Haruto found himself standing in a place swallowed by absolute darkness.
There was no light. No ground. Nothing. "Where… am I…?" he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper as he looked around. Silence answered him.
"…It's good to see you again, Haruto Takamori." A voice. Deep. Familiar. And unnaturally chilling. Haruto turned sharply. His eyes widened, and a cold shiver ran down his spine. "That's… impossible…"
Before him floated a black figure—the same one he had seen in his dreams. "W-Why are you here…? And… who are you?" Haruto asked, his voice trembling.
"Ah… your mother," the figure replied calmly. "I admit, I was a little impatient." Its eyes began to glow a pale white, and the horn on its forehead slowly shrank. "I won't tell you my true name…" it continued, stepping closer. "But you may call me…"
It stopped right in front of Haruto. "…The Devourer of Light." "The Devourer… of Light…?" Haruto repeated quietly.
"That's right." The figure turned its back on him. "Over five hundred years ago, I was a living god. I killed endlessly… and humans were nothing more than tools to me." It raised its arms, as if reaching toward a sky that didn't exist. "They begged for mercy… I gave them none. They prayed for forgiveness… I gave them only despair."
"They longed for light… yet the only thing I ever granted them… was darkness."
Haruto trembled. He couldn't move. Or perhaps… he simply didn't have the strength to. For the first time in his life, he felt true fear.
"You're probably wondering why I appear every time you fall asleep…" Silence swallowed the space once more. The figure slowly turned back toward him. A thin, unnatural smile formed across its face.
"You and I… are one in this world, Haruto Takamori."
Suddenly—The space trembled, as if the world itself were cracking apart. Haruto fell to his knees, but his eyes remained locked on the figure as it approached him—slowly, almost like a ghost.
"I was sealed by the Outlanders… trapped in this endless void." Its voice grew heavier. Filled with rage. "Five hundred years… I have remained here. No food. No water. Not even a single sound."
A pause. "But now…" Its glowing white eyes pierced straight through him. "You… have the potential to become the next Devourer of Light. I can grant you my power…" Its voice dropped into a whisper. Cold. Sharp. Suffocating.
"And yet… you dared… to refuse me." Suddenly—
"HOW DARE YOU… REFUSE ME?!" Its voice shattered the silence. It sounded wrong—like multiple voices overlapping at once. Just hearing it was enough to shake Haruto to his core.
In an instant, the Devourer of Light grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. Haruto struggled, gripping its arm… but his body refused to respond.
"I'll give you one more chance… to reconsider." The voice was cold. Merciless. Devoid of any compassion. Moments later—Darkness consumed everything.
Haruto lost consciousness.