Ren sat cross-legged on the cold wooden floor of an abandoned storehouse, his breath slow and measured. The faint flicker of a dying candle illuminated his surroundings—dust-covered crates, discarded scrolls, and the lingering scent of damp wood. His fingers hovered over the strange inscriptions in the book he had stolen from the library, but his mind was elsewhere.

  The Kami Mandate.

  It had branded itself into his very being, a cosmic decree that now governed his existence. His awakening had been violent, painful, and raw, but it was only now, in the stillness of solitude, that he could truly begin to unravel its meaning.

  With a steady exhale, Ren focused inward, calling upon the Mandate. It responded immediately, an invisible force pressing against the edges of his consciousness like a restless beast, eager to be acknowledged. Then, as though peeling away layers of himself, the Mandate revealed its designations before his eyes.

  [ Kami Mandate Established ]

  [ Name: Kurozawa Ren ]

  [ Designation: Bound ]

  [ Primary Directive: Find sustenance. ]

  [ Mandate Rank: Primordial ]

  [ Flaw: Hunger Unending — You must consume to sustain your existence. The more you use the Mandate, the more the void within you gnaws at your soul.

  His hands tightened into fists. Flaw. That word alone sent a cold dread slithering down his spine.

  Hunger Unending.

  He could already feel it. A slow, creeping sensation lurking in the depths of his soul, an insatiable void that grew sharper the more he exerted his will over the world. When he had first used the Mandate, it had been subtle, a whisper at the edge of his mind. But now, after his desperate escape, after confronting the truth in the library, the hunger had intensified.

  It wasn’t a mere physical craving—it was something deeper, something woven into the very essence of his being. It was as if his soul itself was hollowed out, constantly yearning to be filled. But filled with what? Energy? Emotions? Life itself?

  His Primary Directive had already shifted. Find sustenance.

  It was disturbing. The directive changed on its own, shifting in response to his condition, as though he were nothing more than a pawn in an elaborate game played by unseen forces. Earlier, it had been Survive. Now, it demanded something more specific—food, fuel, something to stave off the abyss growing inside him.

  He needed to understand.

  Ren inhaled sharply and focused on his Mandate, forcing himself to analyze it as if it were a puzzle to be solved. The books had said that Mandates were tied to the nature of one’s soul, to the core of their existence.

  If that was the case, then what did Hunger Unending say about him?

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  The answer came to him like a dagger sliding between his ribs.

  It meant that he lacked something.

  Something so fundamental, so necessary, that even his very being had been marked by its absence. Was it power? Was it something deeper—an identity, a purpose, a missing piece of his soul?

  His throat felt dry. He needed to test it.

  Ren exhaled slowly, focusing on the void inside himself. He reached inward, letting the hunger rise, but instead of fighting it, he tried to listen. Immediately, the gnawing sensation spread through his limbs, a phantom ache that coiled around his bones and burrowed into his chest.

  It wasn’t simply hunger.

  It was the need to take.

  He had felt it before—when he fought, when he exerted his will over the world, when he used the Mandate’s power. The more he pushed, the more the hunger demanded recompense.

  Consume, it whispered. Sustain yourself.

  But consume what?

  Ren’s thoughts flashed back to the battle. The rush of energy when he fought. The heat that filled his veins when he exerted control over his surroundings. He had felt stronger, more alive, the moment he had tapped into his Mandate.

  Was that the answer?

  He gritted his teeth and extended his hand toward the dying candle in front of him. He reached—not with his fingers, but with his soul. He called upon the Mandate, not to destroy, but to feed.

  The flame flickered violently. Then, in an instant, it vanished.

  The room plunged into darkness. But Ren felt it—an invisible thread of warmth trailing up his arm, seeping into his skin, into his bones. A drop of sustenance, absorbed into the hollow abyss within him. The hunger, for just the briefest of moments, eased.

  His heartbeat pounded in his ears.

  It wasn’t just power. It was energy—life itself. The Mandate allowed him to consume. To take. To sustain himself, not through food, not through rest, but through devouring the world around him.

  Ren leaned back, exhaling shakily. He had found his answer.

  The Kami Mandate was not simply a blessing or a curse—it was a law. A system built upon the natural order of existence. Power demanded a price. And for him, that price was constant hunger.

  His Aspect—the unique manifestation of his Mandate—had begun to reveal itself. He was not simply a warrior, nor a sorcerer, nor a mere pawn in fate’s cruel game.

  He was a Devourer.

  And his survival would depend on his ability to find sustenance before the hunger consumed him first.

  Ren ran a hand through his hair, staring at the darkness before him.

  This changes everything.

  His Mandate was not simply a tool—it was a necessity. A survival mechanism. A burden. If he overused it, he would be driven into the abyss. If he ignored it, the hunger would gnaw away at his soul. He was trapped in a delicate balance between power and destruction.

  But more than anything, this realization raised new questions.

  If the Mandate chose those who had suffered trauma or held an insatiable desire, then what had the gods seen in him? What was his desire, the one thing so potent that it had made him a candidate for this ancient system?

  Ren closed his eyes and let himself remember.

  The alley where his mother had died.

  The scent of blood in the air.

  Kaede’s terrified sobs as she clung to his arm.

  The feeling of being weak, helpless, unable to stop the inevitable.

  Was that his defining moment? The moment his soul had burned so fiercely that even the Mandate had taken notice?

  Perhaps.

  But there was only one way to know for sure.

  If he wanted answers, he needed to push further. To experiment. To see just how deep the Mandate’s hunger ran, and if there was a way to control it.

  Ren stood, shaking off the cold. The city outside was still sleeping, unaware of the storm brewing within him. But soon, they would all know.

  The Kami Mandate had marked him.

  And he would uncover every one of its secrets.

  Even if it meant walking the thin line between salvation and damnation.