Darkness.
It wasn't the absence of light, but the presence of something… deeper. It stretched endlessly in every direction, swallowing sound, warmth, and thought. Ryo floated in it like a corpse in an eternal sea—motionless, weightless, lost.
His eyes were open. But he could see nothing.
He couldn't remember how he got here. One moment, he was lying on a bed in Lysa's safehouse, staring at the ceiling, unable to move. His body, ravaged by weeks of starvation and overuse of the Kineta Art, had given up.
The next moment—this.
> "Where the hell…?" he muttered, his voice sounding hollow, like it was swallowed the moment it left his lips.
The void responded with silence.
Until—
"Hello there, boy."
The voice slid against his ear like a blade of ice.
He twisted around instantly, fists clenched, heart pounding. "No," he growled. "No, no, no—this isn't real. You're dead."
From the mist, like smoke forming into a storm, stepped a tall figure in crimson and black robes, his skeletal jaw smirking beneath a rusted obsidian crown. Pale skin, stitched together like a worn-out book. And two glowing voids for eyes—deeper than death itself.
Thanatos.
The god of death. The cursed one. The very entity Ryo had cursed thirteen years ago.
The one who stole his childhood.
> "I see you haven't changed much," Thanatos mused, tilting his head. "Still snarling like a dog with broken teeth."
Ryo's eyes flared with hatred. "You piece of shit. You cursed my family. You gave me that mark. You threw me into this nightmare."
Thanatos chuckled, brushing invisible dust off his sleeve. "And yet, here we are—me, walking freely in the space between worlds. And you—half-dead and dangling above the Maw of the Wraiths."
Ryo blinked. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Thanatos stepped aside.
Behind him, the darkness shivered—and then ripped open.
Beneath the floorless abyss, monstrous Wraiths writhed like worms in tar. Faceless shadows with elongated claws and mouths like ripped fabric, each one whispering fragments of lost souls, screaming in voices that had no throat.
> "They hunger, boy. For your soul. You're not dead yet, but you're not alive either. You're ripe."
Ryo stumbled back, sweat pouring down his ghostly form—even in this spirit realm. He looked down and saw his feet dissolving into smoke.
> "You're slipping," Thanatos said with a grin. "Once the Wraiths take you, you don't get to die. You get to endlessly unravel."
> "Screw you!" Ryo roared, lunging forward—but his fists passed through Thanatos like mist.
The god let out another low laugh. "You think rage will save you? That's adorable."
> "I survived everything because of my rage. I don't need you. I never did."
Thanatos frowned for the first time. "And yet… you're powerless now. Starving. Crippled. Weak."
The words stung because they were true.
"Why are you here?" Ryo spat.
Thanatos clasped his hands behind his back and began circling him slowly. "I came to offer you clarity... and a gift. You're not the only one reborn, boy. Something worse walks the land now."
Ryo narrowed his eyes.
Thanatos looked up, eyes burning. "His name is Virex Caelus."
Ryo's breath caught. "He's alive?"
> "Not alive. Perfected."
Thanatos gestured to the darkness above them. Suddenly, visions burst into view:
Virex standing atop a smoking tower, cloaked in flame and nuclear haze.
His glowing eyes piercing armies.
Blood evaporating in the air around his acid-filled veins.
The throne room of Netheria burning—Princess Ophelia crying in a shattered cathedral.
> "He is the apex predator of this age. A machine of fury and elegance, armed with every weapon you can't yet comprehend."
> "What do you want from me?" Ryo asked, shaken.
Thanatos paused. "To survive… you will need more than hatred."
He raised his hand.
From it, a crimson light surged—flames shaped like a coiled serpent, a dragon with burning wings.
> "Take this. The gift of Red Dragon Destruction. An ancient fire. Born from the heart of the first fallen star. A flame that consumes not only flesh… but existence itself."
The fire spiraled toward Ryo's chest, and with a thunderous crack, it slammed into him.
He screamed.
His body tore apart and reformed, again and again. Fire engulfed his soul. He felt every inch of him rewire—his nerves, his rage, his potential—reforged.
When it was done, his form pulsed with a red glow. His arms burned with crimson markings, claws of fire flickering at his fingertips. And deep within his soul, the voice of a dragon coiled into his mind.
> "Burn it all."
Ryo dropped to one knee, panting. "Why… help me?"
Thanatos stared at him coldly. "Because the Wraiths are not the only predators anymore. And because when you fall, I want to be the one to take your soul. Not him."
He stepped back into the void.
> "Your body still breathes, Ryo. But not for long."
His voice faded like fog in wind.
> "Awaken… and bring ruin."
---
Ryo gasped.
Eyes wide. Chest rising. Sweat pouring.
Lysa screamed in joy, grabbing him. "You're awake! Ryo—you—"
But he didn't hear her.
His gaze was blank. Empty. Until—
Crimson light ignited in his eyes.