She walked away, oblivious, toward the edge of the campus. My fingers clawed at the air. My limbs trembled.
I had taken lives. I had fed off pain. I should have been untouchable.So why was I unraveling now?
My vision tunneled.
Then—a shadow.
A towering figure emerged from the haze, casting a long, bone-thin silhouette in the dimming light. He stood unnaturally still, as if the world moved around him and not with him.
He was tall—impossibly so—and gaunt, his limbs elongated, his presence otherworldly. His skin clung too tightly to his bones, and his mouth curled into something between a snarl and a grin.
But it was his eyes that froze me.
Gray. Cold. Infinite.
Like storm clouds waiting to break.
They locked onto me—not with curiosity, but with possession.
I couldn’t move.
Couldn’t speak.
Could only stare into those eyes as something ancient and dangerous looked straight into the hollow of my soul.
As he advanced, a suffocating dread wrapped around me like a shroud. My breath came fast and shallow, the sound roaring in my ears like war drums. I wanted to run—but I couldn’t. Something unseen rooted me in place, holding me captive.
It wasn’t fear alone—it waspower. Ancient. Undeniable.
I closed my eyes, surrendering to the helplessness that overtook me.
When I dared open them, he was still watching me. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth—darkly amused, disgustingly pleased. Then, without a word, he turned and strode off with an airof smug superiority, his retreat leaving behind a thick residue of dread and disdain.
The pain didn’t stop.
I doubled over, clutching my stomach, the agony writhing through me like a serpent of fire.
“Are you okay?” a young woman cried, rushing to my side. “Should I call an ambulance? Can you breathe? Are you choking?”
I slapped her hand away with a guttural snarl. “Get out of my way! I don’t need your help!”
But she didn’t flinch.
She stood firm, her eyes fierce. “You’re not going to hurt me.”
Rage boiled inside me, and before I could stop myself, I let her see what I truly was. I let the mask slip—the beast beneath the skin, the monster carved from shadows and vengeance.
Her face drained of color. She took a step back, trembling.
“I—I mean you no harm, sir,” she whispered.
“Don’tcall mesir!” I roared.
Her eyes darted toward a park across the street. “Let me help you to that bench,” she said quietly, pointing. “You’re clearly in pain.”
Her kindness stunned me. After seeing the real me,whywas she helping?
But the pain was too much. My body shook with each ragged breath. Pride had no place here.
