After entering my room, I saw Rex sitting on my bed. I smiled and said,"Were you waiting for me, buddy?"
"Woof-woof."
He wagged his tail, and I patted him on the head. What a nice life you have, Rex. No tension, no death threats, no demons, dragons, or leeches on your tail.
Maybe not leeches… but you get the point.
He woofed one last time and bolted out of the room, heading downstairs—probably following the smell of food.
I went to the bathroom and removed the hoodie. Alice had apparently retrieved it for me; it had been hiding the cuts and tears on my shirt. I stepped into the bath, took a long shower, and afterward stood in front of the mirror, carefully checking myself over for any small cuts I might have missed.
After changing into a fresh set of clothes, I went downstairs for lunch and found everyone already at the table. We ate Mom's special spaghetti. It was delicious.
After lunch, Mom and Dad headed to their room—to rest, probably. But Clara didn't move from her chair. She just looked at me and said,
"Are you okay?"
The sudden question caught me off guard. I took a deep breath and replied honestly,
"I will be. You don't have to worry."
The honesty made her smile. She got up and hopped away to her room.
I shook my head and went back to my room, locking the door behind me before sitting down on my bed.
Okay. So last time I met Drake, it was when I was asleep. And when I lost consciousness, I met my doppelganger.
I tried to think it through and pieced it together—maybe a calm mind and clear intent were what mattered to enter that space.
I sat down in a lotus position and let my thoughts settle, reining in the noise and focusing on the feeling of the last time I'd been there.
I kept my concentration steady.
Then, without warning, I felt a sharp jerk—and heard a familiar voice.
"Well, that's new."
I opened my eyes. The fireball was floating in front of me, studying me with what I could only describe as mild curiosity.
"How did you figure it out?"
"Dream equals a calm mind, free of thought," I said. "Meditation and focus equals a calm mind, free of thought—and here I am. I might not look it, but I'm pretty smart, if I do say so myself."
He brushed off my self-satisfaction and asked,
"Yeah, yeah, you're great. But why did you come so late?"
I frowned. "You can't see what's been happening with me?"
He shook his fireball head. "I'm connected to your soul, not your eyes. You can allow me to see and hear what you experience—but only if you permit it."
The honesty caught me off guard
I looked at him strangely. "Why would you tell me that? Why give up an advantage over yourself?"
"Kid, are you slow? I already told you last time—I'm already connected to you. There's no point in hiding things. If you die, I die."
I was still a little skeptical, but nodded.
"There have been some recent events that have pushed our schedule forward. I need you to teach me how to use my demonic power and that other ability you mentioned."
He looked me in the eyes for a moment, then nodded.
"Very well. Listen closely. I'll start from the beginning."
"Demons, as you know, go by many names—rakshasa, oni, devil, demon. These are all titles humans gave us, and the origin stories humans tell aren't true either. We weren't created by Lucifer, and no god cast us down to hell. That's just what humans assumed."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"What is true, though, is that we consume souls—or we can use souls. That's our racial ability, something every demon possesses. Elves have nature magic. Dragons are born superior. Werewolves have sharper instincts. Vampires heal faster and can manipulate blood. We can heal too, just not as quickly."
"Anyway, back to the point. Every race has their own power system, but there's a common framework with equivalent ranks. It goes: E -> D -> C -> B -> A -> S -> SS -> EX."
"E is the starting rank—at that level, you're just slightly stronger than a normal person, and so on up the ladder. I'll also say this: ranks are not absolute. Even an E-rank can kill a B-rank under the right circumstances. But they exist for a reason—they represent your level of evolution."
I nodded, then said,
"About what I was talking about—we fought a knight-level vampire. And we somehow killed him."
He stopped abruptly and looked me up and down.
"Are you a ghost? How are you still alive?"
"It wasn't easy. Me and an acquaintance ambushed him. It was a tough fight—we were both nearly dead by the end of it, but we survived."
He was quiet for a moment.
"What rank is your friend?"
"I don't know exactly. She said she was one rank below him."
He stared at me like I'd just said something completely insane.
