The rain didn't stop.
It fell in curtains, drowning the city in a melancholic haze. Elias stood at the edge of the rooftop, his long coat billowing in the storm winds, his obsidian eyes scanning the drenched streets of Mortgrave. The air tasted metallic—not from the rain, but from the faint stench of blood that clung to the gutters. Somewhere down there, another soul was being claimed.
His fingers clenched around the obsidian shard that served as his system's conduit. The Devil's System buzzed with cold intent.
> System Update: Soul Count – 17
New Trait Unlocked: Crimson Veil (Intermediate) – Grants temporary invisibility in shadows, enhances stealth and blood detection.
Elias exhaled. It should have satisfied him. It didn't.
Each soul collected deepened his powers, but the weight of what he was becoming gnawed at the fringes of his humanity. The memory of his death, the betrayal, his father's dispassionate voice as he gave the order—all of it was a burning brand behind his eyes.
He turned to face the soft shuffle behind him.
"You followed me again," Elias murmured.
Aurelia stepped forward, soaked to the bone, her golden hair clinging to her face. "I told you I would. I don't trust you out here alone."
"You shouldn't."
She stared at him, lips trembling slightly. "But I do."
Silence fell between them, heavier than the rain. Then, gunshots cracked the air—three quick reports echoing from the alley below.
Without a word, Elias leapt from the rooftop, his coat slicing the air like a shadow's wing.
---
The alley was a massacre.
Blood pooled at the base of a dumpster. Three bodies. One survivor—barely. Elias crouched beside the girl, no older than ten, clutching a gaping wound in her side.
Her terrified eyes locked with his.
"P-Please... help me..." she whimpered.
Elias looked at his hands, then at the obsidian shard. He could heal her. But the cost would be hers.
> Option Available: Soul Transaction – Heal mortal injury in exchange for partial soul tether. Consent required.
"You have to say yes," Elias whispered.
She nodded weakly.
As the system glowed crimson, Aurelia watched in horror. "Elias, what are you doing? She's a child!"
"She chose life. I'm just the dealer now."
A pulse of energy surged. The girl gasped, her wound knitting shut. But her eyes glowed faintly red.
Elias stood, wiping rain from his face. "She'll live. But she's bound to me now. A tethered soul."
Aurelia couldn't speak. She just stared.
He walked past her. "Come on. They're still hunting."
---
Across Mortgrave, deep within the undercity, a new threat stirred.
In a chamber lit by crimson glyphs, a hooded figure knelt before a mirror of blood. His name was Veylor, and his eyes glowed like molten glass.
"He's begun," the figure rasped. "The Devil's Heir walks the path."
"Shall we act?" another voice asked from the darkness.
Veylor smiled. "Not yet. Let him think he's in control. When the tethered souls reach thirty, the gate shall bleed."
---
Back above ground, Elias and Aurelia took shelter in a ruined cathedral. Candles still burned at the altar—a miracle in itself.
"Are we the bad ones now?" Aurelia asked, arms around herself.
Elias didn't answer at first. He stared at the worn stained-glass window—a knight slaying a serpent.
"Maybe we always were," he finally said. "Maybe that's why the system chose me."
Aurelia turned to him. "And what will you become?"
Elias turned, and for a moment, his smile was almost human.
"A monster with a conscience. Or a god with a price."
---
> System Notification: Tethered Soul Awakening Detected. Host capabilities expanding. Trait Evolution: Crimson Veil – Advanced. You may now pass through walls composed of organic material.
As the cathedral's ancient bells tolled midnight, Elias Black closed his eyes.
Somewhere, another soul screamed. And the Blood Price was paid.