The place went dead silent. Not a whisper, not even the shuffle of a foot broke the air. The silence stretched on so long it felt suffocating—until he suddenly spoke.
With a strange mixture of confidence and almost childlike confusion, he blurted out,
"What? Didn't I already tell you? I am a life god."
For a heartbeat, I couldn't move. My jaw nearly hit the ground. My thoughts stumbled over themselves, tangled in disbelief. A Life God? The words struck me like a bolt of lightning, impossible to process, too outrageous to accept. The air itself felt heavier, pressing down on my chest, until my frustration boiled over.
"No—you absolutely did not!" I snapped, my voice echoing sharper than I intended, fueled by disbelief and rage alike. My hands trembled, and my eyes burned from widening too far. "What kind of nonsense is that? Did you hit your head or something?!
And yet, instead of bristling at my outburst, he laughed. Not the mocking laugh of someone trying to pick a fight—no, it was casual. Carefree. As if my fury were nothing more than background noise. With an easy grin, he raised his hand and scratched the back of his neck, like he had simply misplaced a trivial detail in conversation.
"Ah… so I really forgot to mention that part," he said lightly, his tone almost playful. "Well, I suppose that one's on me. My mistake."
"Your mistake?!" I yelled, my teeth grinding as my temper boiled over. My whole body shook with frustration, my voice cracking under the weight of disbelief. "Do you seriously expect me to just swallow that? Everything I've ever heard—every tale, every record—says the same thing! The Life Gods are gone. They were defeated decades ago! And now you're standing here, acting like I'm supposed to believe you're one of them?!"
"Oh? You still don't believe me?" His grin faltered into something sharper. His gaze narrowed, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, as though my disbelief itself was an insult.
Before I could retort, he closed his eyes.
The world shattered. Darkness surged from every direction, swallowing the light whole. Shadows writhed like serpents, coiling and uncoiling with minds of their own. Smoke rolled in thick waves, and the air seemed to solidify, pressing down on my chest until I could barely breathe. My lungs screamed, each inhale thinner than the last, as if despair itself had taken form and anchored itself inside me.
And then—he opened his eyes.
The suffocating void vanished. The shadows melted. Reality snapped back in an instant, leaving me reeling. I staggered backward, clutching my chest, gasping like a drowning man dragged to the surface.
"Wh—what the hell was that?!" I wheezed, my voice raw and rasping.
His grin spread wide, smug and unshakable, glowing with satisfaction.
"Now," he said smoothly, "do you believe me?"
I glared at him, my breath ragged.
"Believe you my a*s! You almost suffocated me to death!"
Then a thought cut through my haze like lightning.
"Wait… If you're saying you're alive… Then where are the others? Where are the rest of the Life Gods?"
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stepped past me, slow and deliberate. For a brief moment, his hand rested firmly on my shoulder. His voice came from just behind me, low and steady, carrying the weight of someone who had seen too much.
"Honestly? I don't know. I can't say if the others are alive… or if they've all been erased from this world. I don't even know if I'm the last one left." His grip tightened briefly before letting go. "But even so… I still have a duty. Something I must finish—once and for all."
He turned back to face me. His eyes locked onto mine, not with arrogance but with something startlingly fragile. His voice softened, slipping out like a plea.
"Ryuto… Will you help me search for the others? And… will you stand with me against the Demon King?"
The question struck like a hammer to the chest. My throat tightened. My legs faltered, and I stumbled back.
"M–me?!" I stammered. "How could someone like me—someone this weak—possibly help you?!"
His gaze sharpened instantly, piercing through me as though he could see every secret I'd tried to bury.
"Then tell me, Ryuto… What happened last night? Do you remember?"
My head throbbed. I pressed a trembling hand against my temple, forcing myself to recall the fragments buried in fog.
"Something… red," I muttered hollowly. "It burst out of me… and it killed the demon. The one who slaughtered my friends. He… he said something too, something important—but I… I can't remember it. While I was falling, I saw his body… it was melting, or maybe fading. I don't know. Damn it—I just can't recall it clearly."
"Mmm. Just as I thought." His voice was soft, but it carried weight that made me hold my breath. "When I first found you and brought you to my place, your wounds closed in an instant—without medicine, without treatment. That's why I believe you possess it too… those eyes. The Eyes of the Heart-Beat."
I was confused. Even the name sent a shiver racing through me. I didn't fully understand, but the words struck something deep, something hollow. Faces of my fallen friends flashed in my mind—their blood staining the ground. I hadn't been strong enough. The only ones left were back in my hometown, waiting for me, depending on me.
My fists clenched until my knuckles whitened. A fire roared inside my chest.
"Alright! I'll do it!" I shouted, voice breaking but resolute. "I'll go with you—and together we'll find the other Life Gods!"
His eyes lit up with excitement, but before the moment could linger, he suddenly pumped a fist in the air and yelled, "Alright! Let's go get dango!"
I blinked. "…Eh? What?"
I honestly thought I had misheard. No—he was dead serious. Before I could say anything, he grabbed my arm and dragged me down the street.
