Zareth's knee was already descending toward Mathew's head.
Then the air changed.
Not physically.
But something in the atmosphere inside the room shifted, like reality itself hesitated.
For a split second everything slowed and froze in time even Zareth.
His knee suspended mid-strike just inches from Mathew's head.
Name: MATHEW VIRELITH
Age: 22
Class Rank: A
Combat Class: Flame Conductor
Bloodline: Virelith Flame Dominion Lineage
Strength: 7
Speed: 6
Perception: 5
Bravery: 4
Intelligence: 4
Affinity: High-Grade Flame Control
Status: Stable Combat Unit
Threat Level: High
Name: LOGAN KHARZETH
Age: 19
Class Rank: A
Combat Class: Ember Divergent
Bloodline: Kharzeth Ember Fragment Line
Strength: 5
Speed: 6
Perception: 3
Bravery: 8
Intelligence: 3
Affinity: Unstable Flame Mutation
Status: Volatile Combat Unit
Threat Level: High Instability
Name: RAX
Age: 23
Class Rank: A
Combat Class: Tactical Response Unit
Bloodline: None (Military Conditioning Program – MCP)
Strength: 6
Speed: 5
Perception: 7
Bravery: 10 (Artificial Suppression)
Intelligence: 6
Affinity: Neural Combat Prediction System
Status: Controlled Combat Asset
Threat Level: Precision Eliminator
The air remained frozen.
Zareth's knee hung inches from Mathew's skull.
Dust particles floated mid-air, as if they had forgotten how to fall.
Even sound was gone like the world itself was holding its breath.
Until.
BAM.
His knee crashed into Mathew's head.
Split.
Ripped open.
Blood splattered across the wall.
Mathew's body slumped, unconscious.
But Zareth moved closer.
Wanting more.
This wasn't a normal fight anymore.
This was something else, darker.
Logan froze, shock written across his face.
"STOP!"
Rax shouted sharply.
"Hey stop You can't do that. He's already down!"
"This can't be happening you're going to kill Mathew!" Logan said, his voice trembling.
Zareth didn't stop.
Logan's voice echoed but it didn't reach him.
Not fully.
Zareth's steps were slow.
Measured.
Each one heavier than the last.
Mathew's body lay against the cracked wall, unmoving.
Blood trailing down.
Breathing shallow.
Still alive.
For now.
Zareth stood over him, staring down.
His left foot lifted then slammed down onto Mathew's head.
Crunch.
Again.
Up.
And.
Down.
The impact crushed his skull, blood and fragments scattering across the floor.
The sudden death of Mathew shocked Logan and Rax.
"It… it can't be."
Logan whispered to himself.
"What have you done… Zareth… what are you?"
Rax said, his voice low.
"You're not normal."
"Monster."
Zareth didn't answer.
His gaze slowly drifted toward the upper corner of the room.
Something was there.
Floating.
A small sphere.
Zareth frowned slightly.
"What is that?"
The sphere flickered.
Zareth's eyes furrowed.
"Is that a recording device?"
Logan and Rax didn't stay.
They turned and ran out of the room, leaving him behind.
Mathew's lifeless body lay in the corner of the room.
Unmoved.
Zareth's attention shifted, drawn instead to the floating sphere.
A faint red light blinked from its lens.
Curious, he began to walk toward it.
Step by step, he closed the distance.
The moment he got close a translucent screen flickered into his vision.
The system had appeared again.
The screen stabilized in front of his eyes.
[System]
Recording Device: Active
Status: Watching
Zareth stared at the sphere.
"So it's recording."
The red light blinked.
Steadily.
The text shifted.
[New Task]
Destroy the Device
Reward: +12 Attribute Points
EXP: 120
Zareth exhaled slowly.
"Then I just break it."
The sphere hovered.
Watching.
And.
The red light blinked.
Multiple.
But not fast.
Zareth stepped forward and his body lowered slightly.
Ready.
Focused.
A blinding flash split the air in two.
He burst forward speed exploding beneath his feet.
His fist tore through the air toward the device.
Fast.
But it wasn't enough.
No matter how he moved he couldn't hit it.
The device flickered.
Unnatural.
Like it already knew where he would strike.
Zareth's eyes narrowed.
"Impossible it's reading every move I make."
Zareth's eyes narrowed.
"Okay then I'll be unpredictable."
Zareth stepped forward.
The device reacted immediately hovering to the right.
Then.
To the left.
Zareth burst toward it.
Fast.
Not too fast.
But enough.
The device responded instantly,
slipping away from his path.
It kept moving
Adjusting
Predicting every step he made.
Zareth's eyes narrowed.
"It's still reading me."
Zareth stopped moving.
The device hovered in front of him, its red light blinking steadily.
Watching.
Zareth took a slow breath.
"Then I'll stop moving like I want to hit it."
He stepped forward.
Calm.
