Kyon's First Person Point Of View.

The sharp click of the loaded chamber hung in the air, slicing through the heavy fog like a razor. I froze, every muscle in my body tensing as the hunter’s rifle aimed squarely at my chest.

For a heartbeat, everything seemed to slow. My pulse thundered in my ears, drowning out the distant echoes of combat. The air around me was cold, damp, suffocating. My eyes darted to the two hunters, their faces hard and impassive beneath their helmets.

“There’s no running,” the first hunter said, his voice as steady as the barrel of his gun.

My breath hitched. The vampire was still standing beside me, locked in the trance I’d forced upon him, his crimson eyes unfocused, his body unnaturally still.

I’d done this.

I didn’t have time to grapple with the implications, not with two hunters ready to pull the trigger. The weight of their presence pressed down on me, and panic threatened to swallow me whole. But just beneath the fear, there was something else—a flicker of defiance.

No. Not like this.

My hands shook as I looked back at the vampire. He remained still, his expression blank, waiting.

Why me?

The thought hit me like a slap. What had I done to deserve this? I didn’t ask to be a daywalker. I didn’t ask to be hunted by both sides, to be treated like prey by vampires and a target by humans. The anger bubbled up before I could stop it, burning hotter than the fear.

I didn’t ask for any of this.

The hunters moved closer, their weapons raised. I could hear them now, their voices low and tense as they communicated through the fog.

“Target confirmed. Engage on my mark.”

Something inside me snapped.

“Why?” I hissed, my voice trembling with fury. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

The vampire twitched slightly at my words, as if responding to my anger. My hands clenched into fists, the faint glow of Psycho Flux flickering around them. I stared at the hunters, their faces obscured by the mist, and then back at the vampire.

They want me dead. So do you. But I’m not the one who’s going to die today.

The anger coursed through me, feeding into the Flux, sharpening it. I turned to the vampire.

“Kill them,” I said, the words sharp and cold.

The words left my lips like a blade slicing through the tension. The vampire moved instantly, his form blurring into motion faster than my eyes could follow.

The first hunter had no time to react. A sickening crunch echoed through the fog as the vampire’s claws tore through his neck, severing it cleanly. Blood sprayed into the air, warm and wet, splattering across the ground—and across me.

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The second hunter shouted, spinning toward the blur of motion, but he didn’t stand a chance. The vampire was already on him, his claws slicing through flesh and bone in a single, fluid motion. The hunter’s head hit the ground with a wet thud, rolling a few feet before coming to rest in the crimson-stained mist.

And just like that, it was over.

The vampire straightened, his posture unnervingly calm, as if the violence had been nothing more than an afterthought. His claws dripped with fresh blood, the sharp metallic scent filling the air.

I stood frozen, my breath shallow, staring at the two lifeless bodies crumpled at my feet. My shirt was soaked, half-covered in their blood, the dark stain spreading like a grotesque bloom.

My hands shook. My stomach twisted, nausea rising in my throat.

And yet… beneath the horror, there was something else. A flicker of satisfaction, sharp and bitter.

They would’ve killed me. They wouldn’t have hesitated.

I clenched my fists, ignoring the sticky, wet feeling of blood on my skin.

“Good,” I muttered, more to myself than anyone else.

The vampire turned to me, his expression blank, waiting for his next command. His crimson eyes glowed faintly in the dim light, and I felt a shiver run down my spine. He was powerful, terrifying. And right now, he was mine.

I swallowed hard, the reality of what I’d done sinking in. I’d taken control of him, bent his will to mine. I didn’t know how, but I could feel it—a thread of power, thin but unbreakable, connecting us.

This wasn’t like before, when I’d used Psycho Flux to destabilize the assassin Mika. Back then, it had been wild, uncontrolled, a glimpse into her mind that left me shaken and disoriented. But this… this was different. This was deliberate. I had commanded him, and he had obeyed.

The thought sent a chill through me, equal parts awe and terror.

“Go,” I said, my voice firmer this time. “Hunt the rest of them. Kill them all.”

The vampire inclined his head slightly, a mockery of a bow, before disappearing into the fog. His movements were silent, predatory, leaving only the faintest ripple in the mist as he vanished.

And then I was alone.

I stared at the two bodies again, the blood pooling around them, their lifeless eyes staring blankly into the void. My hands trembled as I looked down at them, stained red.

What am I doing?

The question echoed in my mind, sharp and accusing. I should’ve been horrified, sickened by what I’d done. But I wasn’t. Not entirely.

“They deserved it,” I whispered, the words feeling hollow even as I said them. “They would’ve killed me.”

But that didn’t erase the image burned into my mind—the spray of blood, the sound of bones snapping, the dull thuds as their heads hit the ground.

I closed my eyes, taking a shaky breath. I couldn’t fall apart now. Not here.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard the faint echo of screams, followed by gunfire. The vampire was out there, tearing through the remaining hunters, just as I’d commanded.

The thought brought a twisted sense of relief. For now, I was safe.

But what would happen when he was done?

I didn’t know. And that terrified me.

I wiped at my face, smearing more blood across my cheek, and took a shaky step forward. My clothes were soaked, heavy with blood and sweat, clinging to my skin. The fog pressed in around me, thick and suffocating, but I forced myself to move.

All I knew was that I couldn’t stay here. The hunters weren’t my only problem. There were more vampires out there, more people coming for my life. And Harvey and Sia… where the hell were they?

The mist shifted as I walked, the faint, acrid scent of gunpowder mingling with the coppery tang of blood. My Echo Flux pulsed faintly, picking up distant blips of movement, but nothing close enough to be a threat.

I thought about the vampire, about the command I’d given him. For now, the hunters’ attention was on the vampire I’d sent after them. He was out there now, tearing through them like they were nothing.

Part of me felt sick at the thought. But another part—the part that had given the order in the first place—felt something else.

Power.

It scared me how much I liked it.

My gaze darted around the blood-soaked scene, my mind racing. The vampire was out there, killing the rest of the hunters. But what then? What would happen when he was done? Would he come back? Would the trance break? Would he turn on me again?

I didn’t know.