Page 96 of Presence

His reaction is perfect for me. I could take his soul right here and now. But for my demon, it’s not. He wants more pain. More fear. I’ll give it to him.

“If you don’t run, we’ll only devour you faster,” I sing song, and it works like a charm.

The man scrambles to his feet, legs quaking, and dashes into the maze once more. I follow at a leisurely pace, a constant shadow reminding him he’s never truly alone. Unlike me, he finds no comfort in the company. When I catch up to him, he’s huddled in a corner, body wracked with sobs. The reflections around us show his worst fears and deepest regrets, and I see the last flicker of hope extinguish in his eyes.

He’s giving up. I don’t think I can postpone it any longer.

I kneel beside him, tracing the lines of his face with my fingers. “I know how difficult your life has been,” I whisper. It’s not exactly true. I can only feel his misery. “But it’s okay now. It can be all over now.”

He looks up at me, his eyes filled with hopelessness. “Why?” he asks, his voice a shattered echo. “Why are you doing this?”

Echo watches me intently. I feel his gaze when his eyes widen and his eyebrows lift slightly. Throughout this hunt, I am what he focuses on the most. I am what amazes him. He believes he created me. Maybe he’s right, to some extent. Perhaps he gave me power, but deep down, I remain the same.

“Because you are beyond broken,” I reply, ignoring Echo. This is about the prey now. “You deserve to rest, don’t you think?”

The man’s sobs grow quieter as my words sink in, his shoulders slumping in defeat. The fight is leaving him completely. He’s listening to me. Wow, there’s nothing sweeter than this moment when hope finally dies, huh? I’ve always been on the receiving end of this feeling, never the one to give it.

Echo steps forward, his presence like a cold breeze that raises the hairs on the back of my neck. His dark form looms over us, and I can feel the raw power and hunger emanating from him. He kneels opposite me, his eyes locked on our prey.

“Yes,” the man says softly.

I lean in closer, my voice a gentle whisper. “Don’t worry,” I say softly. “We’ll make it quick. Soon, you’ll find the peace you’ve been searching for.”

When I was still a human, those were the words I wanted to hear so many times I can’t count. I wanted something to come close to me and whisper sweet oblivion into my tarnished mind. I wanted an escape so bad, it hurt me.

I’m sure there are many people like me out there. I know just what they want. I also know how to make others want it, too. I can reap their souls.

The man’s eyes flutter shut, and I know it’s time. He’s let me in, surrendered completely. I move closer, drawing out his essence, feeling it ebb away with each passing second. It’s mine for the taking. Just then, Echo cups my palm with his, bringing us together as a swirling soul forms from the man’s mouth. It escapes with his final breath as he slumps backward, lifeless.

“I did it,” I whisper, but words feel unnecessary. All I want is to consume this soul. Arching my spine, I let the energy flow into me. Echo is right beside me, taking the other half as pain and pleasure intermingle with the remnants of my own soul. For a moment, we are one. In our twisted, inhuman way, we are connected. Together. It might not be love, but it’s something far more profound.

It’s pain.

Because it hurts. It hurts so, so much. The agony is so intense that I whimper, my entire body tensing. But then, it fades, even faster than before. Only the taste lingers.

And then, the power comes.

I pull back slightly, locking eyes with Echo. Something stirs within me. My body… it’s changing. My nails grow longer and sharper. So do my teeth. My heart slows in my chest.

Turning, I search for the closest mirror and find my reflection. My hair, usually curly and dull, now flows long and sleek, with an ethereal, wet wave to it, reminiscent of how it looked when Echo ran his hand through it in the dreamscape. Instead of the flowers that once adorned it, small, blood-red orbs like gems are now woven through the strands. The whites of my eyes have turned black, but unlike Echo’s, my irises have become ghostly white. My lips are blood red, and my teeth, sharper and larger than before, are still smaller than his.

My waist is impossibly thin, my limbs longer than a human’s, and little red slashes run along my skin here and there. Marks. Echo’s marks. The same ones I didn’t want to ever lose.

I turn to look at him, and to my surprise, I can read the marks on his face now. They aren’t just tattoos at all—they’re letters in an ancient language that I suddenly understand. More importantly, they’re not random letters. They have a meaning.

All this time, I thought it was just decorative ink, but in reality, he’s been carrying a curse etched into his skin, a bane to his very existence.

I stare into his eyes. “I know your name,” I whisper. “I know your true name now.”

His eyes widen. I see a flicker of fear in them. “My true name,” he murmurs, the words barely a breath. “Knowing a demon’s real name is a way to destroy him.” I nod. “Say it,” he commands softly. “I haven’t heard it spoken in ages.”

There it is, another sign of weakness. My powerful demon is sometimes as vulnerable as he is evil, hm?

“Acheon,” I whisper, the ancient syllables rolling off my tongue like a song.

His eyes close, and a shudder runs through him. I know what that means. We’re connected now, not as hunter and prey, but as two beings intertwined. Our souls have fused. He made me, but I’ve shaped him too. He’s part of me, and I am part of him. We are one.

But every deal has its terms, and ours is no different.

---