The city groaned. Neon lights fractured across warped streets as Akira crouched atop a tilting billboard, her red eyes scanning the chaos below. Every pulse of life screamed at her—humans, machines, even the shadows themselves vibrated with hidden energy.
She'd tasted blood once. Just once. And the surge… the power… it had opened her senses to things she shouldn't have seen.
"Calm yourself, Akira," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. But calm was a joke in this twisted city. The alleys below were crawling with predators—gangs, rogue androids, and magic-tainted hunters.
A faint shimmer caught her attention. A man—or was it a boy?—stumbling, bleeding from a gash on his shoulder. His aura screamed desperation. Perfect.
Akira dropped from the billboard, landing with a soundless grace. Her fangs elongated as she approached, every instinct screaming for the hunt. But before she could strike, a pair of glowing red eyes pierced the darkness.
Rin.
Her rival vampire appeared like a shadow folding into reality itself. Sleek, composed, dangerous. She smirked. "So… the fledgling awakens. I've been watching you, Akira. Careful—you're about to outgrow yourself."
Akira bristled, but Rin wasn't her enemy… yet. Not really. There was a strange pull, an unspoken test written in Rin's gaze.
The boy below screamed as a gang enforcer lunged at him, blades glowing with electric runes. Akira didn't hesitate. She moved faster than thought, intercepting the strike and sinking her fangs into the boy's neck. Warmth. Power. Chaos.
Level Up: Blood Infusion – Rank 2
The surge was violent. Reality twisted around her; buildings stretched upward like glass towers in a dream, alleys bent impossibly. Memories—not hers—flooded her mind. Flashes of the boy's fears, his family, his regrets. She staggered, overwhelmed, but the power… it was intoxicating.
Rin watched, expression unreadable. "Careful. Every kill reshapes more than you think."
Before Akira could respond, the city trembled. From the warped streets below, something stirred—a massive silhouette of shifting shadows and neon light, something far beyond any gang or magic-hunter she'd faced.
The creature roared. The boy screamed. And Akira realized… her fight for survival wasn't just a hunt anymore. It was a war.
Her eyes glinted red as her heart pounded with exhilaration. This city bends to me now. And I'm ready to break it.
Cliffhanger: Akira faces her first real test: a monstrous, reality-warping entity is drawn to her growing powers, forcing her to confront what it truly means to level up.