The parking structure smelled like oil, dust, and fear.
Arjun woke slowly, awareness returning in layers instead of all at once. First came the ache—deep, persistent, woven into muscle and bone. Then the heat, a low burn in his chest that pulsed in time with his heart. Finally, sound: distant explosions, echoing screams, and the unsettling quiet between them.
He opened his eyes.
Concrete ceiling. Flickering emergency lights. A burned-out sedan parked crookedly a few meters away.
Still alive.
That realization didn't bring relief anymore. It brought calculation.
Nyxara stood at the entrance ramp, one hand resting against the concrete wall, wings partially unfurled as if tasting the air. She didn't turn when she spoke.
"You slept for three hours," she said. "Long enough for things to get worse."
Arjun pushed himself upright, joints protesting. "They always do."
She glanced back, eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. "Good. You're learning."
His phone lay beside him, screen already lit.
REST COMPLETEBOND STABILITY: TEMPORARILY IMPROVEDPHYSICAL CONDITION: DEGRADED
"Encouraging," he muttered.
Nyxara walked back toward him, her movements fluid and predatory even when unhurried. "Rest slows the decay," she said. "It doesn't reverse it. That requires… investment."
Arjun met her gaze. "Meaning more killing."
"Yes."
She crouched in front of him, close enough that he could feel the warmth radiating from her skin. The bond stirred in response, subtle but undeniable.
"You don't enjoy that yet," she continued. "That's good. When you do, you'll need to start watching yourself."
Arjun snorted. "You're telling me to watch my morality?"
"I'm telling you to watch your efficiency," she corrected calmly. "There's a difference."
A sharp sound echoed from above—the unmistakable crack of gunfire, followed by shouting. Human voices.
Arjun stiffened. "Survivors."
Nyxara's expression cooled instantly. "Potential competitors."
The phone reacted.
HUMAN PRESENCE DETECTEDFACTION STATUS: UNKNOWNTHREAT ASSESSMENT: VARIABLE
Arjun stood, rolling his shoulders. "We should make contact. Strength in numbers."
Nyxara tilted her head, studying him as if he'd said something mildly amusing. "That instinct will get you killed."
"Not everyone is a monster," he shot back.
She smiled faintly. "Everyone becomes one under pressure. The question is whether they admit it."
The gunfire above grew louder—closer.
Nyxara stepped into his path as he moved toward the ramp. "Before you decide to play diplomat," she said, voice low, "you need to understand something."
She placed two fingers against his chest, directly over the bond.
"The system rewards dominance. Not cooperation. Groups survive only if someone at the top is feared."
Arjun didn't look away. "Then maybe I'll be that someone."
For a moment, something unreadable flickered across her face.
Then she laughed softly. "Ambitious already."
They moved up the ramp cautiously, staying close to the shadows. At street level, the city looked worse in daylight—or what passed for daylight now. The sky carried a permanent bruise of red and violet hues, as if reality itself were inflamed.
Three blocks away, a group of humans had barricaded an intersection with overturned buses and scrap metal. About a dozen of them—armed with rifles, pistols, makeshift weapons. They looked exhausted, jumpy, desperate.
A man with a shotgun barked orders while two others dragged a body behind cover.
Arjun's stomach tightened. "They're organized."
"Yes," Nyxara agreed. "Which means they've already decided who lives and who doesn't."
As if on cue, one of the barricade guards spotted movement and raised his weapon. "HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE!"
Arjun raised his hands slowly. "We're not hostile."
Nyxara didn't bother hiding her wings.
Several people gasped. One woman screamed.
"Demon!" someone shouted. "Open fire!"
The shotgun went off.
The blast missed Arjun by inches, shattering concrete behind him. Before he could react, Nyxara stepped forward.
The air bent.
She didn't attack. She didn't even raise her voice.
She simply existed.
A pressure rolled outward from her, invisible but crushing. Knees buckled. Weapons slipped from nerveless fingers. Half the group collapsed outright, gasping as if the air had turned thick and uncooperative.
Arjun felt it too—the bond resonating, amplifying her presence through him.
The phone buzzed violently.
DOMINANCE EVENT DETECTEDBOND SYNCHRONIZATION: +2%
The man with the shotgun dropped to one knee, face pale. "W-what the hell are you?"
Nyxara smiled pleasantly. "Your betters."
Arjun stepped forward before things escalated further. "Listen to me," he said, voice firm but controlled. "We're not here to wipe you out. But you fired first."
The man swallowed hard. "We thought—you're not human."
Arjun glanced at Nyxara, then back at the group. "Neither are half the things roaming this city. That doesn't mean you shoot everything on sight."
A tense silence followed.
Then one of the barricade guards laughed—short, hysterical. "You think you're in charge now?"
Nyxara's eyes flicked to Arjun.
He felt the unspoken challenge.
Arjun took a breath and leaned into the bond.
The Abyssal Mark flared faintly—not on an enemy, but on him. Power surged outward, raw and imperfect, but unmistakable.
"I don't think," he said quietly. "I know."
The pressure doubled.
The man with the shotgun screamed as the concrete beneath him cracked.
The phone chimed.
TERRITORY CLAIM: INITIATEDSTATUS: UNSTABLE
Nyxara's smile turned sharp with approval.
"Here are your options," Arjun continued, eyes locked on the group. "You stand down, share what you know, and we keep this area clear together. Or you keep testing me, and I let her decide how much mercy you get."
He didn't look at Nyxara, but he felt her amusement coil warmly through the bond.
The barricade leader nodded frantically. "Okay. Okay. We stand down."
Weapons clattered to the ground.
The pressure eased.
Arjun exhaled slowly, surprised by how natural it had felt to push like that.
Nyxara leaned close, lips near his ear. "See?" she murmured. "Fear is efficient."
They spent the next hour consolidating the area—reinforcing barricades, assigning watch shifts, gathering information. The survivors had a radio setup, limited power, and rumors: cities gone dark, creatures evolving, humans turning on each other faster than the monsters did.
No real safe zones.
Just less dangerous ones.
As the sun dipped lower—if that dim glow could still be called a sun—Arjun stood on an overpass overlooking their claimed intersection. Fires burned in the distance. Something enormous moved far beyond the skyline, its silhouette distorting the air around it.
Nyxara joined him, resting her arms on the railing.
"You crossed a threshold today," she said quietly.
Arjun nodded. "I felt it."
"You chose authority," she continued. "That choice compounds."
He looked at her. "And you? What did you choose?"
Her gaze lingered on him longer than necessary. "I chose not to overrule you."
That answer carried more weight than it should have.
The phone buzzed one last time.
TERRITORY STATUS: TEMPORARILY SECUREDWARNING: THREATS WILL ADAPT
Arjun watched the burning horizon, jaw set.
"Let them," he said.
Nyxara smiled—slow, dangerous, approving.
The world was learning his name.
And it would learn to fear it next.