Jasmine Alter Ego?

I yawned, barely able to hold it in, though my eyes never left the two burly men lurking near the edge of the battlefield. Honestly, I wanted to kill them right then and there. Just looking at them made my skin crawl. Their twisted grins, their wandering eyes—it disgusted me to the bone.

But I hesitated. Not because I pitied them. No. But because… maybe, just maybe, this could be an opportunity.

If Aria and Jasmine were ever going to awaken their powers, then facing real, human monsters might just be the trigger they needed.

So I stayed in the shadows, watching.

Jasmine and Aria had exhausted nearly all of their stamina. They had killed over thirty zombies each, their bodies drenched in sweat, their breathing ragged. Aria had blood running down her arm from a shallow cut, while Jasmine's legs were trembling.

Still, I nodded, satisfied.

They had improved.

But the moment of peace didn't last.

More figures emerged from the street behind the two burly men. A gang. Roughly a dozen of them. All looked dirty, starved, and dangerous. Their eyes shone with hunger—not the kind food could fix. This was darker. Sicker.

My eye twitched, fists clenching. Every instinct in me screamed to just slaughter them all.

But I held back.

Jasmine and Aria noticed the newcomers. They looked around frantically—searching for me. For help. But I didn't move.

They were exhausted. Their arms were trembling. Their legs barely held them upright. And yet, they stood their ground.

One of the gang members stepped forward, licking his lips. "Looks like we got ourselves our first catch since the world went to hell."

The rest of the gang laughed, hollered, and clapped each other on the back, whooping like it was a celebration.

Jasmine and Aria's expressions darkened.

Aria's hands tightened around her sword. She wasn't dumb. She knew exactly what was about to happen. Her eyes flicked briefly toward the blade she dropped moments ago—useless now. She was too tired to even lift it again.

She clenched her jaw. If it came to it… she'd rather die than let them touch her.

Jasmine stood beside her, breathing heavily. Unlike Aria, Jasmine is not going back down without a fight She didn't care if she died. But if she was going down… she was taking some of these bastards with her.

The gang circled them.

Then the first punch was thrown.

Aria staggered back, barely able to dodge. Another thug grabbed her from behind, slamming her to the ground. She screamed, weakly, trying to fight him off—but she was at her limit.

Jasmine roared and launched herself at him, fists flying. She punched one in the nose and kicked another in the gut, but there were too many. They came one after another, switching places to keep the pressure up.

And I just kept watching—silent. Calculating everything Not yet...

Then Aria collapsed.

She hit the ground hard, chest heaving. Her vision was blurring, her body refusing to move. She could only watch as Jasmine continued fighting, desperately.

"Dammit…" she whispered. "I'm so useless…"

But Jasmine didn't fall.

She stood tall in front of her fallen friend, shielding her with her body. Bruised, bloodied, yet unyielding. She bared her teeth at the gang, eyes blazing.

"I'm not letting you touch her," she hissed. "Not while I'm still breathing."

Something stirred deep within her.

A presence. A voice.

It was faint at first. Like a whisper in the back of her mind. Then louder. Clearer. Echoing.

"Do you want power?" the voice asked. "To be free from that man's control? To protect your friend? To never be weak again?"

Jasmine's eyes widened.

In her mind, a figure appeared—a Girl She looked nearly identical to Her, but there were key differences: red glowing eyes, skin as pale as moonlight, lips dark as night. Her long black hair flowed like ink, and her gothic dress fluttered unnaturally. She looked... inhuman. Yet beautiful. Enchanting. Terrifying.

Jasmine trembled. "W-Who are you?"

The figure smiled sweetly and placed a finger on Jasmine's cheek. "Let's just say… I'm a part of you."

Jasmine's lip quivered. "Fine do what you want..."

The figure nodded, her smile turning twisted. "Yes. But you'll have to let me in."

"I'll do anything," Jasmine whispered, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. "Just save her."

The figure's laugh was musical, haunting. "Then let me take over for a little while."

In the real world, everything stopped.

The air grew cold. Shadows thickened. The gang members paused, a chill crawling up their spines.

Jasmine's eyes opened slowly—no longer brown, but glowing red. Her hair, already dark, now shimmered like liquid obsidian. Her torn clothes were gone, replaced by a black gothic dress with silver patterns that shimmered with every step she took.

In her hands, she held a massive black scythe—curved, cruel, and impossibly sharp. It looked like it could slice through space itself. It absorbed the light around it, creating a faint shadow aura around her.

She brought a finger to her lips and smiled.

A sadistic, amused smile.

"Mmm…" she hummed playfully. "Seems I've found a feast today."

The gang stared in stunned silence.

"What the hell—?" one muttered.

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. What I was seeing wasn't just an awakening. It was… transformation. She was beautiful, yes—but terrifying. Dangerous. There was something unnatural about the power she radiated.

Goosebumps ran across me...

Aria, still on the ground, stared at her in awe. "H-How…?" she whispered through panting breaths.

Jasmine turned her glowing eyes toward Aria and crouched beside her. She gently stroked Aria's cheek, her voice now deeper—silk wrapped in venom.

"Oh, honey… I'm not the Jasmine you know. Not right now."

Aria's breath hitched. Something about her presence was overwhelming. Like standing too close to a fire.

Then, before anyone could react—

Swoosh.

One of the burly men's heads rolled onto the ground. Blood sprayed into the air like a fountain.

Gasps erupted.

The rest of the gang began backing away, panic gripping their faces.

But it was too late.

Jasmine twirled her scythe and vanished—only to reappear behind another thug. His body fell in two halves before he even realized what had happened.

The others screamed and tried to run.

They didn't make it three steps.

One after another, they were cut down. Heads flying. Blood soaking the earth. Each swing of the scythe was elegant, almost graceful, like a dance of death. She moved like a shadow, each step calculated and cruel.

And she smiled through all of it.

Aria could only watch, wide-eyed, trembling.

Within seconds, the entire gang was dead. Not a single one left breathing.

Jasmine stood in the middle of the carnage, her scythe dripping with blood, her black dress billowing gently in the breeze.

I finally stepped out of the shadows, still stunned by what I'd witnessed

Her first awakening… and it was really suprising