Aria's POV
"Run!"
Kael's voice cut through my shock. He shoved me backward as the Grand Master's staff came down like a hammer.
The floor exploded where I'd been standing a second before. Concrete turned to dust. Metal twisted like paper.
"You think you can protect her, Demon King?" The old man moved impossibly fast for someone his age. "I sealed you once. I can do it again."
"You had forty-nine other Master Tamers helping you last time," Kael snarled, shadows erupting around him like wings. "Try it alone."
They clashed in the center of the warehouse.
The impact shook the entire building. Windows shattered. The walls cracked. Power so intense it made my teeth hurt filled the air.
I stumbled to my feet, still weak from merging with five legendary spirits. Luna grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the exit.
"We have to go!" she shouted over the sound of destruction.
"I can't leave Kael!" I tried to pull away, but my legs wouldn't work properly. Too much power, too fast. My body couldn't handle it yet.
"You can't help him like this!" Luna's grip tightened. "Aria, you just merged six contracts! You can barely stand! If you try to fight now, you'll die!"
She was right. I knew she was right. But watching Kael fight alone while I ran away felt like swallowing broken glass.
The Grand Master's staff glowed white-hot. "Soul Banishment!"
A wave of energy slammed into Kael, throwing him through two walls. He crashed into the street outside, not moving.
"No!" I screamed.
"One demon down." The old man turned those glowing white eyes on me. "Now for the reincarnated murderer."
Terror flooded my veins. This man was ancient, powerful, and he wanted me dead. Really dead.
My five merged spirits stirred inside me, wanting to help. But I couldn't control them yet. Couldn't even stand without Luna's support.
I was going to die here.
The Grand Master raised his staff. "Any last words, girl? Your previous self didn't get that courtesy."
"Wait!" A new voice rang out.
Everyone froze.
A figure stepped through the warehouse entrance. Young, maybe seventeen, with bright blue hair and a cocky smile. He wore casual clothes—jeans and a t-shirt—completely wrong for a battlefield.
"Who are you?" the Grand Master demanded.
"Someone who's very interested in not letting you kill that girl." The blue-haired boy's smile widened. "See, I've been watching this whole thing, and I gotta say—executing someone for crimes their past life committed? That's pretty messed up, Grandpa."
"This doesn't concern you, boy. Leave before I add you to the body count."
"Can't do that." The boy snapped his fingers. "Because she's about to be very valuable to me."
Shadows exploded from the ground.
Not Kael's shadows. These were different—darker, colder, hungry. They wrapped around the Grand Master like chains.
"What—" The old man struggled, his staff glowing brighter. "Void magic? Impossible! There hasn't been a Void user in centuries!"
"Surprise!" The boy laughed. "I'm full of impossibilities. Now, let's see..." He tilted his head, studying the struggling Grand Master. "You've got about thirty seconds before those shadows consume your soul. Unless you agree to leave and never bother my new friend again."
"I will not negotiate with—"
"Twenty seconds."
The shadows tightened. The Grand Master screamed as they started pulling at his spiritual energy.
"Fine!" he gasped. "I'll leave! Release me!"
"Swear it on your soul. Swear you won't hunt Aria Nakamura or anyone helping her."
"I swear!" The old man's face was pale with pain. "On my soul, I swear it!"
The shadows vanished instantly.
The Grand Master collapsed to his knees, gasping. He glared at the blue-haired boy with pure hatred. "You'll regret this, Void user. When the Council hears what you've done—"
"The Council can kiss my—" The boy made a rude gesture. "Now get lost before I change my mind about the whole 'not killing you' thing."
The Grand Master limped away, leaning heavily on his staff. But before he disappeared into the night, he looked back at me.
"This isn't over, girl. Soul oath or not, I'll find a way. Your past self took everything from my family. I won't rest until you pay."
Then he was gone.
The warehouse fell silent except for the sound of rubble settling.
Kael groaned and staggered back through the hole in the wall. Blood dripped from a cut on his forehead. "What... what just happened?"
"This crazy kid just saved us!" Luna pointed at the blue-haired boy. "With Void magic, whatever that is!"
The boy bowed dramatically. "Ryker, at your service. Professional troublemaker and part-time hero."
"You're not a hero," Kael said, eyes narrowed. "You're Ryker the Cursed. I heard rumors you'd been released from the Void Prison."
"Released? More like escaped. Big difference." Ryker walked over to me, studying my face with bright green eyes that seemed to see right through me. "So you're the reincarnated Soul Dominion user everyone's freaking out about. Gotta say, you look less terrifying than I expected."
"Why did you save me?" I managed to ask. My whole body shook from exhaustion and fear.
"Because you're going to help me with something." His smile turned sharp. "See, I need someone with your particular skills. Someone who can command any spirit, including the really nasty ones trapped in places even demons won't go."
"I don't understand."
