The alley was dead silent.
That voice, it wasn't rushed. It wasn't angry.
It was absolute.
Aiden's stance shifted. I didn't need to be an expert in combat to know he was on edge.
"That's not just some random hitman, is it?"
I muttered, keeping my eyes on the darkness ahead.
Aiden exhaled sharply.
"No. That guy's a real problem."
The footsteps continued, slow and deliberate. Then, he stepped into the dim light.
Tall. Imposing. Wrapped in a long, crimson leather coat that looked like it had survived a hundred battles. His face was hidden behind a smooth, iron mask, carved with demonic sigils that pulsed faintly with violet energy.
But his eyes, twin slits in the mask burning with an unnatural glow, those were what made my skin crawl.
I felt my chest tighten, my breath catching in my throat. This wasn't just some random demon bounty hunter. This was something much worse.
"You are human."
The masked demon said.
Aiden let out a small laugh, rolling his shoulders.
"Wow. Real keen detective work there. Anything else you wanna point out?"
The masked demon ignored him, his gaze locking onto me. More specifically, onto my wrist.
The Primordial Echo flared against my skin, reacting to his presence.
I barely had time to react before the air around me thickened, like gravity itself had doubled in an instant. My vision blurred as my knees buckled, my lungs struggling to take in air.
It wasn't magic.
It was something deeper.
"You reek of something foreign."
The demon said, his voice smooth, even, yet filled with an authority that made my stomach churn.
"That mark on your wrist does not belong to you. And that makes you an anomaly."
His gaze shifted briefly to Aiden.
"And you. A human who walks as if he belongs here."
A pause.
"Strange."
Aiden cracked his knuckles, rolling his shoulders.
"Yeah, well, I get that a lot."
Then, Aiden vanished.
A shockwave erupted in his place, shattering the cobblestone beneath him as he moved faster than my eyes could process.
In an instant, he was on the masked demon, his fist rocketing forward like a bullet.
But before it could land...
The demon simply raised a finger.
A sigil ignited in the air between them, and Aiden's punch stopped cold, as if he had just struck an immovable wall of force.
The impact sent ripples through the space around them, distorting reality for a split second.
Aiden's eyes narrowed.
"Huh. That's annoying."
Before the demon could counterattack, Aiden twisted his body, disappearing again in a blur of motion.
This time, he reappeared behind the demon, driving his knee straight into his back with the force of a meteorite.
BOOM!
The alley shattered. The wall next to them exploded outward from the force of the hit.
For a moment, I thought Aiden had actually done some real damage.
Then, the dust cleared.
The demon stood unmoved, his coat barely disturbed, his mask still intact.
Aiden clicked his tongue.
"Okay. That's kind of pissing me off."
The demon finally moved.
And the world bent around him.
Violet runes burned in the air, spinning in a slow, mesmerizing pattern. The temperature plummeted, and suddenly, I felt like I was standing at the bottom of the ocean, like reality itself was being compressed around me.
Then he raised his hand.
I barely saw the sigil form before a wave of force blasted outward—
SWOOSH!
Aiden dodged, barely.
The street behind him wasn't as lucky.
A chunk of the road behind me simply ceased to exist, just gone, like it had never been there.
What the hell kind of power was this?
Aiden landed, his boots skidding against the fractured cobblestone. He cracked his knuckles, rolling his shoulders like he was warming up.
"Alright. I'll admit it."
He exhaled sharply.
"You're gonna make this fun."
Then, he vanished again.
I could barely follow the fight anymore.
Aiden was moving so fast, the air echoed as he weaved between attacks, throwing rapid, machine-gun-like punches at the masked demon. Each impact created shockwaves, carving deep cracks into the surrounding buildings.
But the demon never faltered.
With each blow, he countered effortlessly, his sigils burning brighter, redirecting the force back outward. The moment Aiden landed a solid hit, a surge of violet energy would pulse from the demon's body, launching Aiden backward like a ragdoll.
Aiden gritted his teeth, shaking off the latest counterattack.
"Okay, so you're not just some mindless brute. I get it."
The masked demon extended his hand, and the sigils around him shifted.
A new pattern formed, and then, in a single instant, Aiden froze.
Mid-step. Mid-motion.
Trapped.
"What the—?" Aiden's voice didn't match his mouth.
It was delayed.
As if… time itself had skipped.
The demon closed his fingers, and suddenly
Aiden was yanked forward.
Straight toward the demon's waiting fist.
CRACK.
Aiden slammed into the ground so hard the alley cratered beneath him.
For the first time, I saw Aiden struggle to stand. He wiped a trail of blood from his lip, rolling his jaw.
"Yeah."
He muttered.
"That definitely hurt."
The demon towered over him, raising a single hand. The sigils coiled into a single point, forming a pulsing sphere of violet energy.
He was about to finish it.
I had to do something.
I didn't think.
I moved.
My body reacted on instinct.
I threw myself between them, my hands raised.
And then, my mark burned.
The Primordial Echo flared violently, a shockwave erupting from my skin, crackling with a strange, unnatural force. The moment it touched the masked demon, his sigils flickered, not breaking, but distorting, as if whatever power I had just unleashed was interfering with them.
