Chapter 1 => Saying I’m Weird is an Understatement

Yo! It’s me, Kazuki Amagiri. My existence is…rather unorthodox to say the least. Finding where to start is proving too difficult, so I’ll just wing it from here.

Now, it all began a year ago when this bizarre-looking group raided my high school during my final year. The commotion was freaking huge!

They kept going on about how they needed a vessel—one powerful enough to contain the life essence of their leader. I know, totally nuts.

Due to an unconventional twist of events, I’d managed to send those assholes packing. Hate to toot my own horn, but it would’ve probably been impossible for any normal person to pull it off.

See, that’s the thing.

I am not “normal.” Haha!

Yeah, I don’t need pity, even though my life’s a huge pain in my toned ass sometimes.

Ah, I digress.

So, I say I’m not normal because apparently, I am a descendent of a very long line of…

Occultists.

Gee whiz, ain’t that scary?!

You’d think so, but that just isn’t the case. I’m talking to a fellow Occultist right now—and that’s my dad, Haruma Amagiri.

“Hey, son. Finally ready to start Tokyo U?” my dad asked me all bubbly. “Or… You’re finally ready to embrace being an Occultist?!”

My goodness. He’s just so loud. My ears are gonna burst. They’re sensitive, you know?

This towering—and admittedly handsome —man in his thirties stood upright. What did he say his height was again? Six-foot-two?

Meh.

“No, Dad. I’m not embracing anything like that. It sounds like a real hassle.”

“Aww…”

What is he? A dog?! And did his cowlick just droop…?

That aside, his whole hair was colored like a child’s art project.

It’s predominately dark, but patches of magenta are scattered all about it unevenly. No, he didn’t get paint on it.

And his physique…

“Dad bod” could never come to mind as his body was so toned, you’d think he’s a gym rat. But I’ve never even seen him squat once!

He peered into my eyes with his unusual amber tinted eyes that I could swear glow. It’s like that of a predator’s. So animalistic.

“Well, that’s too bad,” he said, turning his back to me. “And here I thought you’d bring me some good news to cheer me up while your mom’s away on a business trip…”

I didn’t have the time for his antics, so I waved my hand to dismiss him. Sorry dad, nothing personal.

Needing some fresh air, I spun around to open the sliding glass door that led to the balcony.

That’s right. We live at the very top of a ginormous high-rise, located somewhere in Nishi-Shinjuku.

My dad’s pretty loaded, as he’s become a world renowned archeologist—or something. All thanks to those Occultist powers of his. At least that’s one upside.

But that also means that the living area is littered with all sorts of ominous trinkets. There’s a freaky looking mask, a statue with a Czech vibe, and a definitely evil grimoire-esque book that I sometimes hear the anguished cries of many voices from.

Dad always assured me that they’re all harmless…

I highly doubt.

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Haa… A lovely breeze was really kicking up. And I enjoyed as it faintly rustled my hair. Out of the blue, my thoughts drifted to Shizuka, my little sister.

She’s in junior high. Such a sweet girl.

She was yet to return from school, so it was just me and my old man.

Me…and my old… Man.

“Hey, Kazuki?” he called out to me from inside, reclined on a sofa. A classy newspaper was in his grasp. “I’ve heard rumors. They say they’ve found the Eye of Horus in an abandoned tomb somewhere in Egypt. Wild, right?”

My ears perked up involuntarily. Another weird reflex of mine.

“A few buddies of mine have been talking about it. Super top secret stuff. But as my son, I felt like you should know. Does that tickle your fancy?”

I knew what my sly old man was playing at. “No,” I replied curtly, “not interested. I don’t wanna go around collecting weird stuff just because.”

“Aww… Don’t give me that.” He chuckled. “You’re an Occultist! It’s only a matter of time before you give in to your natural urges.” Dad definitely grinned like a perv after that last bit! “I mean, you’ve already gotten a taste for it that time at school—”

“I told you already. That was just a random coincidence. A freak accident! I never intended to beat up a bunch of randos with some impromptu artifact thingamajig.”

“You’re no fun.” Dad pouted.

Seriously, who’s the adult here?

I couldn’t stay out on the balcony any longer, so I headed to my room, briskly walking past dad. Too much interaction with him could be injurious to my wellbeing.

As I entered my room, I paused to look at myself in the mirror on my closet door.

I let out a whistle, seeing the handsome stud staring wistfully right back at me.

He had mostly dark hair, with a few patches of turquoise splashed here and there. He seemed pretty fit for his size. A very nice build. Haha!

His eyes, for some very known reason, glowed an ominous amber…

Waaa!

I look just like my dad!

Is this what they meant by “like father like son”?

This is too much…

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I’m on my bed now, facing the ceiling. I just can’t seem to fall asleep. Shizuka returned a little while back. I heard her footsteps coming through the door, and her sweet voice when she greeted dad.

She didn’t stop by my room, though…

Maybe she’s worried about all the sweat she must have worked up? Today was P.E, after all.

Right now, I really need a distraction. Making my way to my desk, I switched on my laptop. Please ignore my wallpaper for the time being.

Some cultured anime would be nice…

As I finished sorting out the episodes, I found my hand reaching for a bottle of lotion…

Smack!

I slapped myself hard on the wrist. What was I doing? I cannot give in to such desires. But, that did not stop me from watching the show, either.

Twenty-two minutes and forty seconds passed. I’d finished one heck of an episode. Time to move on to the next. On second thought, why don’t I surf the internet for a bit.

Taking breaks is healthy!

So, I start up my browser.

What to search…?

Meh. I’ll just lookup the first thing that comes to mind.

Eye of Horus… I thought, tapping away at my keyboard. Enter.

Hmm. The Eye of Horus. A concept and symbol in ancient Egyptian religion, representing healing and protection. Derived from the mythic scuffle between Horus and his rival Set. Horus somehow ended up losing one of his eyes…

Must’ve been a crazy fight.

Horus later got back his eye and offered it up to his deceased father, Osiris, sustaining him in the afterlife.

Some other interpretations involve concepts like the moon, when it waxes and wanes, comparable to the injury and subsequent healing of the eye.

What? Old pyramid texts say that Set stole Horus’s eye, forcing him to take it back by force, and in the process… Crushing his balls…?

Man, I’ll never wrap my head around mythology.

Wait… Why am I looking up Egyptian mythology in the first place?!

I picked up my PC, and was about to hurl it to the furthest corner of my room. But after a few calming breaths, I gently lowered it back to my desk.

So many good times I’ve shared with this baby…

Oh, I’m missing the point!

That old man, he knew this would happen. Still, I can’t believe that baloney about me giving into my “natural urges.”

I’m not some wild animal, dammit—

“Hmm, I wonder what it actually looks like in person, though…”

I clapped a hand over my mouth.

I couldn’t get the thought of some god’s eye out my head.

It was all I could think about at the moment.

Dad’s planted the seed, and now it’s sprouting.

I’ve got to rip it out by the roots.

“I wonder how soon I could book a flight to Egypt. Tickets may be a little pricey.”

What the heck’s wrong with me?!

Not knowing what to do, I crawled right back into bed, and half-sobbed myself to sleep.

It seems this whole Occultist situation runs a lot deeper than I thought…