws, spears, whips. I don't fully control them yet, but I don't need to. I just point at the Phantom and let the rage guide them.
My shadow-spears pierce the Phantom's legs. It shrieks—a sound that makes windows shatter. The creature lunges at me, jaws snapping.
I roll sideways clumsily. The Phantom's teeth miss me by inches.
Better, Nyx's voice purrs in my mind. But you're being defensive. Sovereigns don't defend—they dominate. Again!
The Phantom charges. This time I don't dodge. I thrust both hands forward and imagine my shadows becoming a cage.
They obey.
Black tendrils wrap around the Phantom from all sides, squeezing, constricting. The creature thrashes wildly but can't break free. My shadows are stronger than they should be—feeding on my rage, growing with each heartbeat.
"Now finish it!" Nyx calls from the rooftop.
I form my shadows into a massive blade—crude and rough, but sharp enough. With a yell, I bring it down through the Phantom's center.
The creature explodes into black mist and disappears.
Silence falls over the intersection. The civilians stare at me with mixed expressions—gratitude and fear. They saw me use demon shadows. Saw me destroy a Phantom single-handedly.
Saw me become what the Sanctum calls a monster.
"We need to leave," I say, turning away. "Before Sanctum tamers arrive."
But it's too late.
Three tamers drop from the surrounding buildings, their contracted spirits materializing—a tiger, an eagle, a serpent. All B-rank at least. All staring at me with recognition.
"Kai Nakamura," the lead tamer says. He's young, maybe my age. "You're worth one billion yen. Sorry, but I've got student loans."
His tiger spirit charges.
Nyx appears beside me in a flash of crimson light, her scythe materializing. "I said you'd do the fighting. I didn't say I'd let you die."
She moves like liquid shadow—one swing of her scythe and the tiger spirit dissipates into mist. The tamer stumbles backward, clutching his chest where the spirit-bond just broke.
"Next?" Nyx asks sweetly.
The other two tamers run.
"You didn't have to save me," I say. "I could've handled them."
"No, you couldn't. You're clumsy, untrained, and still pulling your punches." Nyx's eyes soften slightly. "But you saved that woman anyway. Knowing it would reveal your location. Knowing bounty hunters would come."
"I told you. I'm still human."
"That's your greatest weakness." She touches my face gently. "And somehow, your greatest strength. You make me want to be better than the monster I've been for three thousand years."
Something passes between us—not just the contract bond, but something deeper. Understanding. Connection. Maybe even the beginning of something more.
Then Hana screams from the rooftop: "Kai! Your phone!"
I pull it out and my blood runs cold.
It's another video from Oracle. This time, flames are actively burning around the hostages' feet. Ryo—or Hiroshi in Ryo's body—is screaming.
"Ten minutes left, boy," Oracle says cheerfully. "And I just had a wonderful idea. Instead of waiting for you at Shibuya Crossing, why don't I bring the party to you?"
She snaps her fingers.
The ground beneath my feet starts glowing with symbols—a summoning circle.
"No!" Nyx grabs me and tries to shadow-travel us away, but the symbols flare brighter, locking us in place.
"Too late," Oracle's voice echoes from the circle. "I've been tracking you since you stole those Sanctum records. Did you really think I couldn't feel you reading about Hiroshi? About my secrets?"
The circle erupts with light.
When my vision clears, we're no longer in the intersection. We're standing in Shibuya Crossing—the busiest intersection in Tokyo. Hundreds of civilians surround us, phones out, recording.
And standing in the center of the crossing, surrounded by the six burning hostages, is Oracle.
"Welcome to your execution, Dual-Core," she says. "I promised a show, and Tokyo deserves to watch the most powerful Sovereign in history die on live television."
Massive screens all around Shibuya flicker to life, showing our faces broadcast to every device in Japan.
"The second contract slot," Nyx hisses urgently. "We need to fill it NOW or we don't stand a chance."
"With what? There's no time to—"
My mother's ghost materializes beside me. Her bloody wedding dress billows in an invisible wind. She reaches for my hand with translucent fingers.
"Contract with me," she whispers. "I'm still here, baby. Still watching over you. Let me protect you one more time."
Nyx's eyes go wide. "Kai, no. Contracting with a human ghost is forbidden. The Sanctum banned it centuries ago because—"
"Because it works too well," Oracle interrupts, clearly hearing everything. "Because human ghosts who loved you in life become unstoppable in death. Because a Dual-Core with both a demon queen AND his mother's vengeful spirit would be..." She smiles. "Exactly what the prophecy warned about."
Mom's ghost squeezes my hand. "Choose, Kai. Choose life. Choose revenge. Choose me."
Around us, dozens of Sanctum tamers emerge from the crowd, weapons drawn. Every screen in Shibuya shows the bounty: ONE BILLION YEN.
I look at Nyx. At my mother's ghost. At Oracle smiling like she's already won.
At my real father trapped in Ryo's body, flames licking at his feet.
Fifteen minutes ago, I had no family. Now I have to choose—save the father I just found, or contract with the mother I lost.
I can't do both.
Not before the flames consume Hiroshi. Not before Oracle's tamers overwhelm us.
"Kai," Nyx says desperately. "Choose. Now."
I open my mouth to answer, but before I can speak, something impossible happens.
The flames around the hostages turn from red to blue. Ryo's eyes snap open—both of them glowing that same blue fire from the chained ghost on the rooftop.
And my real father's voice booms from his mouth, stronger than before:
"SHE'S LYING, KAI! DON'T CONTRACT WITH YOUR MOTHER! IT'S NOT REALLY HER!"
Mom's ghost turns to me, and for just a second, her face flickers into something else. Something with too many teeth and eyes that burn with malice.
"Oops," Oracle giggles. "You weren't supposed to notice that yet."