The air felt thicker now, more alive than it had any right to be. Akito stood frozen, his chest tight as he gazed at Aya, who had taken a step back, her expression now shrouded in something unreadable. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still heavy, as if the storm had only paused for breath.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” she repeated, her voice steady but distant.

Akito tried to ignore the rising panic in his chest. He could barely process the weight of her words, the fact that he was standing in front of her again, alive, after everything that had happened. The pain of his death—the knife that had torn through his chest, the look of betrayal in her eyes, the darkness that had swallowed him whole—flooded him like a river breaking through a dam.

But something was different now.

A strange sensation crept over him. His pulse quickened, and for the first time since waking, he felt a spark deep within his core—something raw, something unfamiliar. His hands, still trembling, clenched into fists at his sides. His breath hitched as a strange heat coiled around his palms, and the air around him seemed to distort.

Aya’s eyes flickered to his hands. “Akito…” Her voice was barely a whisper now, as if she, too, felt the strange energy building between them. “Stop.”

But Akito wasn’t sure he could stop.

His heartbeat raced faster as he stared at his hands, and the power inside him surged like a wave crashing against the shore. It wasn’t just heat—it was something more, something otherworldly. His hands glowed, faint at first, then brighter, casting eerie shadows on the wet ground.

It was as though he was holding a piece of the night sky itself, pulsing with an energy that was both terrifying and exhilarating. His breath came in ragged gasps as the sensation intensified, but it didn’t feel wrong. It felt like it was a part of him, an extension of something he had never known he had.

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“Aya…” His voice cracked. “What’s happening to me? What is this?”

She stepped back, her face pale, a trace of fear in her eyes. “It’s not just the rain,” she said, her words strained. “Something changed when you died, Akito. The moment they pulled you from the other side, they… they altered you.”

“Altered me?” Akito’s voice was a low growl, the power coursing through him making his thoughts scatter. “Who? Who did this?”

Aya didn’t answer right away. Instead, she turned away from him, her eyes narrowing as if she was fighting with something inside herself. The air between them seemed to thicken, and for a moment, Akito could feel the world shifting again—just like before, when he had first woken up.

Without warning, Aya lifted her hand toward him, her fingers curled into a fist. A surge of light crackled in the air between them, and Akito barely had time to react before the force of her power hit him square in the chest.

It was as though the weight of the world was pushing him down. Akito gasped, staggering back, his legs buckling beneath him. The power inside him flared in response, lashing out with a violent force that sent ripples through the surrounding air.

“Stop!” Aya’s voice broke through the chaos. “Don’t let it control you!”

But it was already too late.

Akito’s vision blurred, and in the chaos, he saw the flicker of something far more dangerous than the strange energy that had awakened inside him. It was as if something ancient was stirring within him—something he couldn’t control, something he didn’t understand. His skin burned, his mind clouded with dark thoughts.

It was then that he realized: he wasn’t just alive. He was different.

The energy crackled through his body, sending sparks into the wet ground as he struggled to steady himself. His heart pounded in his ears. “Aya… what’s happening to me?” he repeated, his voice thick with panic.

She stepped forward cautiously, her expression full of sorrow. “The people who brought you back—they weren’t kind. They didn’t just steal your life. They gave you something in return.”

Akito’s eyes widened. “What did they give me?”

Aya’s gaze was heavy with regret. “Power,” she said softly. “A power that will tear you apart if you don’t learn to control it.”

END OF CHAPTER 2 "SUPERNATURAL"