KAI POV
"You're walking into a trap," Nyx says flatly.
We're on another rooftop—our third safe location in six hours. Hana sleeps in the corner, exhausted from running. The photo of Ryo and the hostages glows on my phone screen like an accusation.
"I know it's a trap." I can't stop staring at Ryo's terrified face. "But those other kids—they're just like me. Defectives sentenced to death for being born different."
"And Ryo?" Nyx's red eyes bore into mine. "The friend who sold you for fifty million yen? You want to save him too?"
"I want answers." I pocket the phone. "Oracle said my mother tried to kill me. You said she was Sovereign-class. I need to know what really happened."
Nyx is quiet for a long moment. Then she sits down, patting the concrete beside her. "Sit. There are things you need to understand before you walk into Oracle's trap."
I sit, and she takes a breath—strange for a demon who doesn't technically need to breathe.
"Three hundred years ago," she begins, "the Sanctum wasn't as powerful as it is now. Tamers worked with their contracted spirits as partners, not servants. Then the First Oracle discovered something that changed everything."
"What?"
"Sovereign-class tamers." Nyx's voice goes cold. "Humans born with souls so powerful they could contract apex entities—ancient demons, primal spirits, celestial beasts. Beings that were equals, not tools. The First Oracle realized that if Sovereigns became common, they would destroy the Sanctum's control. So she created a law: execute all Sovereigns before they awaken."
My chest tightens. "They've been murdering people for three hundred years?"
"Not just people. Children." Nyx's hands clench into fists. "Babies showing signs of Sovereign potential. Teenagers who could see too much. Anyone who threatened their precious order. They called it 'protecting society.' Really, they were just protecting their power."
"How many?"
"Hundreds. Maybe thousands." She meets my eyes. "Your mother was one of them."
The world tilts sideways.
"Mom was Sovereign-class?" My voice comes out as a whisper.
"Yes. And she was magnificent." Nyx smiles sadly. "I never met her, but I heard stories even in my prison. Akari Nakamura—the woman who contracted a celestial phoenix and fought Phantoms that S-rankers couldn't touch. She saved thousands of lives. And the Sanctum executed her for it when you were ten years old."
"No." I shake my head. "Mom died of illness. I was there. I held her hand while she—"
"Poison," Nyx interrupts gently. "Slow-acting spiritual poison that mimics illness. Your father administered it under Sanctum orders."
Everything inside me goes cold.
"Dad killed her." It's not a question. "My own father murdered my mother."
"Yes. Because she refused to let them execute you." Nyx touches my shoulder. "When you were born, the Sanctum Oracle tested you. You showed Dual-Core potential—the rarest Sovereign type. They ordered your immediate execution. Your mother said no."
Tears burn my eyes. "She protected me."
"She did more than that. She made a deal." Nyx's voice softens. "She would let them poison her, die slowly to make it look natural, if they let you live until your eighteenth birthday. She hoped you'd never awaken. That you'd be normal and safe."
"But I wasn't normal."
"No. Dual-Core potential doesn't disappear. It just waits." Nyx squeezes my shoulder. "When you turned twenty-three and still couldn't form contracts, your father reported you. Yuki and Ryo just gave them the excuse they needed to finish what they started when you were a baby."
I can't breathe. Can't think. My whole life has been a lie.
"Mom sacrificed everything for me." Tears roll down my cheeks. "She let them murder her to buy me thirteen more years."
"And now you understand why Oracle wants you dead." Nyx pulls me into an awkward hug—the first time she's initiated physical contact. "You're what your mother fought to protect. What the Sanctum fears most. A Dual-Core Sovereign who awakened despite everything they did to prevent it."
I bury my face in her shoulder and let myself cry. For Mom. For the childhood I lost. For the truth that came too late.
When I finally pull back, Nyx wipes my tears with surprising gentleness. "Better?"
"No. But I'll live." I take a shaky breath. "Oracle said Mom tried to kill me. Why would she lie?"
"To manipulate you. To make you doubt yourself." Nyx stands, offering her hand. "Or maybe there's a piece of the story we don't know yet. Either way, we find out at midnight."
"We?" I take her hand. "I thought you said it was a trap."
"It is. But you're going anyway because you're stupidly noble." She pulls me to my feet. "So I'm coming with you. That's what partners do."
Something warm blooms in my chest. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. Oracle is the most dangerous human I've ever encountered. She's been alive for three hundred years using forbidden soul-transfer techniques. She's not just powerful—she's functionally immortal."
"Can we beat her?"
"Honestly? Probably not. We're too new to our fusion. We'll need at least a month of training to stand a chance." Nyx grins, showing fangs. "But we can definitely make her regret taking hostages."
Hana wakes up, rubbing her eyes. "Where are we going?"
"You're staying here where it's safe," I tell her.
"No way." She stands, wobbly but determined. "You saved me. I'm helping you save those other kids. I might be defective, but I'm not useless."
I look at Nyx. She shrugs. "Your call, Sovereign."
Before I can answer, my phone buzzes again. Another message from Oracle: Change of plans. Midnight is too late. Meet me at Shibuya Crossing in one hour or the first hostage dies. I'll prove I'm serious.
A video starts playing automatically.
It shows Ryo tied to a chair. Oracle stands behind him in her ancient robes, smiling at the camera. "Hello, Kai. I know you don't trust me. So let me show you something interesting."
She places her hand on Ryo's head and his eyes roll back. His mouth opens and a different voice comes out—deeper, older, masculine.
"Kai! It's me! Your real father!" Ryo's body jerks like a puppet. "Oracle is controlling my old friend's body! She trapped my soul fifteen years ago! Your mother didn't die of poison—she—"
Oracle removes her hand and Ryo slumps forward, gasping.
"Oops," Oracle says sweetly. "Ran out of time. Come to Shibuya in one hour and I'll let daddy finish his story. Or don't, and I'll burn these six defectives alive while you watch through your phone. Your choice, Dual-Core."
The video ends.
I stare at the black screen, my mind reeling.
That voice. I remember that voice from when I was little. Before Mom died. Before everything fell apart.
"Nyx," I whisper. "What if the man I think is my father... isn't my father at all?"