I stood on the sprawling balcony of my Arkum district penthouse, leaning against the cold glass railing. The cool night breeze brushed against my face as I admired the glittering, neon-drenched skyline of Nebula City. My mind inevitably drifted back to the chaotic, heavily intoxicating marathon I had just survived with Stella. I let out a long, exhausted sigh, rubbing the back of my neck to forcefully clear my head of those highly distracting thoughts.
I had more pressing matters to attend to.
Status, I commanded mentally.
Instantly, the familiar holographic blue screen flickered to life in the cool night air.
Name: Samsara Yu Age: 17 years oldRace: ?? Unique ability: Death with benefits Lifespan: 20,000 years New Attribute: Willpower (Manifestation)
I stared at the glowing white text for a long moment. Though I didn't comment on it earlier when I was freaking out in the VIP room, this lifespan of mine is seriously getting entirely out of hand, I thought with a wry smile. Twenty millennia. It was a number so incomprehensibly massive it made my head spin.
But my attention quickly shifted down to the new attribute. Willpower: Manifestation.
How exactly did one use willpower as a physical tool? I sat down cross-legged right there on the balcony tiles, closing my eyes and slipping into a deep state of meditation. I searched deep inside my newly upgraded, immortal consciousness. I easily entered a perfect, absolute state of calm.
A moment later, I felt it.
A faint, pulsing light began radiating in the pitch-black void of my mind. Its glow was soft but incredibly dense, slowly spreading and illuminating the entirety of my mental space. I willed my focus toward it, nearing the light until my consciousness completely fused with it.
Instantly, a profound understanding washed over me. This glowing orb was the absolute, raw representation of my WILL. And after fusing with it, I felt an innate, terrifying level of control over it. I simply couldn't wait to test it out.
I exited that mystical state and opened my eyes. The cool wind was still softly blowing, the moon and stars illuminating the midnight sky above. But as my eyelids parted, I could feel a foreign, brilliant glow radiating from my vibrant pupils.
I looked around the balcony, searching for a suitable target to practice this reality-breaking new ability. My eyes landed on a heavy, wrought-iron patio chair and its matching glass table resting in the corner. I decided to go with them.
Focusing my mind entirely on the furniture, a virtual image of their complete destruction sprung forth in my head. At first, nothing happened. I sat there glaring at the table, feeling a bit stupid. Just as I was ready to mark this initial attempt as a failure and release the mental picture, something clicked.
I felt a weird, heavy type of power flowing violently out of me, projecting instantly toward the chair and table. When the invisible force reached them, I fully expected the furniture to violently explode or shatter into a million pieces.
Instead, to my absolute astonishment and utter shock, the heavy iron chair and the tempered glass table just... disintegrated.
There was no sound, no explosion. They simply broke down into fine, microscopic ash that was immediately carried away by the night breeze.
All of this took a long time to properly process, but from the exact moment I WILLED their destruction to the actual disintegration of the furniture, it only took the span of a single breath.
This is horrifying, I thought, staring in sheer awe at the empty space where the table used to be. What sort of power can be this monstrous? Mine, apparently. And considering the current trend of my glitchy system, this power is only going to become more and more frightening with each subsequent resurrection.
Eager to see what else I could accomplish, I decided to test the boundaries of this new attribute. I strongly wished to see Chloe. I hadn't seen her in a while since she left for her clan mission, and I wanted to know if my Will could bridge physical distance.
Instantly, the same phenomenon occurred. A brilliant light flashed in my eyes, and my gaze seemed to violently pierce through the very fabric of space.
Following this, an image materialized directly before me.
It was Chloe. She was sitting in what looked like a highly luxurious hotel room, completely alone. She was wearing a plush white bathrobe, holding a half-empty glass of red wine. Her flawless, pale skin was flushed with remnant warmth, and her long, raven-black hair was dripping wet, giving the distinct impression of dripping ink.
Suddenly, she stopped mid-sip. She seemed to sense something profoundly intrusive. She whipped her head precisely in my direction, her eyes instantly flaring into a brilliant, glowing crimson. I could clearly see her muscles tensing beneath the bathrobe, preparing to launch a lethal attack at the unseen voyeur.
But as she continued to sense the invisible presence, the murderous hostility faded, replaced by a highly puzzled expression.
"Samsara?" she asked tentatively to the empty room.
I can't answer her... or can I? I thought. I exerted my willpower again, attempting to transmit my thoughts directly into her mind.
« Hey, Chloe. How is it going? »
I saw her physically flinch, her crimson eyes darting around the luxurious room in surprise.
"Where are you? I can't see you, but weirdly enough, I know it's you because of my signature on your essence," she said aloud.
Ah. So that explains it, I realized. I had originally thought she noticed me spying on her due to her insanely sharp True Blood senses, but it turned out the Blood Dragon tattoo resting over my carotid artery was acting as a two-way magical beacon.
« I am just testing out my new ability. How did it go with your mission, Blood Dragon? » I transmitted, making sure to inject a heavy dose of mischief into my mental voice.
Her face immediately slackened. The dangerous red glow in her eyes receded back to their normal, stunning hue, and she pinched the bridge of her nose in deep exasperation.
"I can see your date with Stella went exceptionally well. She must have told you about that highly unfortunate nickname," she said, visibly cringing.
