The night should have felt victorious.
I had survived.
Riya was safe.
The shadow demon called Mo Ying had been destroyed.
And yet, as I stood in the hospital courtyard with blood drying on my neck and shattered concrete beneath my feet, victory felt like a lie.
Because the last figure on the rooftop had said something that refused to leave my mind.
This was only the beginning.
The wind moved through the trees, carrying with it the sharp smell of rain and broken stone.
Riya still held my sleeve.
Her fingers were trembling.
"Bhaiya… what was that thing?"
I looked down at her.
How could I explain this?
How could I tell a twelve-year-old girl that monsters walked among humans, that our family had been cursed for eight years, and that something hidden inside her blood terrified even demons?
For a moment, I said nothing.
Then softly, I replied, "Something that should never come near you again."
Her eyes searched mine.
She knew I wasn't telling her everything.
Riya had always been too smart.
Too observant.
Too mature for her age.
But she nodded.
For now, that was enough.
I turned toward the hospital entrance.
"We're going back upstairs."
Before I could take a step—
The pendant against my chest suddenly turned hot.
Not warm.
Hot enough to sting.
I froze.
The golden rings in my eyes spun.
A sharp pulse of warning shot through my mind.
Threat approaching.
My body tensed instantly.
From where?
I looked left.
Nothing.
Right.
Nothing.
Then the temperature around us dropped.
The lights in the courtyard dimmed again.
But this time—
There was no darkness.
Instead, the shadows pulled away.
As if making space.
A figure appeared near the broken fountain.
She hadn't been there a second ago.
Yet now she stood in plain sight.
A woman.
Tall.
Elegant.
Wrapped in a long crimson dress that moved like liquid silk in the wind.
Her hair was dark as midnight, falling down her back in soft waves, but under the courtyard lights, streaks of deep red shimmered through it like strands of living flame.
My breath caught.
Her eyes.
They were crimson.
Not the dead crimson of the shadow demons.
These eyes were alive.
Sharp.
Ancient.
Dangerously beautiful.
Riya instinctively moved closer behind me.
The woman looked at us, then slowly smiled.
It was not a cruel smile.
But it was not kind either.
It was the smile of someone who already knew everything.
"Interesting."
Her voice was smooth, rich, and calm.
"So the heir really has awakened."
Every muscle in my body tightened.
Another one.
Another being from the hidden world.
"Who are you?"
Her gaze moved to my eyes.
The golden rings reflected in her crimson irises.
For a brief second, surprise crossed her face.
Then amusement.
"Straight to the point."
She took one step forward.
The air itself seemed to ripple around her.
Instinct screamed at me.
Danger.
Far greater than Mo Ying.
The Omniscient Origin Eyes activated automatically.
Golden light flashed across my vision.
Information flooded in.
Then stopped.
Blocked.
My heart skipped.
Blocked?
The eyes had analysed the demons instantly.
But this woman—
Nothing.
No name.
No weakness.
No energy structure.
Only one line appeared in my mind.
Analysis denied: target exceeds current rank.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
She noticed.
The corner of her lips lifted.
"You tried to read me."
I said nothing.
Her smile deepened.
"That makes you far more interesting."
Riya's voice trembled.
"Bhaiya…"
I raised one hand slightly, shielding her.
The woman's gaze shifted toward Riya.
For a brief moment, the playful amusement vanished.
Something sharp entered her expression.
Recognition.
Then she looked back at me.
"So the little phoenix truly lives."
My heart dropped.
Again.
Someone else who knew.
My voice turned cold.
"What do you want?"
This time, her expression changed.
The playful edge faded.
What remained was something heavier.
Older.
"I came because the Shadow Veil Clan moved too soon."
She looked at the broken ground where Mo Ying had vanished.
"They are getting desperate."
I frowned.
"So you're not with them?"
She laughed softly.
The sound was almost musical.
"With those insects?"
The contempt in her voice was unmistakable.
"No."
Then her gaze locked onto mine.
"I am here because your awakening changes everything."
The pendant pulsed.
For the first time, instead of warning—
It resonated.
As if responding to her presence.
The woman noticed the movement beneath my shirt.
Her crimson eyes softened for just a second.
Then she said something that made the world stop.
"That pendant once belonged to my lord."
My breathing halted.
"What?"
She tilted her head.
"So he truly chose you."
My mind raced.
Grandfather.
The voice in the void.
The hidden world.
Who exactly had left me that pendant?
Before I could ask, a dark wave of pressure crashed over the courtyard.
The woman's expression instantly sharpened.
She looked toward the hospital rooftop.
Her crimson eyes narrowed.
"They found us."
The air split.
Three figures cloaked in black mist appeared above the hospital entrance.
Shadow demons.
Stronger than the last ones.
Each carried a spear of dark energy.
Riya gasped.
The woman sighed.
"How annoying."
The first demon attacked.
A black spear tore through the air straight toward us.
I stepped forward—
But the crimson woman moved first.
Faster than thought.
One moment, she stood beside the fountain.
The next—
She was in front of us.
Her hand rose gracefully.
A crimson flame bloomed from her fingertips.
The black spear touched the flame—
and vanished.
Not blocked.
Not deflected.
Erased.
My eyes widened.
The demons froze.
The woman smiled.
"You really chose the wrong night."
Her crimson aura exploded.
The entire courtyard was bathed in red light.
The air trembled.
The demons screamed.
Their bodies ignited in silent crimson fire.
Within seconds, all three dissolved into ash.
Silence returned.
I stared.
What kind of power was this?
Even my eyes struggled to process it.
The woman turned back toward me.
For the first time, her expression was serious.
"Listen carefully, Arjun Rao."
The fact that she knew my full name sent a chill through me.
"The curse on your family is only the first layer."
She stepped closer.
Her crimson gaze locked onto mine.
"The people who attacked eight years ago are searching for two things."
Her eyes flicked briefly toward Riya.
"The phoenix seal."
Then back to me.
"And the one destined to stand above gods and demons."
My heart pounded.
Me?
Before I could speak, she reached out.
Her fingers gently touched the pendant through my shirt.
The warmth surged.
A strange pulse moved through my body.
Then she whispered—
so softly only I could hear—
"And one day… I will become your first demon wife."
My entire mind went blank.
What?
The woman stepped back.
The corners of her lips lifted.
"Until next time, heir."
Crimson flames rose around her body.
And in the next instant—
She vanished into the night.
Leaving only the scent of roses and fire behind.
Riya stared at the space.
Then slowly looked up at me.
"…Did that strange lady just say she's going to marry you?"
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
For the first time in years—
I genuinely had no answer.