Saintess.

"We say we are here to serve you, when in fact, we serve ourselves. And while we are driven by our own desire to be elected, our need to stay in power eclipses our duty to govern.

That ends tonight.

Tonight, I, Darion, give you the truth—to the citizens of the Human Domain.

And the truth is this…

The Astralis(The human domain) Dream has failed you.

Awaken your power, work hard, play by the rules—it won't save you. You are not guaranteed survival. Your children will not have a better life than you. The system is broken, and it will never be rebuilt for you—only for those who hold the reins."

Kael woke to the sound of those words, his consciousness slamming back into reality like a door kicked open.

First came the pain.

A skull-splitting headache. Muscles screaming like they were being torn apart. Breathing was a battle—every inhale felt like dragging shattered glass through his throat.

He clenched his jaw, forcing himself to move, only for his limbs to remind him just how ruined this body was.

"Damnation…" he hissed, vision swimming. "This body is utterly destroyed."

And worst of all?

He wasn't alone.

Kael forced his eyes open. Blurred shapes, dim lighting—his surroundings were a mess of shadows and distant noise. He could barely process them through the pounding in his skull.

The body was in ruins. Every movement sent a jolt of pain lancing through his limbs, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He had possessed broken bodies before, but this? This was something else.

Still, pain meant he was alive.

Or at least, something close to it.

The announcement echoed through the walls, Darion's voice sharp and damning.

The Astralis Dream has failed you…

Kael barely had the strength to groan. Yeah, no shit.

He tried to sit up, but his body protested, a deep ache rooting him to the stiff hospital bed. His fingers curled against the sheets, nails pressing into his palm. His limbs felt foreign, as if he were trapped in a cage of flesh that barely functioned.

And then he felt it—

A presence.

Not the soul wraith. Not the old ghost. But something else. Something inside this body with him.

The boy.

A chuckle echoed in his mind, light and teasing. "Rough awakening?"

Kael's jaw clenched. Of course the kid was still here. He should have expected it. The contract wasn't some simple takeover—it had tied them together.

"Shut up," Kael muttered under his breath, his voice hoarse.

"Aw, don't be like that," the boy said smoothly. "You did take my body, after all. Least you could do is treat it well."

Kael exhaled sharply, ignoring him. He had bigger problems.

Like the fact that he was struggling to move.

Like the fact that Darion's words weren't just a speech—they were a signal. A shift in power.

And worst of all—

Like the fact that the soul wraith was still out there.

He needed to get up. He needed to get out. And he needed to figure out just what the hell he had gotten himself into.

And he needed to do it fast.

Kael groaned as he pushed himself up from the bed, his borrowed body a wreck. Everything had happened too fast. He hadn't even had time to think before possessing a body—now that he was thinking about it, he realized it was probably the worst decision he could've made.

Out of thousands of options, he had chosen the worst one. A body on the brink of death.

And the more he thought about it, the more something felt off. The soul wraith hadn't really been after him, had it? No, whatever happened must have been orchestrated by that damned old ghost. The wraith was faster than him, could sneak up on him without warning. There was no way it was just a coincidence.

"Dammit. That old ghost... I'll kill him," Kael muttered.

"What are you talking about? Who are you calling an old ghost?"

"Not you… Where am I?"

"Where are we, you mean," the voice corrected with a click of the tongue. "Tsk, we're in the school hospital. I heard the saintess is on her way to heal us."

Kael blinked. "Why are you saying we?" He slumped back onto the bed when his legs gave out. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stand. "This body's a mess."

"Then get out if you don't want it," the voice scoffed. "In fact, I'm starting to regret giving it to you."

Kael's face remained blank as he endured the pain radiating through his body.

The door creaked open. A woman stepped inside, golden hair cascading down her shoulders. She was draped in a white robe lined with intricate golden designs along the hem. Her curvy frame moved with effortless grace, her chest subtly rising and falling with each step.

Cold eyes locked onto him.

A soft glow formed in her palm, gold light spilling over him. Warmth enveloped his body, soothing, almost comforting. The pain ebbed away, replaced by a surge of energy. Wounds knit themselves shut at a speed visible to his eyes.

Kael let out a quiet breath of relief and glanced at the saintess. "Thanks."

"Look at me again, and I'll break your eyes."

The voice was as beautiful as it was threatening.

Kael tried to frown but found he couldn't. He attempted a smile—nothing.

"It won't work," the voice from earlier sneered. "I specified in the contract. You can't show emotion to anyone except my sister."

Kael exhaled sharply. Whatever. He stood up, nodded to the saintess, and walked out of the hospital room.

The saintess blinked, a flicker of confusion crossing her face.

The door swung open again. This time, her guard stepped inside. "Ian seems different," he noted. "Did you scold him too harshly this time?"

"Ian…" The saintess rose to her feet, a soft, almost amused smile touching her lips. "His gaze wasn't filled with lust this time. He didn't even smile, and he didn't say anything ridiculous."