KAI POV
Power explodes through my body like lightning made of fire.
I can't breathe. Can't think. Can't do anything except feel Nyx's soul crashing into mine like two planets colliding.
I see her memories flash through my mind—three thousand years in seconds. A demon queen ruling her realm. Her own kind betraying her, binding her in chains, selling her to the Sanctum. Three centuries locked in darkness, unable to move, unable to scream, slowly going insane from loneliness.
And then I feel something else. Something that makes my chest ache.
She's just like me.
Betrayed by the people who should have protected her. Locked away for being different. Left to rot while everyone forgot she existed.
"I know," Nyx whispers in my ear, though her lips don't move. Our minds are connected now. "I feel your pain too, little Sovereign. Your family's betrayal. Your fiancée's cruelty. Your friend's greed. I feel all of it."
The crimson mark on my chest burns hot, then cool, then settles into a steady warmth.
The contract is complete.
I open my eyes and the world looks different. Sharper. Brighter. I can see energy flowing through everything—the spirits hiding in the walls, the souls of the priests cowering in the corners, the pure rage radiating from Nyx like heat from the sun.
And I can feel her. Not just near me, but in me. Her thoughts brush against mine like whispers. Her emotions mix with my emotions until I can't tell where I end and she begins.
This is what true partnership feels like, her voice echoes in my head. Not master and servant. Equals.
I look down at my hands. They're glowing with crimson light. When I flex my fingers, shadows dance between them like living things.
I'm not powerless anymore.
The priests scramble to their feet, chanting frantically. "Demon! Forbidden contract! Kill it! Kill them both!"
Nyx laughs—a sound like thunder rolling across mountains. "Kill us? Sweet summer children. You can't even touch us now."
She waves her hand lazily and all five priests fly backward, slamming into the walls so hard the stone cracks. They slump to the ground, unconscious.
The observation window above us shatters completely.
My father's voice booms down: "Seize them! Don't let the defective escape!"
"Defective?" Nyx looks up at the window, her red eyes glowing brighter. "Is that what you called him? Your own son?"
Twenty Sanctum guards pour into the execution chamber, weapons drawn. Their contracted spirits materialize—wolves, eagles, serpents, all glowing with hostile energy.
"Stay behind me," I tell Nyx instinctively.
She bursts out laughing. "Oh, I like you already. So adorable. But darling, I've been killing tamers since before your great-great-grandparents were born. Watch and learn."
NYX POV
The boy—no, my Sovereign—is trying to protect me.
Me. The Crimson Calamity. The demon who massacred an entire tamer clan.
It's been three thousand years since anyone tried to protect me.
Something warm and unfamiliar blooms in my chest. The soul bond lets me feel his emotions clearly: he's terrified, yes, but he's also furious. And underneath all that rage is something pure. He genuinely doesn't want me hurt.
When was the last time someone cared if I got hurt?
"Stay close," I tell him, keeping my voice gentle. He's new to this power. New to having a partner. "Let me show you what a Sovereign contract can really do."
I reach into the space between worlds and pull out my weapon—a scythe made of solidified shadows, its blade sharp enough to cut through souls.
The guards charge at us.
I move.
To them, I probably look like a red blur. To me, they're moving in slow motion. I swing my scythe and five guards fly backward, their contracted spirits dissipating into mist. I don't kill them—not yet. That would be too merciful.
More guards flood in. They're shouting orders, trying to surround us.
"Kai," I say calmly. "Channel your rage into the bond. Let me feel it."
I feel him hesitate, then open himself up. His fury flows into me through the contract—hot and bitter and delicious. It tastes like betrayal and broken trust and righteous anger.
I absorb it and my power doubles.
The execution chamber fills with crimson mist. Every guard freezes as their worst fears materialize around them. They see their own deaths. Their failures. Their secrets.
They start screaming.
"Stop!" My Sovereign—Kai—grabs my arm. "Don't kill them. They're just following orders."
I could argue. Could tell him these guards have executed dozens of "defectives" over the years. Could show him the blood on their hands.
But the soul bond lets him feel my thoughts, and he feels that knowledge now. The executions. The innocents. The children.
His grip on my arm tightens. "Then make them suffer. But don't kill them. I won't become a murderer for revenge."
Interesting. He has morals even now. Even after everything they did to him.
