They ran.
Out of the garage, down the narrow alleyways behind the old industrial district, dodging broken crates and rusted pipes. The sky had begun to darken, clouds gathering as if reacting to the chaos unfolding beneath them. Ren's legs ached, but adrenaline drove him forward. He couldn't stop hearing the operatives' last words:
"Bring him to the Council. At once."
The Council.
The hidden rulers of the underworld.
The only authority even Wu Long ever bowed to.
Yui led the way, weaving them into unfamiliar streets. She was breathing hard, but her voice remained sharp.
"We need somewhere safe. Somewhere nobody will think to look for us."
Kaito stumbled beside them. "We just fought off a kill squad with a glowing dragon spirit, Yui. I don't think anywhere is safe."
Ren stayed silent. His hand still shook from the power that had erupted from him. Whatever the dragon had awakened inside him… he didn't control it. It controlled him.
They took shelter in an abandoned train warehouse—dusty, empty, and echoing with faint metallic groans. They collapsed behind a row of rusted machinery. Ren finally let himself breathe again, though every inhale burned his lungs.
Yui checked the entrances with military-like precision, then returned and sat across from Ren. Her dark eyes scanned his face, studying him.
"Ren… before anything else—you need to tell us something important."
Her voice was quiet, but it held a weight he'd never heard from her before.
Ren rubbed his temples. "What?"
"Your parents." She leaned forward. "Did they ever mention your grandfather? Wu Long?"
Ren stiffened.
"No. Never. Not once."
"Not even a story? A rumor? A name?"
Ren shook his head slowly, confusion mixing with fear. "They always avoided talking about their families. I thought… I don't know, I thought maybe they had a falling-out."
Kaito snorted. "A falling-out? Ren, this isn't about who forgot to visit on New Year's. Your grandfather was the most powerful man in the global underworld."
Yui nodded grimly. "If your parents hid that… they must've been running."
Ren's stomach dropped.
Running?
From the Council?
From his grandfather's enemies?
From his inheritance?
He was about to open his mouth when a shiver crept over him.
Not cold.
Not fear.
Something else.
The Wooden Dragon warmed in his pocket.
Yui saw the shift in his expression. "Ren… what's happening?"
Before he could answer, a voice echoed inside his skull—soft, ancient, layered like distant thunder:
"Heir. The Council has convened."
Ren's vision blurred. He clutched his temples.
"What—what's happening?" Kaito asked, backing up.
Ren felt the dragon pulling him, as if dragging his mind somewhere else. He fought it, but the pressure grew unbearable.
"They are deciding your fate. You must witness."
The world flashed gold—
Ren's Vision: The Council Chamber
Ren jolted awake—
—but he wasn't in the warehouse.
He stood barefoot on polished obsidian. Above him, a massive circular chamber towered like a cathedral crafted from black jade and gold. Torches of blue fire lined the walls, and an enormous dragon emblem glowed at the center of the ceiling.
A round table stood before him—each seat occupied by a figure cloaked in shadows. Only their silhouettes showed: tall, short, broad, thin. Twelve of them.
The Shadow Council.
Cold dread filled Ren's veins.
A cloaked figure at the far left spoke first, voice smooth and chilling.
"The heir has awakened the Seal."
Another, older voice responded, dripping with contempt.
"A child. A mistake. Wu Long defied protocol."
A third voice, stern and deep, countered:
"Wu Long never made mistakes. If he chose this boy, there is reason."
A slender figure tapped a cane against the stone floor.
"Reason or not, the Seal is unstable. It reacted without command. That is dangerous."
Ren tried to speak—tried to demand answers—but he couldn't move. He wasn't physically in the room. Only his consciousness was being shown this gathering.
The twelfth figure—seated at the head of the table—raised a hand.
Instant silence.
Even the torch flames dimmed slightly.
When this person spoke, Ren felt the weight of raw authority.
"Wu Long's heir is now hunted by every faction. Some wish to claim him."
A pause.
"Others wish to kill him."
Ren's heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst.
The head of the Council continued.
"We must determine his fate. Shall he be brought before us… or eliminated?"
A cold wave of terror washed through Ren.
Eliminated?
A cloaked figure hissed. "He is untrained. Emotional. A liability."
Another slammed a fist on the table. "He is blood! The last of Wu Long's line!"
"Blood means nothing without discipline," someone else countered.
"Kill him, before the Seal destabilizes and collapses!"
"No—bring him here. We can shape him."
"We can use him."
"We can control him."
Their voices overlapped, rising in intensity—fury, fear, ambition.
Ren's mind reeled. They're debating my life like I'm an object.
Then, suddenly—
THUD.
Everyone fell silent.
The head of the Council stood.
Ren couldn't see the face beneath the cloak, but he felt their eyes pierce into him through the vision.
"Let the verdict be spoken."
Ren held his breath.
"The heir shall be…"
Back to Reality
Ren gasped and snapped back into his body, nearly collapsing. Yui caught him and eased him to the ground.
"Ren! What happened? Talk to me!"
Ren gulped down air, trembling.
"I saw… I was inside the Council chamber. They're deciding whether I live… or die."
Kaito's face drained of color. "And? What did they decide?"
Ren's lips parted—
—but he couldn't speak.
Because he didn't know.
The vision ended before the verdict.
But something else hit him harder.
Ren clenched the Wooden Dragon in his fist.
"I'm not safe anywhere," he whispered. "And neither are you."
Yui's eyes hardened with determination. "Then we stick together. No matter what."
Kaito nodded fiercely. "Yeah. You're family, man."
Ren's throat tightened.
Before he could respond, footsteps echoed outside the warehouse.
Many footsteps.
Yui immediately pulled Ren behind a stack of crates. Kaito grabbed a metal bar again.
Shadows moved behind the broken windows.
Ren's pulse skyrocketed.
Then a voice called out:
"REN HAYATO! COME OUT!"
Ren froze.
He recognized that voice.
From school.
From normal life.
Sora Kishimoto.
Student council vice president.
Track team champion.
Quiet. Polite. Friendly.
And now… standing at the head of a group of armed men dressed in black, eyes cold and unfamiliar.
Ren whispered in horror:
"Sora… is one of them?"
Yui swallowed. "No… he's something worse."
Kaito stepped back.
Sora raised his voice again, calm but edged with authority:
"The Council has chosen."
"You are to be taken alive."
Ren's blood went ice cold.
The verdict had reached them—
and the hunt had officially begun.