Rei stands frozen, his mind spinning at the words spoken by the red-eyed man.

  Young master?

  He clenches his fists, trying to process what he just heard. "Who... are you?"

  The man grins, exposing his fang-like teeth. "Leonis. And I am bound to your spirit, thanks to your mother."

  Rei's breath catches. This is the first person he can ask about her. His mother—someone he has no memory of, no connection to beyond whispers of the past.

  "What do you mean bound to me by my mother?" Rei's voice is sharp, eager. "How do you know her? How are you bound? I have so many questions—"

  "Shut up or I'll kill you!" Leonis roars suddenly, his eyes flashing with an intense crimson glow.

  Rei recoils, stunned into silence. Did he just...?

  Before Rei can process the threat, Leonis continues speaking in a perfectly casual tone as if nothing happened. "I couldn't emerge before, but when you experienced those powerful emotions, I was able to... push through."

  Rei stares, bewildered by the jarring shift. Was the threat genuine? A test?

  Leonis tilts his head, amusement flickering in his fiery gaze. "Do you remember those moments when you felt emotions so raw, so overwhelming, that you lost control?"

  Rei's mind flashes back—the red eyes during his first fight with Kage, his battle against Raiden, and the night at Kage's house when anger consumed him.

  Rei's eyes widen. "That was you?"

  Leonis nods. "Indeed it was, young master."

  Rei takes a hesitant step forward, his curiosity outweighing his caution. "You said you were bound to me by my mother—how do you know her?"

  Leonis crosses his arms, rubbing his chin as if debating how to phrase the complexity of their connection. "Well... the first time I met your mother, I was trying to kill her."

  Rei's jaw nearly drops at how casually Leonis says this. "You were what?"

  "You ask too many questions at once. It's annoying me. I might just slice your throat," Leonis says with a toothy grin, making a cutting motion across his neck. Then immediately continues, "Well, actually, I was trying to kill both your mother and father. They wanted to conquer my clan and absorb us into their growing empire. Your father sought to impose his will over the entire country, crushing any resistance that stood in his way."

  Rei remains silent, absorbing this new reality. His parents were conquerors? Did they rule a country? His mind races with possibilities, each more incredible than the last.

  "Were they... were they rulers?" Rei asks, his voice soft with wonder. "Did I come from some kind of royal family?"

  Leonis's eyes glint with something like approval. "Sharp mind, young master. Yes, in a manner of speaking. Your lineage is... significant."

  Rei feels a strange mix of emotions—excitement at finally having a connection to his past, confusion at the bizarre circumstances, and a nagging uncertainty about whether he truly wants to know the truth.

  Leonis continues, his voice taking on an edge of respect. "It was a two-on-one fight, and I'll tell you this—your mother was the real warrior. She matched my speed, my tenacity, my every move. I fought with everything I had, and still... I lost."

  Rei watches intently as Leonis' expression darkens. "In order to protect my people, I offered myself as tribute. If they spared my men, I would serve their cause. Your father accepted, and I became one of his highest-ranking guards. I fought battles for them. I defended the castle."

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  "A castle?" Rei whispers, the image forming in his mind of stone walls and banners, of a life he never knew he had.

  Leonis nods. "Not just any castle. Your father's fortress was legendary, carved into the mountainside, impregnable to all but the most determined attackers."

  Rei stares at him, his mind still trying to piece together this past that was stolen from him. A father he never met, a mother he never knew, and now a warrior bound to his soul. He can almost see it—a life that should have been his, taken from him for reasons still unknown.

  "...So how did you get stuck with me?"

  Leonis' smirk fades slightly as he recalls the past. "Your parents were not a loving couple. Their union was built on eugenics, meant to create the strongest possible offspring. That was their purpose for you."

  Rei's stomach twists at those words. Not born of love, but of calculation. Created for power, not for family.

  Leonis continues, "Your father was furious when he discovered your mother was carrying twins. In his eyes, that was a bad omen. One of you was meant to die."

