I wake up drenched in sweat.
Not the metaphorical kind. I mean drenched. The sheets are soaked, my hair is glued to my forehead, and my shirt might as well have been dipped in a puddle. I sit up and blink a few times, trying to get a handle on the fact that I just had a conversation with a mythical feline dream-beast thing that talked like a philosophical textbook.
Yeah. That happened.
My body feels... different. Like someone took out my old bones and replaced them with newer, sleeker ones. My arms don't feel like twigs anymore. My legs don't feel like I'm walking on stilts. I flex a hand, just to test the sensation.
Crack.
I glance down to see the porcelain cup on my bedside table now shattered into shiny little shards. It takes me a second to register that I crushed it by accident while trying to pick it up.
Right. Stronger.
I swing my legs off the bed and immediately wince.
Pain.
A lightning bolt of it rips through my skull, like a thousand nails scraping against glass inside my head. I clutch my temples, stagger forward, nearly crashing into the doorframe. It feels like my brain is imploding. Like my thoughts are being burned into something new, violently.
Time stretches. Hours seem to pass. But when I finally stumble into the bathroom and glance at the clock, only three minutes have gone by.
Typical. Torture feels longer than it actually is.
I lean against the sink, panting, heart hammering. My vision clears. My thoughts... click.
It's like someone flipped a switch inside my head. The fog I didn't even realize I had is gone. I see things sharper. Think faster. React quicker. And then...
It hits me.
Information floods in. Memories? No, not memories. Data. About what I can do now. About what I am now.
Blood affinity. Enhanced strength. Accelerated reflexes. Durability. Something about a "resonance core" that sounds suspiciously like sci-fi nonsense. But apparently, it exists in me.
I grin. Not a pretty grin. More like the kind of grin that would get you kicked out of polite society.
I'm awake now.
After a quick shower to rid myself of the horror-movie sweat situation, I head to the one place where I won't be judged for breaking things: the family training grounds. It's the outdoor area my brother used to frequent. Cobblestone flooring, reinforced dummies, a row of weapon racks I'm probably still not allowed to touch, and enough space to break bones in.
The morning air bites at my skin. Snow still lingers around the edges, but it only makes the place feel sharper, cleaner. Good. I need focus.
I start running. Just to test.
And instantly overshoot.
I lunge forward like a bullet and nearly slam into a pillar. I stop short, not because I meant to, but because my instincts kicked in. I stagger back, blinking.
"Okay. Definitely faster. Not human faster. Cheating-at-the-Olympics faster."
Next, I test my strength. A straight punch into the air. The force of it creates a gust. A roundhouse kick leaves a faint crack in the cobblestone where my foot lands.
"If I accidentally cave in the manor wall, I'm blaming the dream cat."
I switch it up. Jab. Jab. Straight. Hook. Left elbow. Spinning back kick. I've seen enough action movies in my past life to fake a decent combo. The air whips with every movement. It feels right. Fluid. My limbs are lighter, my balance tighter, and I don't feel like I'm about to fall on my face anymore.
"Bruce Lee, eat your heart out."
Then, just for fun, I try to mimic some martial arts I watched in those late-night YouTube rabbit holes. Taekwondo kicks. Boxing footwork. A very sloppy attempt at a Muay Thai elbow.
Yeah... that part doesn't go so well.
I trip over my own stance, flail wildly, and end up nearly eating snow.
"Okay. So, turns out watching a thousand martial arts videos doesn't make me a martial artist. Who knew?"
Still laughing at myself, I roll my shoulders. The power is there, humming under my skin. Waiting. Begging.
And now, it's time to see what my blood abilities are all about.
But before that, let me describe myself. Because let's be real, if I'm about to go full edgy anime protagonist, I might as well look the part.
I stand about 5'3" right now. Not tall, but give me a break, I'm thirteen. My skin's pale, like candle wax that didn't get the memo about the sun. My hair is jet black, messy in that "I don't brush it because I'm dramatic" way. It reaches just below my ears, jagged like it was cut by someone with a grudge. My eyes are gray—not silver or glowing or any of that nonsense. Just plain gray. Like a cloudy sky that hasn't decided whether to rain or not.
I look in the mirror sometimes and see something halfway between tired and too awake. Like a kid who's seen too much and yet isn't allowed to say anything about it. Not exactly the cover model for heroism.
But right now?
Right now, I feel like something else entirely.
Stronger. Sharper. Hungrier.
And just as I'm about to raise my hand, focus on that blood humming under my skin, see what horrors or miracles I can now unleash—
A sudden snap of heat rushes through my chest. Not painful, not quite. But intense.
The air around me thickens.
Something is happening.
And whatever it is... it's going to change everything.
A/N : please leave a review or comment so that I'll know if you like it or not don't be a silent reader who just reads and doesn't comment thanks