Flashback to the day prior

  The cold hallway was silent except for the echoing footsteps of Kage and Rei. After witnessing Mrs. Inosuke's terrified reaction, Kage had grabbed Rei's arm and pulled him away before the situation escalated further. Now, alone in the dim corridor, Kage released him and turned slightly, eyes narrowed as he contemplated his next words. The faint buzz of fluorescent lights overhead was the only sound between them.

  Rei paced the narrow hallway, his fingers rubbing unconsciously at the spot on his sleeve where Mrs. Inosuke had gripped him. The physical memory of her terror lingered like a stain he couldn't wash away. He stopped at a window overlooking the Academy grounds, pressing his palm against the cool glass. The sky was overcast, heavy clouds obscuring the afternoon sun.

  "Devil... why did she keep calling me that?" His voice was low, uncertain. The word had left an impression—not just in his mind, but in his chest, like a physical weight pressing down on him. It wasn't the first time he had been looked at like something inhuman. But this was different—this was fear, raw and absolute.

  Kage let out a small chuckle, pushing himself off the wall where he'd been leaning. He approached, stopping beside Rei at the window. Their reflections overlapped in the glass—Kage's confident posture contrasting sharply with Rei's uncertain stance.

  "Have you ever heard the story of Lucifer, Vessel?"

  The moment the name left Kage's lips, a sharp pain seared through Rei's skull. He gritted his teeth, clutching his temples as fragmented images flooded his mind—visions he had never seen before, yet they felt familiar. Blood-red skies stretching endlessly, shadows twisting into impossible shapes, eyes staring into his soul from every direction. The pain was blinding, white-hot and all-consuming.

  Rei stumbled, collapsing against the wall with such force that a nearby decorative vase wobbled precariously on its pedestal. His breathing came in ragged gasps, and he slid down to a crouching position, head between his knees as he fought to control the unexpected agony. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his typically pale skin now ashen.

  "What... is happening to me?" he managed between clenched teeth, his voice barely recognizable.

  Kage raised an eyebrow, genuine interest flickering across his usually masked features. He crouched down to Rei's level, studying him with newfound intensity. "Judging by that reaction, I'd say the name means something to you. Interesting."

  Rei shook his head, trying to clear the fog that had descended over his thoughts. The corridor seemed to spin around him, the walls breathing in and out like a living thing. "What... what is this? Why does that name hurt my head?" His own voice sounded distant, hollow.

  He forced himself to stand, legs trembling with the effort. His palms pressed against the cool wall for support as he straightened. The simple act of standing felt like fighting against an invisible current.

  Kage crossed his arms, the fabric of his expensive suit rustling softly. "That's what I want to know too. Normal people? They hear that name and shrug it off. But in the underworld... and even in certain high circles of society, Lucifer's name holds weight. His horrors reign supreme." His voice dropped to almost a whisper, forcing Rei to strain to hear him.

  As Kage spoke, he began walking slowly down the corridor, gesturing for Rei to follow. Their footsteps created a rhythmic counterpoint to Kage's storytelling, the sound reverberating off the ancient walls.

  Rei steadied himself against the wall, the cool surface grounding him as his vision gradually stabilized. Each step was an effort, but he followed, drawn by a desperate need to understand. "You keep talking like he's real."

  Kage smirked, his eyes reflecting the dim hallway light. "Real? Of course, he's real. The story goes that centuries ago, before sorcery existed, before even Christ came to be, an angel arrived on Earth." His voice took on an almost melodic quality, as if reciting a well-known tale.

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  They passed through an archway into a small courtyard bathed in the silvery light of the moon, which had emerged from behind the clouds. Kage paused, tilting his head upward to gaze at the celestial body. His shadow stretched long and dark across the stone pavers.

  "Beautiful in every sense of the word, yet fallen from grace due to politics. This angel—Lucifer—claimed he wanted humanity to have autonomy, to be free from the so-called divine rulers who treated us as mere entertainment."

  Kage gestured toward the moon, his expression surprisingly reverent. "They say that's where he resides now—not in some underground hell as Christians believe, but watching us from above. The moonlight you feel on your skin? His touch, his blessing to those who would carry his legacy."

