The night after the possession was quiet.
Too quiet.
Inside the dim forge, Rizoma sat alone beside the dying furnace. The demon had whispered to him the previous night—promises of power, promises of greatness. It had promised that his blades would surpass every sword ever forged.
But now…
He felt nothing.
No strength.
No change.
His hands were still the same trembling, imperfect hands.
The furnace crackled softly as he clenched his fists.
"Where is it…?" he muttered angrily.
"You promised me power."
Silence answered him.
The swords scattered around the room were still broken like before.
His breathing grew heavy. Rage slowly consumed his thoughts.
"If the power wasn't given to me…"
His eyes slowly turned toward the small room where his son slept.
"…then maybe it wasn't meant for me."
The next morning, a dusty road stretched between two quiet villages.
Shizuma walked beside his father, holding a small cloth bag.
He looked up at the man beside him.
"Father… where are we going?"
Rizoma didn't answer immediately. His eyes remained fixed on the road ahead.
"To a place where you'll have food and shelter."
After a long walk, they stopped in front of a large wooden building surrounded by children playing in the yard.
An orphanage.
Shizuma looked confused.
"Father…?"
Rizoma finally turned to him.
"You'll stay here."
Shizuma blinked.
"Stay… here?"
Before he could say anything else, his father turned around.
He began walking away.
"Wait!"
Shizuma ran after him.
"When will you come back?"
For a brief moment, Rizoma stopped.
But he never turned around.
"Never."
And then he kept walking.
Shizuma stood there, watching his father disappear down the road.
He didn't understand why.
But the door of the orphanage slowly opened behind him.
And a new life began.
Four years later
The orphanage yard was filled with laughter.
Children ran across the grass, chasing each other under the afternoon sun.
Among them was a boy with calm eyes and dark hair.
Fourteen-year-old Shizuma.
"Shizuma! Pass it!" one of the boys shouted.
Shizuma kicked the ball toward him with a small smile.
"You're too slow," he said calmly.
The other kids laughed.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
Peaceful.
Then—
BOOM.
The front gate exploded.
Wood shattered across the yard.
The children froze.
A man slowly walked through the smoke.
Dark energy floated around his body like broken glass. Strange glowing fragments orbited him, twisting the air itself.
His eyes were empty.
A Fragment User.
One of the caretakers stepped forward, trembling.
"W-Who are you?!"
The man didn't answer.
He simply raised his hand.
CRACK.
The caretaker's body collapsed instantly.
Screams filled the yard.
Children began running in every direction.
The fragment user walked forward slowly, his expression bored.
Every step brought death.
Invisible force sliced through the air. Walls shattered. Bodies fell.
Shizuma stood frozen.
His mind couldn't process what was happening.
The fragment user suddenly stopped.
His gaze turned toward Shizuma.
"…Interesting."
He tilted his head.
"There's something strange about you."
Dark energy gathered around his hand.
"Let's see what happens if I break you."
The attack shot forward.
But before it could reach Shizuma—
A dark aura suddenly erupted around the boy.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
The fragment attack shattered instantly as if it had struck an invisible wall.
The fragment user's eyes widened.
"What…?"
Shizuma himself didn't understand what had happened.
He only felt something deep inside him.
Something ancient.
Something watching.
The fragment user grinned.
"So that's it…"
"A demon hiding inside a child."
He raised his hand again.
But before he could attack—
A brilliant light flashed across the battlefield.
BOOM!
The fragment user was thrown backward across the yard.
A tall man now stood between Shizuma and the monster.
He wore a long coat marked with a glowing symbol.
Behind him, a radiant sigil burned in the air like a small sun.
The fragment user growled.
"…Ein Kage Dan."
The man spoke calmly.
"Fragment users like you always appear where suffering gathers."
The light behind him grew brighter.
"I will return your fragment to Eternity."
In the next instant—
The battle ended.
The fragment user collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Silence returned to the orphanage.
Shizuma looked around slowly.
The yard that once echoed with laughter was now silent.
Everyone was gone.
His voice trembled.
"…Why?"
The man studied him.
Then extended his hand.
"What is your name?"
"…Shizuma."
A pause.
"Shizuma…"
His gaze shifted—to the ruins of the orphanage.
Then back to the boy.
"From today…"
His voice lowered.
"You don't belong here anymore."
Shizuma didn't move.
For a second—
he almost stepped back.
"…Why me?" he asked.
The man's eyes darkened.
Not kindness.
Not pity.
Something else.
"Because you survived."
Silence.
The wind howled through the broken walls.
Then—
the man leaned closer.
"And in this world… survivors aren't saved."
A beat.
"They are chosen."
Shizuma's fingers tightened.
Slowly…
he took the hand.