Page 97 of Presence

“And you? What is your name?” he asks, his voice softer, almost tender. It doesn’t seem like a facade, not like the mask he wore as Echo, the guardian spirit. It’s that vulnerability again.

I lick my lips, knowing exactly what to say. I didn’t understand my essence before, but now I do. The name resonates within me. I can hear it whispering to me. I am no longer Claire, the human who once feared the dark.

Why fear the dark if you become it?

“My name…” I pause, feeling the power thrumming through me, shaping and molding me into something new, something dark and beautiful. I listen to that voice deep inside me. “My name is Vesclaira.”

As soon as the words leave my lips, a searing sensation spreads across my back. I feel each letter etched into my skin, branding me. This name seals my transformation, making it complete.

I have turned fully.

Acheon—no, Echo—smiles, a slow, dangerous curve of his lips. “Vesclaira,” he repeats, savoring the sound. An involuntary shudder crosses through me. “Fitting.” He steps closer to me. “And what do you want, my Little Demon? What do you truly desire?”

I don’t hesitate. “I want more. I want to consume more souls.”

His grin widens, eyes gleaming with approval. “Then let us hunt again.”

“But this time, I choose the prey,” I say, licking my lips in anticipation. There’s a void inside me that aches to be filled, a dark craving I have no intention of stopping. In fact, soon, I intend to satisfy it. A certain person… I want them.

Echo laughs, a chilling sound that reverberates through the darkness. His eyes, unblinking and fixed on me, seem to pierce right through. Something tells me he’ll keep watching me like this forever. It will never change. After all, he’s always watching me.

“How about,” he says, narrowing his eyes, “we play a little game for it?”

Excitement makes my dead heart squeeze. “For the right to choose?” I ask, my voice airy, more melodic than before. Unlike Echo’s, mine isn’t meant to scare the prey—it’s meant to lure them in.

“Yes, my Little Demon.” His smile is as wicked as always. I learned to adore it. It’s such a pretty, cruel slash in the dark.

“Fine,” I quip. “What are the rules?”

He chuckles again. “Race me. Run from my shadows, Clarity. If you last long enough, you’ll be the one to choose.”

How nostalgic…

He wants to hunt me. I am his perfect prey, always and forever.

“And what if I don’t want to run?” I ask. But my excitement already intensifies, my senses sharpening. It feels like a lifetime since we’ve last played this game, too long since I’ve felt the rush that comes with it. I might not be a human anymore, but I still want him to catch me. I always have and I always will.

His grin widens further. He knows exactly how I’m feeling. “Then I’ll make you run anyway. You know I can. I can still torment you if I wish. You remember that.”

Oh, I remember. The only difference between now and then is that I no longer pretend to dislike it. I crave every bit of it. Everything he has to offer, I’ll gladly take. So when his shadows envelop us, I simply nod, ready for whatever comes next.

“I accept,” I purr. And that’s when turn, already ready to bolt.

There’s no need to ask how long I’m supposed to run. I already know. A demon that doesn’t hunt doesn’t exist. And we intend to exist together forever.

“One…”

“Two…”

“Three…”

I take off into a sprint. This time, when he finally catches me, I don’t cry at all. This time, I’m only happy.

Epilogue

I watch Camilla sitting on the floor by her bed, clutching pictures in her trembling hands. Tears stream down her face, dropping slowly onto her black dress.

Today was my funeral.

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