The demon stopped mid-motion, his hand hovering just inches from obliterating Aiden.
A faint hum resonated through the air.
Then, his head tilted ever so slightly.
He was assessing me.
The violet light in his mask dimmed for a brief second before flaring brighter than before.
"Interesting."
The demon murmured, his voice smooth but filled with something new. A sliver of... curiosity.
Aiden coughed, finally dragging himself up from the crater in the ground. He shook the dust from his coat, rolling his neck with an exaggerated sigh.
"Well, would you look at that? The kid's got a bite after all."
I didn't respond. I couldn't. My whole body felt like it was on fire, my skin buzzing with the lingering aftermath of whatever the Primordial Echo had just done.
The masked demon slowly lowered his hand, the violent sphere of violet energy in his palm dissipating as if it had never been there.
"This changes things."
He said.
He wasn't talking to me.
No, he was talking to someone else.
Then, a low rumble filled the alley.
The air itself vibrated, like some unseen force was pressing down on reality itself. The cobblestone at my feet cracked, tiny fractures webbing out in a slow, creeping pattern.
And then I heard it.
A voice. Soft. Indistinct. Not spoken aloud, but in my head.
A whisper, crawling into my mind like a snake winding around my thoughts.
Not yet.
The masked demon suddenly stiffened.
His head snapped upward slightly, as if hearing the same thing.
For the first time, his body language shifted. Not fear. Not anger.
Restraint.
The violet light in his mask pulsed once. Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, he took a step back.
"You're fortunate."
He said, voice laced with something unreadable.
"This is not the time."
Aiden blinked, rubbing the back of his head.
"Wait, hold on. So that's it? No dramatic last stand? No killing us in some unnecessarily cruel fashion?"
The demon didn't respond.
Instead, he lifted his hand, and the space around him rippled. The very fabric of the alley warped, as if he were no longer bound by physical movement.
"You will know my name soon enough."
Then, he was gone.
Not in a blur. Not in a flash of light.
One second he was there. The next, he simply ceased to be.
Silence filled the alley once more.
Aiden let out a low whistle, dusting himself off.
"Whew. That was, uh… new."
I was still frozen in place. My heartbeat pounded in my ears.
I didn't know what had just happened, but I knew one thing for certain.
That wasn't just some high-ranking demon.
That was something far worse.
And whoever had just whispered into my mind?
They were the real threat.
Aiden glanced at me, raising an eyebrow.
"You good, kid?"
I forced my hands to stop shaking, exhaling slowly.
"Yeah."
Liar.
Aiden smirked, cracking his knuckles.
"Well, guess we're still alive. That's a win in my book."
I didn't answer. My thoughts were still racing.
What did that demon mean by 'this is not the time'?
And more importantly…
Who was waiting for me?
Aiden must've noticed I wasn't letting this go, because he suddenly stretched his arms, cracking his neck, before turning to face me fully.
"You've been giving me that look for a while now."
I narrowed my eyes.
"What look?"
"The 'who the hell are you and why are you here' look."
He answered casually.
"Figured I'd clear the air before you start thinking I'm part of some shadowy conspiracy."
I exhaled, trying to steady myself.
"Fine. Who are you? What's your deal? And why the hell is there another human walking around the Demon Realm like it's just another bad neighborhood?"
Aiden smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Would you believe me if I said I was just passing through?"
I gave him a flat look.
"No."
He chuckled, running a hand through his silver-streaked hair.
"Figures."
I waited. But he didn't elaborate.
"That's it?"
I pressed.
"That's all I get?"
"For now."
Aiden said, his smirk widening.
"Got to keep some mystery alive, don't I?"
I studied him carefully.
There was something… off about him.
Not in the way Emil was wrong, Emil was anomalous, something that shouldn't exist.
But Aiden?
He felt like he belonged here. Like he'd been walking these streets for far too long.
"You're not answering the question."
"I answered enough. More than you answered about yourself."
I frowned.
"Touché."
Aiden grinned, clapping a hand on my shoulder.
"See? We're getting along already."
I sighed, shaking him off. This guy was frustrating.
I extended my hand.
"Damien."
Aiden looked at it, then smirked before shaking it. His grip was firm, but not overpowering.
"Aiden."
There was a weight to the way he said his name.
Like it wasn't really his name at all.
A name borrowed. Used out of convenience.
I held onto that thought for later.
Aiden released my hand, stepping back.
"Well, Damien, I think we've officially overstayed our welcome in this alley. You got a destination in mind, or are we just waiting for round two of 'getting our asses kicked'?"
I glanced down at the worn leather map tucked into my coat.
"Blackthorn Academy. I need to get there."
Aiden let out a low whistle.
"Damn. You really don't like making things easy, do you?"
"Never said I did."
He chuckled.
"Alright then. Let's get moving."
As we stepped out of the ruined alley, the weight of everything that had just happened still lingered. I knew Aiden was hiding something. I knew that masked demon wasn't the last enemy I'd face.
And most of all, I knew.
I was running out of time.