Ren moved through the city’s underbelly like a shadow, slipping past wandering eyes and drifting voices. The Boku’s conversation replayed in his mind, each word sinking deeper into his thoughts.

  An Essence Beast.

  A creature made of raw power, untethered by flesh—something beyond the natural order. The mere idea of it sent a shiver down his spine, but not out of fear.

  If it truly exists… can I consume it? Will it silence this hunger?

  He clenched his jaw. The gnawing void inside him had been growing worse. Every time he used the Mandate, it whispered in the back of his mind, hollow and endless. The hunger was not metaphorical—it was real. A black hole within his soul, devouring him from the inside out.

  The Kami Mandate had given him power, but at a cost.

  Hunger Unending.

  Ren exhaled through his nose, forcing himself to stay focused.

  The Boku had mentioned capturing a beast the previous night. That meant there had been more than one. And where there was one…

  There could be another.

  He needed to act fast before someone else got to it first.

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  The slums gave way to dense woodlands at the city's edge. The Moonveil Forest—named for the way its silver-leaved trees shimmered under moonlight—was a known hunting ground, but few dared venture too deep.

  Ren had been here before.

  When he was younger, he and Kaede had run through these woods, hiding from the city guards when they stole too much. Back then, it had felt like a sanctuary. A place to breathe away from the filth of Izanagi’s streets.

  Now, it felt different.

  Darker. Heavier. Like something was watching.

  The wind carried a faint, unnatural hum, vibrating in his bones. His Mandate pulsed in response, a deep, insatiable thrum in his soul.

  Something was here.

  His fingers curled slightly, instinct telling him to be cautious. Hunger did not mean recklessness.

  He followed the remnants of broken branches and clawed bark, tracing a path where something large had moved. A beast of energy, not flesh, should not have left physical signs… unless it had tried to manifest into the world.

  Ren’s stomach twisted. If that was the case, then he wasn’t the only one hunting it.

  The Boku? No. They would have captured it already.

  Who else could—

  A rustling sound.

  Ren stilled.

  Not from ahead—above.

  Instinct took over. He twisted to the side, just as something crashed down where he had been standing, sending leaves and dirt flying into the air.

  Ren’s heartbeat pounded in his ears as he turned to face it.

  The Essence Beast stood before him.

  It was unlike anything he had seen before—an amalgamation of shifting forms, like liquid shadow laced with veins of silver light. It had the outline of a great wolf, but its body flickered like candle smoke, never quite solid, never quite real.

  Its eyes burned like twin stars.

  And in that moment, something within Ren screamed.

  Not in fear.

  In recognition.

  His Mandate pulsed again, sharper this time, as if responding to the creature’s very presence.

  Was it calling to him? Or was it warning him?

  Either way, Ren wasn’t leaving empty-handed.