In a small Section of Nya Region, the pale rays of the N3o Star lit up the small NightCity. In the serene dawn of the futuristic city, the pale yellow star bathed the skyline in a gentle glow, casting a dreamy ambiance as the place awakened at a leisurely pace.  

Little Jia woke up in her room, in her fancy mansion. It was early in the morning. She had a habit of waking up at such early hours and everything she would do was just admire the beautiful sunrise and wait for her parents to go to work. But they happened to have a day off and they secretly made plans about what to do. Jia had nice thoughts on that, hoping they would go somewhere fun and entertaining. Even if she was a very shy and antisocial little girl, she never hesitated to enjoy fun things alongside others. She got off the bed slowly and walked to the big window. An emotionless expression masked her face as she gazed outward, lost in the enchanting hues of the sunrise. Her white hair appeared like gold and her eyes were sparkling like gems. Her thoughts were weaving a tapestry of dreams in her own fantasy realm. After all, she was never maintaining contact with reality. She loved entering her dream world, where she felt free from all her worries.

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle knock on her door. She jumped back into the bed, pretending to be asleep. The person who came inside was her mother. Her warm presence brought a tender touch to the moment. With a loving smile, she walked over to her. She sat on the bed, next to Jia and touched her shoulder.

“Jia, darling, I know you are awake.” she giggled.

Jia got up and hugged her mother. She sunk her face in the woman’s long, white hair and giggled. She just couldn’t hide her content when her mother was around. The affection her mother showed her always melted away the emotionless façade, replacing it with pure happiness and innocence. “Guess what a strange dream I had last night.” she mumbled. Her mother petted her head slowly. Her smile and the look she had in her eyes reflected her kindness. She had the same, beautiful, blue eyes, just like Jia. She was wearing a pink night dress with a ribbon tied in the back. She was a very nice person and Jia felt so comfortable around her. She used to talk to Jia about anything and she loved listening to her daughter’s cute voice every day. They were so close to each other and Jia enjoyed sitting around her mother most of the times. She was the person who was offering her the comfort, love and care she needed. And also, she was always curious about the things Jia was saying or doing. 

“What was your dream about? Was it something nice?” she asked.

Jia looked at the ceiling, somehow thinking how to explain it. “Umm… Not really. It was about a fight… A dragon and a powerful, humanoid being… I woke up too soon, it merely started to get interesting…” Jia smiled cutely. That adorable, innocent, childish face of hers looked so bright with that smile and those reddish cheeks. It made her look elated. As a matter of fact, she was. Jia had never been the type of girl to be sad or mad. She either had that innocent look on her face that was showing no emotion, either her cute smile. There was nothing that could make her feel bad since she knew she had everything she could ever wish for. Both her parents loved her and did so many things for her. They were pretty rich since her father had been working at a secret base with very powerful people. Every time he got home, he used to tell Jia many interesting things about demons and the neon energy. That was very entertaining for her and she would always dream of a world where she was the savior of the planet. A world where everyone was free from worries and a world where pain was absolutely foreign…

Seeing she was happy, her mother giggled and decided to confess to her about the plan she and her husband made for the day. “Well, good you are up, your father and I were planning to visit Miyumi today. Your auntie.”

The smile on Jia’s face vanished. She never enjoyed visiting her aunt because Miyumi always treated her like a baby and there was nothing she could do except sit in a corner and listen to the grown-ups talk about business and politics. Jia was the type of dreamer and she was always in her own world, she disliked the subject of reality. But she had no choice. Now, her cute smile was replaced by a sort of angry face. Well, that was probably the only thing that could make her feel bad.

Her mother left the room and let Jia get ready. The little girl chose to wear her favorite outfit. It was a tight, black suit with neon pink patterns all over it. That was making her body look so slim, so frail. She loved those outfits that looked like neon battle suits. She thought she was cool and badass, but in fact, she looked as adorable as always.  

Later, as her parents were ready to go, Jia just hopped into the car and said nothing. Her mother gazed at her. She was looking concerned, seeing her daughter was now sort of disturbed. Probably more than she was usually.

