The sky over Eisenfall hung heavy with smog and ash, casting the city in an unrelenting haze. From the ground, the towering skyscrapers of the rich glimmered like pillars of a false paradise, while beneath them, the slums twisted like a labyrinth of rusted metal and broken concrete. The people who lived here—if you could call it living—were the forgotten ones, the discarded. And no one knew this better than Kai Watanabe.

Kai slouched in the shadows of an alleyway, watching the streets through narrowed eyes. His black hoodie and worn-out sneakers made him invisible against the dilapidated backdrop of the city's lower districts. He wasn't tall for a sixteen-year-old, but his lean, wiry build allowed him to slip through cracks in the city like smoke. His dark hair, always disheveled, fell into his equally dark eyes, hiding the sharp intelligence that lurked beneath his tired demeanor.

Kai's stomach growled as he crouched lower, eyeing a street vendor's stall just across the road. Fresh dumplings—hot, steaming, the smell almost unbearable as it drifted his way. He had no money, not today, not ever. But he had something better: speed.

His eyes flicked to the vendor, then to the crowded street. He'd done this a hundred times before. Breathe in, time it right, move quick. Kai tensed, muscles coiled like a spring, waiting for the perfect moment when the vendor turned his back to handle a customer.

Then he darted forward, a blur in the gray mist of Eisenfall's gloom.

But before his hand could grab the prize, a heavy, metallic hand clamped down on his wrist, squeezing hard.

"I'd rethink that if I were you."

Kai froze. The voice was cold, mechanical, like someone speaking through a speaker with the volume turned too low. He slowly turned his head, and his eyes widened when he saw who had caught him.

A Veilguard Enforcer.

The enforcer towered over him, at least seven feet tall, clad in jet-black armor that looked more like a walking tank than a man. Its face, or rather, the mask it wore, was featureless except for two narrow slits where cold blue light leaked out like ghostly eyes. The enforcer's grip tightened, making Kai wince.

"You're coming with me," the enforcer said, its voice devoid of emotion.

Kai's heart pounded in his chest. He'd dealt with street thugs, other petty thieves, but never this. The Veilguard didn't bother themselves with people like him—unless…

Unless they thought he was more than just a common thief.

As the enforcer began dragging him away from the street, Kai's mind raced. He could feel the curious stares of the crowd, the murmurs of people who kept their distance, afraid of getting involved. No one ever helped in Eisenfall; it was every person for themselves.

"Hey! What's this about?" Kai shouted, trying to keep the fear from his voice.

The enforcer didn't respond. Instead, it raised its free hand to the side of its helmet, tapping something. A low hum filled the air, and a shimmering blue barrier formed around them, sealing them off from the rest of the world. A suppression field—Veilguard tech designed to stop any potential magic from being used in close proximity. Not that Kai had magic to use, but the enforcer clearly wasn't taking any chances.

"Shit," Kai muttered under his breath. This was bad. Really bad.

Before he could react, the enforcer slammed him against the brick wall of the alley. His head spun, vision blurring for a moment.

"I'm not here for your crimes," the enforcer said, its voice still cold and distant. "You're coming with me for something… bigger."

Kai's mind snapped into focus. This wasn't about the dumplings, or petty theft. If the Veilguard was after him, it meant one thing—they thought he had a Pact.

And if they thought that, he was as good as dead.

He tried to wriggle free, but the enforcer's grip was like iron. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Kai shouted. "I've got nothing to do with demons!"

For the first time, the enforcer seemed to pause. Its head tilted slightly, as if considering something. Then, it leaned in closer. "We'll see about that."

Before Kai could protest again, a sharp, stinging pain erupted from his neck. The enforcer had injected him with something—a sedative. His limbs went heavy, vision fading, as the world around him darkened into a suffocating void.

---

Flashback: The Fire That Took Everything

Kai's last conscious thought was of the fire.

It had been five years ago. He was eleven at the time, living with his parents in a tiny apartment in the slums. His mother had been a seamstress, and his father a low-level mechanic. They didn't have much, but they had enough. Enough to keep them safe, enough to keep them together.

Until that night.

The fire had spread faster than anyone could react, engulfing their building in a matter of minutes. The smell of smoke, the screams of people trapped inside—it still haunted Kai's dreams. He remembered his mother's voice, calling out to him through the flames. He remembered his father trying to break down the door, his hands bloody from splinters. But the thing he remembered most vividly was the figure standing outside the flames, watching.

A man in black, his face obscured, but his eyes glowing a sickly red.

And then… nothing. Kai had woken up in the rubble the next morning, surrounded by the charred remains of his home. His parents were gone. Everyone was gone.

And Kai was alone.

---

Present Day: The Shadows of Eisenfall

Kai woke with a start, the memory of the fire still burning in his mind. His body felt heavy, sluggish, the aftereffects of the sedative making his movements clumsy. He was no longer in the alleyway.

He was in a cold, sterile room. The walls were made of some kind of smooth metal, with no windows and only a single steel door. The only light came from a flickering overhead lamp that buzzed faintly. He was sitting on the floor, his hands bound behind his back with glowing cuffs—another piece of Veilguard tech designed to suppress magic, not that he had any.

His mind raced, trying to make sense of his situation. The Veilguard didn't just pick people up off the streets without reason. And if they thought he had a demon Pact, they were sorely mistaken. He wasn't a Pactbearer, and he had no idea why they would think otherwise.

Unless… unless they knew about the book.

Kai's eyes darted around the room, searching for any way out. His heart pounded in his chest, not just from fear, but from the memory of what he had found earlier that week—a tattered, ancient-looking book hidden in the ruins of the city's oldest district. He hadn't even been looking for it, but something had drawn him there, like a whisper in the back of his mind. When he opened it, strange symbols and writings had filled the pages, things he couldn't understand but felt drawn to.

The book had scared him. But more than that, it had called to him.

He'd buried it deep under a pile of junk in the old abandoned warehouse where he slept. He hadn't told anyone about it. But maybe… maybe the Veilguard knew.

The door hissed open, interrupting his thoughts. A figure stepped inside, tall and clad in a long black coat. The light flickered again, casting shadows over the man's face. Kai's breath caught in his throat.

It was the man from the fire.

The same cold, red eyes stared down at him, unblinking.

"You've found something you shouldn't have," the man said, his voice eerily calm. "But it's not too late to give it back."

Kai's heart pounded as he met the man's gaze. Whoever this was, whatever this was, it was far bigger than he had imagined.

And somehow, he knew that the book—the demon's pact—was only the beginning.

---

To be continued...

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