We ran into a nearby alley as sirens approached. Aria sheathed her blade with one smooth motion, her expression unreadable.
"They're starting early," she muttered.
I leaned against a cold brick wall, panting. My limbs were still shaking—not from exhaustion, but from whatever had just happened. From the fire. From me.
"What... the hell were those?" I asked.
She didn't answer right away. Her eyes flicked to the street where the fight had just taken place. People were screaming. Officers were shouting. The world was still catching up to what had just happened.
"Scouts," she finally said. "From Hell. The undead, monsters and demons."
"But... why here?"
Aria looked up at the sky, a pale blue that now felt too serene for what had just happened. Her voice was low. "Because Earth is no longer off-limits. The seals are cracking. Heaven and Hell are no longer satisfied fighting each other in secret."
"So it's war?" I asked.
She shook her head. "No. It's worse."
I stared at her. "Worse than war?"
Her eyes met mine—calm, but hiding something deeper. "They're not here to take territory or win battles. They're here to find you."
I swallowed hard. "Me?"
"They know you exist. Not all of them, not yet, but enough. And both sides want to claim the Morning Star's heir. Or erase him."
A coldness gripped my spine. "So all of this... the breaches, the monsters... they're looking for me?"
"Yes. And they'll keep coming. Stronger ones. Smarter ones."
I sank down against the wall. The golden flame I'd summoned still tingled beneath my skin like an ember refusing to die. "I didn't ask for this."
"No one ever does," she said softly.
We sat in silence for a moment. The sirens grew louder, closer.
"We should move," Aria said. "Before the agents arrive."
"Agents?"
She nodded. "Government cleanup squads. They'll cover it up. Say it was a gas explosion or a hallucination event. We don't want to be around when they start asking questions."
I stood slowly, my legs still wobbling. "What now?"
"Now," she said, turning down the alleyway, "we train. Before they find you again."
"And if they do?" I asked.
Aria glanced over her shoulder. Her tone was sharper now, like steel unsheathed. "Then you'd better learn to burn them down first."
That night, sleep didn't come easily. Not after what I saw. Not after what I did.
I stared at my hand for hours. The skin was unburnt, but the heat still lingered in my veins like a second heartbeat. Gold flame. Wild and raw. That wasn't normal. That wasn't human.
Downstairs, Aria sat cross-legged on the living room floor, polishing her blade. The television was off. My mother had gone to bed hours ago, after pretending everything was fine. But I saw it. The way her hands trembled while folding laundry. The way she avoided my eyes.
She knew something too.
And no one was saying anything.
She turned to Aria. "You swore you'd protect him. No matter what."
Aria met her gaze, serious and sharp. "Even if it costs me everything."
My mom nodded slowly, then stepped away. Her shoulders shook as she tried to compose herself.
"I always knew this day would come," she said, more to herself than to us. "The nightmares, the omens, the way he'd wake up screaming when he was little. I just hoped I'd be wrong."
I stood frozen, unsure whether to speak.
She reached for my hand and held it tightly. "You're my son, Kai. Mine and your father's blood runs through you. You fight because you have to—for your dad and this world." She pressed her hand over my heart.
I nodded, my throat too tight to speak.
Then she looked to Aria. "If anything happens to him, I'll know. And I'll come for you."
Aria blinked, stunned for a second—then gave a respectful nod. "Understood."
My mom smiled faintly through her tears. "Good. Now go. Find that hellhound. And give him hell if he refuses to help."
We left the house moments later, stepping into a world on the edge of unraveling