“Jia, darling, is everything alright?” she asked. She could guess Jia was not pleased, but she had never seen her so mad before.

“Yes…!” answered Jia. Her tone was low and she didn’t sound happy. She was just not delighted by the idea of visiting Miyumi. And she was also not pleased by the fact that they were going there at such early hour. She was used to sitting until later to watch the rise of the N3o star and spending her bright mornings outside, playing with her toys and fantasizing about her ideal reality. Yet Miyumi didn’t have any toys and she would get bored there, hearing her high-pitched voice and whatever she would talk about, such as politics and war crimes and… reality; that horrible reality, filled with demons, fear, evil...

Later, as they hit the road, Jia was admiring the view from the window. She was looking at the pinky clouds, dreaming of fantasy creatures and trying to break free from the real world around her. She was ignoring even her parents’ loud voices. They were talking about her father’s new job. At first, she didn’t listen to a dime from what they said. She was deeply in her dream world, where everything was going just like she wanted. Where reality was not always about working and fighting demons and wars and politics. That’s why she never listened to her parents talking in the car. But at some point, she was distracted by their conversation:

“Right now, they said I should just accommodate, but then, I will have to travel all the way to Kaara. It will be hard for you to take care of Jia alone, but I am trying my very best to maintain the family…” said her father.

“Kaito, it’s going to be just fine for me and Jia. I just hope you will be alright working for him again. It had been so peaceful since he had been reported missing. No more demon attacks, no more trouble with the Government… Plus, I have never trusted Vantablack. Ever since you joined the Devil Killers, I always had that bad feeling that he was up to something. And I assume this comeback of his is just another part of his plan. Make sure you won’t fall for any of his tricks…”

“Rin, honey, everything will be just fine. We already made a few deals and I am sure things will go just as planned. He is a man of his word. Always has been. He was the one who let me join.”  

Jia suddenly became very curious about that Vantablack guy. That sounded like a terrorist’s name to her even though everyone knew he was actually in service to the Government of Kaara03, on the side that was protecting others. It was not someone she had heard of before though, since she never stuffed her head with politics.

Time passed and they finally reached Miyumi’s house. That was one of the fanciest houses in Nya Region. The closest to the outside of NightCity.  Jia sunk her face in her palms and let out a faint groan. She walked out of the car. She sighed. She didn’t feel too excited about this; it was literally going to go just as always. She wanted to be somewhere where she could have fun and relax; a place other than the city. 

“Just take me home…” she whispered.

Once she stepped inside the house, Miyumi hugged her tightly and lifted her up. She was quite tall and slim, just like Jia’s father. She had that same look on her face like she always did: that big smile and that flicker of happiness in her golden eyes. She was looking so much like Kaito. Her long, blue hair was as tangled as it had always been and she was now wearing her favorite dress: pastel pink with floral patterns on it.  Kaito put a hand on her shoulder. He smiled.

“Sister, let the child breathe.” he giggled.

Miyumi let Jia go and hugged Kaito. “How’s my little brother?” Miyumi had always been that vocal and annoying type of sibling and she had been so loving towards her family. 

Kaito and Rin both smiled as a response. They didn’t know what to say anymore, seeing Jia was already trying to avoid contact. Then, Miyumi led them to the living-room, where they were usually talking every time Jia’s parents visited. The adults sat on the couch and Jia lied on the floor, looking bored. She knew they would start all over again with the same things they always talked about. Kaito was the one to start the conversation:

“So, I need to say, sis, I have a new job…”

“He’s working for Vantablack! Again!” added Rin. She didn’t seem delighted by that fact. There had to be a reason why she hated that guy so much. It seemed to disturb her.

Miyumi looked shocked too. She heard of that guy once, after Kaito first joined the Devil Killers and she didn’t like it. She knew that he was dangerous and very dark. Unpredictable, in fact... She looked at Rin with her eyes wide opened.