"That means she was E-rank," he said slowly. "And a vampire knight is the equivalent of D-rank."
Before he could finish, I added,
"Also, he was performing a ritual—sacrificing people to rank up."
He didn't say anything.
Then he launched himself straight into my gut. The air left my lungs in one sharp burst.
"You lunatic! That means he was closer to C-rank! You could have died! If you don't care about your own life, that's one thing—but don't drag me down with you!"
I nodded breathlessly. "Noted. And I already knew it was stupid, so spare me the lecture."
He grunted.
But his thoughts were something else entirely.
Even without using any powers, fighting a C-rank vampire with an E-rank partner… that's suicide. And yet he killed him. What happens when he actually trains his abilities properly?
The implication made him go quiet for a moment. He shook his fireball head, the flame swaying with the motion.
"Okay, where was I? Right—ranks. That's all you need to know about the power system for now."
"Now, here's how we demons actually fight." He smiled—and it gave me goosebumps.
"We demons might not be the strongest. We're not the fastest healers. Nature doesn't favour us. But we have something that almost every other race lacks—adaptability. Humans are the only exception."
"We can survive in virtually any environment, given enough time. We're equally tenacious. We can heal ourselves and get stronger through battle alone. Humans were the only ones who could ever match us in that regard. So be glad—you're pulling from both power systems. What kind of freak are you, really?"
I asked the question that had been forming in my head.
"Can't you just turn a human into a demon? They'd be able to use both systems too, right?"
He shook his head.
"When we convert a human into a demon, they become a demon—fully. You, on the other hand, combined with me. You have both the demon and human power running through you at the same time. Not to mention…"
He didn't need to finish that sentence.
"So you'll need to train both if you want to actually use that advantage. At least in the beginning."
I nodded. More power… I wasn't in a position to refuse it anymore.
"I can't guide you through your human training, but for the demon side, I can be your teacher. Now bow before me and ask me to take you as my student—"
I stared at him flatly.
A beat of silence.
"...Cough. Just joking. Let's continue."
My blood started pumping. Finally.
"We demons build a core. We draw energy from the atmosphere and fill that core with it—and from there, we cast spells and use our abilities."
I nodded.
"Now, this splits into two paths. You can place the core in your heart, or in your abdomen. It's metaphysical—it doesn't physically exist, but it's real in its own way."
"If you place the core in your heart, your mana channelling ability increases. If you place it in your abdomen, your aura conversion efficiency increases."
"Like the difference between a mage and a knight?" I said.
"Not exactly. It doesn't cut off the other path entirely—but the location determines your primary focus."
"Oh, and I've heard humans might use a similar system, but don't quote me on that."
I started to think it over when he added,
"My suggestion? Take the aura path in the demon system. When the time comes, use the mage path in the human system. They'll complement each other."
I nodded, but something still didn't sit right with me. What if I made this decision now and regretted it later?
"Is there a way to use both paths?"
"Kid, what you're asking for is what countless others have wanted. You're already an anomaly. You're making up for the gaps in both systems just by having access to both. Don't be greedy."
I looked at him.
"And what's the guarantee that when I eventually choose the human system, it won't clash with the demon side of me?"
He nodded grimly.
"I've thought about that too. But we have no way of knowing, and there's no one to experiment on since you're a unique case. That's exactly why I suggested the default path—even in a worst-case scenario, if the paths clash, you'd at least still be able to use your demon abilities."
"There's another reason I'm pushing the demon system," he added, and his tone shifted.
That made me swallow.
"That extra power you carry—in all of recorded history, even if less than 1%, only demons have ever been able to use it, and every one of them was from my bloodline. If we neglect the demon system and that power backfires…" He paused.
"You might just explode."
The joking tone was completely gone now.
I sat with that for a moment, then said,
"I think we should hold off on making the core for now. Let me first understand how the human system works—then we can cross-reference both. If we still can't find an answer after that, we go with the demon system."
We looked at each other and nodded—a quiet, mutual understanding.
"Alright," he said. "I'll walk you through the process anyway. It'll help if you have the knowledge ahead of time and some room to sit with it."
Drake began.
"So to start, you'll have to…"