The knock came late in the evening, sharp and deliberate, slicing through the silence of the apartment like a knife. Elias had been sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the muted television, his mind too clouded to focus on anything but the weight of the briefcase on the coffee table.

His stomach twisted. Nobody who knocked on his door at this hour came with good intentions.

He approached the door cautiously, his heart pounding as he glanced through the peephole. The hallway was empty. The knot in his stomach tightened. He backed away slowly, unsure of what to do next.

When he turned around, the Oni man was standing in the middle of the living room.

Elias stumbled back, his breath catching in his throat. The man’s dark and gold robes shimmered faintly in the dim light, and his demon mask was as unsettling as ever, the hollow eyes seeming to pierce straight through him.

“How the hell—” Elias started, but his voice faltered. “What are you doing here?”

“You left the window unlocked,” the Oni said, his voice calm and deliberate, as though that answered everything. He stepped closer, his presence as imposing as ever. “We don’t have much time.”

Elias glared at him, anger rising to mask his fear. “You need to stop breaking into my apartment,” he hissed. “I don’t know who you are or what you want, but—”

“You do know,” the Oni interrupted. “You just don’t want to admit it. You’re at the center of something far larger than yourself, Elias. And whether you want to be or not, you’re involved now.”

Elias opened his mouth to respond, but the words died in his throat as a sharp knock rattled the door again. This time, it was louder, more insistent.

The Oni stiffened, his posture suddenly rigid. “Someone’s here.”

“Who?” Elias whispered, his voice trembling.

Before the Oni could respond, the door burst open, the chain snapping like a twig as two figures stepped into the room.

They were tall and unnervingly composed, dressed in dark suits and sleek masks that glinted faintly in the light. Their movements were smooth and precise, their presence radiating authority and something darker—something Elias couldn’t quite name but that made his skin crawl.

The agents froze when they saw the Oni. One of them tilted their head, their voice cold and metallic. “Unauthorized presence. Identify yourself.”

The Oni didn’t move. “You know who I am,” he said, his tone steady, almost bored. “And you know what happens next.”

The second agent raised a hand, and the air around them began to ripple and distort, like a heatwave emanating from their palm. Elias’s eyes widened as the distortion grew, the energy crackling faintly in the silence.

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The agent thrust their hand forward, and the distortion erupted into a blast of force that tore across the room. The Oni moved impossibly fast, dodging the attack with a fluid grace that seemed almost inhuman. His robes rippled as he closed the distance between them, a dark, gleaming blade appearing in his hand as if summoned from nowhere.

The first agent raised their hand, flames erupting from their palm in a burst of light and heat. Elias stumbled back, his chest heaving as panic overtook him. “What the hell is happening?” he muttered, his voice barely audible over the crackling fire.

The Oni lunged, his blade slicing through the flames with unnatural precision. The weapon glowed faintly, a deep crimson light that seemed to absorb the fire rather than repel it. The agent stepped back, their movements frantic as the Oni pressed the attack.

Elias cowered against the wall, his breath coming in shallow gasps. He had always thought superpowers were the stuff of comic books and conspiracy theories, something distant and unreal. But now, watching the Oni and the agents clash in his living room, the reality of it was undeniable—and terrifying.

The second agent joined the fray, their distorted energy colliding with the Oni’s blade in a burst of sparks. The air hummed with tension, the walls trembling as the fight escalated. The Oni moved like a shadow, his strikes precise and unrelenting, his presence a storm of calculated violence.

And then, in one swift motion, it was over.

The Oni’s blade arced through the air, slicing cleanly through the first agent’s chest. The sound was sharp and wet, a visceral reminder that this was no game. The agent staggered, their movements jerky and unnatural as they collapsed to the floor.

Elias’s stomach turned as he stared at the body. Blood pooled beneath the agent, but it wasn’t red—it was an iridescent, shifting hue, like oil on water. The colors twisted and churned, shimmering unnaturally in the faint light. Elias gagged, his knees buckling as he pressed himself against the wall.

The remaining agent froze, their flames extinguishing as they stared at their fallen companion. “This isn’t over,” they said, their voice flat but edged with something unrecognizable. They turned and fled, their movements impossibly quick, disappearing through the shattered door before Elias could react.

The Oni turned to face him, his blade disappearing as if it had never existed. “You’re safe. For now.”

Elias couldn’t speak. His eyes were locked on the body, on the strange, alien blood that continued to spread across the floor. His chest tightened, his breaths shallow and uneven as the room seemed to close in around him.

“This is the world you’ve been dragged into,” the Oni said, his voice calm but weighted with meaning. “Axiom is far more than what you think it is. And if you want to survive, you’ll need to understand that.”

Elias shook his head, his vision blurring as his thoughts spiraled. “You— You killed him,” he stammered. “You just—” His voice broke, and he collapsed onto the floor, clutching his head as the panic overtook him. “What the hell is this? What the hell are you?”

The Oni stepped closer, his presence towering over Elias. “I’m the one trying to save you,” he said simply. “But I can only do so much. In two days, I’ll contact you again. Until then, act as if nothing happened. Keep the briefcase close. And don’t trust anyone.”

Elias looked up at him, his vision swimming with tears. “I can’t— I can’t do this,” he whispered, his voice broken.

“You can,” the Oni said. “You don’t have a choice.”

Before Elias could respond, the Oni turned and vanished through the window, leaving the apartment silent once more.

Elias remained on the floor, his body trembling as he stared at the iridescent pool of blood spreading across the room. The metallic, oily smell filled his nose, and he gagged again, his stomach lurching. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t supposed to be real.

His mind reeled, the weight of everything crashing down on him as he clutched his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth. The world he thought he knew was gone, replaced by something dark and incomprehensible.

And he was trapped in the middle of it.