Sun was sinking below the horizon, casting long shadows as Akondo walked down the street, watching it disappear in thought. "I have to figure everything out before tomorrow, how I'm going to survive this without any serious issues."
He glanced at his phone and said to himself, "It's nearly night. I have to figure out some sort of plan before morning. Once that is in place, the rest I'll handle as it comes. I can't let this mess up my life."
Eventually, he stopped in front of a graveyard and got out, stepping quietly through the gate. Walked inside until he reached his mother's grave and stood there in silence. Looked down at the headstone, his heart trying to summon emotions he felt he should be feeling, but there was only emptiness.
A few seconds passed before he spoke, his voice cracking. "I'm sorry, Mom. Now… I know why you died that day, but… I can't take back what I did. I didn't mean to, but please… forgive me."
He felt an odd hollowness where grief should be. Perplexed, he mumbled under his breath, "Now… I have to survive—for you. Whatever it takes, I'll do it—even if I have to kill thousands on the way. Not you, Mom, I won't let you fade away."
It was nightfall when he found himself on an empty road again. Suddenly, he was cut off by the rev of engines as three motorcycles roared up, blocking his path.
The riders took off their helmets, and he recognized familiar faces. One of them was the guy he had fought in the parking lot, Revan. Akondo narrowed his eyes. "Isn't it the same guy?" he thought.
Revan smirked. "I told you I'd get my revenge, you little punk!"
"Oh, that shit again," Akondo thought as he turned to walk away, but a big, dark-skinned guy stepped in front of him and planted a massive hand on his chest.
"Trying to act tough, huh? Acting like a 'sigma'?" the big guy named Bob sneered. "We're here to send you straight to the hospital, kid."
"I don't have time for this," Akondo thought, brushing the big guy's hand off. "Look, I'm sorry for what I did. Just let me go."
"Scared, are you?" taunted a third guy with spiky hair, named Seto.
"Yeah, I am," Akondo said, his voice steady. "Now get out of the way and mind your own business."
He turned to walk away, but Revan lunged at him, throwing a punch. Akondo dodged it, grabbed his arm, and slammed him against a parked bike.
"My problem is with you, not with them, so I just can't ignore you," Akondo said calmly.
Bob charged, swinging his leg in a kick. Akondo jumped back, sighing. "Look, guys, I don't want any trouble. I think it'd be best if you just let me go."
But Seto rushed him from behind, locking Akondo in a tight grip. "We're not letting you go that easy."
Just then, a voice echoed from down the street. "Akondo!"
They all turned, spotting a figure in the distance.
"Seren?" Akondo thought, realizing it was his Seren.
"What are you doing?" Seren yelled.
Bob scrunched up his face, peering at the oncoming figure. "Who's that?"
Seren stepped nearer, eyes locked on Akondo. "Why are you hanging with these junkies? What's wrong with you?"
Bob puffed himself up, scowling. "What did you say? Junkie?"
"Seren, leave!" Akondo snapped.
"Stop messing around. Why'd you ghost me like that? Now come with me," Seren said, disregarding the dangerousness of the situation.
Revan sneered. "Looks like we've got ourselves a girlfriend situation."
"Yeah, she's hotter than the kid over there," Revan sneered, pulling on Seren's arm. "You didn't want a fight, right? Fine. We won't fight—but maybe we'll have some fun with your girl instead."
"What the-" Seren wrestled, face twisted into a grimace as she tried to pull free, but the guy only tightened his grip.
Akondo's fists had clenched, his voice low and deadly. "Motherfaker…let her go."
Bob laughed, wrapping an arm around Seren's waist. "Nah, I don't think so."
One smooth movement and Akondo kneed the Seto in the face, blood spurting as he staggered back.
Before Seto could even twitch, Akondo popped him squarely in the chest, sending him crashing to the floor.
Bob lunged at him, but Akondo sidestepped and leaped up to kick him squarely in the head, sending him crashing to the pavement, nose bleeding.
Revan watching his friends go down, panicked and took off Serens hand and ran abandoning his bike.
As the dust settled, Akondo turned to Seren, who stood trembling. "You okay?" he asked.
Seren nodded, though tears were streaming down her face. "I. I'm fine. But, Akondo, you're not okay. Not at all."
Akondo stopped, something in his expression changing. "Hmm. yeah, maybe I should just go along with that."
"If you're fine, then get lost bitch., okay? You just made things worse anyway," he told her coldly.
Seren looked up, shocked. "What did you just say?"
"I said, don't ever show up in front of me again. Stay out of my sight." He grabbed her collar briefly before letting go "Bitch"
"Fine… you'll never have to see me again." Tears fell freely as she turned and ran, leaving Akondo standing alone, watching her disappear into the distance.
