Chapter 9: The Crimson-Eyed Girl
928 Words
The battle for Nexus City continued throughout the night.
Explosions echoed in the distance.
Emergency sirens never stopped.
The sky remained scarred by dimensional tears.
And yet...
For the first time since the invasion began, humanity was pushing back.
News channels around the world were broadcasting live coverage.
Footage of Awakened fighting monsters spread rapidly.
One clip in particular was being viewed millions of times.
A young man standing beneath a collapsing skyscraper.
Holding it in place with invisible force.
Saving thousands.
Nobody knew his name.
Not yet.
But the image had already begun spreading across the internet.
Meanwhile...
The young man in question was exhausted.
Grayson sat on the edge of a ruined rooftop overlooking the city.
His entire body hurt.
His head felt like it had been hit by a truck.
Twice.
The price of stopping the skyscraper had been enormous.
His telekinesis was stronger now.
Far stronger.
But his energy reserves had been nearly drained.
For the first time since receiving the Ascension System...
He felt genuinely vulnerable.
A notification appeared.
STATUS
Name: Grayson Storm
Level: 4
Title: The Awakened
Strength: 31
Speed: 27
Endurance: 28
Intelligence: 24
Energy: 42
Abilities:
� Advanced Telekinesis
� Telekinetic Burst
� Kinetic Kinesis
Grayson stared.
"I'm growing way too fast."
The System responded.
Correction.
You are growing at the minimum acceptable rate.
"..."
"You're impossible."
The System remained silent.
Naturally.
Several minutes passed.
The city lights shimmered below.
The wind carried the distant sounds of reconstruction efforts.
For the first time all day...
Things felt peaceful.
Then he sensed someone approaching.
He didn't need the System to tell him who it was.
Lyra Nightshade.
She landed gracefully on the rooftop behind him.
Moonlight illuminated her silver hair.
The city lights reflected within her crimson eyes.
For several seconds neither spoke.
Then Lyra sat beside him.
The silence felt surprisingly comfortable.
Eventually Grayson glanced sideways.
"You always appear dramatically?"
A small smile appeared on her lips.
"You always ask annoying questions?"
"Only important ones."
"I see."
The smile remained.
To Grayson's surprise...
He found himself smiling too.
Strange.
They had only known each other for a short time.
Yet talking to her felt natural.
Dangerously natural.
After a few moments Lyra's expression became serious.
"You shouldn't have done that."
"The skyscraper thing?"
"Yes."
Grayson shrugged.
"People would've died."
"You almost died."
"So?"
Lyra stared at him.
The answer genuinely seemed to frustrate her.
"You're reckless."
"And you're mysterious."
"That's not a defense."
"It wasn't supposed to be."
For some reason...
That made her laugh.
A soft laugh.
The sound surprised him.
For someone who carried herself with such confidence and danger...
The laugh sounded almost innocent.
The moment lingered.
Then Grayson asked the question he'd been wondering about since the beginning.
"What are you?"
Silence.
The wind intensified.
The city lights flickered below.
For the first time...
Lyra looked uncertain.
Not afraid.
Not nervous.
Sad.
Deeply sad.
When she finally spoke, her voice was quieter than before.
"My father was a vampire."
Grayson listened.
"My mother was a werewolf."
That explained part of it.
But not everything.
"There was also someone else."
Her crimson eyes darkened.
"A magician."
Grayson frowned.
"A magician?"
Lyra nodded.
"One of the strongest ever born."
The atmosphere changed.
"He experimented with bloodlines."
The sadness became pain.
"He wanted to create something perfect."
Realization slowly dawned on Grayson.
"You."
Lyra looked away.
"Yes."
Silence followed.
For the first time...
Grayson understood.
The strength.
The danger.
The loneliness.
She wasn't simply powerful.
She had been made powerful.
And judging by her expression...
The process hadn't been kind.
"I escaped."
Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
"I've been running ever since."
Grayson didn't know what to say.
No joke seemed appropriate.
No words seemed sufficient.
So he simply sat there.
Listening.
Sometimes that was enough.
Eventually Lyra glanced at him.
"You aren't afraid."
It wasn't a question.
Grayson shrugged.
"Should I be?"
"I'm a vampire."
"Part vampire."
"A werewolf."
"Part werewolf."
"A blood mage."
"That sounds useful."
Lyra blinked.
Then stared.
Then laughed.
Actually laughed.
For nearly thirty seconds.
Grayson looked far too pleased with himself.
"You're ridiculous."
"I get that a lot."
The laughter slowly faded.
But the warmth remained.
For the first time in years...
Lyra felt comfortable around someone.
And that scared her more than any monster.
Suddenly the System appeared.
FATE CONNECTION UPDATED
Individual: Lyra Nightshade
Trust Level Increased
Synchronization Rate: 31%
Grayson immediately closed the notification.
Nope.
Not dealing with that right now.
Unfortunately...
The System wasn't finished.
NEW TITLE AVAILABLE
Friend of the Crimson Moon
"Seriously?"
Lyra raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"That means something."
"It absolutely does."
The conversation might have continued.
But a sudden killing intent swept across the city.
Both of them stood instantly.
The atmosphere changed.
Cold.
Dark.
Ancient.
Dangerous.
The feeling lasted only a moment.
Yet it was enough.
Far below...
Hidden within the shadows of Nexus City...
A pair of golden eyes slowly opened.
Watching.
Observing.
Calculating.
A figure concealed beneath a black cloak smiled.
"So."
Its gaze remained fixed on Grayson.
"The candidate has finally appeared."
The smile widened.
"And he has already found the Moon Child."
Ancient runes glowed beneath its feet.
Darkness gathered.
A portal slowly formed.
"The Sovereigns will be pleased."
Then the figure vanished.
Leaving only silence behind.
On the rooftop, neither Grayson nor Lyra knew exactly what had happened.
But both understood one thing.
Something had noticed them.
And whatever it was...
It wasn't friendly.
The war waiting beyond Earth had just taken its first step toward them.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD