Adrian might have made a mistake.

After beheading the Acolyte, he leaned in too close—and that was when it happened.

SQUELCH

"Agh!" Adrian's eyes widened as a sharp pain tore through his chest.

He lowered his gaze slowly, but he already knew.

The Acolyte, who should have been dead, had driven something straight through him.

Blood poured from Adrian's mouth as both he and the Acolyte sank to their knees.

One gone for good… and one slipping away.

"ADRIAN!" Ariana's voice cracked, reaching his ears faintly as his vision blurred.

'Am I really… dying?'

His thoughts broke apart.

And then, his heart stopped.

….

"Adrian!" Ruby cried, throwing herself beside him. She shook his body, but he didn't answer.

"No… no, no, no!"

Ariana quickly yanked the Acolyte's arm away and her breath caught. She saw the mark of poison in the wound. Panic filled her eyes as she pressed trembling fingers to Adrian's neck.

Her face went pale.

Thud.

Ruby flinched as Ariana collapsed to the ground, staring in shock.

"A-Ariana?! W-what's wrong? Why are you just—just standing there like that?! Help me!" Ruby's voice broke as tears spilled down her face.

Her hands shook as she grabbed the revolver. She checked the bullet—

"Yes… this one heals… it'll work… it has to work…"

She aimed at Adrian's chest and pulled the trigger.

Bang.

A warm light wrapped around him—

but his body stayed still.

"No… no, please…" Ruby sobbed, loading another.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

She fired again and again, her tears falling harder each time, her voice breaking with every shot.

"Why isn't it working?! Please, Adrian… please wake up!"

But nothing changed.

He…died.

….

"Is it time already?" a voice echoed in the darkness.

Adrian groaned, feeling weightless.

"Isn't it too soon?" the voice asked again.

This time, he heard it more clearly.

It wasn't male or female. The tone was thin, yet it carried depth.

Adrian opened his eyes.

There was nothing above him. Nothing below him.

He was floating in the dark.

He couldn't feel. He couldn't think.

He knew—he had just died.

And yet, whatever was happening right now made no sense.

"You're far too early for this," the voice spoke once more.

Adrian tried to open his mouth, but no sound came out. He had no strength to speak.

'What is happening…' the thought echoed inside his head.

"You are dying," the voice replied.

He lifted his head, forcing his body to do the only thing it could. Think.

'Can… I survive…?'

"You can. The fact that you can hear me means you still have enough strength to return."

Adrian thought the next question without pause.

How?

There was a brief silence before the voice spoke again.

"First, tell me—are you prepared for this?"

Adrian frowned. 'Prepared for what?'

"For what you will become. Your human side has already died, though it happened far too soon. When you wake, you will not be entirely yourself."

The words were vague, leaving Adrian struggling to grasp their meaning.

But the pull of the darkness around him was growing stronger. He didn't have the time or strength for a long explanation.

'Will I forget who I am? Will I hurt the people I care about?' he asked.

"Both are possible," the voice replied. "It depends on your willpower—your drive to live and the strength of your feelings for others. If you are truly certain you can control yourself, I can bring you back."

Did Adrian really have a choice?

On one hand, accepting this meant stepping into something unclear, maybe even dangerous. He could end up like those monsters he had once cast into a burning volcano.

But if he refused, then he would simply die.

There wasn't much left to consider.

I want to live.

….

"Ah!" Ruby yelped, her voice trembling as she spotted something unnatural.

"A-Ariana," she stammered, "L-look…"

Ariana lifted her head, following Ruby's gaze.

Her eyes widened at the sight before them.

Adrian was absorbing the flesh and blood of the fallen Acolyte, and the deep hole in his chest was closing at an alarming pace.

"What in the world is happening…" Ruby whispered, stunned.

Strange as it was, it looked like this might actually save him.

So, Ariana and Ruby could do nothing but watch in silence, waiting.

Adrian's complexion steadily improved. The blood he had lost seemed to flow back into him, and his wounds closed as if he had never been pierced at all.

For Ariana and Ruby, it was as if a light had broken through the darkness. They watched with hope when his head lifted slightly.

"Adrian?" Ariana called softly, unable to believe what she was seeing. She didn't care how—it only mattered that he was back.

Adrian slowly turned his gaze toward her.

The moment their eyes met, Ariana flinched.

There was no warmth, no familiar spark in his eyes. Instead, they were pitch black, like a void with no end.

When Adrian raised his hand, she instinctively drew back—but caught herself. She refused to move away.

"Adrian?" she whispered again.

His cold hand cupped her cheek, and a faint, unsettling smirk tugged at his lips.

"Adrian? Please, talk to us," Ruby added, desperate.

He shifted his head and turned to her. Ruby froze where she stood.

There was something terrifying about the presence he gave off. It told them to run—that this wasn't the Adrian they knew.

Yet neither of them moved. Their hearts wouldn't let them.

Adrian raised his hand once more and placed it against Ruby's cheek. The moment she touched his hand, her eyes widened. His skin was icy cold.

"You want me to heal your brother, don't you?" His voice was low, twisted, eerily inhuman.

Ruby's breath caught in her throat.

Without warning, Adrian pulled his hand back and waved it through the air.

*CRACK*

The doors to the backyard snapped apart, and a sharp cry followed as a body flew through.

Damien's figure landed before them.

"Brother!" Ruby screamed, her eyes widening in horror and hope.

The rest of the family rushed toward the chaos, but every step slowed when their gazes fell upon Adrian.

"Ruby… this…" Reid's voice wavered as he struggled to speak.

But Ruby herself was lost, standing in shock. She had no answers. She didn't even know what Adrian had become.

Adrian twisted his fingers and soon, Damien gasped

"Ah!" He cried as he felt his insides burning.

His wounds mended, his organs regrew by absorbing the flesh and blood of the fallen Acolytes.

What those many bullets couldn't do, Adrian achieved it with just a flick of his wrist.

Damien was slowly lowered to the ground, alive and healthy.

No one spoke a word.

Too stunned to even think what was happening.

However, Adrian spoke.

He scooped the two ladies in his arms effortlessly, he said, "It's time to pay back."

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