The Awakening

Hello Kazuki Hasunuma. My name is Kael and I'm in your body.

By now I've read through your diary. I can't pretend I know every part of your mind, but… I think I get the kind of person you are. You might not see it yourself, but you're a good person, Kazuki. I believe, when the moment comes, you'll make the right call.

You've been thrown into a place you've never seen before, and yeah… there are going to be times where you're uncomfortable, maybe even scared. But you're not alone. You've got people there who will help you — not just with swinging a sword or casting magic, but with the stuff inside your head. The self-doubts. They'll push you; they'll challenge you; they might even drive you crazy… but they'll make you stronger in ways you can't imagine yet.

I only have one real request for you. Take care of my world. My friends. And… Zephyr. She's special to me, Kazuki. The kind of person who will give everything she has for the people she cares about. Protect her. Trust her. Be there for her. And I swear I'll do the same for your mom and your friend Hana. I'll treat them like they're my own family.

If there's a way to reverse this — and we both make it back to where we belong — when you come home… not only will Hana be your girlfriend, but you'll probably be one of the most popular guys in school. I'll see to that myself.

Take care of yourself.

These were Kael's words, that came to Kazuki's mind – somewhere behind those red eyes.

The air was heavy as he rose to his feet.

The broken sword in his grip hung loosely at his side, but his eyes… they burned.

A flicker of unease crossed Vaerik's face.

"…Your eyes…" he muttered, taking an instinctive step back. "That glow… How do you... how do you have dark affinity?"

Kazuki didn't answer. The black smoke rolling off him thickened, and the air itself seemed to twist around his presence.

Several demon soldiers, sensing an opportunity, rushed him with weapons raised.

The moment they crossed into the radius of his power, their steps faltered. Knees buckled. And then, one by one they collapsed, clawed hands digging into the dirt as if forced to bow. Their bodies trembled, spines bending under the invisible weight pressing down on them.

Without looking at them, Kazuki slowly raised his left hand, palm open toward the sky.

The shadows surged.

From the kneeling demons, threads of black and crimson light tore free. Their life force and mana ripped from within. They screamed, the sound cut short as their skin cracked, blackened, and flaked away like burnt paper. In moments, their bodies crumbled entirely to ash.

All of it flowed like a stream into Kazuki's palm, spiraling up his arm and sinking into his chest.

The ground trembled beneath him.

His hair, once blond, drained of all color in a single breath, like silk spun from moonlight. His armor darkened, twisting, reshaping. Plates elongating into jagged black steel that drank in the light around it. Across his shoulders and chest, cruel ridges formed, like the spines of some long-dead beast.

And above his head… shards of black metal, hovering and arranging into the shape of a crown.

Vaerik stared at him, his earlier smirk gone, replaced with something else.

For the first time in the battle, the commander looked… uncertain.

Kazuki's grip tightened on the broken sword hilt. From the hilt, a black liquid began to seep. slow at first, then in a rush, crawling upward like molten metal flowing in reverse.

It hardened as it moved, reshaping the missing half of the weapon. The steel was no longer silver; it was black as midnight.

Vaerik's eyes widened.

"That power…" His voice was low, almost reverent. "The Sovereign's Authority… Impossible."

Kazuki stepped forward. The ground beneath his boots cracked faintly, as though his presence alone was enough to weigh upon the earth.

Vaerik yanked Zephyr closer. "One more step, boy, and I'll crush her!"

In a blink, Kazuki was no longer where he stood.

Shadows danced wildly across the nearby walls. The silhouette of the commander towering, clutching Zephyr and then a flash of motion too fast to follow. A single sweep, split the image.

An arm fell from Vaerik's shadow.

The commander staggered back, now missing the long, jagged limb that had held her.

As Zephyr fell from the commander's grasp, her body limp from the struggle. Kazuki's left arm sliding around her back, pulling her close before she could hit the ground. He steadied her against him, holding her upright, his gaze never leaving the enemy before them.

Kazuki's blade at his side, black smoke still curling from its edge. His eyes glowed faintly, fixed on Vaerik like a predator deciding whether the hunt was over… or just beginning.

Zephyr stumbled in his grip, her breathing shallow, eyes wide with shock.

"Kazuki… what are you…?" Her voice trembled, torn between fear and awe.

The commander staggered back, clutching the bloody stump where his arm had been. His voice rasped with venom, yet beneath it was a raw edge of grief.

"You humans… you stole from our lands, poisoned our soil. You left us to starve… to rot. And cursed us to this monster form." His pale eyes burned. "The death of your race will restore the prosperity of our lands and lift our curse. That is why we fight. What do you fight for, you human filth?!"

Kazuki remained silent.

In one blinding motion, the black edge of his sword swept across the commander. The demon's voice died mid-sentence. His body collapsed.

Still cradling Zephyr with one arm, Kazuki began to rise in the air. Shadows bled from his form, swirling in a storm above the battlefield. Then his hand lifted once more.

The remaining demons froze — and in the next heartbeat, the life was torn from them. Their bodies withered like flowers robbed of water, crumbling to dust as streams of pale light and dark mist spiraled toward Kazuki, disappearing into his palm.

The field fell silent. Soldiers, adventurers, even the Council stood unmoving, staring up at him.

Slowly, Kazuki descended, boots touching the earth with a soundless finality. Zephyr's gaze followed him, her lips parting as she whispered, "Kazuki… look at me."

His head turned, the red glow in his eyes dimming as they locked with hers. For a moment, she searched his face — the cold, unrecognizable mask that had replaced the boy that she knew.

Her hand rose to his cheek, glowing faintly with light magic. "Rest now," she murmured.

The black crown of shards dissolved into smoke. The armor melted away, revealing him as he had been. His legs buckled, and his weight sagged against her.

She caught him, holding him as his eyes fluttered closed.

"I've got you," she whispered, lowering him gently.

Away from the battlefield, the black-feathered raven with a red left eye, watched everything — the clash, the slaughter, the rise of a new dark affinity user.

With a sudden beat of its wings, it turned west, slicing through the smoky sky toward the land it had come from.

There, atop a desolate cliff, a figure cloaked in a heavy black robe waited. The raven descended, landing upon the figure's outstretched long and thin arm and then it sank into the figure. From the depths of that shadowed face, a smile spread — too wide, too sharp.