Afro, still demonic, woke up with his head spinning, a heavy and nauseating feeling, as if he had been drinking for days on end and woke up with a hangover. His body was naked but regenerated: his skin no longer bore burn marks, his severed arm had grown back, fresh pink scars marking his left shoulder. He blinked slowly, his red eyes still blurry.
He was kneeling in the center of an abandoned stone courtyard. The place looked like an ancient temple, but one that had been destroyed centuries ago. Columns were broken at different heights, some lying on the ground. The floor was made of cracked tiles covered with dark green moss. Thick vines climbed up the walls, enveloping ancient statues of figures with multiple arms and long horns, their faces worn by time and rain. Small and large trees grew between the cracks in the stones, roots twisting around the ancient inscriptions that were still visible on some plaques: symbols intertwined with runes, now faded and covered with slime. The air smelled of dampness, wet earth, and old iron.
The temple stood atop a mountain north of the village of Kurogane, isolated by steep cliffs. Behind it, the precipice dropped hundreds of meters to the valley. The sun beat down on the courtyard, with no shade except for the ruins that formed a natural semicircle of debris, fallen stones, and rotten beams that created a dark shelter where two figures watched.
Afro was chained between two tall pillars with thick iron chains. The bone mask was still on his face, broken only at the top, leaving only one side of his eyes free.
Under the shadows of the ruins, protected from direct light, were Kael and Takamura with their eyes fixed on Afro.
Tara, standing a little behind, watched silently. She thought, "They are brothers in good times, but when a threat appears, they abandon each other. It's always like that. Their happiness is like glass."
Takamura: "See? A Sunflower. I still think his condition is hunger, nothing more."
Kael: "I'll take half and you take the other."
Takamura: "How are we going to cut it? Horizontally or diagonally?"
Kael chuckling softly: "I thought you'd say vertically. It's strange that you'd divide it diagonally."
Takamura crossing his arms: "Vertical is for old people. Diagonal is a sword technique."
Afro interrupted: "Hey! Are you going to devour me or not, you little shits?"
Kael let out a dry laugh. Takamura took a step forward, his eyes fixed on his chained prey.
Takamura: "Better than a meal is having a dog that brings it to you. Imagine the power of a calamity in our hands. Invincibility. We can order you to do whatever we want without ever being there to take the blame."
Kael agreed, greed shining in his eyes.
Takamura: "Swear allegiance to us or die now."
Tara thought: "In fact, if we look closely, only one flower has enough potential to kill another flower. If Takamura and Kael shared the Sun Flower to devour, they would not have complete power. But if they use it well... maybe the Flower will bring more power. Or even another Flower..."
Afro looked at the two of them and let out a tired sigh. "Okay. I've never done this before. Don't you need to untie me to take my blood or something? I just want some meat."
He thought quickly: "It's all I have left. I have no way of escaping in this state. I hope you die before the festival, but for now, it's better to live than to die."
The two Lords exchanged looks of astonishment. They expected a desperate fight, not an immediate surrender.
"Just swear," Takamura ordered. "Demons are beings of honor in essence. Say your name, swear allegiance, and accept the consequences."
"Did it ever cross your mind that I might lie about my name?" Afro provoked.
"As I said, demons are honor in essence," Takamura retorted. "If you lie, the pact rejects you. If you speak the truth, you will see the thread that connects us. Essence by essence."
"Essence by essence..." Afro repeated, his voice changing tone. "But if our essences are different, how can that be? You are a demon and I... I am something superior."
With a violent clash of metal and stone, Afro broke the chains. He stood up and walked towards the two. Kael laughed, undaunted.
"Superior, hm? Your essence doesn't matter. Pacts with demons connect what lies deep within the soul. Tell those you swear to: Takamura and Kael."
Afro stopped a few feet away from them, still in the direct sunlight that bathed the courtyard.
"I AM SUPERIOR. I'm warning you: pacts don't work on me. It's one of my demonic abilities. The pact always returns to the one I swear to."
The Lords laughed. Even Tara, in the background, let out a short laugh. "Bluff," they thought. Afro lowered his head for a moment and then stared at them with his golden eyes.
"I, Afro, swear eternal loyalty to the lords before me, Takamura and Kael. At the slightest disobedience, may I burn as when the sun touches pure demons."
A pulsating light enveloped the three. Kael laughed, feeling the connection. A line of pure energy came out of Afro's chest and split, connecting to the hearts of Takamura and Kael. Essence for essence.
"See?" said Afro, with a sneer. "It doesn't work."
"Of course it works," growled Kael. "Cut off your own arm. Now!"
Afro stood motionless. Nothing happened. His body did not move. The silence that followed was deafening.
"I warned you," said Afro, his voice now laden with authority. "The pact returns to the one I swore to. You are my subordinates now. At the slightest disobedience to my orders, you will burn as the sun burns your brothers."
Tara froze. Fear ran up her spine. "Demons do not deny orders or lie in pacts; if he did not burn, he spoke the truth. The system has been subverted. Logic has been inverted... What skill is this!?"
"It can't be..." she murmured, falling to her knees. "I, Tara, salute the Lord of Lords..." If Takamura was now bound to Afro's will, she, as Takamura's servant, was under the dominion of that Calamity.
