Season 1 – Episode 3: "First Threat: The Devouring Sky"
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The air split open.
The beast tumbled from the rift like a fallen god—limbs too long, mouths whispering prayers and curses alike, tendrils snapping in the wind like whips.
Its body blotted out the sky.
It wasn't just big.
It wasn't just loud.
It was wrong.
Ren stumbled back, heart thundering in his ears, as the ground shuddered beneath his feet. Buildings cracked and buckled like sandcastles under a black tide.
"Move, idiot!" Arata barked.
Ren didn't need to be told twice.
They sprinted together through the twisted cityscape, leaping over debris, dodging falling chunks of shattered concrete. The creature roared behind them, a sound like a thousand dying stars.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Ren shouted.
Arata shot him a sideways grin, breathless but somehow still cocky. "First Threat. Codename: The Devouring Sky. Real piece of work, huh?"
"A little warning would've been nice!"
"Surprise is part of the job!" Arata laughed, almost maniacally. "Welcome to being Chosen, rookie!"
They ducked into the skeletal remains of a subway station. The air inside was thick, almost syrupy, making every breath a labor. Ren collapsed behind an overturned bench, chest heaving.
"This is insane," Ren gasped. "I'm not ready for this! I don't even know what I'm supposed to do!"
Arata crouched beside him, tossing the coin between his fingers again like it was just another lazy Saturday.
"You don't have to know," he said, tone finally turning serious. "Instinct will carry you the first time."
He tapped Ren's forehead with the coin.
"Your past selves… they're still in there. Sleeping. Waiting. When the moment comes, they'll wake up."
Ren stared at him, wide-eyed.
"You're saying I've fought... things like that before?"
"Fought. Killed. Saved worlds. Betrayed friends."
Arata's amber eyes gleamed.
"You've done it all, Detective."
The rift outside widened further. A tendril snaked down, slithering through the city like a massive vine, wrapping around buildings and squeezing until glass and steel exploded outward.
"And if you don't step up right now…" Arata said, tossing the coin into the air again.
"Everyone dies."
---
Ren didn't remember standing.
One second he was crouched, paralyzed with fear.
The next he was walking toward the exit of the station, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles went white.
His legs moved on their own.
Instinct.
The rain outside had turned black, hissing against the concrete like acid.
He stepped into the ruined street, staring up at the horror tearing the sky apart.
Something inside him shifted.
Like gears grinding against ancient machinery.
And then—
A voice whispered in his head:
> "Detective of a Thousand Lives, awaken."
Pain lanced through his skull.
Flashes of memory ripped through him:
—A spear of light held high against a burning city.
—A sword, longer than a man, cleaving through darkness.
—Words of power, sung in ancient tongues.
—Names, faces, promises.
Power flooded him.
Ren gasped, doubling over as a blinding blue glow erupted around his hands. Symbols spiraled up his arms—runes older than history, etched into his very soul.
The air around him bent, warping with energy.
The Devouring Sky roared, sensing the shift.
Arata whistled low from the station entrance. "Well, would you look at that."
---
The beast lunged.
Ren didn't think.
Didn't plan.
He just moved.
In a blur of blue light, he launched upward, propelled by some unseen force. The world slowed around him. Raindrops hung suspended in the air like tiny diamonds.
He slammed his palm against the nearest tendril.
There was a flash—like lightning striking from within—and the tendril shattered into ash.
The creature screamed, rearing back.
Ren landed on a ruined rooftop, breathing hard. His body felt alien and electric, buzzing with borrowed strength.
"This is insane," he muttered again.
But this time... he smiled.
---
Battle raged.
The Devouring Sky was strong—stronger than anything Ren had ever faced—but it was clumsy. Brutal. Mindless.
Ren was speed and precision incarnate, dodging between tendrils, striking at weak points revealed by instinct alone. Every blow he landed left trails of silver fire burning into the monster's flesh.
Still, it wasn't enough.
The beast adapted, its form shifting and twisting with each injury.
Ren faltered, exhaustion creeping into his limbs.
Arata watched from below, leaning casually against a broken lamppost. He made no move to help.
"Why aren't you doing anything?!" Ren shouted mid-dodge.
Arata shrugged. "It's your threat, not mine. My turn will come later."
"You're kidding me!"
"Welcome to teamwork, rookie."
Ren cursed under his breath.
The Devouring Sky roared again—and from its many mouths, smaller creatures poured forth. Flying things with wings of bone and faces like broken dolls.
Minions.
They swarmed toward Ren.
---
Cornered.
Ren backed onto a narrow rooftop, dozens of bone-creatures circling him, blocking any escape.
His heart hammered.
The power inside him sputtered, flickering dangerously.
"I can't..." he whispered.
He thought of Yuki.
Of the way she smiled even as she died.
Of the notebook that led him here.
Of the girl in the mirror reaching out.
You have always found me. This time, it's you.
He gritted his teeth.
No running.
No quitting.
He would fight.
Even if it killed him.
---
He unleashed it.
The full force of his past lives.
The rooftop exploded outward in a shockwave of silver light.
The minions disintegrated mid-air.
The Devouring Sky recoiled, hissing in pain.
Ren rose into the air, encased in a cocoon of light and energy, symbols spiraling faster now, forming patterns—armor of thought and memory.
He extended one hand.
The air around him crystallized into a weapon—a slender lance of burning sapphire.
Without hesitation, he hurled it at the Devouring Sky's heart.
The weapon pierced the monster's core.
The creature howled—an endless, earth-shaking wail.
The rift above snapped shut.
The beast collapsed inward, folding into itself until nothing remained but black ash scattered on the poisoned wind.
---
Silence fell.
The rain lightened.
The sky turned grey again, normal, tired.
Ren landed shakily on the cracked street, falling to one knee. The symbols on his body faded, leaving behind only a dull ache.
Arata sauntered over, clapping lazily.
"Not bad," he said. "Messy, but effective."
Ren managed a weak glare.
"What...was that?" Ren gasped. "Why...did it come here?"
Arata knelt beside him, voice lowering.
"First Threat," he said. "One of eighteen. Each more dangerous than the last."
He pointed at the still-smoking sky.
"And they're all coming."
Ren shivered.
Arata placed a hand on his shoulder.
"But you won't be alone, Ren. We'll find the others. The other Chosen."
"The others...?"
Arata nodded.
"Eighteen threats.
Eighteen defenders."
"And me?"
Arata's smile turned strangely soft.
"You're the heart of it all, Detective.
You always have been."
---
Far above Ayakashi City, unseen by mortal eyes, a second rift tore silently open.
And from the darkness, a pair of ancient, golden eyes blinked awake—watching, waiting.
And smiling.