Marcus/Rocco
The first thing I noticed after coming back from the hospital was that
my body moved differently. Not stronger. Not exactly. Just… cleaner.
Like unnecessary hesitation had been stripped away somewhere along the
line. Even breathing during training felt sharper now. More controlled and
efficient.
That should've worried me more than it did.
"Again."
Callie's training whip snapped toward me face with a violent crack.
I reacted instantly. No panic or wasted movement.
I slipped sideways just enough for the whip to graze past my cheek
before stepping inside her range immediately.
Too fast.
Callie's eyes widened slightly.
I drove my shoulder into her guard before following with a low thigh
kick hard enough to force her balance backward. The second her footing shifted,
I moved again.
A sharp elbow toward the jaw. Callie blocked barely in time before
twisting away. Her whip lashed around my wrist. And I countered automatically.
The bracelet pulsed. Chains exploded outward. Silver links wrapped
around her weapon instantly before ripping it away and slammed it against the
dirt.
The entire training yard went silent. I blinked, because I hadn't even
meant to use the realm. It just… happened.
Callie stared at me for a second before slowly retrieving her weapon.
"You're getting better at that."
"Apparently."
Seraphina stood near the edge of the yard watching quietly with her arms
crossed. Expression unreadable. That was never a good sign.
"Again," she said calmly.
No praise. No criticism. Just observation.
The next hour passed in bruises and sweat. Callie remained faster than
me overall, but the gap was shrinking rapidly now.
And worse, I was beginning to predict her movements. Not consciously. My
body just reacted before my brain fully caught up.
A shift in her shoulders. A change in footing. The angle of her wrist
before striking. Everything felt slower lately. Not literally. Just easier to
read.
Callie swung low with the whip again.
I stepped over it cleanly before driving a roundhouse kick toward her
ribs. She blocked, but the impact still shoved he backward several feet.
Noah let out a low whistle from the porch.
"Okay that looked painful."
"It WAS painful," Callie snapped.
Riley smirked slightly from beside him.
"You're just mad he's catching up."
"She should be," Valen said calmly beside me.
I glanced at him briefly.
Valen stood beneath one of the trees near the yard, golden eyes fixed
calmly on the spar.
Hands resting loosely behind his back. Watching. Always watching.
"You hesitate less now," he observed.
I ignored him mostly because Callie attacked again immediately. This
time aiming high.
I ducked beneath the strike before driving forward with a knee toward
her stomach.
Callie twisted sideways barely in time, but that moment of imbalance
cost her.
I swept her legs instantly. She hit the ground hard. Silence followed
then Noah yelled-
"OH, HE COOKED YOU."
"Shut up, Noah."
Callie accepted my hand after a second before standing again slowly. But
instead of looking annoyed-
She looked confused. Her eyes studied me carefully. Like something felt
off.
"You're different lately," she said quietly.
That made me paused.
"Different how?"
Callie hesitated slightly. Before she could answer-
Seraphina spoke first. "Enough training."
Her tone ended that conversation. But I still noticed the glance she
exchanged with Callie afterward. Subtle. Concerned. Like they were both
thinking the same thing.
That night, the hunt call came just after sunset. A lesser demon attack
near the edge of the city. Small enough for our group to handle. Dangerous
enough to matter.
The drive there was mostly quiet. Rain tapped softly against the windows
while streetlights blurred across wet roads outside.
Noah sat in the passenger seat eating chips like we weren't driving
toward a toward a monster attack.
"How are you emotionally?" Riley asked flatly from the backseat. Noah
blinked.
"…Crunchy."
"That answer genuinely upset me."
Fair honestly.
Callie sat beside me quietly checking the blades hidden beneath her
sleeves.
Seraphina drove in silence.
And Valen?
He sat calmly on the roof of the moving car. Because apparently physics
respected him even less than I did.
"You seem tense," he observed casually through the window.
"We're going hunting."
"Yes."
"So obviously I'm tense."
"No." Valen's gaze shifted toward me. "You are anticipating."
That… actually felt more accurate.
By the time we arrived. Police sirens already echoed through the area.
The attack happened near a small apartment complex. Several windows were
shattered. Blood stained the pavement.
Suddenly, everything inside me went quiet. Not emotionally numb. Not
cold. Just… focused.
A body lay near the entrance stairs beneath a bloodstained sheet.
Usually, scenes like this bothered me.
A lot.
The smell alone normally twisted my stomach. But now? I simply looked.
Observed. Processed.
Male, late thirties maybe. Deep claw wounds across the chest. Instant
death.
Callie noticed. I could tell by the way her eyes lingered on me.
"You, okay?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah." And weirdly, I meant it. That should've disturbed me more.
Valen stood beside the covered body silently. Golden eyes calm.
Analytical.
"This one died quickly," he observed.
I stared at the wound again. No emotion. Just information.
Seraphina noticed too.
I saw it in the way her expression tightened slightly while watching me.
Not quite fear. But concern. Definitely.
"Movement," Riley said suddenly.
Instantly the mood shifted. The demon burst from the upper floor window
violently. Black claws. Distorted limbs.
Jaw split unnaturally wide. The lesser demon hit the ground running
straight toward us.
And I moved automatically. Fast. Too fast.
The bracelet surged warmly against my wrist.
I stepped inside the demon's attack before it fully completed. One sword
flashed free. Then the second. The movements felt smooth. Natural.
Like muscle memory sharpened beyond human limits.
I ducked beneath the claws before slashing upward across its torso.
Black blood sprayed violently. The demon screamed.
I spun into an elbow across its jaw hard enough to twist its head
sideways. Then came the thigh kick. Hard and precise. Crushing its knee inward.
The creature collapsed instantly and I finished it without hesitation.
One clean strike through the throat.
Rain continued falling softly around us. Black blood mixed with water
across the pavement. The demon dissolved slowly into ash.
Noah stared slightly. "Okay that was terrifying."
Riley nodded. "Very efficient though."
Callie didn't say anything. Neither did Seraphina. Because they were
both staring at me. Again.
I looked down at my swords quietly. No shaking hands. No adrenaline
crash. No nausea. Nothing. Just calm.
Valen appeared nearby beside the ruined staircase.
"You adapt quickly," he said.
I frowned. "To what?"
Valen's gaze shifted toward the dissolving ashes. Then back at me.
"To survival."
The answer settled heavily in my chest. Because somehow, it didn't feel
wrong.
That was the problem.
The drove home afterward felt quieter. Heavier. Even Noah joked less
than usual.
Callie kept glancing toward me like she wanted to ask something but
couldn't figure out how.
Seraphina remained unreadable silent behind the wheel. And somewhere in
the middle of all that tension-
Riley sighed loudly. "We still
have finals next week"
The entire car went silent. Then Noah groaned dramatically.
"Oh my God, I forgot school existed."
"Unfortunately, it still does," Riley replied.
Seraphina glanced toward the rear-view mirror slightly.
"We'll need to head back tomorrow."
Back to town. Back to school. Back to normal life.
Or at least whatever counted as normal now.
I stared quietly out the rain-covered window. And for the first time-
The idea of returning felt strangely distant. Like that version of my
life belonged to someone else.