  Rei feels his breath grow shallow. A bad omen? He tries to imagine this man—his father—coldly deciding which of his children should live and which should die. The thought chills him to the bone.

  "And my mother?" Rei asks, hoping for some counterbalance to this cruelty.

  Leonis shrugs. "I don't know exactly what your father planned to do. But when your mother found out, she came to me—begging for my help."

  Rei's fists tighten. "And... did you?"

  Leonis exhales. "No. I told her it was not my place to interfere in royal affairs. My duty was to protect the family, not get involved in their personal matters." He bares his teeth. "I threatened to gut her if she asked again, actually."

  Rei's face hardens.

  Leonis smirks. "But your mother... she wasn't one to take 'no' for an answer. Or threats, for that matter."

  He leans in slightly, his glowing red eyes piercing through the void. "She told me about her ability. Queen's Majesty. She claimed she could transfigure people into her soldiers. That she could take my soul and place it within you."

  Rei whispers the name of her ability, testing the words on his tongue. Queen's Majesty... A power that could bind souls together. A mother who defied convention to protect both her children, not just one.

  Leonis scoffs lightly. "I don't know the full extent of it, but what I do know is this—she was a one-woman army. People feared her, respected her. If she wanted, she could have conquered entire clans alone."

  "Ask me another stupid question and I'll rip your limbs off," Leonis says abruptly, then continues in the same breath, "She was a visionary. Your father may have had the political mind, but your mother had the strength to back it up."

  Rei's mind reels. His mother was powerful, possibly even feared. And yet, he knows nothing about her—not her face, not her voice, not even her name.

  "Wait—what were their names?" Rei asks urgently. "My parents, what were they called?"

  Leonis' body begins to flicker. His time is running out.

  Leonis ignores the question entirely, his gaze fixed on the door behind him that has begun to pulse with energy.

  Rei's heart pounds. "Wait! I have so many more questions—who you are, who my parents really were!"

  Leonis chuckles, turning toward the red door. "I am still shackled. But my time is up, young master."

  Rei watches in frustration as Leonis begins walking toward the door. This is the only real connection he has had to his past, and now it's slipping away.

  Leonis pauses stepping through. "The decision is yours, Rei. Whether I remain caged or you set me free... is up to you."

  "I want you to be free," Rei says impulsively, not wanting to lose this connection to his past. "I want to know more."

  Leonis turns, his expression serious for the first time. "It's not that simple, young master. You can't just say it—you have to control it. Mastery comes through will and practice, not merely desire."

  He taps his temple. "Your mind is the battlefield. Your emotions are the key. Learn to channel them, not be channeled by them. When you can do that—then I will be free to serve you properly."

  Leonis pauses one last time, glancing back at Rei. There is something unreadable in his expression—not quite regret, but not indifference either. For a fleeting second, it seems as if he might say something more.

  But he doesn't.

  Instead, his smirk returns, and he strides forward without hesitation.

  "Work on your control, young master. I'll be waiting. And if you fail—" his voice echoes as he disappears, "—I might just kill you after all."

  The door shuts with a resounding finality, sealing Leonis away.

  In an instant, the heat Rei hadn't even realized he was feeling vanishes. The space that had once carried Leonis' overwhelming presence now feels eerily hollow. A deep, suffocating cold spreads through Rei's subconscious—inside and out.

  For the first time, he realizes how truly alone he is.

  Rei stands in silence. His fists clench as the storm of thoughts rages inside him.

  First, I am a vessel for Lucifer.

  Then, my twin brother exists within me.

  Now, Leonis—a warrior from my parents' past—is bound to my spirit.

  His mind feels shattered. He didn't even learn their names.

  Who am I?

  Or rather—what am I supposed to be?

  The space around him feels distant, fading into nothingness. He looks toward the blue-eyed door. His reflection stares back at him.

  His body in the real world remains still, unconscious, unmoving.

  "...Maybe if I continue figuring out who I am... I can wake up."

  He glances back at the red door. Control, not just desire. Mastery through will and practice.

  "And maybe... I can learn to control what's inside me, instead of letting it control me."