Kael opened his eyes slowly. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming. The space around him wasn't normal — it was filled with shifting purple mist that stretched endlessly above.
He sat up, rubbing his eyes, before realizing the ground beneath him wasn't solid. It felt like standing on vapor, but yet it held him firmly.
He looked around unsettled. Shapes drifted in the distance — jagged towers, floating bridges, and fragments of stone that seemed to hang in midair.
Kael's chest rose and fell with rapid breath. He didn't know how he had arrived here, but he knew this place wasn't home.
"I know you're wondering where you are."
Kael turned toward the voice. There, on a broken slab of stone rising from the fog, he saw a girl. She was small, with silver hair that fell around two black curled horns. Her violet eyes were locked on him, and within them nine black runes swirled in constant motion.
She didn't bother to stand. Instead, she spread her hand wide in a bored gesture.
"This is a space within your soul. You're not dead. Though I wish I didn't have to bring you here."
Kael froze, staring up at her. The horns, the eyes — and the way the air bent around her — made it clear she wasn't human.
"Are you… are you the demon Ten?" Kael asked with a trembling voice.
Ten's brows furrowed. "Hm. Is that what I get?" she asked flatly. "For saving your life?"
She stared at him for a moment longer. Under that gaze, Kael felt small — like she was weighing him and finding him lacking.
Then she spoke at last. "I know you lost your pendant."
"I didn't lose it… It was stolen. The men in the cell—"
Ten cut across him with a flat and dismissive tone. "If you accept my condition, I'll get you back your stupid pendant."
Kael clenched his fists at her words. He was only ten, but the thought of handing over his body made his stomach twist.
"When you say the word Extension," Ten said, her tone even, "you'll lend me your body for exactly three minutes."
"No," Kael blurted, his voice shaking. "You'll… you'll hurt people."
"Fine," Ten replied, almost bored. "I won't kill anyone during that minute."
Kael shook his head hard. "I don't believe you."
Ten's eyes narrowed. She leaned forward, her voice edged with annoyance.
"Listen carefully, kid. I have no business with your affairs. I don't care about your world or your people. All I want is to get my powers back. That's it. Nothing else matters to me."
Kael didn't say anything. He just stared at her, wide-eyed and tense. The longer she looked at him, the smaller he felt, under her gaze. He stayed frozen, uneasy and afraid — like a child caught in a storm with nowhere to run.
Ten's expression changed. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, exhaustion lay across her young face.
"You know what?" Ten said, her voice carrying a trace of amusement now.
"Actually, I can do whatever I want. You have no power to fight back. I could take over right now—drag you through this world, hunt down my fragments myself, and use your body however I please."
She laughed, a light sound that clashed with the cruelty in her eyes.
"So stop wasting my time hesitating. Accept the condition. Help me find my fragments. And I'll make sure you get your pendant back."
Kael swallowed hard and took a wary step back.
"Okay," he whispered at last. "Okay. Fine."
Ten's lips curved into a faint shape that might have been satisfaction.
"Good. Now then, those men are still waiting for answers. They're about to get one."
Meanwhile, the thick-set man loomed over Kael's crumpled body, breathing hard. He sucked at the blood on his hand and cursed under his breath.
By the door, the jagged man watched, his face twisted in confusion.
"Why'd you hit the kid so hard? If the boss wanted him dead, he would've said so."
"Tch… the little brat bit me," the thick-set man spat, holding up his bleeding palm. He glared down at Kael's unconscious form on the cold stone. "Deserved every bit of it."
The jagged man shook his head slowly. "Yeah, well, you're bleeding. Wrap it up before it gets infected. We'll come back later."
The thick-set man muttered another curse but nodded. He turned toward the door, and the jagged man stepped aside to let him pass.
But then, the air shifted. At first it was subtle, then some kind of heaviness pressed down on the room, stealing breath from both men. The lantern light flickered as the temperature dropped.
They paused and turned.
On the cold stone floor, Kael's eyes opened. Neither men moved as the boy rose slowly to his feet.
The thick-set man's bleeding hand curled into a fist. "Tch. Unlucky bastard," he spat and turned toward Kael.
The jagged man caught his arm. "Wait. Something's wrong. Let's just—"
"Let go," the thick-set man hissed, shaking him off. He advanced slowly, already raising his fist. "I'm going to—"
Kael lifted his gaze before the words could finish. His violet eyes locked onto the thick-set man, and something changed in his face.
The man faltered for a moment there, before composing himself. "What are you smiling at, you little shit?" He stuttered.
Kael's lips curved upward.
"You're lucky I can't kill you," Ten said through his mouth. Her voice layered, echoing with something vast beneath the child's tone.
The man raised a brow. Confusion flickered across the his face. "What?"
Kael then raised his small hand and pressed it against the man's stomach—casual, almost gentle.
"But I can cause you pain," Ten whispered.
The detonation came without warning. A raw force erupted from Kael's palm, slamming into the man's abdomen like a battering ram. His body lifted, hurled backward, smashing through the cell wall. The stone cracked, dust exploded, and his scream cut short as he slammed into the iron bars of the next cell, bending them inward. He crumpled in the corridor, broken and gasping.
The jagged man stood frozen in the doorway, wide-eyed.
Ten's violet gaze turned toward him. "Now then," she said softly. "Where is the kid's pendant?"
His eyes darted to the ruined body of his companion and he cautiously stepped back.
Irritation flashed in Ten's eyes as she watched him.
Then he took another step back, fixing his gaze towards the hallway exit.
Ten's patience snapped. She launched forward, shattering the chains from Kael's body like brittle glass. Metals clattered to the floor as the boy became a projectile.
The jagged man tried to brace himself before Kael's frame collided with him. The impact was catastrophic. Both bodies shot backward through the doorway, tearing into the corridor beyond.
They didn't stop there. The force carried them upward, smashing through the floor above. Wood splintered, stone cracked, debris rained down as they tore through the facility like a missile.
Above, the silk man stood with three men gathered around him. His voice was low and measured.
"Tomorrow, we'd begin the operation. So make sure you the box. Reinforce the runes. I don't like surprises."
"Yes, boss." All men answered in unison.
"Why are you doing this?"
The silk man turned towards the girl lying bound near the metallic box.
"Why did you come after me? What do you want?" She glared at his big frame.
He chuckled softly, then walked closer, looking down at her like she was nothing more than a piece on a board.
"Why? You ask. The answer is simple. You're going to help me ruin the house of Ascendra."
Her eyes flashed with anger, but he dismissed her with a turn. Then he gestured to his men standing nearby.
"Put her in the box. Tomorrow, our operation begins."
"Yes, boss."
She struggled as they lifted her, but being bound couldn't get her anywhere. They forced her into the dark metallic box, her protests muffled as the lid closed.
The silk man watched with satisfaction. Everything was progressing smoothly.
Then came the sudden crash. A deafening eruption from below—stone and wood exploding upward.
Everyone froze when the jagged man's limp body flew across the room, skidding violently across the floor. The three men recoiled with wide eyes as he crashed into them, broken.
Dust hung in the air.
At the edge of the shattered floor, Kael stood. His silver hair fell across his face, his small frame marked with black sigils. His eyes burned violet.
The silk man furrowed his brow. He knew the boy—the peasant from the lower cells. But something was different.
The dust swirled as Kael's gaze swept the room, locking onto him.
"I'll be taking the kid's pendant," Ten said through the boy's mouth.
[Two minutes of Ten's mode remaining…]