Afro looked up at the sky, his black skin absorbing the sunlight without suffering a single scratch.
"Inferiors. Can't you see that I walk on the sun? I am steps above you."
He smiled beneath his broken mask. Internally, he thought: "What a relief... it worked."
Afro walked toward them unhurriedly. Takamura and Kael stood motionless, their faces contorted with indignation. They stared at Afro, trying to process the exact point where their calculation had failed. Tara remained on her knees, her eyes fixed on the ground and her neck muscles tense.
Afro passed between the two lords as if crossing a void. He ignored their presence and entered the building, a crumbling stone structure with walls covered in dry, pale moss. Sunlight streamed through the cracks, illuminating the dust floating in the still air.
Internally, Afro monitored the structure of the pact. He knew it was a fragile construction. He didn't have much time before the logic of the pact would be tested. Afro had manipulated his own biology: the moment he lowered his head, he withdrew his demonic consciousness and let his human essence take control of his body. The human part, in accordance with the demon's plan, uttered the oath. In the next second, they reversed roles. The demon now controlled the body, but the contract was bound to the human essence. The lords believed that the pact had turned against them, but it was a bluff.
For a moment, Afro's eyes flickered: the intense red gave way to a soft gold, and soon after, the red regained its brightness. "Thank you, human, I will get you out of this, go back to sleep," he thought. For the first time, he saw the human essence as useful.
Kael, unable to accept defeat, swung his scaly arm with the intention of crushing Afro's neck. The attack was lethal, but Tara acted quickly, grabbing her brother's wrist with desperate force. She was the least impulsive and, as a result, the only one there who was truly processing the new reality.
"Stop! Do you want to die?" she hissed, staring at Kael and Takamura. "We all saw it. All three of us were here. We heard the Flower swear allegiance and saw the light manifest. We know how an essence pact works; it doesn't fail, it doesn't deceive."
She squeezed Kael's arm, forcing him to lower his guard.
"We underestimated what a Sunflower represents. He warned us: he has the ability to subvert the contract. The pact turned against the one who received it. Kael, you gave an order and nothing happened... the silence of your command is proof of our defeat. Understand once and for all: you are still Lords, answering to a Higher Lord, and that Lord is not just any demon. He is a Sunflower."
Tara looked at Afro, who remained with his back turned, and then turned to her brothers with cutting clarity:
"It is better to be the generals of a Calamity than ashes in this courtyard. Do not take any chances. Accept the new order or the sun will devour you before the day is over."
Takamura and Kael exchanged glances. The fury was still there, but Tara's words had opened a crack of doubt and self-preservation. In their minds, their younger sister's intelligence had just saved both their lives.
Afro raised his right hand and activated his Sun Field. A five-meter zone around him underwent an immediate thermal change. The air became heavy and hot, an artificial fever rising rapidly.
He turned slowly to the three of them. "Feel the heat?"
Takamura frowned. Kael clenched his fists, feeling sweat trickle down his forehead. Tara touched her own arm, feeling her skin heat up abnormally.
"Disobedience is not limited to raising your hand against me," Afro continued, his voice icy. "Disobedience is anything that I decide is disobedience. I am angry now. This heat you feel is the warning of our pact. If I decide that your existence bothers me, you burn. Now."
Afro made a sharp gesture, dismissing the two brothers. Takamura and Kael, still processing the humiliation, retreated into the shadows of the ruins, leaving only Tara behind. The heat of the Sun Field dissipated, but the tension in the air remained.
"What is the hierarchy?" asked Afro, his voice hoarse with thirst.
Tara approached, keeping a respectful distance.
"By dominating two Lords, you now become a Superior Lord. Each rise in the hierarchy grants new abilities to the host, either through domination or the death of inferiors. But..." Tara hesitated, observing Afro's muscle fibers. "You did not go through the Ascension. This assumes that you were already a Superior Lord before we got here."
Afro listened in silence. He knew nothing about this, but the idea of "new abilities" made his instincts tingle. Until now, he had only relied on the Eyes of the Sun and the Dash in Souls. To evolve, he would need more. Greed. He would need the means to ensure that Takamura and Kael's oath was sealed not by a bluff, but by absolute submission. Kill or dominate, the path was the same for him.
He extended his right hand. The gesture was a silent command that brooked no reply. Tara, though indignant, approached and touched his hand. The moment they touched, the bone mask covering Afro's face dissolved, retreating into his skin as if it were part of his biology.
The face that emerged from beneath was not the monstrous face Tara had expected. She recoiled a millimeter, her breath caught in her throat. It was a young face, with defined features and dark skin, deeply similar to that of humans. Tara's shock was paralyzing; she had read fragments of ancient texts about demons with human faces, but the memory was vague.
Seeing that humanity stamped on a creature that had just subdued two Lords was more terrifying than any twisted jaw. Afro squeezed Tara's hand with a force that made her bones crack. His face was contorted with an abysmal need.
"I am hungry, Tara," he said, bringing his face close to hers. "I need to feed. Now... Tara."
Afro's red eyes glowed with a predatory fixation.
"I would eat my own kind to satisfy what I feel inside... Tara."
Fear, real and primal, flooded Tara's system. Before she could react or fly away, Afro pulled her violently against his chest and sank his teeth into her neck with brutal force.