The moment the first test ended, Kai didn't waste a second. Without speaking to anyone, he returned to his dorm, grabbed the notebook he had scrawled dozens of untested theories into, snatched the sealed Niffin box from beneath his bed, and vanished from the school grounds.
The cool breeze of New York brushed against his face as he walked quickly through a side alley, pulling out his phone.
"Hey you," Julia answered casually, the background noise indicating she was walking somewhere busy.
"Hello, genius," Kai replied with a half-smile as he ducked under a canopy near an old bookstore. A woman passed with her dog, the leash taut and the dog barking at a nearby fire hydrant.
"How're you doing?"
"I'm okay," she answered, "just running an errand. You?"
"Just left the school. Needed air," Kai replied. "Have you mastered the boundary spell?"
"Almost. It's taking longer than I expected. The theory's sound, but the stabilization is a bit off"
She paused. "Hey, Kai?"
"Yeah?"
"I met someone," she said hesitantly. "A woman. She said she knew Marina. Told me she had a way to get more spells. She seemed… off."
Kai froze.
A slow exhale escaped his lips as he glanced at the woman with the dog. "That should be Kady's mom," he muttered under his breath.
"What?" Julia asked. "You there?"
"Listen to me," he said, now serious. "Whatever she told you, whatever she's offering don't go near her. Stay away."
Julia's voice became sharp. "Wait, do you know her?"
Kai hesitated before saying, "She's probably Kady's mother."
Julia blinked, then laughed over the phone in disbelief. "Holy shit. I did not see that coming."
"Mmm-hmm."
"So why the hell is she trying to get to me? Why offer me more spells? What's her angle?"
"I don't know," Kai said honestly. "But whatever she's doing, it's not safe. Please, Julia. I mean it. Don't do anything reckless with her."
A pause.
"Julia?"
"…Okay, okay," she finally said. "I got a couple spells from her. That's all. Nothing huge."
"Be careful," Kai stressed.
"I will. You coming back?"
"Soon. But right now, I've got something to handle."
"Alright. Talk later," Julia said before hanging up.
Kai stared at his phone, thoughts drifting to the way things had played out in the original timeline with Kady's mom bleeding out.
---
Kai's Warehouse
The large sliding doors creaked open. Kai stepped into the dull interior of his warehouse/ lab. The silence was unnerving.
To most, it would seem quiet. But to Kai, who could feel subtle vibrations of magic in the air as well as hear multiple heartbeats, it was anything but.
In a flash, he vamp-sped from his position just as Tom and Julius appeared in a blur of motion where he once stood. They barely had time to process before Kai was behind them and both his arms plunged cleanly through their backs, each hand gripping a still-beating heart.
"Well, I'd call this a heartbreaking reunion," he said dryly.
Tom and Julius both groaned, pain evident in their expressions.
Kai's eyes glowed faintly as the veins began to show and his fangs came out as he leaned in between them, tone now edged in steel. "What is this? A surprise party? Because while I don't hate the welcome, this really isn't how I imagined it."
"We—" Julius coughed. "Wanted to… see if we could surprise you."
Kai smiled tightly. "Awwwn. Are you sure? And not just letting the power go to your tiny little heads? Maybe thinking you could take me?"
His fingers tightened, squeezing down on their hearts just enough for them to gasp.
"Let me be clear," Kai said coldly. "I brought you into this world. I can so easily pluck you out of it."
He whispered the last part in their ears before pulling out his now-bloodied hands. The two crumpled to the floor, groaning but alive.
Kai walked past them, wiping his hands off with a cloth, toward a steel table where the notebook and the Niffin box lay.
"Well," he said, voice lighter, "I've got good news."
Devin looked up. "What is it, boss?"
Kai grinned. "I may have finally cracked the upgrade issue."
He tapped the Niffin box. "Without the spontaneous combustion problems."
Everyone froze.
"Don't look so pale," Kai said, grinning. "Put a smile on. This is progress!"
Larry, ever the cautious one, asked, "What's the success rate?"
Kai's smile widened. "Mmm... 50/50."
Michael blinked. "Wait. Fifty-fifty?!"
Kai nodded enthusiastically. "Yup. A solid coin toss. Heads: evolution. Tails: BBQ."
Travis muttered, "We're so dead."
Kai laughed. "He's funny. I like him."
---
Midnight
The warehouse now looked like the site of a pagan ritual. The floor had been swept clean, and a spell circle pulsed with magical energy.
The circle was a complex one with a large outer ring etched in burned salt mixed with powdered bone… yeah the bone was gotten from the hospital he got his blood bags from.
Inside it, three interlocking pentagrams, each touching a different directional node: north, east, south, and west. Intersecting triangles and linking sigils created a layered effect, forming a geometric web. Thin grooves channeled magical flow to key anchor points.
Each point held an object with the North holding the Niffin box which was the main component, sat their complete still and looking like an box.
East held a black iron bowl filled with human blood.
South held the sealed glass container containing the Aetherphage the magical leech.
West held the blood of their maker, a smear of
Kai's own blood, freshly cut.
Kai stood at the edge, admiring the circle.
"Well then," he muttered. "Who's first?"
Tom, surprisingly, stepped forward.
Kai raised a brow. "How brave. Guess you didn't want sloppy seconds this time, huh?"
The others frowned.
Tom lay within the circle. Kai cracked his knuckles and stepped into position.
"You ready?"
Tom nodded.
Kai extended his arms and began the chant, weaving the Latin incantation he'd pieced together.
"Coniunctio animae et flammae.
Fluxus magicae, constringe et solidifica.
Corpus muta, sed mens permaneat.
Vinculum fiat per sanguinem et umbram.
Nexum fiat…nunc!"
(Union of soul and flame. Flow of magic, bind and stabilize. Transform the body, but let the mind remain. Let the bond be forged by blood and shadow. Let the link be made now!)
The Niffin box suddenly shone with radiant blue light, and the energy began channeling down the spell lines into the bowl of blood.
The Aetherphage wriggled violently in its container, reacting to the spell.
Then, it started to dissolve its body breaking down into luminous blue flakes, like snow, drifting slowly into the bowl of blood. The circle glowed brighter, the entire warehouse bathed in a surreal light.
The incantation grew faster, Kai's voice rising.
The warehouse trembled. Outside, the winds howled, spiraling violently around the building.
Suddenly—
Everything stopped.
Silence.
Stillness.
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