Vajr didn't walk away. He ran.
Kael stepped outside just in time to see him already halfway down the street, head down, like something invisible was pulling him. He didn't slow. Didn't look back.
Kael watched a beat too long, then pulled out his phone.
"Bro, I need to talk to you about Vajr."
A heavy sigh crackled through. "So you're finally getting suspicious too? I told you from the start, he's not normal."
Kael lowered his voice. "There's more. It's about my new soul."
"What?!" Renjiro actually choked. "A new soul? What, you think you're a god now?"
"We'll talk tomorrow." Kael hung up before he could answer.
Across town, Renjiro tossed his phone on the sofa and glanced at Azune.
"He already captured the Demon Lord's soul."
Azune just nodded. "He's doing everything exactly as she predicted."
Renjiro stretched, yawning at the ceiling. "Why is Earth turning into some kind of fantasy world?" He waved it off. "Whatever. Who cares. Is dinner ready?"
Azune slid him a steaming bowl. "Yes."
He stared at her over the steam. "Azune... are you ready for what's coming?"
She only sipped her broth and nodded.
That night, Renjiro fell asleep in a wash of pale moonlight. A dark, shifting shadow crept across his window and pooled slowly over his face.
The empty desks
Next morning, Kael found Azune by the lockers.
"Where's Renjiro?"
"He returned to the Void Realm," she said flatly.
Kael frowned. "He swore he wouldn't leave for months. Why now?"
She shrugged. "Who knows."
"Did he at least see you this morning?"
"No. He left a letter. He didn't even eat breakfast."
That stopped Kael cold.
Renjiro never left letters. If he had to go, he'd shake you awake to tell you to your face. And Renjiro never, ever skipped a meal.
A cold unease settled between them.
It got worse in homeroom. Vajr's desk was empty too.
Kael couldn't sit still. He raised his hand, grabbed a bathroom pass, locked the stall door.
Drakes, he called in his mind. Take form. Find Renjiro. Now.
On it, Drakes answered, solidifying in the air and slipping out unseen.
Kael went back to class and forced his face blank while his mind raced.
Drakes hit the roof of the tallest building in the city and scanned. Nothing. He dropped into the abandoned sector. Nothing. He teleported district to district, block to block. Nothing.
After the final bell, he met Kael and Azune at the gate and shook his head.
"I can't find him. Or Vajr."
Kael stared at the concrete. "Where could they be?"
"Maybe Vajr kidnapped him," Drakes said.
Azune dismissed it instantly. "Renjiro possesses limitless power."
"Exactly," Kael said. "Renjiro could kill Vajr without breaking a sweat."
Drakes frowned. "Then what do we do?"
Azune's expression hardened. "I'll handle this." She turned and walked home alone.
The shadow
That night, moonlight fell in bars across Kael's bed. As he slept, that same dark shadow loomed over him. Kael's eyes snapped open, heart hammering.
The room was empty.
The next day at school, Azune's seat was empty.
Kael felt his chest hollow out but he sat through every period anyway.
The morning after that, the homeroom teacher stood at the front. "Attention. Azune, Renjiro, and Vajr have unexpectedly transferred schools. We will need a new class monitor."
Kael didn't hear the rest. His fists clenched white under his desk while his face stayed perfectly still.
Why? he whispered to Sara. Why does everyone leave me behind?
A pause. Then her gentle voice: Kael... maybe they had something crucial they had to do.
He came home to an empty house and collapsed on the sofa. He woke up later with a warm blanket over him and his face wet. He'd been crying in his sleep.
He heard his mom in the kitchen and ran to her, wrapping his arms tight around her waist.
"Mom," his voice cracked. "Promise me you'll never leave me alone."
She smiled, hand on his head. "Of course I won't, my son."
That night, the shadow returned.
Kael opened his eyes to find a translucent figure sitting in his corner chair. It looked exactly like Azune.
"Azune?"
"I am inside you now, Kael," her voice echoed in his mind, not his ears. "We can communicate like this. Please, you have to find Renjiro. I have a terrible feeling about what's happened to him."
Kael sat bolt upright. "Did you take soul form inside my body?"
"Yes, Kael."
He blinked. The chair was empty.
"Just a bad dream..." he muttered, rubbing his face. He couldn't sleep. He stared out at the stars instead.
"Why is my destiny so completely unlucky?" he whispered.
Far above, in the celestial heights of Heaven, a Goddess reclined on an ornate throne. Her brilliant golden eyes pierced the clouds and locked directly onto him.
She let out a melodic, chilling laugh that echoed through the divine realm.
"Your destiny..." she mused. "Hahaha..."