Dan wobbled on his feet, a firm hand helped him make his way across the floor. Ah, this girl was an angel! Not only had they danced she had bought him drinks, she even took him up on his offer to find a quiet place.
"My apartment is actually just three blocks away." The look she gave could make any man jealous.
"Lead da way," said Dan, giggling. Internally he reprimanded himself, cringing at his awkwardness but couldn't stop himself from laughing. Blood pumped through his cheeks. They must be bright red. Everything in front of him seemed to sway, as though he was on the deck of a ship on turbulent seas rather than a club.
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Nyx let out a deep sigh. He couldn't watch without acting, not with a demon involved. "Excuse me one moment, gotta release the sea dragon," he said without looking at Joshua or Gabe whose expressions turned quizzical. He got up, not waiting for a response, leaving the VIP area. It was indeed turning out to be an eventful first day back on Earth.
Nyx placed his drink on a high table as he walked past, it landed with a dull thunk. He made his way through stumbling men and women, at the corner he turned towards the restrooms. The line of sight broken, he verified no eyes were on him. Quickly he slipped out the back door.
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Dan stumbled, the stairs at the club entrance too much for his drunk feet. The girl next to him didn’t let him fall - Man was she strong.
"Lead the way princess!" Dan said, ignoring a subtle feeling that told him to split, he played out how things would go once he was back at her place. He would have to be smooth, and couldn't show his inexperience. Dan hadn't even learned her name but figured it was too late to ask now. He hoped calling her princess wasn't too much.
She smiled back, but her eyes were cold her lips pulled up at the corners. There was a hungry look to her that promised a night of wonders. He could tell this girl wasn't shy and might want to try out new things. He shivered, the idea made him nervous. He reached into his pocket for his cigarettes.
Clouds had darkened the night sky making the dim street lamps appear bright and the shadows they cast, off parked cars and buildings, pools black. Dan squinted, a vehicle drove by, headlights illuminating the darkness momentarily.
"You sure you live around here?” The walk and night air had done wonders to clear his head.
"What's not to like here." The girl gestured around the alley.
Broken windows and glass littered the ground. A dumpster stood open, the end of a too big broken desk stuck out. The girl let go of him, backing up, coming between him and the exit to the alley.
Her eyes changed, black smoke began to swirl from her body into the night, making her figure indistinct. Her eyes burned like coals, Dan’s mouth fell open. Waves of dark energy became visible emanating from her, they intensified as strands of the power reached across the alley coiling around his body. He could feel it tugging at the energy in his core with an insatiable appetite. Dirt on the alley floor swirled into the air, drawn up by the current of power.
Veins stood out all over Dan's body as he strained against the bonds, but he couldn't move an inch. Slowly he was forced to his knees. Pure terror intruded on his mind. He couldn't think. He felt that if his heart beat any faster, it would burst. The whites of his eyes were visible, and his pupils dilated.
A demonic eco came in place of the girl's voice, "this skin does wonders, I can feed and never fear discovery," the sound seemed to emanate from all around.
The signs had all been there, and he had let himself be lured into the trap. The energy around encircled his arms, legs, and torso, leaving him immobile. Mustering all his willpower, he tried to stand, tried to escape the fog of panic filling his mind, but barely moved three inches. He attempted to draw on the Chi in his core, but every time he tried to call it, it slipped back, water through splayed fingers. He could not maintain his focus.
"It is useless," the waves of red power intensified as if in explanation, constricting him further, veins began to pop up around the tightening cords of energy. The eco in the voice deepened, "I never expected to run into such a feast. I will drain you quickly." Fangs became visible as a grin split the thing's mouth, and more of the black smoke spilled out.
"Rot in hell demon bitch!" his voice cracked, it was all the resistance he could muster.
She smiled wider blurring as she moved. The burning eyes were right in front of Dan, they seemed to grow, and he could see the fires of hell reflected in the glowing inferno. As it drew his consciousness in, he felt himself being torn apart, surrounded by hellfire burning his skin to a husk, lapping at him almost gleefully as he cried out. Hooks dug into flesh holding him in place. The agony! He didn't want to keep living. Death would free him.
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He realized he was going to die. He could feel his soul begin to tear, fracture from the stress it was under. A part of him knew it was all in his mind, but he could not free himself. A shadow moved, visible in Dan’s peripherals.
Something long, masked by night whipped forward, he heard an impact. The demon stumbled and fell back. The waves of demonic Chi holding him broke apart. He could move! The demoness' eyes were wide but quickly narrowed in anger. It rose back to its feet brushing off fragments of glass, unblemished.
Dan’s stared, his brain filled with fog clouding his judgment. Nyx stood facing the demoness in front of him, fearless. He was a boulder in a storm. Streams of demonic Chi emanated all around but did not reach him.
