🩸 A CALL IN THE DARK
Chapter 4: The Mask Cracks
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The rain had stopped, but the sky was still bleeding gray.
Valencia High was closed for "maintenance," though no one dared to ask why.
Inside the abandoned church, the twins trained beneath flickering candlelight — the floor marked with seals of blood and ash.
Rin Kaito stood before them, arms crossed, cigarette smoke curling like ghosts around his face.
> Rin: "You two did well yesterday… for amateurs."
Adriana (angry): "We killed demons! What else did you want?"
Rin: "Control. You fought like beasts. That's weakness disguised as power."
Adriana glared. Her knuckles tightened. The whip around her wrist pulsed — faint red light, beating like a second heart.
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⚔️ Scene 1: The Breaking Point
Rin tossed a small wooden charm at her feet. It cracked on impact, spilling a ripple of black energy.
A shadow rose from it — twisted, feminine, with wings of smoke.
> Rin: "Fight her."
Adriana: "You're joking."
Rin: "Do I look like I joke?"
The shadow shrieked, lunging. Adriana moved fast, her whip igniting in mid-air. She struck — again and again — until the monster dissolved into dust.
But Rin didn't clap. He didn't even move.
> Rin: "And that's exactly the problem."
Adriana (panting): "I won!"
Rin: "You lost control. Look at your hand."
She did. Her nails were sharp. Her skin burned black around her fingers.
Her reflection in the broken church window — eyes glowing crimson.
> Adriana (terrified): "No… no, no—"
Rin: "You're turning. The more blood you spill without restraint, the closer you get to what you're fighting."
Adrian rushed to her side, gripping her shoulders.
> Adrian: "Hey, breathe. Look at me."
Adriana (shaking): "I can't… I can feel something crawling inside me."
Rin: "Good. That's the part you need to kill — before it kills you."
Rin pressed his palm against her forehead. Symbols burned across her skin — she screamed, the church lights flickering violently.
Then silence.
Her eyes returned to normal. Her breathing slowed.
> Rin (quietly): "You're not human anymore, Adriana. Neither of you are. The sooner you accept that, the longer you'll live."
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☠️ Scene 2: The Truth Beneath
Later that night, Rin sat alone by the altar, staring into a glass of dark liquid that wasn't quite wine. Adrian approached.
> Adrian: "You knew this would happen to us."
Rin: "Of course. You think I picked you by accident?"
Adrian: "Why us?"
Rin: "Because you're Echoes."
Adrian: "Echoes?"
Rin: "Half-human, half-demon… born from an ancient bloodline tied to the Demon Queen Asmodra. She calls to you in your sleep, doesn't she?"
Adrian froze.
The nightmare — the whisper in his dreams, the voice saying "My children…"
> Adrian (whispering): "That voice… it's her?"
Rin: "Yes. The Call in the Dark wasn't random. It was her reaching out to her blood."
Lightning flashed outside. The stained glass flickered with red.
Adriana stirred in her sleep, muttering incoherent words.
Rin's gaze darkened.
> Rin: "If she awakens fully inside your sister, there'll be no saving her. Or this city."
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🔥 Scene 3: The Mirror of Blood
Adriana woke later that night. The candles were out. The church was silent.
A faint humming echoed from the mirror near the altar — her reflection glowing faintly.
> Adriana (whispering): "Who's there?"
Her reflection smiled back.
But it didn't move like she did.
> Reflection: "Why do you fight me?"
Adriana: "You're not real."
Reflection: "Not yet. But soon."
Her reflection's eyes turned black. Horns curved upward from its forehead.
Her whip lifted itself from the floor, coiling like a serpent around her arm.
> Reflection: "Let me in, Adriana. You and I are the same."
The mirror cracked — and a black hand reached out.
Adriana screamed. Her sigil flared. The mirror shattered completely, throwing her across the room.
Rin and Adrian rushed in.
> Adrian: "Adriana!"
Rin: "She's manifesting. Damn it!"
Her veins pulsed black. The demonic aura filled the room, pushing Rin back.
Her voice changed — two tones speaking at once.
> Adriana (possessed): "You can't kill me, hunter. I am the blood you swore to destroy."
Rin drew his blade, pressing it against her throat — eyes burning with pain.
> Rin: "Then I'll destroy you both if I have to."
Adrian stepped between them, eyes glowing faint blue.
> Adrian: "Touch her, and you'll have to go through me."
For a long second, no one moved. The storm outside screamed against the glass.
Then Rin lowered his sword.
> Rin (quietly): "Fine. But if she loses control again… you end her. Not me."
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Adriana collapsed, unconscious.
Adrian knelt beside her, tears mixing with blood on the floor.
> Adrian (whispering): "I won't lose you to the dark."
Above them, hidden in the cracked ceiling, a pair of glowing red eyes watched.
A woman's voice, soft and mocking, echoed faintly through the church.
> Asmodra: "My children… soon, you'll answer the call completely."