“Yes, all clear. The Demon Tooth hosts the body and soul of demons and like them, it can get damaged. So I assume that, being our Oracles directly tied to our body… if they are injured…”

“We pay the consequences. It’s like you’re your Nekage’s Demon Tooth, if it takes damage, you get damaged too, and if its health goes down… well, I think you understood” Enatsu interrupted, completing the sentence of Yoichi, who sighed, lying on the bed. ​​

After placing the blanket between the table and his friend’s bed, Enatsu uttered the name of his Oracle, summoning it. “Come beside me, Sora. It’s pretty warm down here,” he said, making room for its parrot demon on the blanket and stretching out along with it.

The way Enatsu and his pet communicate is intense. They look like brothers. Is my life really tied to this reptile’s? If he gets hurt, I’d be hurt, too… I have to be very careful and treat it with care, Yoichi thought, banging his hand on the bed in front of him and inviting the Nekage to approach.

Without thinking twice, the little dark monster rolled up on himself and crouched next to its Tamer, wrapping its long tail around is body and ajar his eyes.

Yoichi’s hand touched its head, causing it to open its eyes, which crossed over his own. That glassy look and those eyes red as two rubies, during those seconds that seemed endless, communicated something to Yoichi, something like a strong feeling.

His soul and that of the Nekage were inextricably linked and, although he could not remember anything about his previous life, something in his mind told him that that little demon was his heritage, it was his chance for redemption.

“Good night, Yoichi!” Enatsu smirked while Sora crouched next to his belly, rubbing its face with the colored wings and falling slowly asleep.

“Have a good night!” Yoichi answered, closing his eyes and letting the sound of rain lead him into the dream world.

This body… I feel that it is not mine from birth. I don’t understand… what did that bloody writing on the wall mean? Is this a second life? But… but… what did I do in the first, what were my mistakes? he wondered, opening his eyes and looking at the faint light that came out of the chimney fire.

When I woke up there was nothing and no one in here… not even a person or an indication. Who was this guy whose body I took? Where did he come from and what happened to his loved ones, his friends? Looks like the Nekage recognizes my appearance, which means it remembers me. But how? I don’t understand anything anymore and I things are just getting more complicated… Yoichi thought again, while his eyelids lowered pampered by the warmth emanating from the Nekage.

…

When Yoichi’s eyes reopened, the chimney light was gone and the fire was extinguished. The only light present was that of the moon, which timidly entered through the window, illuminating part of the ceiling and leaving the rest of the room plunged in darkness.

His gaze was turned right upwards as if he was focusing on studying the details of the wooden beams that supported the thatched roof, which despite looking not much resistant, had protected the two friends from that sudden night storm.

Yoichi yawned and turned his gaze for a moment, making sure his Nekage was next to him, then looking back at the ceiling.

A drop of water permeated one of the wooden beams and fell on his cheek, sliding up to his neck.

Aagh… I can’t… I can’t move… he thought, trying to move a hand to dry his face, but without succeeding. What… what’s going on?! Fuck!

A second drop of water fell from the point of the first, followed by another and then another until one of them touched young Yoichi’s lips.

But this… this is blood! he thought frightened as soon as his tongue tasted it.

A drop of an intense red fell on his forehead and soon after, the water stopped falling from above.

As if going against the force of gravity, the small drop of blood remained attached to the wood and began to flow vertically, attracting other drops of the same size, which mysteriously appeared from the pores of the soaked wood.

“What the f… still that damn blood?!”

One bloodstream after another, gathering in crimson streams, the red liquid took the form of a letter and, vertically, the letters formed a single word, written on the wooden beam of the ceiling, right in front of Yoichi’s eyes.

“I… l… driss… Ildriss…?” he said, finally managing to speak and using his voice to utter the word that had just appeared on the ceiling.

Moments later an unnatural silence, a strong heat pervaded his chest, then distributed on his arms and legs. “Fuck, it hurts! It burn, burns! Enatsu! Help me!” he exclaimed, asking his friend for help while his body did not respond to commands.

The writing of blood was slowly reabsorbed by the wood and, as the particles of red liquid re-indented through the pores, each of them turned into a small fiery spark, which, joining the others, generated thin veins of fire.

“Enatsu! Fuck, wake up! Sora! Nekage, help me! Let someone help me, I can’t move!” Yoichi yelled as every fiber of his body contracted, failing to counter the invisible force that held him still.

The fiery veins spread in a few seconds over the entire roof area, taking root on the straw and wood, not caring that it was soaked in water due to rain.

*crack*sstrack*

The large central beams that supported the structure began to break down and, as the flames continued to reflect in the eyes of the young and unconscious Yoichi, the fire ate the roof, which fell down, overwhelming everything.

“Noo! Naaaah! Aaaargh!” he screamed desperately, totally engulfed in flames.

“Ildriss” a deep and unknown voice whispered, which spoke as soon as everything turned black.

…

“Ildriss.”

“Aargh! Anf, anf!” Yoichi gasped, opening his eyes and sitting on the bed, waking up from the most realistic nightmare of his life.