He noticed his mind had been freed from the demons hold, looking down at his body, no hooks were tearing him apart, no fires burning his skin. He still couldn't shake the terror. It clung to him, barbs stuck into his mind.
"Nyx, what's going on?"
"Run." There was no fear in his voice, just pure calm, but the urgency was unmistakable.
Darkness and despair emanated from the demoness. He couldn't help himself. He ran, legs pumping, turning towards the club once he exited the alley. Safety. Street lights blurred overhead as the fear drove him onward.
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Wave after wave of demonic energy hammered at Nyx. He focused with his spirit, on the array pattern glowing in the Aether. The simple pattern wove the sparse natural Chi in the alley around him, a shield. It was all he could muster. If pushed too far, the damage to his soul would be irreversible. He was fortunate the demon was weak, or the pattern would be useless.
He had not begun cultivating on Earth, so this vessel was a fresh slate. A storm raged around him, but he faced it. His kick before had merely allowed Dan to escape. The Succubus tilted her head regarding him as she wiped a stray piece of glass from her arm.
She moved fast, much faster than Nyx could keep up. Black smoke rose as her hands morphed into claws. Prepared for the attack, he was still taken off guard but dodged sideways, not fast enough. The claws raked towards his arm. Pain seared as long furrows were dug, immediately filling with rivulets of blood that dripped down his arm and from the tips of his fingers. If he hadn't moved, it would have been much worse. Nyx tightened muscles near the deep gashes slowing the bleeding.
The demonic voice whispered full of venom and malice, "I will drain you slowly, you stole a meal from me."
She rushed him again. Blood left a red mist in the air as a claw tore a gash in his side. The demon grinned, she was toying with him. With his focus split between maintaining the array pattern with his spirit, and avoiding attacks, he was at his limit. He had overestimated himself. This mortal body was new to him, he believed he could save Dan and escape. Those hopes were being drained, literally.
In immense pain, he would never show it. Slashes bled across his body, the demoness’s tongue slipped out, lapping up blood from a talon. He would bleed out at this rate, all he had done so far was survive. His body physically couldn’t keep up. It took considerable effort for Nyx to bring down and control his breathing and heart rate. So it had come to this.
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Oh, she was enjoying it. The human in front of her, covered in gashes dripping blood, showed no fear or quit. He was tiring, she inhaled, tasting the metallic tang of blood on the air. This would not be easy, but oh the ecstasy when he broke. In the end, when he finally begged for mercy, she would devour him. She craved to feel his terror as she took what was hers.
She launched at him, not holding back this time, and bore him to the ground pinning his limbs. She tried to draw his soul from his body, to break it apart. There was a strength to this one stopping her from drawing out his soul. It resisted with more vigor than should be possible for a human. She needed to weaken his body further; that was the answer.
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Sitting under the demon, Nyx knew it was about to end before it started. His body wanted him to give up, drained of strength, but he still struggled. Death did not scare him, what was worse, was the feeling of failing his friends. They had given him the chance to come to Earth. His conscience had stopped him from abandoning Dan, and he decided he did not regret the decision.
Nyx had one more trick, one attempt to turn the situation around. He began to draw on Chi for the first time on Earth. Demonic Chi swirled into his body. A whirlpool created by a technique he had specially devised to siphon demonic energy. It might destroy his vessel, but he had nothing to lose. Searing pain coursed through his body, he smiled welcoming it.
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The demon looked down at the boy. So close. He would break now. She dragged a claw down his chest, easily parting flesh, leaving a deep furrow. She waited for the pain to register on the humans face, licking her lips with anticipation. He smiled, and she recoiled.
She felt it; her energy was being drawn into this weakling, how? Footsteps approached, and shadows turned into people at the alley's entrance. She reached with a claw ready to slit his throat and end him, but she paused, remembering the smile. The memory of his defiance fed her malice, and her lips peeled back from her fangs, her fury knew no bounds. Demonic Chi exploded in all directions as she released a high pitched shriek. I'll be back for you yet. You will break!
She seethed with anger. Quick, her legs powered her onto the dumpster. With inhuman strength, she leaped clearing the barricade and was gone.
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Nyx felt the release of the pressure on top of him. His vision started to black out from loss of blood. Demonic Chi swirled through his meridians. Expanding, reshaping. Pain. Barely hanging on to consciousness he forced the Chi through its cycle and into his core. Agony was everything that existed for him, the Chi tore apart his insides, altering them. Stronger.
Unnatural rage filled his mind. He wanted to destroy. Everything.
Ah, the reason nobody cultivates this Chi, But he would not lose to it, his soul was stronger than that of the mortals on Earth. His mind registered the blurry shapes of people moving above him, and then everything went dark.