Immediately, the atmosphere froze. The room was ice cold.
The shadows moved like smoke.
The light bulb flickered.
The wind howled outside, but the windows were shut.
Hitachi gasped in fear.
He was shaking, unable to understand what was going on—same as his grandfather, who had frozen up.
Out of fear, the grandfather managed to open his mouth.
"W…what i…is this?"
Turning to his left side,
he saw Hitachi shivering with fear, tears dropping down his face.
Immediately, the grandpa rushed to hold him.
"A…are we going to die, Grandpa?"
"No, my child."
More tears dropped from his face.
Suddenly, the voice got louder and deeper.
"I am not here to take, but to give."
"W…what do you want from us?
We have nothing to give. We are poor and, moreover, we have no hope," Grandpa said.
"Then let me be your hope.
Let me give you everything."
"I know nothing comes without a price," the Grandpa said while shivering in fear.
Hitachi couldn't understand anything.
His eyes were open, but he was not conscious.
"All I want is a body.
Not to take—but to add to it.
I will make him powerful.
I will make him a leader.
I will take away his sickness and make him the strongest of all."
"Then take me… please," Grandpa pleaded.
"Nooooooooo!" the Shadow screamed, making the Grandpa cover his face in fear.
"Please, we just want to be normal. We don't ask for more.
Take me—do anything with me—I'm okay with it. Just let the boy live.
He has so much more ahead. He's just 13!"
"You are too weak, too old, too pathetic.
But the boy… the boy has it all.
I did not choose him—my spell did.
It saw his pain, suffering, and the fact that he kept trying to be okay."
"You can't take him… please!"
"Silence!" a demonic voice screamed.
"If I don't bind him, he will die.
The spell has seen his death already."
"Fine… what are you going to do with him?"
"I will make him the key to my world.
10,000 souls of demons will be inside him.
He will be stronger than gods, kings, and demons.
He will be the gate between our worlds.
Only he can open the gates to the Underworld.
Only he can raise the dead and turn them into slaves."
The old man barely understood anything.
All he wanted was for the boy to live a normal life.
But that wouldn't be possible if he died.
I…I can't let Hitachi die.
I've already lost my son.
I need Hitachi… he is my only family, he thought to himself.
"Ye… yes. I accept.
Please make my child okay again."
The Shadow chuckled.
Suddenly, out of the dark smoke appeared the eye of an ancient demon—glowing red with a symbol in it.
The old man had no idea what it was.
Suddenly, the black smoke reached for Hitachi.
A claw appeared from the smoke,
touching Hitachi on the chest.
Suddenly, Hitachi regained consciousness.
He screamed loudly.
"G…get it off! AHHHHHHHH!"
His eyes glowed with fire.
He tried to rip his eyes off with his hands.
He cried out loud—
"Grandpaaaaa!"
The old man dropped to his knees.
Tears dropped from his eyes, seeing his grandson in pain.
He rushed to Hitachi—
but then the smoke lifted Hitachi up, hanging in the air.
"Pleasssssse… stop!"
The old man cried out, looking at the Shadow.
Then he noticed something—it appeared that the smoke was smiling.
The Shadow started chanting an ancient spell:
"Karuun Val eshtar
Drah'mek tul'vahr
Zorak'nai shal'et mori
Tenebris… shakai'tor."
(Spoken translation whispered in Hitachi's mind:
Darkness calls. The gate cracks. The soul awakens. The vessel is chosen.)
Each word echoed unnaturally, making the room shake hard.
The air felt heavy.
Hitachi felt the words crawling under his skin.
They were etching themselves into his bones.
He screamed even louder—this time with a demonic voice,
saying things that the old man could not understand.
It was not in English.
He was speaking in a language unknown to man.
The Shadow chuckled.
At this point, the old man just stood and watched in shock.
He could not move.
He was frightened.
Looking at Hitachi, he knew that it was no longer his grandson.
He could see someone else in Hitachi's body.
As Hitachi was speaking in a different language,
black smoke started rising from the ground.
It was as if the world was shaking.
A dead man's hand rose from the floor—
something suddenly pulled it back into the ground.
Seeing this, the old man begged the Shadow to stop.
"I want my grandson alive—but not in this way!
You're turning him into something else.
A monster. These kinds of things do not exist in this world…" the old man cried.
"Please, he doesn't need any powers.
Just heal him, that's all I beg of you.
Please…" the old man fell to his knees, begging.
"It is already too late.
Even if I wanted to—I can't.
He has already been chosen.
It is already in him," the Shadow said in a deep voice.
Suddenly, demons started screaming as they rose from the ground.
In seconds, there were demons and black shadows all over the house.
A word came out of Hitachi's mouth:
"Karuun… Val… eshtar."
The demons looked at Hitachi.
Suddenly, every one of them started heading for Hitachi,
going into his body.
He screamed loudly.
The Shadow moved a bit further away from Hitachi.
A force pushed the old man away from him.
It was as if something was shielding Hitachi.
The old man cried—"My boy… please, my boy… save him!"
When all of the demons were inside Hitachi's body,
the Shadow started fading.
The house finally settled—not shaking anymore.
The Shadow chuckled as he faded away.
The old man turned to see Hitachi.
To his surprise,
there was nothing holding Hitachi in the air anymore—
but he was still suspended, floating.
His eyes burned with fire
while he spread his hands and frowned his face with black smoke coming out of his body .