Apparently, our first great step toward destiny… was his favorite snack.
Soon enough, we arrived at a bustling shop he proudly proclaimed to be the most famous dango spot in the city. He plopped down at a table with the grin of a child who'd just found treasure, and naturally, I got yanked into the seat across from him.
"Behold," the single greatest dango shop in the city. No, in the whole damn world."
"Wait, wait, wait—hold on a second!" I snapped, glaring across the low table. "Shouldn't you be training me or teaching me how to control whatever power you said I have? Why are we wasting time stuffing our faces with snacks?!"
He waved me off with the air of a sage imparting great wisdom. "You can't train on an empty stomach. Food fuels strength, and this place makes the best dangos you'll ever taste.
"In no time, the table was overflowing with plates of dango—too many to count, each one piled high like a tiny, sweet mountain."
And… damn it. He wasn't lying. The first bite was perfect—soft, chewy, and sweet enough to make my shoulders unclench for the first time in days. Against my will, I actually sighed in contentment.
Kurayami leaned over and slapped me on the back so hard the skewers nearly toppled. His laugh bellowed through the shop, drawing stares.
"See? Told you! No destiny, no training, and no battle are worth a damn on an empty stomach. Remember that, Ryuto—it's lesson number one!"
I glared at him, cheeks burning, but I couldn't stop chewing. "…Fine. It's good. Happy?"
He grinned like a man who had just won a war.
But then, suddenly, his eyes sharpened. His laughter died mid-breath. His head turned sharply to the side, pupils narrowing, every muscle tensing like a predator catching scent.
"What's wrong, Kurayami?" I asked, unease prickling my skin.
His voice dropped low, steady but grim.
"There's a demon nearby. I can feel its presence."
Before I could ask anything more, he was already on his feet, his chair clattering behind him.
"Hurry! Keep up!"
I scrambled after him, struggling to match his speed. The chase carried us into a narrow alleyway that reeked of rot and filth. My lungs burned, and I bent over to catch my breath.
"Damn it—wait up! I'm not built for all this running!"
"Behind you!" he roared.
I spun too late. A demon lunged from the shadows, its claws aimed for my back. But before it could touch me, Kurayami was there, intercepting the blow with inhuman speed. With a sharp strike, he knocked the demon aside.
"That was close," he said with a smirk, his voice steady despite the danger.
The creature that stood before us was just like the ones that had slaughtered my friends. The memory made my blood boil, but before I could act, Kurayami shoved me back.
"Stay out of this. Watch closely—you're not ready to fight yet."
I glared at the demon. Its body was tall, twisted, and foul, surrounded by air that seemed to recoil from its very presence, as if the atmosphere itself rejected touching such evil.
The demon snarled, smoke curling off its form, and spoke in a guttural, hateful voice.
"Ghhrrr… I don't know how you pests managed to track me down, but it doesn't matter. You'll both be my first victims!"
Kurayami reached over his shoulder and drew his blade. It wasn't massive, but it radiated weight and presence—a sleek black sword, its edge gleaming white, a crimson rope tied to the hilt whipping through the air like the scarf on his neck.
He lowered his stance, his voice cutting through the alley.
"First Slash."
A shadowed slice tore through the air, so fast that even the atmosphere seemed severed, leaving a fleeting trail of darkness that shimmered and vanished. I couldn't even see the strike itself. Only the aftermath—the demon's leg cleaved clean off, a thin dark line flickering in the air before vanishing. The beast collapsed with a guttural howl.
"Wh—what the hell… I didn't even see him move!" it screamed.
But Kurayami was already gone from my side. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before the demon, one hand locked around its throat. His voice was cold, merciless.
"Talk. Where is the Demon King?"
The demon convulsed against his grip, a guttural, broken sound rattling from deep within its chest, more mockery than pain.
"You think I'd betray our king? Hah! Besides… this entire place is about to be reduced to—"
Before it could finish, Kurayami pierced its chest by using nothing but his fists. He ripped the heart free and hurled it to the ground.
I staggered back, my stomach twisting. The heart wasn't normal—it was shriveled, rotten, and black as pitch. No blood spilled. Only silence.
Kurayami gave it a single glance, his expression unreadable.
"Guess he wasn't going to answer."
"Hey!" I shouted, fury boiling inside me. "Why would you kill him?! He was saying something that could've been important."
After I said that, out of nowhere the city suddenly went dark. Every street, every alley, every building was swallowed by shadows that spread like thick, creeping ink. It moved unnaturally, filling every corner.
And then—without warning—the sky split open.
From the rift poured a flood of demons. Hundreds. No—thousands. They fell in an endless wave, a storm of twisted, nightmarish shapes that seemed to consume everything in their path. The sheer number pressed down on us, the scale of it impossible to comprehend.
We were stunned, my chest tightening, my hands trembling. Kurayami stood beside me, his gaze sharp and unflinching as he looked up at the horde. For a moment, neither of us spoke, caught in disbelief at what we were witnessing.
Finally, our voices broke out together, raw and unsteady.
"What the hell… There are so many of them?!"