Chapter 39 The Mask Falls
Seraphina POV
The heavy thud of paws hit the damp earth behind us. The rest of the group fled into the trees in a blind frenzy. I stayed right where I needed to be, exactly three paces behind Elena.
Branches whipped against my face, tearing through this pathetic school uniform. I felt absolutely nothing because I was far beyond the reach of human pain. All I felt was a cold irritation that this chase was taking so long.
I wasn’t running because I was scared. I was running because I couldn’t let some wild beast ruin everything I had planned. The wolf was far too big to be normal, and it was catching up to us fast.
Elena was struggling in front of me now, stumbling over roots as her breathing turned uneven and shaky. She was reaching her limit. Then the creature suddenly lunged straight toward her, its jaws aimed at her throat. I reacted instantly. There was no way I was going to let a mindless animal take what belonged to me.
"Enough," I hissed.
I stopped running so suddenly that dirt scraped beneath my boots. There was no point pretending anymore. The fake human act was over.
A cold wave of energy spread through my body as I let my real form slip through. My skin slowly hardened, glowing faintly with a dull violet light. The warmth in my eyes disappeared completely, turning into dark empty shadows that looked almost endless.
The temperature dropped forty degrees in an instant, turning the air into frost. The wolf tried to skid to a halt, its instincts screaming that I was the real predator. But it was already too late for the beast.
I moved faster than human sight, one second I was standing still, and the next my hand slammed into the creature’s chest with enough force to throw it into the ground. A sickening crack echoed through the forest. The wolf let out a painful howl before I tore its jaws apart with my bare hands.
The creature’s body went limp as its life force flickered out. I stood up with blood staining my hands, my violet aura pulsating with violent energy. The game was finally over.
I turned slowly to face my target. Elena was standing ten feet away, completely paralyzed and shaking violently. Her eyes darted from the mangled carcass to my transformed face.
I didn't say a word. I simply started walking toward her with measured, predatory steps. Every step I took caused the grass beneath my feet to wither into ash.
Elena jolted and began to back away blindly in terror. She slipped on the mud until her back hit a massive stone wall. She was trapped, and my shadow swallowed her whole.
"S-Sera?" she whispered, her voice cracking.
"Who are you?" she stammered, her hands shaking in front of her. "What do you want with me?"
I stopped just inches from her face. "Sera is a shell, Elena," I said, my voice deep, resonant, and cold as a tomb. "And I have been waiting for this moment since the second you fell from grace."
I have lived in this girl's skin, breathing her air just to get close to your soul. I watched you from the day you lost your power, Elena. I stood in the hospital shadows while you cried because you couldn't feel the Reaper's Mark anymore.
Elena’s breath hitched as I leaned in, my eyes boring into hers. "You think our friendship was a coincidence?" I laughed, a dry, hollow sound that echoed off the rocks.
"You think meeting me at the school gates was luck? I have been watching you from the shadows for months. I saw the light fade from your spirit, leaving you vulnerable, human, and utterly weak."
I watched you struggle to adapt to this pathetic mortal life, and I knew you were the engine I needed. I spent weeks learning your habits and learning what you missed. I used your grief to become the only person you thought you could trust.
"You... you knew I was a Reaper?" she gasped, her eyes wide with a new kind of horror.
"I knew everything," I hissed, my face inches from hers. "I followed your scent across the veil like a bloodhound."
I chose this body, this 'Sera,' specifically because she was a nobody. She was someone close enough to slip into your circle without suspicion. I looked forward to being your 'best friend' while I prepared your spirit for my own purpose.
I needed to feel the exact moment your soul was ripe enough to harvest. I was the shadow in your room when you thought you were alone. I was the one who whispered the nightmares into your ears at night to keep you off balance.
I made the others mock you so you would run to me for comfort. Every tear you cried on my shoulder was a victory for me. Every secret you told me was a weapon I was sharpening for this day.
"You're a monster," Elena sobbed, tears spilling over her pale cheeks.
"I am a Seraphim," I corrected, a dark smile pulling at my lips. "And I need to ascend today."
My time in this realm is over, and your soul is the perfect fuel to take me back. I am done playing the friend. I am done with this forest and this rotting vessel.
I don't need a map or a box to win this game. I only need you. I watched you try to make friends with Daniel and Liam, and it took everything in me not to kill them. But I waited patiently for the moment we would be alone in these woods.
I remember the day you tried to practice your old combat moves in the gym, thinking no one was watching. You looked so pathetic, swinging at the air, hoping for a spark of your old strength. I hidden in the rafters, laughing at you as your hope died.
You are nothing but a battery to me, Elena. A battery that will burn until I reach the gates of the upper realm. I lunged, my hand closing in to rip the life from her chest.
I could already feel the heat of her soul ready to be claimed. I could see the flicker of her life force behind her eyes, terrified and beautiful. But before my fingers could make contact with her skin, a massive, invisible force slammed into my side.
“AHHHHH!”
The impact was so violent it felt like a building had collapsed on me. I was lifted off my feet and thrown through the air like a ragdoll. I crashed through a thicket of trees until I hit the ground forty feet away with a bone-jarring thud.
Breathing heavily, I slowly lifted my head. The person standing beside Elena made my entire body freeze in shock.