He didn't mean to listen.
But he did.
From the roof of the old watchtower, Demon crouched low — cloaked in shadows and storm-breath. His eyes glowed faintly as he watched the woman and the boy seated at the temple steps.
Yuhi. Arav.
His heart. His ruin.
"I already cut ties with my demon parents," Arav said.
The words hit Demon like cold iron.
"They don't deserve to be called parents," the boy continued.
"Even for a demon."
Demon closed his eyes.
Not from pain.
From restraint.
His rage was never for the boy.
Never for her.
Only for the world that had stolen their time — and called it fate.
The wind shifted. He didn't move.
"They didn't fight for me," Arav said. "They gave me up because they were afraid of what I might become.
Maybe... they didn't even care in the first place."
"But you… You weren't afraid.
You hugged me tight. You calmed me.
You were my mother, even when no one asked you to be."
Demon pressed a hand to the stone wall beside him.
It cracked faintly under the pressure of his fingers.
He remembered the night Arav was taken.
How Yuhi had curled alone in a room lit only by moonlight.
How he'd stayed outside, silent, still — afraid his presence might break her instead of heal her.
And now...
The boy remembered.
The woman had returned — older, worn… but still loving.
And Demon — the fire in-between — was still watching, still waiting, a ghost on the edges.
He stood there for a long time.
The night wind whispered her name.
"Yuhi…"
And then he vanished into the trees —
Where his rage would not touch them.
.
.
That night, Yuhi dreamed.
She was not herself.
And yet — she was.
The moon above was larger. Blood-red.
The air smelled of war. Of magic. Of smoke.
Beneath her, the earth cracked with ancient battle scars.
She wore black armour. Her blade glowed with sacred sigils.
She was a commander, sworn to protect the Sacred City of Eve.
Across the battlefield stood the enemy.
A demon warlord — tall as a storm.
Eyes like frostfire. Cloak of shadows.
They called him Ashen One.
But his true name…
She knew it.
"Demon," she whispered, her voice trembling in memory.
In that lifetime, they had been enemies.
But not always.
Once, when the war paused beneath a fragile peace…
They met.
Shared silence.
Shared stories.
A single kiss that nearly shattered a world.
Now, they stood opposed again.
He stepped forward.
She raised her blade.
"You're breaking the pact," she shouted. "You swore!"
"I swore to protect you," Demon said. "Not your kings."
Their armies froze. Watching.
"This isn't love," she cried. "This is war."
"Then let it be war," he answered.
"But I'll die before I raise my sword to you."
The earth trembled beneath their feet.
Magic surged in the air.
She charged.
He didn't move.
At the last moment, her blade stopped — pressed against his chest.
Not cutting.
Just… trembling.
"You're a fool," she breathed.
"But still yours," he whispered.
The battlefield blurred.
The memory faded.
Yuhi woke with a gasp.
Her chest heaved.
Tears wet her pillow.
She turned to the window.
And there, in the tree outside — as always —
A shadow stood.
Not speaking.
Not moving.
Just burning.