“What did you say?! He is working for Vantablack?! Did he just rejoin the Devil Killers’ association again?! Who even said that the problem got fixed?!” Then, she moved her gaze on Kaito. She was able to show how bad she was feeling about that. “Kaito, are you totally out of your mind?! Why in the Neon Universe did you do this?! Don’t you think about the family you have?! I mean, Vantablack is said to have faked his own death! Don’t you think there is something bad going on in his chaotic mind?”

“In fact, I don’t… He said he wants to fix the issues with the Government and…”

Jia was starting to get quite scared, seeing that both Miyumi and her mother were actually worried about her father’s decision. Something had to be wrong at that point. It was also her thought that Vantablack was actually a criminal rather than someone who was assigned with saving the lives of others and she began to feel bad about it… Because he was dangerous... She just wanted to avoid that subject. She didn’t want to fill her mind with scary thoughts. Her heartbeat was already faster than before and she was shaking a bit.

She got up and walked away without saying a word. None of the adults seemed to care at that time; they were too busy trying to solve their ‘Vantablack’ problem. Jia decided to stay in the backyard. The view of Ethereal Forest was quite calming for her. It helped her clear her scary thoughts. She looked up at the clear sky and sighed in relief. She began to feel better; That was the side of reality she liked.

“Finally, some peace and quiet…” she whispered.

As she stood there waiting, she began to hear strange noises coming from the forest outside the city. She couldn’t understand them, but it felt just like someone was calling her. She became very curious about it, but she was afraid to follow it. She didn’t want to worry her parents. She looked back, at the house. She inhaled deeply. It was a hard choice.

After some deep thoughts, Jia looked at the forest and exhaled. She ran straight into the woods. After all, she had always been the type of very curious person. She enjoyed learning new things and discovering wonders from all sources. So, she just rushed in there waiting to find something new, something special.

Something was telling her to find out whose voice that was. But she just didn’t know of the danger that was coming. Yet little Jia was not the one who would be harmed…                                                   

[“Kaito, wasn’t it?” asked a man. His face was not too clear in the flickering, pale light. Yet his purple eyes were glowing brightly.

“Yes, sir. I think you’ve figured out why I’m here…”

“Save it, Skay. You’re still young. What do you think you can accomplish here, at the Devil Killer’s organization?”

“Well… I wanted to… help… I think my tech skills and knowledge might help you and…”

“Seems fair. And don’t babble. Try to talk normally, I will not eat you.” He let out a forced giggle.

Kaito was embarrassed. He ruffled the back of his hair and sighed. “So… does that mean you accept me…?”

“I would totally agree, but there still is one more person I need to talk to about this. Would you accompany me to the director’s office?”

Kaito nodded, now feeling a bit tenser than before…

After a while, he returned to his apartment, happy with the fact that he got a job at such a place. He was proud to work in order to keep peace and order in that Region. Not only in the Region, but the whole world… He was young and had a lot to learn, but he was willing to lead a good life.

Years passed and he now had a family. He was so happy, so full of life. But after a few years, things changed for him. The Devil Killers’ association was corrupted by the Government of Kaara03 and it became so hard to manage. The director was no longer in any shape to lead them since he contracted a terrible disease from a Sasakuna demon while he was on duty. Those were the worst demons on the list and the most dangerous. Certainly not to be compared to the Devils, but more troublesome in the neon society. (Unlike the Devils, the demons were many and quite hard to detect even by advanced Tech users due to their low level of neon energy. And because of that, their murders would go unnoticed for long periods of time. The Devils were easy to detect, yet they had such great powers that one could destroy a Section in less than a day. And even as a highly ranked Devil Killer it was a real struggle to go against such chaotic monsters. After all, they came from the fiery pits of Hell and they had powers given by the Goddess herself… They had Slyraa’s blood running through their veins.)

Kaito wanted to quit his job as a demon Detector at the association, but at some point, he met up with a familiar figure. All looked the same as he knew it except for those purple eyes that were now green. A brightly glowing neon green.

“Kaito, am I mistaking?”

“N… No…”

“I see. Would you care to help me overthrow the corrupted boss of the Devil Killers’ association and take over it? We would make an amazing team. With my power and your knowledge, we could become so deadly that even the beasts of the Inferno will tremble before us!” And what was there to do…?]