Marcus/Rocco
Sleep didn't come.
Not really.
Every time I
closed my eyes, I saw him again- the way he stood there like nothing in the
world could touch him. The way he said my name like it belonged to him.
Rocco.
I sat up in bed,
exhaling slowly, my chest tight.
"… Yeah. I'm not
sleeping."
The room was
quiet. Too quiet.
I got up.
The air outside
was colder than usual, the early morning sky still dark with only a faint hint
of light at the horizon. Everyone else was asleep or at least, they should've
been.
Good.
I didn't feel like
explaining anything.
I stepped into the
clearing, the same place we trained every day, and let out a slow breath as I
rolled my shoulders.
"Again," I
muttered to myself.
No Callie.
No Seraphina.
Just me.
I focused on the
bracelet.
Nothing.
I clenched my jaw.
"Come on…" still nothing.
Frustration built
quickly. Too quickly.
I stepped forward,
drawing the wooden blades we used for training. The moment they settled in my
hands, something inside shifted. Familiar, controlled. But not enough.
I moved.
Strike. Step.
Turn. Cut.
Faster. Again, and
again.
I pushed harder,
letting instinct take over, letting my body remember what my mind still
struggled to hold.
The bracelet
pulsed. Faint but there.
I felt the flicker
of power.
My movements
sharpened instantly- faster, cleaner, stronger.
"Yes-"
Then it slipped.
Gone.
Like it had never
been there.
I froze, breathing
harder.
"No… no, come
back."
I focused again,
forcing it this time, trying to grab onto that feeling-
And this time, it
answered.
Not gently.
The power surged.
Too fast. Too much.
My vision blurred
slightly as the energy rushed through me, my body reacting faster than I could
control. I moved again- too quick, too sharp- and nearly lost my balance
completely.
"Stop."
The voice cut
through everything.
Seraphina.
I turned sharply,
breathing uneven.
"I had it," I
said. "I just need to-"
"You're forcing
it," she said calmly.
"I can handle it."
"No, you can't."
That hit hard.
I clenched my
fists slightly. "I have to. After yesterday-"
"You're trying to
catch up to something you don't understand," she interrupted. "That's how you
lose control."
"I already don't
have control!!"
"And forcing it
won't fix that."
I exhaled sharply,
looking away.
"That thing just
walked up to me," I said. "Like I was nothing."
Seraphina didn't
respond immediately.
Her gaze stayed on
me, steady and unreadable.
"That wasn't a
challenge," she said finally. "It was observation."
That didn't make
it better. At all.
Before I could
respond-
The air shifted
subtly.
Seraphina's
expression changed instantly.
"Get back," she
said.
Not calmly or
casually. But sharp.
I felt it too now.
That same
wrongness from the forest.
But slightly
stronger.
Closer.
"Marcus?" Riley's
voice came from behind, groggy but alert. "What's going on?"
"Inside,"
Seraphina said.
But it was too
late.
The trees at the
edge of the clearing shook slightly-
Then something
stepped out.
Not like the other
lesser demon. This one was more stable.
Its form held
together its movement smooth instead of erratic. Its eyes glowed faintly,
locked directly onto me.
And then it
smiled.
Not human at all.
"… That's new," I
muttered.
It moved. Fast.
Faster than the
last one.
I barely brought
my blades up in time as it struck, the impact sending me sliding back across
the ground.
Stronger too.
"Stay back!" I
snapped at the others.
I stepped forward
again before I could think twice.
I had to do this.
I couldn't freeze
again.
Not now.
The demon lunged.
I met it head- on.
Block. Counter.
Step in.
I moved faster
than before- better, cleaner- but it wasn't enough.
It adapted.
Every move I made,
it adjusted.
Like it was
learning from me.
I pushed harder.
The bracelet
pulsed again.
There.
I grabbed onto it.
Forced it.
Power surged
through me, sharper this time, more controlled but still unstable.
I moved faster.
Landed a hit.
Finally.
The blade cut
across its side, and it staggered slightly.
"Yes- "
Then it hit back.
Hard.
I didn't even see
the strike fully.
Pain exploded
across my ribs as I was thrown back, crashing into the ground.
The power
flickered again. Gone.
My breath caught
as I tried to push myself up.
Too slow.
The demon was
already moving again.
And this time, I
knew. I wasn't going to make it.
A crack split the
air.
Callie.
Her whip wrapped
around the creature mid- lunge, yanking it off course with precision.
She moved in
instantly, faster than before, her movements sharp and controlled as she
engaged it head- on.
Seraphina stepped
forward as well.
And just like
that, the fight changed.
What had been
overwhelming for me became controlled under them.
Callie struck.
Seraphina
followed.
No wasted
movement. No hesitation.
Within seconds, it
was over.
The demon
collapsed.
Silence followed.
Heavy and real.
I stayed on the
ground for a second longer, staring up at the sky, my chest rising and falling
unevenly.
"… That went
better in my head," I muttered.
Footsteps
approached.
Callie.
She stopped near
me, looking down.
"You rushed," she
said.
"I noticed."
"You forced the
power again."
"I also noticed
that."
She didn't
respond, just extended a hand.
I took it and
pulled myself up, wincing slightly.
"You lasted longer
this time," she added.
"… That's supposed
to make me feel better?"
"It should."
I let out a
breath.
It didn't. not
really.
Because the
difference was still clear.
Seraphina stepped
closer, her gaze steady.
"That wasn't
random," she said.
I already knew
that.
"That was sent,"
she continued.
Silence settled
again.
Riley spoke first
this time. "Sent by who?"
I didn't need to
answer. Because we all knew.
I looked down at
my wrist.
"He's testing
you," Seraphina said.
That word stuck.
I clenched my jaw
slightly.
"Then I'm
failing."
Seraphina didn't
deny it.
"Right now," she
said.
That part
mattered. Even if it didn't feel like enough.
I looked back
toward the trees where the demon had come from.
Then down at the
bracelet.
"Then I just have
to get stronger," I said quietly.
Callie glanced at
me.
No smirk this
time, just quieter.
"Then stop trying
to rush it," she said.
I exhaled slowly.
Yeah.
Easier said than
done, but she wasn't wrong.
And now I
understood something clearly since meeting Aldo-
This wasn't about
catching up overnight.
It wasn't about
forcing power.
It was about
surviving long enough to actually reach it.
And right now, I wasn't there yet.