The Awakening

The moment the creature's roar split the night, the world seemed to shatter.

The force of its voice alone sent ripples through the air, shaking the very ground beneath them. The vampires surged forward like a tide, red eyes glowing in the darkness. Viole barely had time to process the monster's words before he was forced to react.

This was never about taking you. This was about awakening you.

The words rattled in his skull, but there was no time for doubt now.

Azael moved first.

With a single motion, their silver light expanded, slashing through the nearest vampires like a blade of pure energy. The creatures hissed as the radiance tore through them, reducing them to nothing but dust. The massive monster, however, only flinched.

It grinned.

Viole felt something inside him stir—something cold and familiar, something he had ignored for far too long.

But before he could think, he moved.

His body reacted on instinct, weaving through the chaos. His katana was broken, but it didn't matter. He grabbed a fallen vampire's weapon—a jagged, rusted blade—and turned it against its own kind. He slashed, severing a vampire's arm, then pivoted and drove the blade into another's chest.

Ha-eun fought beside him, her sword a blur of deadly precision. She cut through the swarm with practiced ease, but Viole could tell—even she was being pushed back. There were too many.

Kairos ducked and twisted, daggers flashing, but his usual arrogance was gone. "Anytime now, Azael!" he shouted.

Azael didn't respond. They were focused on the monster.

The thing that had crawled from beneath the city—the herald of the Hunger.

It stepped forward, unbothered by the battle raging around it.

"You still don't see, do you?" it rumbled, its glowing eyes locked onto Viole.

Viole tightened his grip on the stolen sword. "See what?"

The creature's grin widened.

"You already know."

And then—pain.

Viole froze as something inside him pulsed.

A burning sensation shot through his veins, sudden and violent, as if something had been ripped open within him. His vision blurred. His breath caught.

It felt like something deep inside him was awakening.

The Hunger.

No.

Not his.

Theirs.

Viole staggered, his knees nearly buckling. The sounds of battle faded, replaced by a rushing, deafening silence.

And then—whispers.

You are one of us.

You were always one of us.

No. That wasn't true. It couldn't be.

But the monster laughed.

"Fight it all you want, swordsman. But the truth is in your blood."

Viole gritted his teeth, forcing his body to move. He had spent his life fighting monsters. He wasn't about to let himself become one.

He lunged at the creature.

It moved effortlessly, sidestepping his attack with inhuman grace. But before it could counter, Azael finally struck.

A silver chain, glowing with raw energy, lashed out. It wrapped around the monster's massive arm, burning into its flesh. The creature snarled, its grin finally faltering.

Azael's voice was cold.

"You talk too much."

With a flick of their wrist, the chain tightened.

The monster let out a roar, but Azael didn't give it a chance to recover. They raised their other hand, and the silver light expanded—erupted—blinding in its brilliance.

The vampires screamed.

The monster staggered.

For the first time, its confidence wavered.

Azael's power surged forward like a tidal wave, swallowing the battlefield in silver radiance.

The Hunger recoiled.

And Viole…

Viole felt something break inside him.

Not physically.

Something deeper.

Something old.

The monster noticed.

Its burning eyes locked onto him—not with malice, but with something else.

Something almost like recognition.

And then—

It vanished.

The remaining vampires collapsed into dust as Azael's light consumed them. The silence that followed was deafening.

Viole stood there, his breath ragged, his hands clenched. The pain inside him was gone, but the wrongness remained.

He knew what had just happened.

The creature had retreated.

Not out of fear.

But because it had gotten what it came for.

Azael turned to him, their hood casting a deep shadow over their face. "You felt it, didn't you?"

Viole swallowed hard.

He didn't answer.

Because he didn't need to.

Azael already knew.

And so did he.

The Hunger was inside him.

And it was waiting.