Victor opened after a few seconds, his eyes tired and bloodshot from sleeplessness.
When he saw Seth, he inhaled deeply, a mix of relief and fear.
— Are you okay?
Seth let his gaze drift inside.
Lucas was sleeping on the couch, wrapped in a thick blanket, with a glass of milk emptied on the table.
Victor carefully closed the door and, for a few seconds, hesitated. But he could no longer resist.
He turned to Seth, his brows furrowed.
— Seth, what the hell is going on? Who are those hunters? Who is the kid? And... what have you become?
Seth remained silent for a moment. He looked at his hands, his shoulders, the entire world that seemed different now.
And then, for the first time, he decided not to hide the truth anymore.
— Victor...
his voice was low, laden with the weight of something that defied human logic.
— What happened the night of the explosion wasn't an accident. It was a hunt between creatures... creatures hidden among humans.
And then... when everything I loved was gone... I found something. Or maybe... it found me.
Victor looked at him with wide eyes, motionless.
— I inherited a power. Ancient. Beyond what this world can imagine.
I am... Apex. The last living fire from a line of ancient warriors.
Victor paled.
— What can this power do?
Seth moved closer, in a slow, non-threatening gesture.
— I can see the hidden truth. I can subjugate the creatures I transform. I can become... more than what I am.
But I am not alone. I need those I can trust.
Victor stared at him, silent, trying to understand everything those words meant.
Deep down, he knew the world hadn't been normal for a long time. But now... now he saw how deep the abyss was that they had all fallen into.
Seth took a step toward him, his eyes burning with a deep violet.
— Victor...
his voice was calm, but it cut through the air like a sharp blade.
— I can offer you a choice.
I can use my power on you.
I can turn you into a creation of the Apex.
A protector. An ally bound to my fire. You'll become stronger than any ordinary man... but you'll carry a part of what I am inside you.
Victor was silent.
His gaze fell to the ground, then rose again to Seth.
— And... if I refuse?
Seth smiled faintly. A smile full of respect.
— Then you remain as you are. A man. But I promise I will do everything I can to protect you.
The choice is yours. Always.
Silence fell between them like a thick curtain.
Victor ran his hand through his hair, sighing deeply.
Then, in a low voice:
— If I accept... what will I become?
Seth tensed his muscles slightly, feeling the power boiling inside him, ready to burst.
— I will see in you what you can become.
Every soul has a true form, hidden beneath its skin.
Maybe a werewolf. Maybe a vampire. Maybe something rarer...
But I know you'll be by my side. And you'll never be weak in front of them again.
Victor bit his lip. Fear and courage fought in his eyes.
Finally, he raised his chin and said, trembling slightly:
— Do it, Seth.
I've been a spectator for long enough.
If this world falls apart... I want to fight by your side.
Seth closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating.
He felt the bond between him and Victor, that invisible thread of destiny now pulsing with a life of its own.
He raised his hand, and the air between them became dense, vibrating like a taut string.
— It won't hurt, he lied in a low voice.
He knew he couldn't promise that.
He channeled his energy through his palm and touched Victor's forehead with two fingers.
A wave of ancient fire exploded through his friend's body.
Victor screamed. A raw scream, torn from the depths of another time.
His body contorted, falling to his knees, his hands scraping the floor.
His skin darkened, like earth baked under the scorching sun.
From his back, two bumps under the skin began to rise — sharp corners, rudimentary, signs of crude wings trying to emerge.
Victor's eyes now gleamed in a deep red, shining like two burning coals.
Seth stepped back instinctively.
He hadn't expected this.
Not this form.
Victor... was becoming something Seth felt hadn't been seen in thousands of years.
A demon.
But not one corrupted or malevolent, as folklore claimed.
A noble demon, forged from will and suffering.
A warrior of fire and stone, born to fight for those who had no other defense.
Victor fell onto all fours, breathing heavily, hot steam pouring from his mouth.
Seth slowly approached, respectfully, feeling the waves of raw power rolling from Victor's transformed body.
— Victor... are you okay?
But the answer didn't come.
In a fraction of a second, Victor exploded into movement, like an animal freed from control.
A thick, furious, and painful roar escaped his chest, and his barely-formed wings burst out, tearing the air.
His eyes were no longer those of the man he had been.
They no longer saw a friend.
They saw only prey.
Victor leaped toward Seth with inhuman speed, claws glistening in the dim light of the apartment.
Seth reacted without thinking.
From the depth of his chest, from the root of his living fire, erupted the Scream.
The air vibrated violently.
The walls of the apartment trembled like leaves in a storm.
The light of the bulbs flickered out for a moment.
A sound that didn't belong to the world of men filled the space.
Victor crashed to the floor, trembling, gripped by his own primal terror.
Seth stepped over him, watching as the demonized body struggled between will and instinct.
He knew it wasn't enough to stop him physically.
He had to get inside him.
Save him — or control him — at his core.
He placed a hand on Victor's forehead, feeling the hot skin and the pulsing force beneath.
He closed his eyes and let his consciousness descend.
He woke up inside a torn mind.
Memories floated around him, broken, bleeding.
Victor as a child, beaten by a father who smelled of vodka and regret.
Victor as a teenager, alone in the rain, watching as others found paths to the future and he had none.
Victor as an adult, wandering between meaningless jobs, loving people who abandoned him over and over.
Every wound.
Every betrayal.
Every unwritten pain in flesh and blood.
Seth understood.
Not just had Victor suffered.
Victor had been taught by the world to be weak, to lose, to forget who he was.
And now... under the Apex fire... what had once been his soul was just an empty shell.
Seth, with pain in his heart, whispered in his mind:
— I am the fire that keeps you alive.
— I am the will that binds you to the world.
— You are mine.
Victor awoke.
But he was no longer the same.
His red eyes stared at Seth with a quiet, almost mechanical loyalty.
There was no more irony, no more warm sarcasm, no more desperate humor that had once kept them both alive.
Only obedience.
Silence.
An emptiness where once there had been a man.
Seth felt his stomach tighten painfully.
He stood up, looking at Victor who, without hesitation, knelt before him, head bowed.
— Command, master... the demon whispered.
Seth closed his eyes.
A bitter knot rose in his throat.
He remembered Victor, laughing over crumbs at the café near high school.
He remembered how Victor teased Seth for always leaving too large a tip.
The moments when he didn't judge him when Seth had fallen into depression after losing his family.
All those memories...
All those living parts of Victor...
Now they were extinguished.
In their place remained a shell of power.
A loyal demon.
A creation of Seth.
A sacrifice.
A sacrifice that Victor hadn't asked for.
Seth clenched his fists until his nails tore through his flesh.
He felt a hot tear in the corner of his eyes, but he didn't let it fall.
He couldn't cry anymore.
He couldn't hesitate anymore.
He had paid a price.
And he would pay even more.
He leaned a little toward Victor and, with a broken voice, whispered only for him:
— Forgive me, brother...
— I lost you, but I won't let it be in vain.
Victor didn't answer.
He couldn't.
For him, Seth was all that remained.
Seth stood up, his heart heavy.
The Hall of Silence awaited.
The Council awaited.