No sudden movement.
The device shifted slightly to the side.
Zareth noticed.
He took another step.
Different direction.
No clear pattern.
The device moved again but not as smoothly as before.
There was a small delay.
Zareth's eyes focused.
He moved again.
Slow.
Then a little faster.
Then he stopped.
Then stepped again.
No rhythm.
No clear intention.
The device kept adjusting but it wasn't perfect anymore.
Zareth moved.
Suddenly.
A short burst forward.
Not straight.
He changed direction halfway.
The device reacted but too late.
Zareth reached out.
And grabbed it.
His hand closed around the sphere.
Tight.
The red light started blinking rapidly.
Zareth looked at it.
"Got you."
He tightened his grip.
Crack.
The surface broke.
Light started leaking out.
The device vibrated in his hand.
Shattered.
Fragments broke apart and faded.
A faint light rushed into Zareth's body.
He froze for a second.
His heartbeat increased.
Then the system appeared.
The light didn't scatter.
It obeyed.
It flowed into Zareth's body without resistance as if it recognized something.
[System]
Target: MATHEW VIRELITH
Status: Deceased
Stability: Low
Overuse Risk: Internal Burn
Process: Assimilation Initiated
Method: Consumption of Physical Remnants
Zareth stood up from the floor beside Mathew's body.
Blood dripped from his hand and pieces of flesh were scattered beneath his feet.
[Notice]
The Host has begun Evolution.
A deep silence followed.
Not the silence of an empty room but the silence of something watching.
The leftover remains of Mathew's body were still there.
Zareth just stood in place like nothing had happened.
Waiting.
But then something appeared.
Three figures appeared in his room.
They looked human at first glance, but Zareth instinctively knew they weren't they felt like something else entirely, like monsters or demons.
Zareth recognized the two.
"Hey I know you," Zareth paused for a second before speaking again. "I saw you. You two are from that place."
A heavy silence followed.
The atmosphere in the room shifted again different from before. It didn't feel like human presence.
It felt wrong.
The two figures didn't answer right away.
The first one tilted his head slowly, studying Zareth like prey remembering a past encounter. A faint, twisted smile formed on his face.
"Greetings, Zareth Ashveil."
The second one spoke.
But his voice wasn't normal.
It carried a strange calm cold, layered, almost inhumanly composed, like it didn't belong in the human world at all.
"So it's you," he said quietly.
The words weren't loud.
Yet they pressed into the room like weight.
Zareth frowned slightly, confusion slipping into his voice.
"Me? What do you mean?"
A brief silence followed.
It only listened.
The first demon's smile didn't fade. If anything, it deepened like Zareth had just confirmed something interesting.
Zareth stared down at Mathew's fresh remains and the blood staining the floor beside him.
"You have proven it you are indeed the son of Shinma Kurotsuki.'
"The god"
"The father of all demons"
They smiled at Zareth, their expressions wide and unsettling, carrying an eerie presence that made Zareth's heart freeze.
"Wait"
"Father…"
"Shinma Kurotsuki?"
He questioned whether Kurotsuki was his father, or if he even had a father at all.
"I've never met my father before… wait, this is a joke, right? You're trying to manipulate me."
The air grew thicker and darker around him.
His eyes shifted to a deep crimson red.
His fists cracked loudly as he stared at the two demons.
For a moment, the room felt like it had stopped breathing.
The first demon's smile slowly faded.
"There it is," he muttered softly.
Zareth took a slow step forward.
Then another.
Each step heavier than the last, as if something inside him was trying to surface something not fully under his control.
"Dont mess with my head."
The pressure in the room spiked.
The first demon exhaled slowly.
"Interesting"
A faint smile returned to his face.
"So the fragment reacts when the truth is spoken."
Zareth's crimson eyes locked onto him.
"What fragment?"
Silence followed.
Then the second demon spoke, his voice calm but sharp.
"The part of Shinma Kurotsuki that lives inside you."
"Flesh and blood of Shinma the father of demons," the first demon spoke.
"Shinma created us to grow and spread."
He paused, his gaze locking onto Zareth.
"And you are his son."
Zareth's eyes widened as the two demons fell to their knees before him, their heads lowering in silent submission.
They responded to Zareth.
"Our King Kurotsuki."
Zareth froze.
Shock spread across his face as the words sank in.
"King?"
His voice came out low, almost uncertain.
"They… called me Kurotsuki."
"Wait… but my last name is Ashveil, not Kurotsuki."
The two demons slowly rose to their feet and stared at him.
"Close your eyes," one of them said softly, "and you will understand everything."
Zareth's fists clenched, his heart pounding in his chest.
"What will happen if I follow you two?"
They stared into Zareth's eyes, as if they already knew him.
"You will see everything not just yourself, but far beyond us."
Zareth didn't answer immediately.
Their words lingered.
Everything.
