The night hung heavy over the shattered ruins of Arctis City. Smoke curled like black serpents into a starless sky, and the ground still trembled from the aftershocks of the Abyssal Eclipse. Buildings that once touched the heavens now lay broken, like the bones of a fallen god.
Kaien Draven stood amidst the wreckage, his cloak torn, his blade still dripping with the dark ichor of the demon lord's army. Every breath felt like knives in his chest. His vision blurred in and out, the faint glow of his crimson eyes flickering weakly against the encroaching dark.
The world was quiet—too quiet. Only the distant rumble of collapsing towers and the echo of dying demons filled the void. The Eclipse had ended, but the silence it left behind was worse than the battle itself.
He gritted his teeth and leaned on his sword, Noxveil, the blade humming faintly as if alive. "Still breathing… barely," he muttered.
From the shadows, a faint voice called out, "Kaien!"
It was Lira, her white hair stained with soot, her once-glimmering eyes dulled with exhaustion. She stumbled toward him, clutching her staff. Despite the chaos, she still radiated a strange, unbreakable light.
"You're insane," she whispered, kneeling beside him. "You faced the Demon King's shadow alone—again."
Kaien smirked weakly. "Couldn't let him destroy the city. Someone had to keep him busy."
Her hands glowed faintly as she began healing his wounds. "You can't keep doing this. You're burning your soul faster than your body can heal."
"I don't have time to stop." His eyes flicked toward the horizon. In the distance, crimson lightning still cracked across the sky—remnants of the Demon King's descent. "He's not gone. That… thing we fought was only a fragment."
Lira froze. "A fragment? You mean—"
Kaien nodded grimly. "The real king hasn't entered our world yet. That was only his echo."
Thunder rumbled, deep and unnatural. The ground trembled, and both of them turned toward the source. A massive rift was tearing open above the city—black, pulsing, and alive. From it poured dozens of shadowy figures—demons, twisted and shrieking, their bodies made of smoke and fire.
Kaien's fingers tightened around his sword. "He's sending reinforcements."
Lira rose beside him, summoning her barrier spell. "Then we fight again."
Kaien's aura ignited—black flames rippling around him like wings of chaos. His eyes flared red as he stepped forward, the ground cracking beneath his boots.
"Let them come."
The first wave struck. A horde of shrieking demons leapt from the rift, their claws slashing through the air. Kaien moved like lightning. His blade sang—a blur of darkness cutting through flesh and flame. Each swing sent shockwaves rippling through the ruins.
Demons fell in pieces. Shadows screamed. The air shimmered with raw energy.
But even as he fought, Kaien could feel it—the exhaustion, the emptiness gnawing at his chest. The Eclipse had drained him nearly dry.
Lira's voice cut through the chaos. "Kaien, behind you!"
He spun, crossing both blades just as a colossal demon struck—a hulking beast of molten bone and obsidian armor. The impact sent Kaien flying through a crumbling wall. He hit the ground hard, blood spraying from his mouth.
The demon roared, advancing. Its eyes burned like suns.
Kaien forced himself up, his knees shaking. Not yet… I can't fall now. He reached deep within, calling on the forbidden energy sealed inside him—the power of the abyss itself.
The mark on his chest flared—a black sigil pulsing with demonic energy. His veins darkened, his aura exploding outward like a storm. The demon paused, sensing something ancient and terrible awakening.
Kaien's voice was low, distorted, almost inhuman. "I told you... stay down."
He vanished.
In an instant, he was behind the demon, his sword slicing through its core. A burst of black energy erupted from the wound, tearing the monster apart from within. Its body collapsed into ash and flame.
The world fell silent again. Only the whisper of Kaien's power remained, dancing through the air like embers.
Lira approached slowly, her expression a mix of awe and fear. "You used it again, didn't you?"
Kaien didn't respond. His aura was fading, his body trembling.
"That power will destroy you," she said softly.
"Then I'll let it," he whispered. "If that's what it takes to end them."
Before she could reply, the ground split open once more—this time revealing a dark symbol etched deep into the earth. It pulsed with red light.
Lira gasped. "That's… a summoning seal."
Kaien's eyes widened. "They're opening another gate."
A deep, guttural voice echoed from within the rift, shaking the air itself. "Kaien Draven… your defiance ends here."
The shadow that emerged was unlike any before—towering, crowned with horns, eyes glowing with the light of dying stars. The true form of the Demon King had not yet crossed fully, but his projection filled the ruins with darkness.
Lira stepped back, trembling. "It's him…"
Kaien tightened his grip on his sword. "Then this is where it begins."
The voice rumbled again, each word heavy with ancient hatred. "You carry my power, human. You were born from the same darkness that I command. You cannot destroy what you are."
Kaien's jaw clenched. "Then I'll defy my own blood."
Black lightning split the sky. The projection's hand reached forward—massive, spectral, filled with raw energy. Kaien raised his sword, shouting, "Lira—run!"
He charged forward, meeting the giant shadow head-on. The collision unleashed a blinding explosion that swallowed the ruins.
When the light faded, Kaien stood alone in the wreckage, panting. The projection was gone, but the seal remained—still glowing faintly.
He fell to one knee, his sword clattering beside him.
Lira ran to him again, wrapping her arms around him. "You can't keep doing this alone."
He looked up at her, eyes softening. "Then don't let me."
For a brief moment, amidst the devastation, the world felt still. The rift closed, the sky calmed, and the distant cries of demons faded into silence.
But in the depths of the void, the true Demon King opened his eyes. His voice whispered through the darkness—soft, amused, and hungry.
"Soon, my child. Soon the real war begins."
Kaien's gaze lifted to the horizon, the glow of dawn barely breaking through the smoke. His grip tightened on his sword.
"This isn't over," he whispered. "Not until every demon burns."
The wind howled through the ruins, carrying with it the scent of ash and destiny.
And thus began the second rise of the Demon Slayer.