Lumi went back to the training grounds.He didn’t think about it. His feet carried him there on their own, away from the courtyard, away from the murmurs that still rang in his ears. Away from the platform resetting like he had never existed.The yard was empty.It always was at this hour.The sun sat low, throwing long shadows across the dirt. Training dummies stood in a loose line—scarred wood and reinforced stone, some cracked from years of sigil-enhanced strikes. The grass at the edges was flattened and dry, pressed down by repeated impacts.Lumi stepped onto the dirt.Strike. Step. Turn.His body moved out of habit.Strike. Step. Turn.He breathed in through his nose. Out through his mouth.If he stopped, he’d think.If he thought, he’d remember.He didn’t want to remember the silence after his name was called. But no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts still drifted.Just a few days ago, he remembered that Elvis had been here.Lumi hadn’t meant to watch. He’d been passing by,

By the time the Blackwell estate came into view, Lumi’s legs were burning. The road had long since given way to cobblestone paths lined with iron lamps that glowed faintly despite the lingering daylight. Tall hedges rose on either side, trimmed with unnatural precision, their dark leaves absorbing light rather than reflecting it. Beyond them stretched rows of houses—dozens of them—each large enough to be mistaken for a noble residence. Yet none of them were the mansion. They passed through neighbourhood after neighbourhood, each home dressed in shades of black, charcoal, and deep violet. Stone façades were carved with subtle sigil patterns. Windows were tall and narrow, their glass tinted so dark it was impossible to see inside. The air itself felt heavier here, as though sound struggled to carry. This was the Blackwell territory. Lumi stumbled slightly, catching himself before he fell. His chest ached. His breath came in shallow gasps. Sweat clung to his back and soaked into t

The demon lunged. No warning. No roar. Just motion. Corvin reacted instantly. “Move.” He slammed his shoulder into Lumi, shoving him aside as the demon’s fist tore through the space where they’d been standing. The ground exploded. Stone shattered outward as the punch cratered the road, cracks spider-webbing across the tarred surface. Lumi hit the ground hard, rolling. His ears rang. By the time he looked up, Corvin was already moving. Twin daggers flashed into his hands, metal singing softly as they cleared their sheaths. “Enough playing around,” Corvin said, eyes sharp. “Let’s end this.” He sprinted. The demon met him head-on. A massive arm swung down. Corvin sidestepped effortlessly, the blow smashing the ground where he’d been a heartbeat earlier. He leapt, flipped, landed behind it. Another punch. Another miss. Corvin laughed. “You’re slow.” The demon roared and came again, fists pounding like piledrivers. Corvin flowed between the attacks—ducking, vaulting,

Lumi woke gasping.Air burned his lungs as if he had been submerged too long and dragged back too late. His chest heaved, breath coming in sharp, panicked bursts as his fingers clawed instinctively at the floor beneath him.Cold stone.Solid.Real.He lay there for a long moment, staring up at the shadowed ceiling, heart battering against his ribs. The ache behind his eyes throbbed in time with his pulse.Slowly, he realised where he was.The Blackwell library.Rows of towering shelves loomed around him, their dark spines forming orderly walls that stretched into the distance. Sunlight filtered weakly through the tall windows, dust motes drifting lazily in the pale beams.Everything was… normal.Too normal.Lumi pushed himself upright, dizziness washing over him in a brief wave. He looked down at his hands.They were clean.No blood.No burns.No blackened veins crawling beneath his skin.He flexed his fingers. They moved easily, obediently.He pressed a trembling hand to his chest, t

Ashen stared at his reflection.The mirror in Lumi’s room was tall and narrow, framed in dark wood, its surface slightly warped with age. Candlelight flickered across it, bending the image just enough to make it feel unreal.He tilted his head.So this was it.A human body.Largely intact.Largely disappointing.He lifted a hand and studied it closely. Pale skin. Long fingers. The nails had darkened slightly, tapering into sharper points than Lumi’s ever had, but nothing dramatic. No claws. No scales. No exposed infernal markings.“Tch.”His eyes were the only immediate giveaway.Dark gold.Not glowing. Not flaring.Just… wrong.Predatory.Ancient.Horns curved from his temples, smooth and black, arcing backward along his skull. Not massive. Not regal. Smaller than his true form.But serviceable.Ashen leaned closer to the mirror and grinned.The grin didn’t belong to Lumi.It was too sharp. Too knowing.“Well,” he murmured, his thicker voice rolling comfortably off borrowed vocal cor