*About three years earlier*

POV: Isaak

In the center of the main laboratory of the Spectrum organization, a capsule contained a body immersed in a viscous liquid. This body, once known under the name of Isaak D. Paragon, was now designated as test subject 109.

Pandora, the founder of Spectrum and the greatest alchemist in history, stood in front of the tank, hands crossed. To recover my corpse after my death, she had used Adriana.

Adriana had been infiltrated within the Paragon county with a clear mission: to monitor the lineage and, when the time came, to seize my remains.

After the breath of life had left me, Adriana had carried out her task by transporting my corpse through the rifts to the deepest bastion of Tenebris.

However, the homunculus had ended up developing feelings for my little brother. She had even considered revealing the entire truth about my fate to him. But Pandora had her destroyed without the slightest hesitation.

After various experiments, I was brought back to life thanks to the properties of the philosopher’s stone, whose secrets only Pandora knew. The process had transformed me into a sort of homunculus.

Then my eyes opened.

" Where am I? " I asked.

" Who are you? "

Pandora approached, her graceful silhouette standing out in the semi-darkness.

" I am the one who saved you from hell, Isaak. You were dead... Do you know who is responsible for your fall? "

I shook my head, struggling against the migraine that was hammering my temples. The faces of my past were quite blurry.

" It is Kris Donoghan "

" I brought you back so you could get your revenge. But life has a price. You now have a debt toward me. "

" A debt... I understand ", I replied. " What do I have to do? "

...

During the months that followed, I carried out various missions for Spectrum. My reinforced body made me an ideal instrument of death. I ventured into the most hostile zones of Tenebris, tracking artifacts and eliminating targets. My memories remained blurry, but one image remained constant: the face of Katrina Lancaster.

My most crucial mission was to locate the position of the Key of Solomon, the legendary grimoire capable of opening the gates of the Abyss. After weeks of research and brutal combats, I secured the information and returned to Pandora.

" Your debt is now settled, Isaak ", declared Pandora while consulting the reports. " I am not against giving you back your freedom. You can return to your family if that is your desire. "

I remained motionless, my gaze fixed on my hands marked by the scars of the recent confrontations.

I could finally see my father again, Kaiser... Even if I was a son of a bitch. But, I hoped that I could see once more... His face.

" My fiancée... Katrina. "

" Go, my dear Isaak ", encouraged Pandora with a slight smile.

I left Tenebris through a teleportation portal, my heart beating with anticipation mixed with anguish. But when I emerged on the lands of the Paragon county, what greeted me was a vision of horror.

...

The family manor was completely destroyed. Corpses of guards littered the ground, and the air still resonated with the cries of the dying.

I rushed through the rubble, desperately searching for a familiar silhouette. I reached the central courtyard and froze. In the middle of the carnage, my brother Kaiser was facing Katrina Lancaster, the one I loved more than my own life.

Slashing Katrina in two... I wanted to scream, but the sound remained stuck in my throat. I watched, petrified, as the body of my beloved collapsed into the mud, life leaving her blue eyes.

" No... this is not possible... " I murmured, falling to my knees.

Almost immediately after, I saw my brother disappear as he exploded.

The impact of this triple loss broke the last ramparts of my mental health. I was instantly plunged into a deep depression, where nothing made sense anymore.

A part of me wanted to hate Kaiser, but I understood that Katrina had gone mad with grief. The way I was supposed to have died had led the young woman to believe that my brother was responsible. This certainty had pushed her to attack the county, massacring my people and killing my father in a blind quest for revenge. Kaiser had only defended himself.

" Everything is over ", I murmured, my tears mixing with the ashes falling from the sky.

My family was decimated, my love was dead...

Not knowing what to do anymore, I made the only decision that still seemed possible to me. I decided to return to Spectrum in order to continue serving Pandora. Even getting revenge on Kris no longer mattered.

Nothing held me back in this world anymore. And perhaps serving the organization had become my only reason to survive.

...

After listening to Isaak’s account of his resurrection by Pandora and his role within Spectrum as Subject 109, Kaiser displayed an expression of deep perplexity.

" Something is wrong ", Kaiser let out in a dull voice. " Since Katrina was part of Spectrum, how come you never knew about it? "

Isaak’s eyes widened following this revelation: he was completely unaware that Katrina was also part of Spectrum.

" She used the power of Spectrum only for revenge, because she believed that I was the only one guilty of your death. "

At that moment, Isaak suddenly realized the entire machination.

Disgust overwhelmed him to the point that he wanted to vomit. Overwhelmed by the weight of this revelation, Isaak collapsed to his knees, and for the first time, tears flowed down his face.

" That whore! "

He had not only manipulated but also his fiancée. But why?

Kaiser remained silent 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

" Who is this Pandora? " he wondered. " Why is this woman so determined to fuck up my family? "

At his side, Diavolo remained unusually silent. He stared at Isaak. He, the sorcerer who had crossed the ages, understood that this affair went far beyond a simple family vendetta.

Isaak finally raised his head, his face bathed in tears and dust.

" I no longer have any reason to live, Kaiser ", he murmured with a terrifying resignation. " My fiancée is dead by your hand, my father was massacred, and you, despite everything... you managed to survive. I don’t even have a reason to fight against you anymore. "

He paused.

" Unfortunately ", continued Isaak in a rasp, " if the demonic power inside me awakens, it will be impossible to control me. It will cause your death, and Pandora will be able to use me as her puppet. "

Kaiser frowned.

" I don’t think I consider you as a brother, but I cannot kill my own family. I have already made too many mistakes, and I refuse to do something I might regret later. I will find a way to save you, Isaak. "

" It is impossible. "

Suddenly, black and swollen veins began to pulse violently on Isaak’s forehead, climbing up along his neck. His eyes turned to total darkness, devouring the white of the sclera.

" Kill me, Kaiser! Now! " screamed Isaak.

Kaiser took a step back, clenching his teeth.

" Shit! "

" Baby boy, you should listen to him! " exclaimed the black elf while pointing at Isaak with his finger.

But his words were covered by an inhuman howl. It was already too late. A surge of demonic energy, black and viscous, exploded from Isaak’s body, spreading in all directions with the force of a cataclysm. The energy was of a suffocating density, saturated with the malevolent presence of the Archdemon of Midnight.

Isaak was only a receptacle, destined to contain the power of the one capable of corrupting souls and causing mass possession.