"You will." He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. "There's a spirit sealed in the Abyssal Temple. A spirit that knows where something very important is hidden. Problem is, the temple is protected by seals that kill anyone who enters. Anyone except someone with Soul Dominion."
Kael moved between us. "Absolutely not. The Abyssal Temple is a death trap. Even with her power, she'd—"
"Die horribly, yeah, probably." Ryker shrugged. "But she's also got six legendary spirits and a demon king backing her up. I'd say her odds are better than most."
"I just merged those contracts!" I protested. "I can barely stand! You want me to raid some cursed temple?"
"Not today. Give it a week. Get stronger. Learn to control all that shiny new power." He grinned. "Then we'll go treasure hunting."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then the Grand Master comes back with fifty friends, and you die." His smile didn't waver. "Look, I saved your life. You owe me. Help me get what I need from the temple, and we're even. Plus, you'll get something out of it too."
"What?"
"The spirit in that temple knows things. Secret things. Like who put that curse on you as a baby." His green eyes gleamed. "Wouldn't you like to know which family member wanted you powerless badly enough to seal your soul?"
My breath caught. He was right. I needed to know who'd done this to me.
"How do you know about my curse?" I asked.
"I know lots of things. Comes with being stuck in the Void for a hundred years. You see things. Learn things. Things that could help you." He extended his hand. "So, deal? One temple raid in exchange for information and me keeping the God Slayer off your back?"
I looked at Kael. He shook his head slightly, warning me not to trust this boy.
But what choice did I have? The Grand Master would return eventually, soul oath or not. And I needed answers about my curse.
"One week," I said, not taking his hand yet. "You give me one week to train. And I want proof you actually know who cursed me before I risk my life in some temple."
Ryker laughed. "Smart girl. Fine. Proof first, temple raid second." He pulled out a photograph and tossed it to me.
I caught it. Stared at the image.
It showed a woman I recognized. Holding a baby. My mother, holding me as an infant.
But standing behind her, hands glowing with dark magic, was someone else.
My father.
"No," I whispered. "That's not... he wouldn't..."
"Your dear daddy cursed you himself," Ryker said cheerfully. "On your first birthday. Why? That's what the temple spirit can tell us. Along with a few other interesting family secrets."
My world tilted. My own father had cursed me? Made me defective? Destroyed my entire life?
"Why would he do that?" Luna asked, horrified.
"That's the million-dollar question." Ryker pocketed the photo. "One week, Aria Nakamura. Train hard. Because the Abyssal Temple doesn't care if you're a legendary tamer or a god. It kills everyone the same."
He started walking toward the exit, then paused. "Oh, and one more thing. Your sister Yuki? She knows about the curse. Always has. That's why she was so confident stealing your fiancé. She knew you'd never be powerful enough to fight back."
Rage exploded in my chest. Pure, burning rage.
Yuki knew. My whole family knew what they'd done to me.
"One week," I said through gritted teeth. "Then I want every answer. Every secret. Everything."
"Deal." Ryker vanished into shadows, his laughter echoing behind him.
The warehouse fell silent again.
I collapsed into Luna's arms, too weak to stand anymore. Too angry to cry. Too hurt to scream.
"Your family did this to you," Luna whispered, holding me tight. "Oh, Aria. They really did this to you."
Kael knelt beside us, his expression murderous. "They'll pay. Every single one of them. I swear it."
I looked at my hands, still glowing with merged power. At the five legendary spirits hovering nearby, waiting for my command. At Kael, the demon king who'd waited a thousand years for me.
I'd been training for revenge before. To prove I wasn't worthless.
But now? Now I knew the truth.
My family hadn't just thrown me away. They'd crippled me first. Made sure I could never threaten them.
"One week," I said quietly. "One week to get strong enough to survive that temple. And then..."
I looked up at the moon through the destroyed warehouse roof.
"Then I'm going to destroy them all."
The spirits around me roared their agreement. Power crackled in the air—purple, gold, black, silver, crimson, white, and red mixing into something new.
Something terrifying.
I was done being the victim. Done being the defective one. Done being thrown away.
They wanted to see a monster?
I'd show them exactly what they created.
But first, I needed to survive whatever waited in the Abyssal Temple.
And something told me that would be the hardest trial yet.
"Kael," I said. "Make me stronger. Whatever it takes. I need to be ready."
He smiled, dark and proud. "That's my storm. Training starts at dawn. And I promise you—by the time we're done, you'll be able to face anything that temple throws at you."
"Or die trying?"
"Or that." He helped me stand. "But something tells me death isn't ready for you yet. You've got too much revenge to deliver first."
As we left the destroyed warehouse, I felt the weight of my merged contracts pressing against my soul. Five legendary spirits. One demon king. And power I barely understood flowing through my veins.
One week until the temple.
One week until I learned the full truth of what my family did.
One week until I either became unstoppable or died trying.
The Grand Master's words echoed in my mind: Your past self took everything from my family.
What had the original Aria done? And was I destined to become just like her?
I didn't know.
But I was about to find out.