"To be born again… yet feel nothing. Perhaps that's the truest death of all."
The wind danced lazily over the quiet park, rustling cherry blossoms that floated in the air like soft feathers. The sky above was painted a lazy blue, speckled with clouds drifting as if time itself had no obligation to move forward. Beneath a tall sakura tree, a boy laid in silence. His uniform was the standard black of Kuoh Academy, but there was an unsettling contrast between his youthful appearance and the pressure in the air around him—dense, as if reality dared not touch him without permission.
His name was Kazenari Rei.
He slowly opened his eyes. A quiet inhale. The scent of earth and flowers greeted him. Life.
His hand twitched. The last thing he remembered—
Fire. Screams. The world folding into itself.
Then… silence.
Now? A body that wasn't his, but felt like it belonged.
[Spirit Sync System Activated. Honkai Fusion Stable. User ID: Kazenari Rei. Spirit Control Authority: Level 1. Spirit Code: 000 – Void Origin.]
He heard the voice within, like a whisper buried under glass. Not feminine, not masculine. Just… existing.
"…Tch," Rei clicked his tongue lightly and sat up. His long black hair fell over his shoulders, a remnant of how he wore it in his past life. Sharp eyes scanned the environment—a park, a town, people laughing in the distance.
This was not the world he died in.
And somehow, he preferred this one already.
"Kuoh Academy," he muttered, seeing the crest on his blazer. A devil's territory, if he recalled correctly from the system's dump of information upon arrival.
He stood and dusted himself off. Despite the gentle breeze, despite the warmth of the sun… something ancient stirred in his soul. A fire that once razed gods.
He wasn't here to burn this world.
But he would if necessary.
Rei walked through the town with the fluid grace of someone who didn't belong anywhere, yet looked like he fit everywhere. He passed shops, ramen stands, a bookstore with dusty windows. All the while, the people moved on with their lives, unaware of the anomaly that walked among them.
[System Notification: New Spiritual Signature Detected – Type: Spirit (Original). Codename: Yoru – The Silent Blade. Compatible Host: Awaiting Selection.]
He blinked.
"…So the system is active," he murmured, eyes scanning the crowd until they landed on a tall woman in a black and white maid outfit standing just outside a flower shop.
Her hair was silver, tied back neatly, and her expression unreadable. But Rei saw the pressure around her—it was faint, nearly hidden, but not to someone like him.
She wasn't human.
Or perhaps, she was… and just hadn't awakened yet.
Their eyes met.
She blinked once. Then curtsied politely. "Good afternoon, young master."
"…Young master?" Rei tilted his head.
"I felt the ripple in the veil," she replied, voice soft and mature, like velvet on glass. "Something inside me stirred. And then… I saw you."
[Synchronization Rate: 7%. Compatibility: High. Spirit Class: Blade-Type. Subclass: Maid Variant. Personality: Dutiful, Repressed Emotion. Name: Yoru.]
"…Interesting."
She placed her hand over her chest. "My name is Yoru. If it pleases you… I would like to serve."
Rei didn't smile. He simply nodded.
By the time he arrived at the academy gates, the sky had darkened slightly—just enough to turn the clouds amber.
Inside the gates, students were bustling. Laughing. Gossiping. Among them, he sensed several devil energies—most faint, some stronger.
A group of girls passed by, whispering about him.
He ignored them.
He had no desire to play their games.
"Oi! You're the new transfer, yeah?"
A loud, perverted voice called from the path. Hyoudou Issei.
Rei turned his head slowly.
"Name's Issei! You'll love it here. Trust me, the girls are fine—"
He was cut off by the sound of a soft heel tapping the concrete behind Rei.
Yoru appeared silently, her presence causing several students to freeze.
"Issei," she said calmly. "Shouldn't you be in class?"
He blinked. "Wh—who are you?"
"His maid," she answered simply.
Rei finally sighed. "Come, Yoru. Don't waste energy on insects."
Issei flinched at the coldness of his tone, unsure whether to be insulted or terrified.
Rei walked past him without another word.
He wasn't here to be part of the story Issei was in.
He was writing his own.
And this was only the first page.