The candlelight flickered, casting eerie shadows across Reo Kisaragi's cluttered bedroom. He sat cross-legged in the center, a chalk-drawn summoning circle beneath him, an old notebook filled with questionable occult instructions open in front of him.
He cleared his throat. "O spirits of the beyond, I summon thee—"
A gust of wind erupted from nowhere, snuffing out the candles. The room rumbled as the air itself seemed to vibrate.
Reo's heart pounded. "Wait… no way. Did it actually—"
A thunderous crash came from above. Something heavy slammed into his bed, sending his neatly folded laundry flying.
Reo jumped back, nearly knocking over his desk. He squinted through the darkness. "D-Did I actually summon—"
A groan.
Then, a voice.
"Ugh… That was NOT a smooth landing."
The figure sat up. A boy—maybe around Reo's age—with messy black hair and piercing violet eyes. He stretched his arms like he'd just woken from a nap, completely unbothered by the fact that he had just crashed into existence.
Reo stared. "…Who the hell are you?"
The stranger blinked. "Oh. Right. Introductions." He grinned. "Hey, I'm Kuro. Thanks for the summon, I guess?"
Reo felt a cold . "Wait… I actually summoned something?"
Kuro snorted."You sound so surprised. Weren't you the one chanting weird ghost nonsense?"
"Well, yeah, but I didn't think it would work."
Kuro leaned forward, intrigued. "Then why'd you do it?"
"…For fun."
There was a long pause.
Kuro burst out laughing.
"Oh, man. You're an idiot."
Reo's eye twitched. "HEY—"
Before he could argue, pain shot through his hand.Reo winced, clutching it as something burned into his skin. A strange black mark—glowing faintly before fading—etched itself onto the back of his hand.
His stomach dropped.
"What… the hell was that?"
Kuro tilted his head. "Huh. So the bond is permanent. Neat."
Reo's brain stalled. "Bond?"
Kuro grinned, looking way too amused. "Yep! Congrats, you and I are linked for life."
Reo's eye twitched harder. "EXCUSE ME?"
"You heard me." Kuro stretched, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. "You did a ritual, summoned me, and—boom—we're bound together. Standard supernatural contract stuff."
Reo's soul left his body. "This isn't standard! I was just trying to summon a ghost for a TikTok video!"
Kuro whistled. "Wow. I really got roped into something dumb."
Reo took a deep breath. "Okay. You're a ghost, right?"
Kuro grinned. "Nope."
"…A demon?"
"Wrong again."
Reo felt an oncoming migraine. "Then what ARE you?"
Kuro casually dusted off his hoodie. "A failed divine experiment."
Silence.
Reo blinked. "A what?"
Kuro flopped onto Reo's bed like he owned the place. "Long story short: the gods tried making something cool, screwed up, and dumped me."
Reo pointed accusingly. "So you're some kind of… divine trash?"
Kuro gasped dramatically. "RUDE. I prefer 'cosmic mistake.'"
Reo dragged his hands down his face. "This can't be happening."
Kuro sat up. "Oh, it's happening, buddy. And since we're bonded, I guess we're stuck together forever."
Reo felt his soul shatter. "No. There has to be a way to undo this."
Kuro gave a mocking head tilt. "Hmmm… Nope. You're doomed."
Reo opened his mouth to yell—but a loud knock on his door cut him off.
His mother's voice rang out. "Reo? Who are you talking to?"
Reo froze. He glanced at Kuro. "Hide!"
Kuro vanished instantly.
Reo scrambled, blowing out any remaining candles and shoving the summoning book under his bed. He forced his face into a completely normal expression before opening the door.
His mom narrowed her eyes. "Were you summoning demons again?"
Reo choked. "W-What? No! Of course not!"
She crossed her arms. "Last time, the cat wouldn't stop floating."
Reo forced a laugh. "Ha! Ha ha! That was… just a coincidence!"
His mom didn't look convinced. "Right." She sighed. "Well, go to bed soon. And don't burn the house down."
As soon as she left, Reo shut the door and turned—
Kuro was floating upside-down near the ceiling.
"She doesn't seem that surprised." Kuro smirked. "Do you do this often?"
Reo groaned. "This is the last time. I swear."
Kuro snickered. "Yeah, sure." He floated down, stretching. "Anyway, you should get some sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be interesting."
Reo had a very bad feeling about that.
And unfortunately, he was completely right.
End of Chapter 1