---
Kairo's hands were still smoking.
Not metaphorically—like, actually smoking. Faint trails of black mist curled off his fingertips while he sat handcuffed to a titanium chair in the school's divine containment room.
Across from him sat the school principal: a woman in a sharp blue suit, glowing glasses, and a small floating fox deity perched on her shoulder sipping a juice box.
"Mr. Venn," she said slowly, like she was trying to pronounce the word 'mistake' in real time. "Do you know what you've done?"
"Unlocked my potential?" Kairo offered.
The fox choked on his juice.
"You broke into a sealed divine vault, released a Class-S relic, and triggered a system lockdown across three city blocks!"
"Okay, technically, the box unlocked me."
"Principal, his sarcasm is peaking again," the fox said, tail twitching. "He might be possessed."
"I am possessed," Kairo replied. "By the spirit of being sick of your tone."
---
Meanwhile, in the back of his head...
Zerith was yelling again.
"I HAD TO BIND WITH YOU?!"
Kairo replied silently. You're the one who jumped into my spine like a parasite with anger issues.
"I was sealed for 700 years! SEVEN HUNDRED! You mortals have plumbing now! And churros!"
You're yelling about churros while I'm being interrogated.
"Focus, mortal. They will try to dissect your aura. If they find me, they'll panic."
Gee, I wonder why. You only exploded a museum.
---
Back in the real world, the principal leaned in.
"Mr. Venn, there's only one explanation for this. You've bonded with a rogue deity."
Kairo shrugged. "I prefer the term 'misunderstood freelance god.'"
"Do you understand the laws you've broken? Unauthorized bonding. Tampering with divine artifacts. Being unregistered. You're not even a certified Bond Candidate."
Kairo raised a brow. "Didn't realize I needed a license to almost die."
She slammed a folder on the desk. "You're being sent to Vanguard Academy. Effective immediately."
He blinked. "Wait, the elite combat school for god-bonded students? I'm not even qualified to audit their classes."
The fox grinned. "Oh, you're not going as a student."
"Then as what? A janitor?"
"No," the principal said. "As a containment risk. They'll train you because they have to. Because if they don't…" She glanced at the smoke still trailing off his hands. "You might become something even the gods can't control."
---
That night…
Kairo sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his reflection in the cracked mirror. His eyes glowed faintly red now. Not constant—just when he blinked too hard. Like his body didn't know what it wanted to be yet.
"So…" he muttered aloud. "I'm bonded to a war god. No training. No clue what I'm doing. Being shipped off to god school tomorrow. Any advice, Mr. All-Powerful?"
Zerith's voice echoed like rolling thunder.
"Yes. Don't die."
"Wow. Incredible guidance."
"Also… try not to punch anyone until at least your third day. Build suspense."
Kairo actually laughed at that. "You're growing on me, Churro God."
"Say that again and I'll burn your eyebrows off."
---
Elsewhere…
Far above the city skyline, a masked figure in a dark coat stood on a rooftop, watching a replay of Kairo's relic explosion on a holographic tablet.
"He's awakened," the figure said.
Another voice crackled in his earpiece. "Then the game begins. Notify the Pantheon Council. The rogue has found a host."
The man closed the tablet and turned toward a swirling vortex forming in the sky above the academy.
"Let's see if the boy can survive what's coming…"
---