Chapter 19: The Aftermath
The first thing Jonathan felt was the snap of his consciousness back into his body, a searing pain that was instantly dulled by a cold, numbing rage. The gunshot. The sound echoed in his mind, a constant, horrifying reminder of his actions. He was in an alleyway, his human body hunched over, his hands slick with black ichor. Evelyn's face, twisted in a mask of fear, was seared into his memory. He looked at his hands, and a wave of pure, unadulterated terror washed over him. He was a monster. He had to run.
He fled, his body moving with a newfound, terrifying speed. He was a phantom in the dark streets, a ghost haunted by the memory of the destruction he had caused.
Seraphina and Chloe arrived at the scene, their breath coming in ragged, terrified gasps. The alley was a scene of chaos and destruction. They found Evelyn on the ground, a growing crimson stain on her white uniform. The binding collar lay shattered beside her, a useless piece of metal.
Seraphina dropped to her knees, her hands pressing against Evelyn's wound. "Chloe, call for help! Now!" she screamed, her voice shaking with fear. Chloe, her face a mask of worry and anger, pulled out her phone and dialed the Guild's emergency line.
"He didn't kill her," Seraphina said, her voice filled with conviction. "If he were truly gone, she'd be dead. He's still in there."
Chloe's rage, a cold, searing fire, was directed at her mother. "This is her fault," she whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. "She got what she deserved. She thought she could control him, but she was wrong."
Their mission, once a desperate race to find Jonathan, had now become a race to save him from a Guild that would show no mercy. They were caught in the middle, a desperate race against time.
Lilith arrived at the scene shortly after Seraphina and Chloe, finding the wounded Evelyn and the wreckage. She treated the site as a crime scene, her focus on the facts. She looked at Evelyn, her eyes unreadable. She looked at the shattered binding collar and at the trail of destruction.
"What is going on here?" she asked, her voice a flat, emotionless drone. "Tell me everything."
Seraphina and Chloe, while still reserved and protective, told her about the transformation and the terrifying speed with which Jonathan moved. They also mentioned the artifact Evelyn had. Lilith remained emotionless, but her inner monologue was a mix of anger and frustration. Jonathan was no longer a variable; he was a hostile target. The Guild's original plan of containment was now obsolete.
She immediately informed the Guild that Jonathan was now an armed and dangerous fugitive. Her hunt would become public, and the full force of the Guild would be mobilized to find him, cementing Jonathan's place as the city's number one enemy.
Jonathan was a prisoner in his own mind, forced to watch as Aethel's power executed her plan. He was horrified by his actions, a helpless ghost in his own body. The memory of shooting Evelyn was a constant source of torment.
The last remnants of Jonathan's resistance faded as his body shuddered under a mental strain that was tearing him apart. Aethel's voice echoed in the void, a final, cold statement of ownership.
"Jonathan, Jonathan, my sweet toy. The plan has not ended. We still have a lot to do."