Behind him, Bob struggled to his feet, running at Akondo with a haymaker of a punch. Without looking, Akondo ducked, then turned around, ramming a strong knee into Bob's chest.
He followed up by grabbing his arm and slamming him onto the ground, holding him firmly in place.
"Don't let me see you again either," Akondo growled, shoving the guy's face into the dirt.
He turned and walked away, stepping onto a different street. His mind was buzzing with a strange clarity. "My body… It feels so strong, like I'm more than human. I can sense things coming, react faster—dodge attacks I didn't even see. Whatever this power is, it's giving me serious physical strength too."
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In the open field behind Ren Manton's estate, Ren steadied his golden revolver, taking careful aim. With a sharp squeeze of the trigger, he fired—and the bullet hit the center of the target board fifty meters away.
"Perfect. That's three in a row," Ren muttered with a grin. "I might just beat my personal record tonight."
He reloaded and took his aim again. Just as he was focusing, Maxima stepped up behind him, her voice low but insistent. "Don't practice at night, sweetheart. It's not good."
Ren chuckled. "What, are vampires going to come for me?"
"No," Maxima said, shaking her head. "But nighttime belongs to dark spirits. It's a time when their energy is strongest. Shooting during these hours… it's just not wise."
"Whatever," Ren shrugged, firing off yet another perfect shot.
Ren dropped his aim to regard the empty sky overhead. "Did you ever notice? Scarcely any snowfall the last couple of days. I could've sworn this town lay under a sheet of the stuff this time of year."
Maxima thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, used to. Lived here 'til I was twelve. We had our heavy usual snow every winter."
Just then, a maid appeared carrying trays with winter coats for both Ren and Maxima. She curtsied low, her voice full of concern. "My Queen, my Prince… It's cold out here. Please wear these heavy coats, or—"
Ren took the jacket, slipping it on as he nodded thanks to the maid. Then, glancing down at his revolver, he turned away from the target board, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, aimed, and fired. Opening his eyes again, he saw the bullet had struck the target dead-center.
Maxima and the maid exchanged shocked glances.
"Wow," Maxima said, obviously impressed. "Since when did you get this good?"
Ren flashed a confident smile. "I've been better than this for a while, Mom…" He hesitated, lowering his voice. "All of a sudden, though, it feels different."
He raised the revolver again and fired two more, in quick succession, and like the others, perfectly on target. "That's it. I've broken my record. Time to call it a night."
"Yes," Maxima said, and laughed. "Come on inside."
A little while later, Ren was in the manor again, pacing up and down in a private room filled with gym equipment.
He was listening to an audiobook through his wireless earbuds as he worked out on the punching bag.
His fists were moving so fast, they seemed almost invisible, pounding away with such force that when he finally stopped, the bag ripped open, its insides falling out onto the floor.
Smirking, he collapsed onto a chair to catch his breath. "Massive improvement," he thought to himself, gratified. "I feel stronger than ever."
He stopped the audiobook playing in his earbuds and pulled them out, taking a long sip from his water bottle.
"Being a vampire sounds rough," he muttered to himself. "Good thing they're not real—or at least, that I'm not one."
They have to kill, drink blood just to survive… In a way, if blood is what keeps them alive, does that make them all that different? Maybe that's the point of the story…" He rolled his eyes. "Still, total garbage."
Stretching, he ambled over to the mirror, peering at his reflection. "Eat Blood to survive, huh?" he said softly, a weird light flickering in his eye.
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Akondo sat in his dimly lit living room, watching television and sipping from his glass of water. "Well, from now on. I'm no human anymore." That was an odd feeling, as if a part of him was detached from his body. "I am bound by a body swap system, forced to Eat Souls To Survive, huh?"
"I Eat Soul To Survive."
The System spoke up suddenly, "Yes."
"Great," Akondo said with a wry smile. "This system is like some AI. rarely responds unless it feels like it, but I guess it decided to respond this time."
He leaned back, closing his eyes, thinking what to do next. "I need souls," he thought, but immediately a host of conflicting ideas sprang into his mind. "But I can't just go around killing people indiscriminately. If I'm going to survive this… I need to find people who actually deserve death."
Just then, a breaking news story flashed on the TV screen. "Tomorrow, at the Royal Execution Center, an execution will take place. A foreigner condemned to death for the murder of a civilian and attempted assassination of the Queen and Prince of Valloria will receive his punishment. The Prince of Valloria has called on citizens to come out and witness the execution, so that such crimes are fresh in their minds. The event will be televised live."
Akondo's eyes gleamed with sudden inspiration. "Perfect. Whoever this guy is, he's been sentenced to die for something worth a death penalty. If I go there and swap bodies with him right before his execution… it just might work."
He grinned, feeling a newfound purpose settle over him. "It's a good plan. A twisted one… but perfect."
[ To be continued ]