The Alliance

Three days.

That's how long Dreyl had been avoiding school.

He sat on the edge of his apartment building's roof, legs dangling over the side, watching the city wake up below. In his palm, small flames danced without burning him—not the wild, destructive fire from before, but something controlled. Purposeful.

The Fatebreaker's power felt different integrated into him. Less chaotic. More... aware. Like having a sixth sense that whispered possibilities instead of screaming inevitabilities.

"You're brooding again."

Dreyl didn't turn around as Viper climbed up through the roof access. The half-serpent had been checking on him daily since the café incident.

"I'm thinking," Dreyl corrected.

"Same thing, in your case." Viper settled beside him, careful not to get too close to the edge. "So what's the verdict? You figure out what that light show did to you yet?"

Dreyl closed his fist, extinguishing the flames. "It's like... before, the dice controlled my fate. Now I can feel fate itself. The threads, the possibilities." He paused. "It's overwhelming."

"And?"

"And I have no idea what I'm doing with it."

Below them, students were walking toward school. Dreyl could see them from here—tiny figures carrying backpacks, laughing, complaining about homework. Normal problems. Normal lives.

He envied them.

"School starts in twenty minutes," Viper observed.

"I know."

"Yumi's been asking about you."

Dreyl's jaw tightened. "She texted."

"And you ignored her."

"I didn't ignore her. I just... needed space."

Viper snorted. "Right. Because hiding from the girl you just saved from demonic possession is totally healthy."

The truth was, Dreyl didn't know how to face Yumi. What do you say to someone who's seen you at your most inhuman? Who's been used as a weapon against you by your own father?

His phone buzzed.

Yumi: I know you're probably freaking out, but can we talk? Please?

Dreyl stared at the message, his thumb hovering over the keyboard.

"You know what your problem is?" Viper said, reading over his shoulder.

"Enlighten me."

"You think being the Devil's son makes you a monster. But that girl down there? She saw you choose her over power. She saw you sacrifice yourself to save her." Viper's yellow eyes fixed on Dreyl. "Monsters don't do that."

Before Dreyl could respond, the air around them grew cold.

Not the bone-deep chill of his father's presence, but something else. Something that made his new senses scream warning.

"Company," Viper muttered, his whip already in hand.

The shadows on the rooftop began to move wrong, flowing upward instead of falling down. From the darkness stepped a figure in elegant black robes—not the smoke-and-bone aesthetic of the Flame Keeper, but something more refined. More dangerous.

"Dreyl Sakashita," the figure said, its voice like silk over steel. "The prodigal prince."

"Let me guess," Dreyl said, standing slowly. "Coils of Kaen?"

"Indeed. I am Shade, First Circle of the Inner Coils." The figure removed its hood, revealing a face that was beautiful and terrible—androgynous features marred by eyes like black holes. "I come bearing words from the Serpent Supreme."

"Yeah? What's the message?"

Shade smiled, and it was like watching a crack spread across reality.

"Congratulations."

Dreyl blinked. "What?"

"You have done something remarkable, young prince. You defied the Devil himself and lived. More than that—you grew stronger." Shade began to circle them, moving with fluid grace. "The Inner Coils are... impressed."

"That's great," Viper said dryly. "Real heartwarming. Now what do you want?"

"We offer alliance," Shade said simply. "The Coils have always sought to challenge Heaven and Hell's dominion over mortal realm. You, Prince Dreyl, represent a third path. A way to break the eternal stalemate."

Dreyl felt his new senses probing the offer, tasting the truth and lies within it. What he found surprised him.

"You're not lying," he said slowly. "But you're not telling the whole truth either."

Shade's smile widened. "Perceptive. The integration suits you." They stopped circling, facing him directly. "The truth, then: we cannot kill you. Not anymore. Your power has evolved beyond our reach. So we adapt."

"By trying to recruit me."

"By recognizing what you could become." Shade gestured toward the city below. "Look around you, Prince. Mortals suffer while angels and demons play their eternal games. You could change that. Rule as a benevolent god-king, bringing order to chaos."

