The Crown Of Smoke

The next morning came with a brittle kind of light—pale and distant, like the sun itself had grown afraid.

Ava sat at the edge of her bed, her knees pulled to her chest. She hadn't slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him—Megumi, standing in the ruins, empty and broken. Every breath she took tasted of ash.

The phone sat on the nightstand, the message still open.

I'm coming back. Wait for me.

She wanted to believe it was him. She needed to.

But deep down, a seed of fear had already been planted.

Asmodeus's voice echoed in her mind, silky and poisonous:

"I already have."

A knock at her window startled her so hard she nearly fell off the bed.

She whipped her head around—but it was just a bird.

Or… it looked like one at first. A raven, black as coal. But when it turned its head, she saw its eyes—golden. Familiar.

The same eyes as the man in the mirror.

Ava backed away.

The bird tapped its beak against the glass once, twice—then flew off, disappearing into the low-hanging mist that hadn't lifted since dawn.

The world felt different. Like the line between dreams and reality was wearing thin.

She had to get out.

Later That Day

The city streets bustled with normalcy—people laughing at coffee shops, kids dragging backpacks down sidewalks—but Ava felt none of it. Everything around her seemed muted, like she was underwater.

She clutched Chloe's necklace tightly as she walked, head down.

She didn't know where she was going.

Only that she had to move.

Her feet carried her toward the edge of town, where the buildings thinned out and the forest crept closer. A small, forgotten park sat there—overgrown, rusting swings creaking in the breeze.

She sat down on a cracked bench, burying her face in her hands.

"Come back to me," she whispered into the empty air.

"Talking to yourself is the first sign you're losing it."

Ava jerked her head up.

A boy sat across from her on the next bench. Maybe her age. Black hoodie. Torn jeans. His hair was a mess of curls, his smile lazy but sharp.

His eyes, though—they were wrong.

Too old.

Too knowing.

Ava said nothing.

The boy chuckled. "Relax. I'm not here to hurt you. Yet."

"Who are you?" she demanded, standing.

He held up his hands innocently. "Think of me as… a messenger."

"From who?"

"You already know."

He leaned forward, grin widening.

"Asmodeus."

Ava's fists clenched at her sides. "Stay away from me."

"You don't get it, do you?" he said softly, almost pityingly. "You're already part of the story. There's no 'staying away' anymore. You're the thread he needs to unravel everything."

"I won't help him."

"You won't have a choice," the boy said. "You are the choice."

The words didn't make sense. Ava shook her head, heart pounding.

The boy rose, stretching like a cat. "Soon, the gods will fall. Heroes will break. And your little Fallen King will face something even he can't punch his way through."

He stepped closer, shadows curling around his feet like living things.

"And when he does… you'll either save him." His smile sharpened, cruel.

"Or destroy him."

Ava stared him down, even as terror gnawed at her. "I won't betray him."

The boy gave a low laugh. "No. But fear, doubt, love—those are the real weapons. Not swords. Not magic. You will tip the scale, Ava Takabi."

She gritted her teeth. "I believe in him."

"And that," he said, tapping his temple, "is exactly what we're counting on."

The boy turned and walked into the mist, vanishing like he'd never been there.

Elsewhere – Demon Realm

Megumi stood atop a crumbling cliff, wind tearing at his cloak.

Below him stretched an endless battlefield—one he knew was not real. Spirits of long-fallen warriors drifted across the sands like mist, locked forever in endless combat.

Leonidas stood beside him, arms crossed.

"This is your next trial," he said. "The Convergence Form grants you strength. But it will also draw the eyes of those who fear it."

Megumi said nothing.

Leonidas looked at him carefully. "You've taken the first step. But to keep your crown, you must master not just your power… but yourself."

Megumi's fists tightened.

He remembered the way Ava had looked at him—frightened, yet unyielding.

He couldn't fail her.

He wouldn't.

"What do I have to do?" Megumi asked.

Leonidas gestured to the battlefield. "You must confront the true nature of your spirit. Every regret. Every lie. Every weakness. Here, there is no hiding from what you are."

Megumi took a deep breath.

The air here smelled of blood and iron.

He stepped forward—and immediately the world reacted.

Shadows rose from the ground, taking shape.

Not monsters.

Not demons.

People.

Chloe.

His mother.

His classmates.

Faces twisted in pain. Accusing.

"You let us die."

"You were too weak."

"You don't deserve her."

"You don't deserve anything."

The voices battered him from all sides.

Megumi staggered, clutching his head.

Flashes of memory assaulted him—the moment Chloe fell, Ava screaming, the gods judging him, the betrayal of his own fear—

"No," he growled.

He dropped to one knee, the ground cracking beneath him.

His wings burned, black smoke rising from their edges.

The halo above his head flickered.

"Give up." the voices whispered. "Fall. Break. Become the monster they think you are."

"No."

Megumi's voice was stronger this time.

He forced himself upright.

He faced the illusions—the echoes of everyone he had lost, everyone he had failed.

"I know what I've done," he said.

The shadows hissed.

"I know what I lost."

The air around him shimmered.

"But I will not be ruled by guilt. I will not become what you want me to be."

He stepped forward.

One step.

Two.

The shadows shrieked, clawing at him, but he kept moving.

The halo above his head pulsed—stronger, steadier.

The wings behind him flared—one black, one white, both burning with a golden edge.

"I am Megumi Valentine," he roared, voice echoing across the battlefield. "The one with the Darkened Halo."

The illusions shattered like glass.

The battlefield cleared.

And Megumi stood alone—crowned by smoke, cloaked in light.

Leonidas watched from the cliff, a rare smile on his face.

"He's ready," the Demon King murmured.

"Almost."

Because in the far distance, a greater darkness stirred—one that even Megumi's new strength might not be enough to overcome.