The night after Rin’s battle was unusually quiet.
No hunters.
No strange spirit pressure.
Just wind moving through the broken shrine.
Mckell lay awake staring at the ceiling.
Sleep refused to come.
The rhythm inside him kept pulsing.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The same strange heartbeat he felt whenever his power awakened.
“Why does it feel like something is calling me…”
Across the room, Rin opened her eyes.
“You feel it too?”
“You feel it?”
“A spiritual signal.”
Emaji’s voice came from the doorway.
“Yes.”
The blind mentor stepped inside, leaning on his staff.
“And it’s coming from underground.”
Emeka groaned from his blanket.
“If underground monster come out today, I’m resigning from this adventure. I mean.... what the hell man.”
He tapped the floor once.
CLACK.
“The energy beneath Tokyo has awakened.”
“Awakened… what exactly?”
“Something very old.”
Thirty Minutes Later
The group stood inside an abandoned subway tunnel.
Rust covered the rails.
Broken lights flickered along the walls.
But that wasn’t the strange part.
The strange part was the wall at the end of the tunnel.
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Ancient stone.
Covered in symbols that didn’t belong to any modern language.
Mckell stepped closer.
His chest tightened.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The symbols began glowing faintly.
“Nope, not today.”
Rin’s hand moved to her sword.
“Something is reacting to him.”
“The seal recognizes the Vessel.”
“What seal?”
Emaji tapped the stone wall.
“This.”
The wall trembled.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The symbols lit up brighter.
Then—
CRACK.
A hidden doorway slowly opened.
Cold air poured out from the darkness beyond.
Mckell felt a chill run down his spine.
“What is this place?”
“A forgotten shrine.”
Deep Beneath Tokyo
The staircase descended far below the subway tunnels.
The deeper they walked, the heavier the air became.
Spirit energy filled the underground chamber like fog.
Finally—
They reached the bottom.
A massive underground temple revealed itself.
Stone pillars.
Broken statues.
Ancient prayer markings covering every wall.
But what stood in the center froze everyone in place.
A giant stone throne.
And sitting on it…
A skeleton.
But not a normal one.
The bones were glowing faintly with spirit energy.
Chains of ancient seals wrapped around the body.
“What… is that?”
“That…”
“…was a Vessel.”
“A Vessel?”
“Yes.”
The skeleton suddenly emitted a faint glow.
The spirit energy in the room began swirling violently.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The rhythm inside Mckell matched the energy in the chamber.
The skeleton’s skull slowly turned.
Mckell’s eyes widened.
“What da hell… it’s moving—”
A voice echoed through the chamber.
Ancient.
Weak.
But unmistakably alive.
“…another… Vessel…”
“Jesus.... Skeleton just talk!”
Rin drew her blade instantly.
Lightning crackled faintly along the edge.
But the skeleton didn’t attack.
Instead, the glowing skull looked directly at Mckell.
“…you came… sooner than expected…”
“Who are you?”
The skeleton’s spirit energy flickered.
“…I was the first…”
Emaji’s expression darkened.
“The First Vessel…”
.
“…the gods chose me… centuries ago…”
The chains around the throne rattled softly.
“…but humanity feared what I would become…”
“What happened to you?”
“…they sealed me here… before my awakening…”
“Who sealed you?”
The skeleton’s glowing eyes dimmed slightly.
“…the same bloodline… that now hunts you…”
“You mean—”
Suddenly—
The entire temple shook.
BOOOOOOM.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Emaji turned sharply toward the staircase.
His voice became deadly serious.
“They’ve found us.”
Rin’s lightning flared again.
Three massive spirit signatures descended the stairs.
Heavy.
Violent.
Terrifying.
“Please tell me that’s not three.”
At the top of the staircase—
Three shadows appeared.
Members of the Crimson Circle.
One stepped forward.
The six-armed warrior from Shinra’s council.
Well.”
“The Vessel delivered himself.”
Mckell clenched his fists.
The skeleton’s voice whispered weakly behind him.
“…run…”
The six-armed Oni general raised his weapons.
“Too late.”
