ARC I — "ASHES OF THE FAITHFUL"
The forest morning was thick with fog. A distant hum of alien engines reverberated through the valley. The air smelled of ash and wet leaves — a quiet tension that only someone like Kurotsume could feel.
He moved through the trees effortlessly. Black-red aura clung to his body like liquid smoke, shifting and flowing with each step. His eyes, faintly glowing, scanned the terrain with precision. Every leaf, every stone, every shadow was accounted for.
"You're eager," the demon whispered in his mind. "Good. But remember, control is everything."
Kurotsume's lips curved into a faint, unreadable smirk. "I know. I'm always in control."
"You say that now. Wait until we meet a real challenge."
A patrol of five alien soldiers emerged into a clearing ahead, weapons scanning. Their visors glowed bright blue, cutting through the fog.
Kurotsume stopped, letting the aura flare subtly around his body. The air shimmered, bending light just enough to distort his shape. The patrol squinted, trying to locate the source of the faint red-black shadow.
"Oh, this will be fun," the demon murmured.
Kurotsume stepped forward casually, hands in his pockets. His aura subtly extended, wrapping around the nearest tree. With a flick of his wrist, the tree exploded inward, collapsing onto one soldier. He didn't even flinch.
"Impressive," the demon purred. "Very precise. You're learning."
Another soldier raised his cannon, firing a beam. Kurotsume's aura responded instinctively, bending the light around him. The beam struck the earth behind him with a deafening explosion. He stepped forward, slow and measured, aura slicing through the fog in ribbons of black and red.
"Too slow," the demon whispered. "They'll learn… eventually."
Two tendrils shot out from his aura, wrapping around the remaining soldiers' legs. They were yanked to the ground effortlessly. Kurotsume didn't even touch them. He let the aura do the work, precise, fluid, and terrifying.
"Control," the demon hissed. "You're not using enough yet. Let's test limits."
He extended both hands, aura coiling like serpents. A single thought, and the tendrils shot upward, forming translucent blades hovering around him, spinning silently in the air. Every movement was deliberate. Every strike lethal.
The soldiers tried to flee, but the aura's blades moved almost like a sentient predator, cutting paths and blocking exits.
"Stylish," the demon purred. "So very stylish. I'm proud of you."
Kurotsume's smirk widened slightly, faint, calm, untouchable. He stepped forward, aura blades slicing through weapons, immobilizing soldiers without a single misstep.
One officer, larger and heavily armored, stepped forward. Blue light flared across his armor.
"Ah… a real opponent," the demon whispered. "Now, we see what you're capable of."
Kurotsume didn't hesitate. Aura wrapped around his arm like liquid shadow, forming a long, whip-like blade. With a single motion, he knocked the officer's weapon aside, stepped past him, and struck a precise point on the armor's weak joint. Sparks flew. The officer fell to his knees.
"You're a problem," the officer growled.
"I'm your worst nightmare," Kurotsume said, calm, measured. The words weren't loud, but they carried an edge that made the remaining soldiers hesitate.
The battle ended almost as quickly as it began. Kurotsume didn't chase the fleeing patrols. He simply walked through the mist, aura dissipating like smoke curling upward.
"Not bad for your first real fight," the demon murmured. "But there's more. Much more waiting inside you. Secrets you don't even know yet."
Kurotsume's eyes glinted red beneath the hood. He crouched on a branch above the clearing, watching the soldiers regroup below. Calm. Controlled. Untouchable.
"I know," he said softly. "And when I'm done… nothing they call gods will survive."
The demon chuckled.
"Good. Let them see your name. Kurotsume. Let it cut into their fear before they even reach you."
A distant tremor shook the forest floor. The alien patrols had called reinforcements — larger, more dangerous units. Kurotsume didn't move, his aura flaring faintly in response. The forest seemed to bow around him, shadows stretching as if anticipating the coming storm.
"This… this is the beginning," the demon whispered. "And you're going to love it."
Kurotsume didn't respond. He didn't need to. The forest, the fog, the fear in the distant patrols — it all spoke for him. He had changed. He was no longer just a boy. He was reborn, and the rebellion had its first true weapon.
And somewhere deep beneath the earth, something older stirred, sensing the rise of