Three days. The time it took for two souls to fully integrate. For memories to merge into something new.
"I had... dreams," he said carefully. "Strange ones."
Ariel nodded, though her eyes remained fixed on him with unusual intensity. "Your mother suspected something like that. She said sometimes the Void Sight manifests fully during adolescence through... visions."
Convenient explanation. He'd take it.
"What happened before I passed out?" Dante asked, testing how much he needed to pretend.
"You were practicing shadow manipulation in the training grounds. You attempted a new technique, then collapsed without warning." She hesitated. "Your father said you were pushing beyond your limits again."
Memories of that day surfaced—Dante's memories. He'd been trying to create a shadow domain, a space entirely under his control. It had required immense concentration, drawing on his connection to the void. Perhaps that connection had created the bridge for another soul to cross.
"Did I succeed?" he asked, genuinely curious.
A small smile touched her lips. "For about three seconds. Then you fell face-first into the dirt."
He snorted. "Graceful as always."
Her eyes widened slightly at the informal tone. Dante would have responded with something more measured, maintaining his carefully constructed image. Another adjustment to make.
"I should inform Lady Selene that you're awake," Ariel said, rising from the bed. She swayed slightly, one hand reaching out to steady herself against the bedpost.
"Are you alright?" Dante asked, though he knew exactly what was wrong. He'd fed on her energy—his first use of Essence Drain.
"Just... lightheaded. It's been a stressful few days watching over you."
He nodded, not pushing the issue. "Tell my mother I'll see her soon. I need a few minutes."
"Of course, Young Master." She bowed slightly, then hesitated. "About what just happened—"
"Let's discuss it later," he interrupted. "When we're both thinking more clearly."
Relief and something else—disappointment?—flickered across her face. "As you wish."
She left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. The moment she was gone, Dante stood and moved to the full-length mirror on the wall.
The face that looked back was familiar yet foreign in ways that went beyond simple reflection. Black hair, styled in that deliberately careless way. Sharp, aristocratic features. Flawless skin. And those eyes—vibrant purple, now returned to normal after the Void Sight had faded.
Dante Valac, heir to House Valac, devil nobility.
Two souls occupying one body, merged into something new.
"Well, fuck me," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "This is going to be interesting."
He turned away from the mirror and surveyed the room. Spacious, luxuriously appointed with furniture that probably cost more than an entire apartment building in that other life. A massive four-poster bed. Bookshelves filled with ancient tomes. A desk covered in papers.
Dante walked to the window and looked out at the Underworld landscape. The Valac estate sprawled across manicured grounds, shadows dancing between carefully cultivated gardens. Beyond that, he could see the spires of the devil city in the distance, glittering with magical light.
A far cry from grimy streets and a knife in the gut.
He flexed his hand, calling on the shadows in the corner of the room. They responded eagerly, rushing toward him like loyal dogs, coalescing into a solid shape in his palm. He twisted his wrist, and the shadow twisted with it, forming a perfect replica of a knife.
The irony wasn't lost on him.
He dismissed the shadow construct and sat at the desk, rifling through notes. Political alliances. Family histories. Potential rivals. Dante—the original Dante—had been playing a long game, building connections while maintaining his facade of disinterest. Smart kid.
A knock at the door interrupted his examination.
"Enter," he called, straightening the papers.
The door opened to reveal a tall, elegant woman with waist-length silver hair and striking amethyst eyes—the same shade as his own. Lady Selene Valac. Mother.
She crossed the room in quick strides and placed a cool hand against his forehead.
"Your fever has broken," she said, relief evident in her voice. "How do you feel?"
Dante considered lying, then thought better of it. This woman had the same Void Sight ability he now possessed. She'd see through deception.
"Different," he admitted. "Like something fundamental has changed."
She studied him, her gaze penetrating in a way that made him wonder if she could see the truth—that her son now carried something else within him, memories and experiences that didn't belong to this world.
"The Void touches us all differently," she said finally. "Sometimes it leaves marks that never fade."
"Is that what happened? I touched the Void?"
She sat on the edge of the bed, smoothing her gown. "You attempted a technique beyond your current capabilities. The Void responded... unusually."
He noted her careful phrasing. "Unusually how?"
"Your eyes displayed the three circles for the entire three days you were unconscious. Your shadow expanded and contracted with your breathing." She paused. "And you spoke in your sleep—in a language I've never heard you use before."
English, probably. The native tongue from that other life.
"I don't remember," he lied.
She nodded, accepting this. "Memory loss is common with such experiences. What matters is that you've returned to us." She took his hand. "Your father will want to see you."
Dante suppressed a grimace. Lord Alexius Valac—cold, formal, eternally disappointed in his son's apparent lack of ambition.
"I'll see him when I'm ready," he said, more firmly than the original Dante would have.
Selene's eyebrows rose slightly, but she didn't comment on the tone. "As you wish. Rest today. Tomorrow we can discuss what happened in more detail."
She rose to leave, then hesitated. "Dante... Ariel seemed... disoriented when she came to inform me you were awake. Is everything alright?"
Sharp woman. Nothing escaped her notice.
"I was disoriented when I woke up," he said, which wasn't a lie. "She helped ground me. It may have taken some of her energy."
Understanding dawned in Selene's eyes. "I see. Essence Drain."
"It wasn't intentional," he said quickly.
"They rarely are, at first." Her expression softened. "We'll need to discuss that as well. It's an ability that requires... discretion."
He nodded. "I understand."
After she left, Dante returned to the window, watching shadows lengthen across the grounds as evening approached. The pain in his head had subsided completely, replaced by a strange sense of clarity. Power hummed beneath his skin—his own, and a small portion of Ariel's, now integrated into his essence.
He wasn't just Dante anymore. But he wasn't Elijah either.
Something new. Something with street smarts and survival instincts from one life, combined with magical abilities and noble education from another. Something with the potential to be far more dangerous than either soul had been separately.
The 72 Pillars had no idea what was coming.
Dante grinned at his reflection in the darkening glass.
Time to raise some hell.