The hallway outside the conference room felt colder now. Sid stepped out, but the door didn't just close behind him — it sealed. Like a vault. Like a cage locking a monster inside.
Or maybe... to keep something from getting out.
His legs moved, but his thoughts didn't. They lagged behind, swirling in fragments too heavy to sort.
A demon. The demon. Inside me.
The words echoed through his skull like a cracked bell.
He stopped walking, his hand finding the wall. It was smooth metal — polished, silent, lifeless. The opposite of whatever was boiling in his chest.
"You look like someone just dragged a war behind their eyes," came a voice from the corridor.
It was Nox, appearing as if from shadow. His eyes were unreadable.
Sid swallowed. "You knew. From the start."
"Yes," Nox answered. "That's why we watched you. Why we waited."
"And you didn't think to tell me that a monster from the last age of death was living inside my body?"
Nox stepped forward. Calm. Measured.
"The demon inside you has the capability of rivaling even God's power . The demons want this demon to get revived again to bring the destruction once more."
"You weren't ready," he said. "And until three weeks ago, it wasn't awake."
Sid's eyes narrowed. "What happened three weeks ago?"
Nox turned and continued walking. Sid followed.
"There was a ancient site," Nox explained. "Deep in the north, beneath an ancient battlefield. Something sealed long ago — it got unsealed. Released energy... something ancient. We believe it resonated with the core inside you."
"And that's why I started dreaming," Sid murmured.
"The dreams. The fever. The voice." Nox glanced at him. "You weren't imagining them."
Sid didn't respond. He couldn't. Because deep down, part of him already knew.
They stopped in front of a heavy black door. Nox placed his palm against a circular pad. A green light pulsed. The door split open with a hiss.
Sid stepped inside.
It wasn't a lab. Or a cell. It was a hall — wide, scarred, and silent. The floor bore slash marks and scorch trails. The walls were reinforced with steel veins and magical runes. It felt ancient and new all at once.
"A training chamber," Sid muttered.
"You'll need it," Nox said. "The demons won't wait forever."
Sid turned toward him. "You said that the demons want the demon inside me revived. That's their goal?"
"No," Nox said quietly. "That's only the beginning."
He reached into his coat and pulled out a thin black disc. He set it on a stone pedestal at the center of the room. A low hum filled the air.
A crimson light flickered — then projected upward, forming a glowing artifact in midair. Circular. Chaotic. Alive. Its edges shifted like fire caught in water.
"This," Nox said, "was found at the ancient site. We believe it's a key — not a literal one. But a guide. A fragment of power left behind by the old ones. It matches the core you carry."
Sid stared at it, blood cold.
"What does it unlock?"
"If the demons find the rest," Nox said, "they won't just revive what's inside you. They'll strengthen it. Mold it. Make it stronger than it was during the last war."
Sid clenched his fists. "Stronger than the demon that nearly destroyed everything?"
"Stronger than what the gods once stopped," Nox corrected. "And there may not be anyone left strong enough to stop it this time."
The projection pulsed once. Then vanished.
Sid turned away. His breath was shallow.
"I didn't choose this," he whispered.
"No one ever does," Nox said. "But some are chosen all the same."
The training hall dimmed.
And the fire beneath began to rise.