Nothing much had stirred that day, no storm, no gale, but something in the air was hanging heavy in the day, unsettlingly at ease, Ethan could not shake off the feeling. His senses were heightened from the blood pumping up and down his body, to experience every minute sound—the rustle of paper, the hum of fluorescent lights, even the distant tap of a foot on the hard floor. But what with all that there was one sound above the others: his own heart thundering.
{System Status: Blood Control Active. No imminent threats found.}
It was almost too quiet. The other students barely acknowledged it as they settled into desk and pulled out notebooks after the bell rang, marking the start of class. Now, as Ethan rose to his feet, the routine had become a strange parody of life before Everything, when routine was part of what made life feel real. He strode to Room 3C, the one classroom where everything had changed — the one where the first wave of power had surged inside him. The walls still reeked, faintly, of sweat and stale coffee, the after- stink of the carnage that had broken out yesterday.
Then, as Ethan entered, the whispers began. The students in his class, not quite so brazen now in their taunts, cast furtive glances his way. Fear laced their gazes. There was something about him that felt different now. They sensed it, and they were frightened.
Ethan always sat in the back corner, as far away from everyone as he could. The lines of the snicker, creased with madness and insanity, railed in his mind, loss and madness pitted against the scars of humanity still throbbing at the back of his mind. The system was always there and it gave him ways to continue advancing evolution, but each felt like bending further and further into darkness.
The words flickered in his mind, and despite the desire to search deeper into the power, there was a familiar reluctance. He know that the more choices he made, the more moves he made, the farther away he got from the person he'd been— There was no going back now.
The teacher walked in and the click of her heels hit the floor and the class fell into a faked sense of normalcy. Mrs. Hayes, in her endless attempt to stay in control, began to drone on about the upcoming test. But Ethan was not thinking about her lecture. He felt the energy thrumming through him, felt the weight of it pushing against his ribcage like an inescapable tide.
He had been trained by the system in no time. He knew his transformation wasn't merely physical — it was mental, emotional, spiritual. Every time he used the power, every time he felt the blood thrumming in him, something in him shifted. His sense of right and wrong was becoming distorted, warped in the raw lust for power and control.
But here, in the moment, surrounded by his classmates, there was one question he couldn't escape.
What would happen if he opened his hand?
The response came quickly, and it was not one he was prepared to hear.
They flickered the lights in the room.
Then they went out altogether.
The room darkened, followed by a collective gasp. Ethan's heart raced. He didn't need to see in the dark — his senses were like a laundry list of fine-tuning, his hearing, his touch, his instincts themselves, all juiced to a fearsome level.
{System Update: Power Surge Detected. Emergency Protocol Activated.}
The words rang in his ears, but Ethan's attention had moved on. He could hear panic, chairs shuffling, and bewailering of other students — already scared. It wasn't only the darkness — they were afraid of him. You could sense it in the air.
A voice cut through the panic. "What's going on?" somebody shouted, their voice shaking.
Then came a loud crash from the back of the room. Ethan's senses focused on it. Someone was working their way, trying to escape. His instincts kicked in. He knew what would happen if he let them run — if he let them break free from the control that was already beginning to slip from his fingers.
As he contemplated his next move, a torrent of angry whispers erupted in the room. "It's him. It's Ethan."
{"Blood Lineage" System Alert: Rising Inheritance. Targets now know closeness. {Running first level control protocol!}
The system's text was all the confirmation that Ethan needed. They knew. They were afraid. And that fear, that primal reaction, was a measure of his power.
Ethan slowly stood, pacing toward the center of the room, steps silenced although purposeful. He didn't need to see them. He didn't have to listen to their voices. He could taste the fear in the air. It was all that mattered now.
The murmurs intensified as he closed in. "He's here. He's going to—"
System Message: Blood Grasp Activated.
His hand sprung forward without him even thinking about it, the energy of his blood raging through him like a wild river. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, but it felt divine. The sounds, the smells, the sensations of the world around him became completely irrelevant, but there was one unmistakable thing: the fear. The abject terror emanating from his classmates.
One was a short brown-haired girl who screamed when the power of Ethan's blood grasp latched onto her throat and yanked her off the ground. But she fought, thrashing and wheezing as he held her body captive.
Ethan's pulse quickened. His reds and yellows began to whirl around him, Algar's senses on overload. He could feel the girl's blood pulsing through his fingers, the power of her life draining from her and mixing with his. He could sense her pulse, her terror, her desperation.
{System Warning: Blood Grasp used on non-threat detected. Power, when used too much, can lead to irreversible effects.}
The warning was nearly drowned out by the chaos, but it was enough to pull Ethan's focus. The hold on the girl's throat let up, and she collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air, her eyes bulging with fear.
Ethan looked around the room. His classmates had fallen silent, wide-eyed. Now there was no turning back. It was all because of him that the fear had grown palpable, thick in the air.
He sensed the darkness enveloping him, surrounding his thoughts, and imprisoning him in a choking hug.
System Notice: Blood Control Level 80%. Critical mass approaching.}
For a moment, the room felt still, all too still save for the ragged breathings of the students. Ethan could feel the pounding of his own heart, thundering in his chest, louder. He knew that this was the moment, where he would either break from his humanity, or lose it entirely.
Then, the lights flashed on and off once more, and the door blasted open, sending a flood of light into the room. Ethan was lurking next to her, hands shaking before the devastation that lay beside him, and Mrs. Hayes froze in the doorway, eyes wide, trying to assimilate what she was seeing.
"Ethan…" she said, her voice a whisper. "What have you become?"
The question was suspended in space, and for a moment, Ethan had no idea what to say.
He wasn't sure whether an answer remained.