  A pause, his gaze intensifying. "Though it was never confirmed, some say he was the one who taught our ancestors the ways of the Arcane... what we now call sorcery."

  Rei listened carefully, his heartbeat steadying, yet a strange feeling lingered in his chest—something between fear and curiosity, a pulling sensation that made his skin prickle with goosebumps. He found himself staring at the moon with new eyes, half-expecting to see something staring back. The silvery light seemed to pulse faintly, as if responding to his attention.

  "Why would Haikito want me anywhere near you if this is all true?" Rei asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Why connect me to something like this?"

  Kage continued, pacing now around the courtyard, his polished shoes clicking against the tiled floor. "Lucifer's rebellion ended with his banishment to the moon. Some say he seeks to return, others believe he protects us from above, guiding humanity by giving us sorcery. But I say..." Kage's eyes darkened, his tone lowering to a growl that seemed to vibrate through the air between them. "He never left. Not completely."

  Rei felt a chill crawl up his spine, his mouth suddenly dry. "What do you mean?"

  Kage pushed off the wall, walking forward slowly. His shadow seemed to stretch unnaturally beneath the moonlight, almost moving independently. "Lucifer doesn't need to be in one body. What if he's been here all along? Splintered into many. Looking for the proper vessel to make his return." Kage stopped and turned slightly, his smirk sharp enough to cut. "I should know, because I've fought one of his vessels before."

  Rei's breath hitched. His hand unconsciously went to his chest, pressing against his sternum as if trying to feel for something inside him—some foreign presence lurking beneath his skin. "And...?"

  In a flash of movement almost too quick to follow, Kage was suddenly beside him, mouth close to Rei's ear. "And I killed him."

  Silence hung heavy between them, thick enough to choke on.

  Rei stumbled backward, putting distance between them. His mind raced with implications, his body responding with an unfamiliar emotion—fear. Real, primal fear that sent adrenaline surging through his system. His hands trembled, and he clenched them into fists to hide the weakness.

  "Is that why Haikito paired us?" Rei asked, his voice uncharacteristically strained. "He wants you to... to kill me too?"

  "Maybe," Kage said, his casual tone at odds with the weight of his words. "Or maybe he wants me to help bring out whatever's inside you." He gestured vaguely toward Rei's chest. "Maybe you're supposed to be the next vessel, maybe you're something else entirely. Haikito sees things others don't—patterns, possibilities, paths."

  Rei's mind raced, a thousand questions clashing together. His breathing came faster, his thoughts spiraling with each new revelation. The empty vessel he had always been—was it preparation for something else? Was his hollowness not a deficiency but a space waiting to be filled? By what? By whom?

  The night air suddenly felt too thin, insufficient for his lungs. He gripped the stone balustrade of the courtyard, knuckles white with pressure.

  "What does this mean for me?" he whispered, his voice barely audible over the pounding of his heart.

  Kage watched him closely, then shrugged with calculated casualness. "Who knows, Vessel? Maybe you're just another guy with bad luck. Maybe you're something more." He looked up at the moon again, his expression unreadable. "But one thing's for sure..." He turned away, beginning to walk back toward the Academy building, his footsteps echoing in the empty space. "If I have to face another vessel again," he stopped, glancing back with a wicked grin that didn't reach his eyes, "I wouldn't mind proving myself against Lucifer's chosen once more."

  Rei remained in the courtyard long after Kage had gone, his eyes fixed on the moon above. For the first time in his life, he felt something stirring within the emptiness that had always defined him—not just curiosity or fear, but something deeper, more primal. Recognition. As if some part of him, buried beneath layers of amnesia and emptiness, was responding to a call only it could hear.

  He raised his hand toward the moon, fingers splayed against its silver light. The shadows of his fingers stretched across the courtyard stones, longer and darker than they should have been. Or perhaps that was just his imagination.

  What am I?

  The question lingered in the air long after Kage's footsteps had faded, leaving Rei alone with his thoughts and the whispering shadows at his feet. Above him, the moon seemed to pulse once, briefly, before disappearing behind a bank of clouds, plunging the courtyard into darkness.