Damian’s breathing turned ragged and panicked as he watched Kaiden approach. Blood bubbled at the corner of his mouth as he scrambled backward against the wall. His hands slipped in the blood pooling beneath him, leaving sared prints on the brick.
"Why- why would you do sothing like that?!" he gasped, voice cracking with terror. "You’re a murderer! You just- you just killed them! Three people! You-"
Kaiden stopped walking.
He looked down at Damian’s beaten form, his expression utterly calm. The moonlight caught the edges of his coat, still unstained despite what had just happened.
"So?" Kaiden asked simply. "I was stronger, and I didn’t want them to continue existing. What of it?"
Damian’s eyes went even wider. His whole body trembled, torn between the pain radiating through his broken shoulder and the horror of what he’d just witnessed. "You’re insane! Aria- Aria’s being controlled by a psycho! You’re-"
Kaiden knelt down.
The motion was slow and deliberate, bringing him face-level with the terrified boy. The shadows around them seed to deepen, and Damian found himself unable to look away from those cold, calculating eyes.
"Psycho? Maybe," Kaiden admitted with complete indifference. His voice was quiet, conversational even, which made it worse. "But Damian, here’s what I believe. Gangsters and awakened live in quite the sa worlds. Both are ’strong eat the weak’ worlds where might makes right. The only difference is that one is turning obsolete as the other rises."
He tilted his head slightly, studying the boy’s reaction.
"Why prey on weak and fragile citizens when you can prey on monsters and other awakened humans? The spoils are far greater. The thrill is otherworldly. And society doesn’t hunt you down for it... Instead, they celebrate you for killing monsters and clap and cheer excitedly as you shed your coil and beco a much more frightening monster yourself."
Damian’s breath hitched, hearing such a brutal line of thought. But then, within monts, he started regaining his voice. His words ca out bitter and sharp despite the pain wracking his body. "You speak big, but you’re forgetting sothing! Only 15% of the population beca awakened. The rest of us filthy commoners can’t just jump into dungeons and ascend like you freaks!"
Kaiden looked at the boy calmly, his expression unchanging.
"I forgot nothing," he declared. "I am telling you that the life you lead has beco obsolete. You’ll get yourself killed pursuing a career that is a thing of the past. It has been for a long ti, but with the arrival of the Mana Apocalypse, the golden age of criminal activities has officially concluded."
Damian’s defiance flared even higher despite his fear. "You’re really full of yourself... Awakened have strict laws regulating them. They can’t just kill humans, even if they sell narcotics!"
"Is that so?" Kaiden asked quietly.
He reached into his coat and pulled out his phone. His thumb scrolled through contacts before stopping on one. He tapped it and switched to loudspeaker mode.
The line rang twice.
A woman’s voice answered, professional and clipped. "Executive Secretary of the Awakened Association speaking. Who is calling?"
Kaiden kept his eyes locked on Damian’s. "Kaiden Grey."
Damian’s eyes widened. He knew who this woman was. Grace... She was arguably the second most important person in the entire Awakened Association! Was Kaiden trying to get himself jailed by making a confession?!
"Oh? You’re not calling from the usual device, so your contact wasn’t saved. What is it, Kaiden?" Grace’s tone shifted slightly, carrying a hint of familiarity.
Kaiden’s voice remained calm and asured. "I killed three non-awakened humans."
Damian’s breath stopped.
Grace’s voice turned dark imdiately. "Why would you do that?"
"I didn’t like them."
"Kaiden, you can’t just-"
"They were criminals selling drugs and conducting gang activities in an alley," Kaiden interrupted smoothly. "I walked by, and I didn’t like what I saw."
Silence.
Then Grace’s tone shifted completely.
"Oh. Okay. Do you need help cleaning up?"
Damian felt his world tilt.
She didn’t care.
She didn’t even pause.
Three dead n ant nothing to her.
"No, I’m taking care of it," Kaiden replied. "I just wanted to give you a heads up."
Grace turned outright cheery. "No work for ? How great! Thanks, Kaiden. Enjoy the rest of your night and give the girls my greetings."
"Will do."
Kaiden ended the call and slipped his phone back into his coat.
He looked down at Damian, whose face had gone ashen.
The boy’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly, his entire understanding of how the world worked crumbling in real ti. He started freaking out.
His hands clawed at the ground beneath him as his breathing turned erratic. "This- this is insane! Life is not fair! Nothing is fair!" His voice cracked and rose to a near-scream. "You awakened freaks get to do whatever you want! You kill people, and nobody cares! You- you’re above the law! Above everyone! And the rest of us? We’re just- we’re just trash to you!"
Tears mixed with the blood on his face as his words tumbled out in a frantic torrent. "I didn’t ask for any of this! I didn’t ask to be born poor! I didn’t ask to grow up watching other kids get new phones and nice clothes while I wore hand--downs that didn’t even fit! I didn’t ask for my father to leave and for my mom to get sick! I didn’t-"
Kaiden just watched.
His expression remained calm and unreadable as Damian spiraled.
Then, when the boy finally ran out of breath, Kaiden spoke.
"It’s true," he said quietly. "Life is not fair. You grew up in a poor household with flaky parents. You had to watch kids your age get nice presents, clean clothes, new gadgets, while you were given nothing."
Damian nodded vehently, his chest heaving. "Yes! Exactly! It’s not fair!"
Kaiden’s gaze sharpened.
"But you grew up surrounded by two sisters who love you dearly. Isn’t that fortunate?"
Damian paused.
"Furthermore," Kaiden continued, his voice taking on an edge, "didn’t your financial fortune turn around recently? You’re living in the Ashborn manor. Your elder sister is an awakened badass making more money a month than most people will see in their lifetis. Your mother has already recovered from her sickness and can join the working force if she wants. In fact, she could get a cushy job in the New Dawn guild any ti she asked."
He kept looking deeply into the boy’s eyes.
"You, too, could easily find yourself in a similar position. All you have to do is finish schooling, now worry-free, and get an administrative or managent position in the guild. Connections? You have better ones than the rich kids you felt so jealous of could ever hope to dream of. Opportunity? It’s handed to you on a silver platter."
His gaze turned questioning.
"So why are you here acting like a clown?"
Damian felt like he’d just been punched in the gut.
Then the feeling twisted into anger.
It burned hot and vicious in his chest, and he seized onto it like a lifeline.
"Kaiden this. Vespera that. The Ashborns are our saviors, we have to be eternally grateful..." He spat the words with venom, reciting his mother’s repeated lectures with pure spite. "That’s all I hear! Every single day! Be thankful! Be grateful! Don’t ss this up! I want to make money on my own without asking for handouts! I want to make it big, to beco a bigger man than you are! I want to show both mother and Aria that you’re not a big deal!"
His voice rose again, raw and accusing.
"You’re the man who displayed my big sister’s body to the whole world! You’re the scumbag who defiled her and made it so I barely even see her these days, and even when I do, I can’t even recognize her! You changed her! Maybe Maximilian was right- maybe you really are manipulating them to do your bidding! After seeing how little you value human life, it makes more and more sense!"
Kaiden’s calm expression darkened for the first ti since the two began talking.
The temperature in the alley seed to drop.
The shadows deepened around them, stretching longer and darker across the blood-stained pavent. The distant sounds of the city faded until only the harsh rasp of Damian’s breathing filled the space between them.
Kaiden’s jaw tightened.
His hand began to rise.
Damian’s anger evaporated in an instant, replaced by primal terror. He pressed himself harder against the wall, his injured body screaming in protest. A whimper escaped his throat as he watched that hand co up... then co down.
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