Black blood still dripped from my sword.
My eyes stared at the scattered ashes, but inside me… I was no longer the same.
My heart pounded wildly, but not from fear.
From exhilaration.
A strange feeling surged through my veins… dark, intoxicating.
I whispered in a broken voice:
"Is… this me?"
The short man laughed, a brief laugh full of meaning:
"First blood… always leaves its mark. You've tasted it now, and you will never forget."
I shouted at him, angry and shocked:
"Silence!! I didn't do it for pleasure… I fought only… to survive!"
The short man approached, placed his hand on my shoulder, his voice like a whisper of a demon:
"You say that now… but you felt it, didn't you? That power… that fire igniting inside you… it wants more."
My hands trembled, gripping the sword so tightly that blood ran down my palms.
"No… I am not a monster…"
But he cut me off:
"You are no longer human, Kim.
You are now… one of the children of darkness."
---
Suddenly, a burning pain exploded in my chest.
I screamed and fell to the ground, my body writhing.
My veins ignited, as if fire coursed through them.
Before me appeared… a black shadow, its features vague, but its eyes glowed like twin embers.
Its voice pierced my mind:
> "Finally… I have found you."
I gasped, my breath uneven:
"W‑Who… are you?!"
The shadow smiled, a terrifying grin:
> "I am the power you demanded.
I am the darkness you opened your heart to.
I am the curse of your new blood."
Then it placed its ghostly hand on my chest and whispered:
> "From now on… every drop of blood you shed will strengthen me… and pull you one step further from yourself."
I screamed:
"Noooooooo!!!"
But the pain consumed me, and everything went black.
---
When I opened my eyes again, I was on the ground, my body drenched in sweat, the sword still in my hand.
The short man looked at me in astonishment, speaking in fear for the first time:
"What… happened to you?"
I raised my eyes, smiling coldly.
My voice came out hoarse, strange, not my usual tone:
"I… am no longer who I was."