As she casually mentioned my date with Stella, I closely observed her facial expressions to see if there was any trace of hidden jealousy or ill-feeling. Even though Stella had explicitly told me that Chloe completely endorsed our intimate arrangement, I needed to be absolutely sure.
"Oh, don't worry," Chloe spoke up, seamlessly breaking my silence as if she could perfectly read my hesitant thoughts. "Stella is like my sister, and you're mine now, so I don't mind at all. You're still very new to the supernatural world, Samsara, or else you would already know that for beings like us who can live for an eternity, conventional, monogamous relationships are absolutely not the norm."
She took a slow sip of her wine before continuing. "If it were not due to the fact that Stella and I had been heavily isolated from a good part of the supernatural community before coming of age—me because of my freakish powers and position, and Stella because of her demonic nature and her father—Stella would have been forced to 'use' a mundane human to feed her succubus urges, despite the absolute certainty of him dying during the act. Most supernaturals wouldn't bat an eyelid at doing this."
I listened to her explanation in silence. Even though my brain still couldn't fully comprehend the bizarre, ancient wavelength these beings operated on, I decided to just stay open-minded. I was deeply, irreversibly part of this crazy world now, after all.
« When will you be back? » I asked, changing the subject.
"I am not sure," she sighed, setting her wine glass down on the nightstand. "Even though I am supposed to be on a regular, routine punishing mission, I keep feeling that something is profoundly wrong. The group I am here to apprehend is infinitely more tricky than I originally thought."
« I thought you were just there to deal with an internal issue inside a local branch of your clan? » I sent, feeling highly puzzled.
"I thought so too," she replied, her tone turning bitter. "But my dear father decided not to inform me about what I would actually encounter here. That, or he simply didn't know what was afoot. After the birthday party, my massive leap in strength when I drank your blood had him entirely frightened. We don't speak these days. Even less than before."
Hearing the melancholic edge in her voice, I felt a pang of sympathy.
« I am truly sorry to hear that, Chloe. I hope he'll come around eventually. »
"Fat chance in hell, I believe," she scoffed softly. "But don't worry, I am fine with it. Some things simply can't be mended."
« The group you mentioned... who exactly are they? » I asked, steering the conversation back to the imminent threat.
"Well, they are a highly uncharacteristic alliance," she said, her expression hardening into a mask of pure ice. "The group is composed of numerous rogue individuals. There are rogue vampires, mages, some werewolves, and potentially other supernaturals working together. They have slaughtered a staggering number of humans and sups in this city. The death toll is horrific."
She paused, her crimson eyes flashing dangerously. "Even though these types of rogue attacks normally wouldn't warrant our direct intervention, these numbers are... it's getting significantly more difficult to cover the mess up under the piercing eyes of mundane human journalists. The authorities have even started assigning a special Task Force to apprehend the culprits."
« Did you manage to work out a motive? » I asked solemnly. Supernatural factions usually hated each other; seeing them team up to commit mass murder was highly alarming.
"No. And this is exactly what worries me the most," she admitted, sounding genuinely tired. "There seem to be absolutely no particular patterns to these murders. The situation is getting incredibly tense. A few prominent members of the local Crimson branch have disappeared as well. We expect the worst."
I could practically feel the freezing, calculated anger this situation was invoking in her through our telepathic link. She was absolutely pissed.
"Because of this, I won't be able to come back anytime soon," she said regretfully.
Then, her tone shifted, becoming brisk and entirely business-like. "Also, I learned about the assassination attempt on your life by those werewolf mercenaries. I had one of my intelligence subordinates look into it. They were indeed grunts for hire. I don't know the exact identity of their employer yet, but I do know their actual location. I will send their coordinates to your smartphone."
« Much thanks, Chloe. I know you're incredibly busy. Don't work too hard, » I sent, wrapping up the conversation.
That last comment actually made her smile a genuine, stunning smile. I'll definitely take the win, I thought smugly.
After saying our final goodbyes, I severed the mental connection. The glowing image of her hotel room instantly vanished from my mind, leaving me staring at the empty balcony of my penthouse.
I stood up from the cold tiles and walked over to the glass railings, observing the sprawling, neon-lit city below. I felt it deep in my gut—something wicked and highly dangerous was coming my way soon. With my newly heightened senses and my exponentially upgraded instincts, I noticed that my 'bad feelings' were becoming terrifyingly accurate. Between my own impending werewolf revenge mission and the grim news brought by Chloe, I needed to be extremely wary.
I shook those dark thoughts from my head and returned to the present. I was genuinely amazed by the sheer power of my WILL. I had effortlessly managed to communicate with Chloe despite the tens of kilometers separating us. Although I felt a bit mentally exhausted from the projection, I knew this would rapidly become one of my most powerful, versatile weapons. Most of the elite supernaturals in this city were already monstrously strong physically; my upgraded body alone wasn't going to be enough to give me a definitive edge during high-tier fights. I needed an ace up my sleeve.
DING.
My smartphone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw a secure, encrypted message from Chloe. It contained a single set of GPS coordinates.
I stared at the glowing numbers on the cracked screen, a slow, predatory smirk spreading across my flawless face.
I am the ambusher this time.
It was finally time I got some payback for the attack on my life.
But first... I went to sleep.
What? Don't judge me. You too would be absolutely exhausted if you had just spent the entire night and half the day satisfying a fully awakened succubus. Vengeance could wait until after a solid eight hours of sleep.