The night stretched long and silent, save for the occasional rustling of leaves in the cold wind. Alex sat inside an old roadside diner, flipping through his worn leather journal. His fingers traced over the hastily scribbled notes, annotations in margins detailing weaknesses, countermeasures, and patterns of various creatures he'd encountered over the last year and a half.
His eyes flicked to the reflection in the diner's window. The dim neon glow cast strange shadows over his face, making him look older than he was. It had been months since he'd spent more than a few days in one place, and it showed—his hair was longer, unkempt, and a faint scar cut across his left eyebrow from an encounter he barely walked away from.
Tonight, though, he wasn't reminiscing about past battles—he was planning for the next one.
---
Alex's latest lead had come from a police report out of a small Midwest town. A string of bizarre murders had caught his attention—not because of the deaths themselves, but because of what they left behind.
Bodies drained of blood, but with no visible wounds. Strange symbols drawn in ash around the crime scenes. Witness reports of seeing shadows moving against the wind.
He sighed, rubbing his temple. "Great. Just once, I'd love to find a case where the bad guy is just a dude with a knife," he muttered to himself.
The waitress, who had been pouring coffee at a nearby table, raised an eyebrow. "You say something, hon?"
Alex shook his head quickly. "Nah, just thinking out loud."
With a sip of his coffee, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his notes. He had learned to approach each hunt differently, treating them like a puzzle rather than a test of brute force. Too many hunters charged in without thinking, and too many of them never walked back out.
That wasn't going to be him.
He tapped a finger against the table, considering his options.
1. Investigate the last crime scene and search for lingering supernatural traces.
2. Visit the families of the victims, see if any of them noticed strange behavior before the deaths.
3. Track down a local historian—sometimes old town myths hid kernels of truth.
He exhaled slowly, then grabbed his jacket. "Alright, Alex. Time to go play detective."
---
The old house had been taped off, though the police presence was long gone. Yellowed grass stretched across the front yard, swaying slightly in the night breeze. The place had a weight to it, the kind Alex had come to recognize—a place where something lingered.
He moved carefully, keeping his senses open. He'd learned to trust them, especially in moments like these. His psychometry had grown sharper over the months, allowing him to pick up echoes of the past more vividly.
Stepping inside, he let his fingers brush against the doorframe.
The vision hit immediately.
A flicker of candlelight. The scent of burning herbs. Shadows stretched unnaturally against the walls, whispering. A figure, tall and cloaked, muttering in an ancient tongue.
Then—pain.
Alex staggered back, his breath coming fast. "Son of a—" He clenched his jaw, shaking off the dizziness. "Well. That was fun."
His heart still hammering, he focused on what he saw. Ritual magic. Blood sorcery. A summoning, perhaps? He needed more information.
His eyes fell to the floor. The symbols were still faintly visible, despite the police efforts to scrub the scene clean. Pulling out his notebook, he began sketching them down, cross-referencing them with what he had learned.
Something about them felt... wrong.
Not just summoning. Binding.
"Someone tried to keep something in," he murmured. "But it got loose."
---
Back at his motel, Alex spread out his findings. The symbols weren't just for calling something—they were meant to trap it. But whatever they had been trying to contain had gotten loose.
He ran a hand through his hair. "Fantastic. So now I'm not just looking for a monster. I'm looking for a monster someone else was scared of. That's always a great sign."
His thoughts were interrupted by a notification on his phone. A local news report. Another body had been found.
The location? Less than two miles from where he sat.
"Oh, come on. Give me a break."
He was out the door before he could think twice.
By the time he reached the site, the police were already there. Blue and red lights flashed in the darkness, casting eerie shadows against the pavement. Alex kept to the perimeter, his gaze scanning for any sign of residual energy.
And then, he saw it.
A flicker of movement where there shouldn't be. A ripple in the air.
Something was watching.
His fingers tightened around the grip of his weapon. "Alright, buddy. You wanna dance? Let's dance."
This hunt was far from over.
---
After returning to safety, Alex sat in his motel room and pulled up the panel in his mind. A translucent interface flickered before his vision, revealing his progress:
Abilities (Main):
- Psychometry (Enhanced): Stronger visions, clearer details, better control.
- Power Absorption (Latent): Needs a strong stimulus for full activation.
He exhaled slowly, the weight of his growth settling over him. He was stronger than before—but so were the things he hunted.
And whatever he was chasing now?
It was only getting started.