It was tempting. God, it was tempting.

But Dreyl had learned something important three days ago.

"I don't want to rule anyone," he said quietly. "I just want to protect the people I care about."

Shade's expression didn't change, but something shifted in the air around them.

"How disappointingly... human of you."

"Yeah," Dreyl said, small flames beginning to dance around his fingers. "It is."

The confrontation lasted exactly thirty seconds.

Shade was fast—faster than the Flame Keeper, faster than anything Dreyl had faced before. But Dreyl's new senses let him see the attack patterns before they formed, let him step between the possible futures to find the path where he won.

When it was over, Shade lay crumpled against the rooftop access door, their elegant robes smoking.

"Tell your Serpent Supreme," Dreyl said, not even breathing hard, "that if they want me, they can ask nicely. No more assassination attempts. No more threatening innocent people. Got it?"

Shade struggled to their feet, spitting black blood. "This changes nothing. You still cannot escape what you are."

"Maybe not," Dreyl admitted. "But I can choose what I do with it."

Shade vanished into shadow, but their parting words lingered:

"The Devil will not be so easily dismissed next time, Prince. And neither will we."

Silence fell over the rooftop.

"Well," Viper said after a moment. "That was educational."

Dreyl was already walking toward the roof access. "Come on. We're going to be late for school."

"We?"

"You're enrolled as of today. Transfer student from..." Dreyl paused. "Where exactly are you from?"

"Hell's Kitchen. Literally."

"Perfect. Transfer from New York. I pulled some strings." Dreyl grinned, and for the first time in days, it felt genuine. "Someone needs to watch my back while I figure out this whole 'normal life with supernatural responsibilities' thing."

"And Yumi?"

Dreyl's phone buzzed again. Another text.

Yumi: I'm not scared of you, you idiot. I'm worried ABOUT you. Big difference.

This time, he typed back.

Dreyl: Meet me at the school gates? We need to talk.

The response came immediately.

Yumi: Finally. And Dreyl? Whatever you're thinking, stop it. You're not a monster.

Dreyl stared at the message, something warm uncurling in his chest.

Maybe Viper was right. Maybe being the Devil's son didn't have to define him.

Maybe he could write his own story after all.

"Come on," he said to Viper as they headed downstairs. "Time to see if I can survive my biggest challenge yet."

"The Coils?"

"Explaining to our homeroom teacher why I've been absent for three days."

Viper laughed—a sound like scales on silk.

"Now that," he said, "sounds like a job for the Devil's son."

As they walked toward school, Dreyl felt something he hadn't experienced in months: hope. The power inside him hummed quietly, no longer fighting against his choices but supporting them.

He was still Dreyl Sakashita, the Devil's runaway son.

But now he was also something else.

Something entirely his own.

And for the first time since this whole mess started, that felt like enough.

The hallway buzzed with chatter as Dreyl and Viper entered the building. Heads turned. Whispers started.

Viper leaned in, smirking. "You didn't tell me high school was basically Hell 2.0."

Dreyl rolled his eyes. "Keep your fangs to yourself and try not to charm anyone."

"I make no promises."

Across the hall, Yumi spotted them. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw Dreyl—then narrowed slightly at Viper.

"Let me handle this," Dreyl muttered.

He stepped forward, nerves buzzing louder than any demon alarm.

Yumi crossed her arms. "Three days, Dreyl. You ghost me for three whole days and show up like it's nothing?"

"I know," he said. "I was… figuring things out."

She looked at him for a long beat. Then, softer: "Are you okay?"

"No," Dreyl admitted. "But I'm getting there."

A beat of silence passed. Then Yumi grabbed his wrist. "We're talking. At lunch. Don't run again."

He nodded.

From behind them, Viper fake-coughed. "So… this is the girlfriend?"

Yumi narrowed her eyes. "Who's snake boy?"

"Viper," Dreyl said, deadpan. "He's new."

"And annoying," Yumi said, before walking off.

Viper raised an eyebrow. "She's got bite. I like her."