His jaw tightened.
The moment Zareth's eyes closed, wary thoughts crept in.
"Damn it… why am I doing this to myself?"
The air grew thicker.
The two entities remained where they stood, watching Zareth with quiet amazement at his resolve. Killing him was never their goal.
They wanted him to grow.
To awaken.
Far beyond their location Shinma Kurotsuki stood in silence.
Watching.
Observing.
And he was not alone.
The Others were there too watching from the distance.
For a brief second, he felt something shift in his surroundings.
Not normal.
But.
colder.
Both of his eyes slowly opened.
And he saw them.
Not just the two but others of their kind.
Zareth looked around and realized he was no longer in the same place.
Everything was different.
Silent.
And then, one of them dashed toward Zareth in fury so fast it was hard to keep up or match its speed.
But for Zareth, something inside him kicked in immediately.
A sudden surge of adrenaline.
His body reacted in time matching the speed.
Dashing.
Vwoom.
With incredible speed, Zareth managed to swing his right hand in front of the demon.
But he was surprised there was a katana gripped in his hand.
"A katana?"
Zareth's mind raced, questioning where and how he had gotten the blade, and when he had even held it.
The demon stopped in front of the katana, the blade pressing against its chest.
"Very precise and fast."
"Greetings, Zareth."
Zareth didn't lower the blade.
His grip tightened instead.
"You know my name?"
The demon's expression didn't change.
Not even slightly.
"We know more than your name," it replied calmly. "We know what you are becoming."
The air around them shifted again heavier, denser, like the space itself was listening.
Zareth's eyes narrowed.
"I didn't ask for riddles."
A faint silence followed.
Then the demon tilted its head.
"Then ask the truth."
"Hey, system…" Zareth whispered to himself.
No response came.
He tried again.
Silence.
Nothing appeared.
No system.
He looked around his surroundings.
Zareth's gaze moved across the other demons watching.
Some of them were grinning.
His grip on the katana shifted slightly, as if testing reality itself.
Still no response.
The system that had always appeared, always reacted, always observed was gone.
The demon in front of him noticed the change.
"…It's quiet now," it said softly.
Not mocking.
Not surprised.
Zareth's eyes darkened.
"What did you do?"
The demon shook its head slightly.
"We did nothing."
A pause.
"Or rather it no longer needs to speak to you."
The air around Zareth grew heavier.
Silence pressed in.
Then one of the demons stepped forward.
Not the one in front of him.
Different.
"You deserve this, Zareth."
"We're not your enemies."
Then something moved through the air.
Fast.
Zareth reacted instantly, jumping backward in alert.
In front of him stood Shinma Kurotsuki.
The air grew even thicker as he appeared.
Everyone knelt down.
Heads bowed.
No one dared to move.
No one dared to breathe.
Zareth stood still, his grip tightening around the katana.
His crimson eyes locked onto the figure before him.
"So you're Shinma."
The name felt heavy in his mouth.
Shinma Kurotsuki didn't answer immediately.
He raised his right hand toward Zareth and took hold of his arm.
"Close your eyes," he said, his voice low. "And trust me."
Zareth's expression tightened.
"Trust you?"
A short breath left him.
His grip on the katana loosened slightly.
"You show up out of nowhere, call yourself my father"
His eyes narrowed.
"and expect me to just listen?"
A pause.
Zareth slowly closed his eyes.
"Don't give me a reason to regret this."
Shinma injected his blood into Zareth.
After that, Everything changed his vision blurred.
then he blacked out.
He felt as if he was falling into a dark void with no surroundings, no sound only his own breathing.
"What did you do to me?" his voice rumbled. "What did you…"
Everything spun and then reality snapped back.
Zareth was back inside his room.
His body lay on the floor, still and heavy.
The silence felt normal at first.
Too normal.
Like nothing had happened at all.
Mathew's body was gone.
No blood.
No signs of struggle.
No remains.
It was as if the room had already been cleaned before Zareth returned.
Zareth slowly opened his eyes wider.
"What?"
His voice came out weak.
Uncertain.
He tried to move, but his body felt heavy for a moment.
His breathing steadied.
Slowly.
The memory of the void lingered in his mind faint and distorted, like a dream slipping away.
Zareth turned his head.
Empty room.
No demons.
No Shinma.
No system.
Only silence.
He forced himself to sit up.
His fingers curled slightly.
"So it wasn't a dream."
His eyes darkened.
His eyes turned to the corner where he had ended Mathew's life, like a slaughter.
But nothing was there empty, like a normal corner. Still, Zareth knew something had been inside his room.
The feeling of what he had done lingered in the air.
"Empty? Where is Mathew? His body was just here."
Silence answered him.
But then something shifted.
Not in the room alone, but deep within Zareth himself.
A subtle change crawling beneath his skin, settling into his bones.
He felt it.
Stronger.
And more powerful.