The portal vanished behind them, leaving Parker and Ere standing in the dimly lit bedroom of the man who had assaulted Tessa. The house was dead silent, the scent of expensive cologne and stale whiskey lingering in the air. A king-sized bed dominated the room, and in it, sprawled out like he had no care in the world, was their target.
Fast asleep. Oblivious.
Parker's gaze was cold as ice. "Wake him up."
Ere didn't need to be told twice. She leapt onto the bed with the grace of a predator, her claws flashing under the moonlight seeping through the windows. With one swift swipe—
Shhhhk.
A deep, vicious gash opened across the man's face.
The reaction was instant.
A raw, guttural scream tore from his throat as he jolted awake, hands flying to his face. Blood gushed between his fingers, soaking into the silk sheets. His breath hitched in ragged gasps, and then—pure horror struck him as he realized sothing was missing.
His right eye.
It was gone. Just gone.
He groped at the ruined socket, his voice cracking with agony. "M-My eye! My fucking eye!" He barely managed to choke out the words before another sharp wave of pain shot through him.
Ere, completely unbothered, wiped his blood off her claws using the very sa sheets he was lying on.
The man's body trembled as his blurry, bloodshot eye focused on Parker. And when recognition hit, his pupils shrank to pinpricks.
No. No fucking way.
Him?
Here?
He scrambled back, his spine hitting the headboard. "What—How the hell did you get in here?!" His voice was shaky, desperate. "The guards—how—"
Parker didn't answer. Didn't move. Just stood there, expression blank, like he was watching a fly squirm before he crushed it.
Fear. The bastard could sll it in the air, thick and suffocating.
"Is this what you want?" the man whispered, his body still pressing against the headboard like it could swallow him whole. "I get it—I fucked up, okay? I'm sorry—"
Still, silence.
Still, Parker just watched.
The man was panicking now, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps. But there was sothing worse—sothing far more terrifying than Parker's presence.
Why the fuck was no one coming?
The house had security—guards, caras, alarms. His scream should've brought them running, but the room remained eerily quiet.
It was like the rest of the world had stopped existing.
His head snapped toward the open doorway, expecting help. Nothing.
A cold sweat broke out on his skin. "W-What the fuck is this?"
Parker finally spoke. "Tear him apart."
Ere's smile was all fangs.
Shadows twisted beneath her feet, licking up the walls like living things.
The man didn't even get to process what was happening before pain exploded through his body. Claws dug into his flesh, dragging through muscle, carving deep, rciless wounds. The shadows pinned him down, shifting, slicing, burning—an endless cycle of agony.
His screams turned into sobs. "I— I swear! I won't— I won't touch her— I won't even breathe near her! I swear on my fucking life—please—"
Parker said nothing.
Ere kept going.
****
"Wha—what is this?" His voice cracked.
Ere didn't answer. She just lifted a paw. A simple, lazy motion—except the shadows beneath her twitched, rippling outward like liquid darkness.
The man jerked against his restraints. The bed didn't move. The zip ties bit into his wrists, but he barely noticed. He was too focused on the tendrils of blackness now slithering up his legs, wrapping around his calves, tightening.
"I—hold on, wait—"
His voice cut off in a strangled noise. The shadows constricted, pinning him in place, forcing his legs apart at an unnatural angle. He gasped, his body jerking uselessly. His bones creaked.
Ere finally spoke, her voice a low, syrupy purr. "Now, let's see what's inside."
And then she ripped. Discover exclusive tales at My Virtual Library Empire
The shadows didn't just hold him. They pulled. Muscles tore first, fibers snapping like overstretched rubber bands. His tendons followed—twisting, unraveling, shredding beneath the force. He scread, sothing raw and broken, as his knees popped from their sockets.
But Ere wasn't done.
She dragged her claws through the air, and the darkness responded, twisting into barbed threads that dug into his flesh. Skin peeled away like wet paper. Blood welled, then gushed, drenching the floor in thick, gleaming pools. His cries turned ragged, animalistic.
Parker watched, silent. Detached.
Ere tilted her head, considering the ss she'd made. Then, with a casual flick of her tail, the shadows wrenched.
A sickening, wet crack filled the room. His femur shattered. Jagged bone speared through his skin. He choked, his body convulsing, but there was no escaping.
His breath ca in panicked, high-pitched sobs now. "Please—"
Ere blinked slowly. "Oh? Now you wanna beg?"
She stepped closer, the darkness slithering around her like a living thing. The scent of blood thickened, rich and tallic.
"Not yet." She smiled. "I'm not done playing."
****
By the ti she was done, the man was a barely recognizable heap of blood and torn flesh, sprawled on the floor, chest rising and falling in weak, shuddering breaths.
Parker stepped forward. His shoes touched the blood, but it didn't matter. Nothing about this mattered.
He unsheathed his Phoenix Sword. The air rippled.
The man—what was left of him—could barely lift his head. His lips trembled, trying to form one last plea. But Parker only looked down at him with an expression so unreadable it may as well have been carved from stone.
"I'll co for you even in your next life," Parker said, voice steady. "Pray you don't reincarnate."
The blade ignited.
Flas, blinding and pure, engulfed the man's body. There was no ti for a final scream. No chance for another breath.
Just like that—he was erased.
[Ding! Hidden Mission Completed!
Taste of Blood: Take your first human life with the sacred Phoenix Sword.
Reward: Phoenix Flas (Superpower)]
Heat surged through Parker.
He tightened his grip on the sword, the hilt warm against his palm, and closed his eyes for just a mont, letting the flas speak to him.
Let feel you. Control !
A searing heat filled him from within, like an inferno igniting deep in his chest. The flas responded imdiately, licking up his arms, swirling around his body in tendrils of white-hot fire. The air grew thick, heavy with the scent of burning, but it was beautiful. This was it. This was what he'd been waiting for.
His chest swelled as he breathed in the energy that was now his. He could feel it moving with his heartbeat, pulsing with life and power, a perfect harmony between the man and the flas. It wasn't just fire. It was Phoenix Flas, flas that were born from sothing older, sothing primal.
And for the first ti, he felt the bond—the connection to the sword, to the flas, to the power that was now a part of him.
With a sharp movent of his wrist, he tested the flas. They obeyed him like a loyal servant, flickering in response to his slightest command. It wasn't just control, it was domination. He felt the flas surge around him, like a beast coming to heel.
The room was alive with heat, the flas spiraling and dancing as if they had their own will. Parker could feel them in his blood now. This was his power. His to command. His to destroy.
The flas exploded around him, expanding in a brilliant wave that could have consud everything in its path—but it didn't. Instead, they swirled around him, like the very essence of nature itself. Beautiful, graceful, and completely destructive. He stood at the center of it all, invincible, unshaken.
'Ere go outside, NOW!' he ordered suddenly!
And then—she appeared.
An Ice Goddess.
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