Team X staggered through the great steel gates of Sarutobi Academy, covered in bruises, cuts, and dried blood. Their uniforms were torn, and their spirits were dulled, but each of them wore the faintest smirk of victory. The reception hall buzzed as students and staff watched the battered team limp toward the front desk.
The receptionist glanced up, clearly unimpressed. "Mission complete?"
"Barely," Zadie groaned.
Kaze nodded, holding up the mission scroll. "Feral Wraith… exterminated."
"Good," the receptionist said, stamping the document. She reached under the desk and handed over a small iron chest engraved with Sarutobi's insignia. Inside it shimmered 23,000 pints—silver coins, the primary currency of Eidolon.
"Try not to die next time," she added dryly.
Xzavier, his body still aching from the transformation, didn't respond. His mind was elsewhere. Something had awakened within him. And in the shadows, others had noticed.
---
Deep within the Demon Tower, cloaked in cursed mist and surrounded by spires of screaming stone, two figures stood atop the observation deck.
Gimori, his grin as sharp as ever, leaned against the black balcony railing, his Aku no Eye shimmering. "Fascinating," he muttered, a spark of amusement in his voice. "He's awakened his First Life already... and without Aizashi's blade."
Behind him stood Yagumi, arms crossed, a cold scowl cutting across his pale face. His jet-black hair danced in the night breeze, and both his Aku no Eyes glowed faintly red.
"You're too obsessed with him," Yagumi growled. "That boy doesn't deserve your attention."
Gimori chuckled, folding his arms. "He survived a Feral Wraith. Transformed. And you saw the mark on his back. That boy carries the sword-shaped Ascension Mark. You know what that means."
"I know," Yagumi snarled. "Chosen by the gods. And favored by Titanus Sarutobi. As if that means anything. He had everything handed to him in the last timeline. And now? Now he's still climbing."
"You're jealous."
"I remember the last timeline, Gimori," Yagumi said, eyes glowing brighter. "He had everything. And he still failed. Why would I let him rise again?"
"Because maybe this time," Gimori said with a sly grin, "he won't fail."
"I won't allow that," Yagumi snapped. "I'll kill him myself before that happens."
Gimori turned to face him fully now, smile fading. "You're letting hate blind you, Yagumi. I'm telling you—invite him to the Demon Tower. Train him. He could be a powerful ally."
"He's a threat."
Yagumi's rage boiled over. With a snarl, he unsheathed his Twin Reaper Blades, the black steel gleaming with deathly aura.
"I won't work with him!"
He lunged at Gimori, but the moment his blade descended, a shadow blurred between them.
CLANG!
A single arm blocked the blow.
Hageshi.
The brute stood over seven feet tall, his white hair glowing faintly with cursed energy. He grabbed Yagumi's wrist mid-swing.
"Enough," he grunted.
Yagumi growled but before he could react, Hageshi face-palmed him, slammed him to the ground, and dragged him across the obsidian floor like a ragdoll before hurling him into the wall with a deafening CRASH.
Cracks spread across the blackstone as Yagumi peeled himself from the wall. His pride burned hotter than his wounds.
"I'll murder you!" he screamed, charging at Gimori again.
Gimori sighed, hands still in his pockets. He effortlessly sidestepped Yagumi's flurry of strikes and kicked him back into the wall, not even breaking a sweat.
"Pathetic," Gimori muttered.
Yagumi roared. Blood dripped from his mouth. His aura surged, black flames erupting from his body. His form began to distort, eyes becoming feral.
"Hellbound..." he whispered, unlocking his First Life Form.
His body twisted, grew claws, and his shadow extended like tendrils behind him. A demonic crown formed above his head as his power exploded outward. Gimori noticed that he didn't use Aku no eyes, he used something new, something that he had just created just now... He used the new and better version of the Aku no eyes, he used the reaper eyes
Gimori remained unfazed.
"You overcame my curse? Took you long enough." he sighed.
He snapped his fingers.
The sky split.
A massive dragon wraith, covered in bone armor and abyssal scales, descended from the void above. Its roar shattered the spires, sending echoes across the Demon Tower.
The creature's glowing white eyes locked on Yagumi. With terrifying speed, it snatched him mid-charge, coiled around him, and roared.
"Back to base form."
With a suffocating pulse of power, the dragon crushed the hellbound aura, reverting Yagumi to his human form, limp in its claws. It then hurled him like trash.
Yagumi shot through the air like a meteor, crashing out of the Demon Tower and landing miles away—
—in the middle of Kingston City.
He smashed into the ground in front of the towering gates of Red Crest Academy, Sarutobi's greatest rival.
Bloodied, broken, and humiliated, Yagumi lifted his head and stared up at the crimson banner.
A figure in a black cloak walked out of the gate.
"Another stray from Sarutobi?" the figure asked, looking down.
Yagumi stood slowly, rage in his eyes.
"I'm not a stray."
"Then what are you?"
Yagumi spat blood and grinned.
"A new student."
The gates creaked open.
And so began the storm that would one day consume Eidolon.