The clearing lay in silence after the altar cracked open, but the silence was not peace. It was suffocating, dense, as if the very air had weight. Moonlight pressed down on the four of them, but it felt colder now, sharper, almost like a blade poised at their throats.
Rick's hand still clutched Devil's shoulder, but the boy he knew was no longer there. The crimson glow in Devil's eyes flickered like a fire devouring dry wood. His lips trembled—not from fear, but from a whisper only he could hear.
"Devil…" Sun's voice broke. He took a cautious step forward. "You need to fight it. Whatever this thing is, it's trying to take you. You have to resist."
But Devil didn't answer. His gaze was locked on the altar, his body trembling violently. The veins on his neck and arms glowed faint red, pulsing in rhythm with the broken stone's heartbeat.
Piu clung to Sun's sleeve, her small voice barely audible. "He's… he's changing…"
Rick shook him hard. "Damn it, Devil! Look at me!"
For a moment, Devil's eyes flickered—red shifting to brown, human for only a breath. His lips moved. "I… can't…" Then the red surged back, stronger than before, drowning whatever humanity was left.
The altar pulsed again. The cracks widened, and from its heart came not just smoke, but tendrils of black ash, writhing like serpents. They crawled across the ground, leaving the earth charred where they touched, snaking toward Devil's feet.
Sun swung his dagger, slashing at the tendrils, but the blade passed through them like cutting through fog. They recoiled for a second, then reformed, stronger, hungrier.
The whispers filled the clearing again. This time, they weren't distant. They were inside their skulls.
"Blood carries the debt…"
"Shadows carry the truth…"
"You cannot run from what you are…"
Devil clutched his head, screaming. His knees hit the dirt as the tendrils wrapped around his ankles, coiling up like chains. His scream wasn't entirely human anymore—it was layered, distorted, echoing like multiple voices tearing through one throat.
Rick lunged forward, trying to pull him free. The instant he touched Devil's arm, a surge of heat blasted through him, throwing him back several feet. He hit the ground hard, his chest burning, his hands scorched as if he had grabbed a brand pulled fresh from fire.
"Rick!" Sun shouted, rushing to him, but even as he bent down, his eyes stayed fixed on Devil.
Piu's voice cracked. "He… he's being claimed…"
The altar throbbed again. The glowing veins spread outward into the ground, drawing symbols across the clearing, each line forming a circle that enclosed them all. The forest seemed to shrink away, trees bending backward as though repelled by the power awakening here.
Devil's body rose from the ground—not by his own strength, but dragged upward by invisible strings. His arms stretched out, his back arched, his head tilted back as the red glow in his eyes burned brighter than ever. The tendrils lifted him higher until his feet no longer touched the earth.
And then came the voice. Not a whisper. Not a roar.
But something worse.
It was everywhere—inside their bones, their blood, their hearts.
"THE BLOOD IS MINE."
The force of the words knocked Sun and Piu to their knees. Rick clutched the ground, gritting his teeth as if sheer will could hold him down.
Devil's body convulsed midair. His mouth opened, but it wasn't his voice that spoke.
"You carried me in your veins… generation after generation… and now the debt is due."
The sound wasn't Devil. It was older, crueler, heavy with centuries of hunger.
Rick's eyes widened. "It's in his bloodline…"
Sun's face turned pale. "Then… Devil's family… his grandfather's warnings…"
Piu shook her head violently. "No! We can't lose him! We can't!"
The altar split wider, releasing another surge of black smoke that rose and spiraled around Devil like a cocoon. His figure blurred within it, twisting, reshaping, as if something inside him was clawing its way to the surface.
Sun forced himself up, his dagger trembling in his hand. "We stop this now. Whatever it takes."
But the moment he took a step forward, the ground cracked open beneath his feet. Red light spewed upward, nearly blinding him. From the fissure crawled skeletal hands made of shadow, grasping, pulling at his ankles.
Sun hacked at them with his blade, but again—no effect. The shadows only laughed.
The voice thundered again, rattling the trees.
"You cannot fight the chains of blood."
Devil's scream split the air. His body jolted, veins blazing red like molten rivers beneath his skin. For a heartbeat, the crimson glow in his eyes dimmed, and his real voice broke through.
"Help me!"
That cry cut through them deeper than any blade.
Rick staggered up, clutching his burned arms, his face twisted with determination. "We're not letting you go, Devil! Do you hear me?"
But before anyone could move again, the cocoon of smoke tightened, and Devil's body went limp. His head lowered. His arms dropped to his sides.
Silence fell again.
When his head lifted, the change was complete. His eyes glowed with steady crimson, no flicker of humanity left. The symbols on the ground dimmed, their power absorbed into him. The cocoon dissolved, and he floated gently to the ground.
When his feet touched the earth, the forest bent with him—as though bowing.
And then, he smiled.
Cold. Sharp. Not Devil's smile.
Rick froze. "No…"
Sun's grip on his dagger faltered.
Piu covered her mouth, tears streaking her cheeks.
The thing that had once been Devil stepped forward, its voice smooth, dark, and merciless.
"You should have run farther."
---
Cliffhanger
The clearing shook as if the earth itself recoiled from what had just been born.
Devil stood at the center, no longer trembling, no longer resisting. His crimson eyes burned with a calm that was more terrifying than rage, as though he had finally accepted what claimed him. The altar's glow had dimmed, its purpose fulfilled, and the forest seemed to bow—trees creaking as if acknowledging their new master.
Rick, Sun, and Piu could not move. Their friend was gone, yet the figure before them still wore his face. A twisted familiarity that cut deeper than any monster could.
Then Devil spoke, his voice layered with something ancient.
"You ran so far… only to stand before me."
The ground split open at his words, spilling red light like blood seeping from the earth. From those fissures, shadows poured out—not crawling, not creeping, but rushing like a flood. They twisted into shapes with teeth, with claws, with eyes that burned, and they came straight for the three of them.
Sun tightened his grip on the dagger. Rick pulled Piu behind him.
The forest roared. The sky bled red.
And in that moment, they understood—
the true nightmare had only just begun.