The air was cold—unnaturally so. Megumi stood motionless beneath a pale sky, his blood still humming from the memory that had torn open inside him. Chloe's face—frozen in terror, her blood staining the stone floor, Lythic's voice ringing in his ears—was all he could see, even though his eyes were open. The Demon King's realm loomed before him, but his heart remained trapped in that moment of loss.
Leonidas stood quietly behind him, the silence between them thick with understanding. "You didn't break," the Demon King said at last, his voice carrying a rare softness. "Not completely. That's something."
Megumi didn't respond. He clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked, the bandages on his arms tightening with each tremble. The black halo above his head flickered erratically, pulsing like a heartbeat that didn't belong to him.
"I want to kill him," Megumi muttered. "I want to make him feel everything he made her feel."
Leonidas stepped forward, placing a heavy hand on Megumi's shoulder. "Then you need to become someone who can. Someone powerful enough to strike fear into gods and monsters alike."
Megumi turned to him, eyes hollow. "Then teach me. Now."
Leonidas shook his head. "Not yet. You think vengeance is enough to carry you through what lies ahead? You're wrong. Before you can train, you need to face the world as it is now. You've been changed, Megumi—but the world hasn't waited for you."
A swirling portal tore open beside them, the air crackling with dark energy. Leonidas gestured to it.
"Step through. See what's become of the life you left behind."
Megumi hesitated only a moment before stepping forward. The portal swallowed him whole.
The world he returned to wasn't the same one he'd left. It was louder somehow—more fragile. The skies over his hometown were grayer, and the streets quieter. As Megumi walked down the familiar sidewalk near his school, he pulled his hood low and kept his face turned away. He didn't belong here anymore.
But something pulled him in that direction anyway—memories, or maybe guilt.
From across the street, he saw the school building, still intact. A group of students stood outside, laughing at something. One girl caught his attention: long chestnut hair, assertive posture, kind eyes. Ava Takabi.
His chest tightened.
She hadn't changed. And yet she had. There was something in her eyes—a dullness where brightness used to be. She looked up suddenly, and for a second, Megumi froze.
Did she see him?
But a moment later, she turned away, laughing softly at something a friend said.
Megumi's jaw clenched.
You shouldn't be here, he told himself. You're a ghost in this world now.
He turned to leave—and that's when the sky tore open.
A screech ripped through the clouds as a creature stepped out of a rift in the sky, its body twisted and gnarled like it had been built from nightmares. People screamed, running in every direction as the monster landed on the school steps, its eyes glowing with purple fire.
"AVA!" Megumi shouted before he could stop himself.
She turned toward the voice—and that's when the creature lunged.
Megumi moved without thinking. The moment he stepped forward, his aura exploded outward—black, gold, and white light crackling around him like lightning. The black halo returned, brighter than ever.
He launched himself forward, intercepting the monster mid-air and slamming it into the pavement. The creature shrieked, writhing under his grip.
"Who sent you?!" he growled, his voice darker—almost inhuman.
The monster snarled and spat, "Your name… echoes in the Underworld. Lythic remembers…"
Megumi's eyes burned. He roared and crushed the beast beneath a wave of energy, disintegrating it in a blinding flash. When the light faded, all that remained was silence—and stunned faces.
And Ava.
She stepped forward slowly, staring at him, eyes wide. "Megumi…?"
His hood had fallen. His aura still flickered around him. There was no hiding what he'd become.
He couldn't look away from her.
"You're alive," she whispered. "I thought… after everything, I thought you were gone."
"I am," Megumi said quietly. "The Megumi you knew died the day Chloe did."
She walked closer, slowly, cautiously. "Then who are you now?"
He looked at his hands. "I don't know yet."
Ava's hand touched his. "Then let me help you remember."
The words hit something deep in him. He didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until it escaped in a shudder.
Behind them, Leonidas emerged from the shadows, arms crossed.
"You've seen enough," he said. "It's time."
Megumi nodded slowly. He turned to Ava, who looked like she wanted to stop him.
"I'll come back," he told her. "But not like this."
Before she could reply, Leonidas opened another portal. Megumi stepped through it without hesitation.
On the other side, the realm of Demon Kings awaited—towering citadels built from obsidian and crimson glass, rivers of molten gold carving through landscapes shaped by war and ancient power.
But the beauty was deceptive. Power came at a price here—and Megumi would pay it in full.
"From this point on," Leonidas said, "you will learn from those who ruled the realms before me. But be warned, Megumi—if your soul falters, they will not hesitate to tear you apart."
"I'm not afraid," Megumi replied. "Let them try."
And with that, the gates to the Demon Kings' domain opened