Chapter 15

It started with a scent.

Faint. Metal and ash.

Jerry barely noticed it at first. He was just trying to survive another day—school bells, stares, teachers who saw the shell but not the storm inside. But now the scent was stronger. It clung to the air like static.

And it made his stomach growl in painful hunger.

He sat at lunch, surrounded by noise and food he couldn't eat. His tray steamed in front of him—chicken, rice, vegetables—and all of it smelled like decay.

Emily sat across from him. Her smile was gentle, but there was a flicker of concern in her eyes.

"You haven't touched your food in two days," she said. "Are you fasting, or…?"

Jerry forced a smile. "Just not hungry."

That was a lie. He was starving. But not for food.

His senses were sharpening by the hour. He could hear heartbeats—pick out fear like perfume. His teeth ached when people got too close. Like they wanted to grow.

Like they wanted to feed.

He stood suddenly. "I need some air."

Emily reached out but let him go. She could tell—something inside him was unraveling.

Elsewhere – FBI Safe Division HQ

Agent Mara Devlin slammed a stack of photos onto the conference table.

Burnt corpses. Monster fragments. Seismic heat maps. School surveillance stills.

"This is him," she said. "Our shadow entity. Same Echo imprint at every scene. Same region. And now he's attending a public high school."

The room stayed quiet.

"He's not a ghost anymore. He's a child. Maybe seventeen."

The Xyros Corp agent across the table raised an eyebrow. "You expect us to believe a teenager did that to a Class-B Chimera?"

"He didn't just do it," Mara said, eyes sharp. "He survived it. That means either he's not human… or he's something worse."

Edward Xyros watched from behind glass, arms folded. His voice echoed through the intercom. "If he is what we think he is—Abyssborn—we don't approach him with force."

"Why not?" an agent asked.

Edward's voice turned cold. "Because if he breaks, we're all dead."

Back at School – After Hours

Jerry sat alone under the old trees behind campus. He didn't trust himself in crowds anymore. His heartbeat felt wrong—too slow, too heavy. He felt his own skin tighten, his pupils narrow.

Then a voice behind him.

"Rough week?"

Jerry didn't flinch. "You always find me out here."

Emily stepped into view, her backpack slung over one shoulder. She looked serious now—concern shadowing her normally bright face.

"You've changed," she said quietly.

"Everyone changes."

"Not like this."

He looked away.

Emily hesitated, then sat beside him. "I know something happened the other night. My dad's been acting different. His company's pulling strings with government agencies. Something big's going on."

Jerry's pulse jumped. "Your dad… works with Xyros Corp?"

Emily blinked. "Yeah. Didn't I tell you?"

He tried to keep his face calm, but every alarm inside him blared.

Of course she was related to them. Of course this was more complicated than it should've been.

"I just…" Emily exhaled. "I hope you're not caught up in it."

"I'm fine," Jerry said, standing. "I just need to stay away from people for a while."

Emily grabbed his wrist gently. "You're not a monster, Jerry."

He looked at her—really looked—and for a terrifying second, his predator instincts flared. Her heartbeat was so clear. Her scent, her blood, her warmth—

He yanked his hand back.

"You don't know what I am."

He ran before she could answer.

Back in the City – A Rooftop Nearby

A figure perched in the shadows, cloaked in oily skin and glistening fangs. A mutated creature—humanoid in form, but eyes like coals and fingers like blades. A monster that had learned how to mimic a student's form.

Its orders were simple: find the Abyssborn. Kill him before he evolves.

But just as it leapt toward the trees—toward Jerry—it stopped.

A gust of unnatural wind whipped through the field.

And a voice whispered behind the monster's ear.

"Not tonight."

The creature turned—but there was nothing there.

Nothing except a faint, flickering after-image of violet flame.

Minutes Later – Jerry's Home

He stumbled into his bedroom, breathing hard, sweat soaking through his shirt.

His reflection in the mirror was cracking again. Monstrous shadows curling at the edges.

He grabbed the sink.

"Control it… control it…!"

His bones shifted beneath the skin. His fingers twitched into claws, then pulled back. Black veins surged across his arms—then faded.

He fell to the floor, shaking.

The hunger… the whispers… the Void… it was all getting louder.

He wasn't sure how much longer he could resist.

And someone out there was waiting for him to fail.

(To be continued...)