"As you wish, Sovereign." I pull back my power. The guards collapse, alive but traumatized. "Though you're too kind for your own good."
"Maybe," he says quietly. "But I won't be like them."
That warmth in my chest blooms bigger.
KAI POV
The guards are down. The priests are unconscious. And standing in the ruined execution chamber, I realize something terrifying.
I feel good.
For the first time in my entire life, I feel powerful. Complete. Like I finally found the missing piece of myself.
"Kai Nakamura!" My father's voice echoes from above. He's standing at the broken observation window with my brothers. "Surrender immediately! You've contracted with a forbidden demon! The punishment is immediate execution!"
"You already tried to execute me once," I shout back. My voice doesn't shake anymore. "How'd that work out?"
Daichi sneers. "You're still the same pathetic defective. Just with a demon pet now."
Nyx's laugh is cold. "Pet? Oh, little A-rank, you have no idea what you're dealing with."
She turns to me, her red eyes searching my face. "What do you want, Kai? I can kill them all right now. Your father. Your brothers. Everyone who hurt you. Just say the word."
I look up at my family. The people who raised me. Who were supposed to love me.
My father shows no emotion. Daichi is smirking. Kaito looks bored.
They don't care that they almost murdered me. Don't care that they killed Mom. They're just annoyed I survived.
"I want them to pay," I say slowly. "But not with death. I want them to lose everything they value—their reputation, their power, their pride. I want them to watch me rise while they fall."
Nyx smiles, and for the first time, it reaches her eyes. "Now that's proper revenge. I can work with that."
She raises her hand and shadows explode from the floor, wrapping around the observation deck. My family scrambles back, but the shadows are faster. They don't hurt them—just trap them there, forcing them to watch.
"Listen well," Nyx announces, her voice carrying through the entire Sanctum building. "My Sovereign and I are leaving. If anyone tries to stop us, I will show you why they call me the Crimson Calamity. If anyone comes after him, I will burn this entire organization to the ground."
Alarms are screaming. I can hear hundreds of footsteps thundering toward us—more guards, more tamers, more people who want me dead.
Nyx looks at me. "Ready to leave this place forever?"
"More than ready."
She wraps her arm around my waist—the gesture surprisingly gentle for a demon—and shadows swallow us whole.
We fall through darkness. Through layers of reality. Through the spirit world itself.
When we land, we're standing on a Tokyo rooftop miles away from the Sanctum. The night air is cold and clean. City lights sparkle below us like fallen stars.
I'm free.
For the first time in my life, I'm actually free.
"So," Nyx says, releasing me. "What now, Sovereign? You have power. You have me. What will you do with both?"
I think about my mother's ghost. About Yuki's satisfied smile. About Ryo's betrayal. About my father calling me a mistake.
"Now," I say quietly, "we make them regret everything."
Nyx grins. "Music to my ears."
She starts to say something else, but then her expression changes. Her eyes go wide. She grabs my arm hard enough to hurt.
"Kai. When we bonded, I felt something in your soul. Something I haven't seen in three centuries."
"What?"
"You're not just Sovereign-class." Her voice is shaking—actually shaking. "You're Dual-Core Sovereign. That means you can contract a second entity of equal power to me. There are only two people in recorded history who ever had that ability."
My head spins. "What does that mean?"
"It means, little Sovereign, that you're not just rare. You're impossible." She laughs wildly. "And when the Sanctum figures that out, they won't just hunt you. They'll mobilize every S-rank tamer in Japan to kill you before you become unstoppable."
Behind us, the Sanctum building erupts with activity. Searchlights sweep the sky. Spirits pour out like angry wasps.
They're coming for us already.
And somewhere in my soul, I feel something else stirring. A second presence. A second contract waiting to be formed.
"Run," Nyx says urgently. "We need to hide you until you learn to control—"
She stops mid-sentence, staring at something over my shoulder.
I turn.
Standing on the rooftop behind us is another ghost. But this one is different from my mother. This one is wrapped in chains that glow with ancient power. Its eyes burn with blue fire.
"Found you," it says in a voice like grinding stone. "The prophecy was true. The Dual-Core has awakened."
"Who are you?" I demand.
The ghost smiles, and every hair on my body stands up.
"I am the reason the Sanctum has been executing Sovereigns for three hundred years. I am the ghost they fear most. And you, Kai Nakamura, are going to set me free."