ARIA'S POV
I woke up screaming.
No—not screaming. My voice was gone. But inside my head, I was screaming as my body tore itself apart and rebuilt itself into something new.
Every bone broke and healed wrong. Then broke again and healed right. My muscles burned like acid ran through them instead of blood. My heart stopped beating for three full seconds, then restarted with a rhythm that felt too fast, too strong, too powerful.
"Breathe through it," Samael's voice came from somewhere far away. "The transformation takes five minutes. You're on minute three. The pain means it's working."
"Make it stop!" I gasped.
"No. You wanted power. Power requires pain. There are no shortcuts to becoming extraordinary."
My skin felt like it was on fire. I looked down at my arms and saw black symbols crawling beneath my skin like living tattoos. They glowed red, then gold, then settled into invisible marks that I could feel but not see.
The contract. Burning itself into every cell of my body.
Minute four. My senses exploded.
Suddenly I could hear everything—the gang members breathing inside the warehouse, rats scratching in the walls, cars driving on streets miles away. I could smell blood and fear and evil intentions like they had actual scents.
I could feel the three gang members walking toward the alley to check on me.
"Almost done," Samael whispered. "One more minute. Then you get to test your new gifts."
Minute five. The pain stopped.
Just... stopped.
I lay on the ground, gasping. Everything felt different. Wrong but also right. Like I'd been living my whole life with a blindfold on and someone finally ripped it off.
I pushed myself up—and moved too fast. One second I was on the ground, the next I was standing. My broken ribs didn't hurt anymore. The bruises on my body were fading as I watched. Healing in real-time.
"What did you do to me?" I whispered.
Samael stood beside Danny's body, looking pleased. "I gave you what you asked for. Enhanced strength, speed, and healing. Supernatural senses—you can feel evil intentions now, taste them like poison on your tongue. And my personal favorite..." He gestured at my hands. "Touch someone with those while focusing your power, and their heart stops. Clean kills. No evidence."
I stared at my hands. They looked normal. But I could feel power humming beneath the skin.
"The gang members are coming," Samael said casually. "Three of them. The ones who killed this boy. They're ten seconds away. What will you do, Aria Chen? Run like you always have? Or become what I made you to be?"
Footsteps approached the alley entrance.
"Test number one," Samael smiled. "Let's see if you're worth the twenty-five years I just bought."
He vanished. Just disappeared into nothing.
And I was alone with Danny's corpse and three murderers walking toward me.
The gang members stepped into the alley.
"Still alive, bride?" the one with the pipe said. "Impressive. Most girls pass out from—"
He stopped. Stared at me.
I was standing. No longer cowering on the ground. No longer crying. My eyes—I could feel them—were different. Glowing slightly red in the darkness.
"What the hell?" The second man pulled out a knife.
Something inside me woke up. Something dark and hungry and furious.
I could feel their evil. It tasted like ash and rotten meat. These men had killed Danny. Had beaten me. Had probably killed dozens of innocent people and never faced justice.
"Your turn," I said. My voice sounded different. Stronger. Cold.
"Crazy bitch," the third man laughed. "She hit her head too hard. Put her down."
They rushed at me.
I moved without thinking.
One second they were running. The next second I was behind them. I'd moved so fast they didn't even see me.
The man with the pipe spun around. "Where did she—"
I touched his chest.
Just a light touch. Like brushing lint off a shirt.
His eyes went wide. His mouth opened. No sound came out.
His heart stopped.
He dropped like a puppet with cut strings.
The other two stared. At their dead friend. At me.
"What are you?" one whispered.
"Justice," I said.
They ran.
I caught the first one in three steps. My hand found his neck. Heart stopped. Dead before he hit the ground.
The last one made it almost to the warehouse door before I grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.
"Please," he begged. "I have a family. Kids. Please don't—"
"Danny had a mother," I said. "Did you think about that before you smashed his skull?"
"That was different! That was orders!"
"And this is justice."
Touch. Stop. Dead.
Three bodies. Maybe thirty seconds total.
I stood in the alley surrounded by corpses—Danny and the three men who killed him—and felt absolutely nothing.
No guilt. No horror. No regret.
Just a cold satisfaction that three monsters would never hurt anyone again.
The warehouse door crashed open.
More gang members poured out. I counted twelve. They saw their dead friends and pulled out guns.
"She killed them!" someone shouted. "Kill the bride!"
Bullets started flying.
But I was already moving.
Fast. So impossibly fast.
I weaved between bullets like they were standing still. My body knew what to do even though my brain hadn't caught up.
I reached the first gunman and touched his chest. Dead.
The second turned to shoot. I caught the gun barrel and crushed it with my bare hand. His eyes went huge. Touch. Dead.
One by one, I killed them all.
Some tried to run. I caught them.
Some tried to fight. They were too slow.
Some begged. I didn't care.
By the time I finished, twelve more bodies littered the warehouse floor.
Fifteen total. In less than five minutes.
I stood in the center of the warehouse, covered in their blood—not from wounds, but from being so close when their hearts exploded.
The scarred leader—the one who'd grabbed my face—crawled backward, trying to reach a phone.
"You're a monster," he gasped.
"No," I said, walking toward him slowly. "You're the monsters. I'm just the exterminator."
"The boss will kill you! You can't escape the Red Dragon Triad! There are hundreds of us!"
"Then I'll kill hundreds." I knelt beside him. "Starting with your boss. Where is he?"
"I'll never tell—"
I touched his leg. Not his chest—his leg. The muscle died instantly. He screamed.
"Where?" I asked again.
"Pier 19! He's meeting a buyer! Please, please stop!"
"One more question. Did you enjoy killing Danny?"
His eyes darted away. "Orders are orders."
"Wrong answer."
Touch.
Silence.
I stood up and looked at my hands. Covered in blood. Hands that had just killed fifteen people.
I should feel sick. Horrified. Human.
But I felt powerful. Alive. Finally in control.
A slow clap echoed through the warehouse.
Samael materialized from the shadows, smiling like a proud teacher. "Excellent first hunt. But here's the fun part—every kill costs you time. Those fifteen men? You just burned through six hours of your remaining life. Use your powers wisely, little killer."
My stomach dropped. "Six hours? You didn't mention that!"
"You didn't ask. The contract gives power, but power has a price beyond years. Every life you take speeds up your death clock." His golden eyes gleamed. "So choose your targets carefully. Is every monster worth hours of your life?"
Before I could respond, my supernatural senses screamed danger.
Someone was coming. Someone powerful. Someone whose evil felt like a tsunami compared to the gang members' puddles.
"Right on time," Samael grinned. "The real boss just arrived at Pier 19. And he brought friends. Thirty armed men. And someone else..." His smile widened. "Someone like you. Another deal-maker. This will be interesting."
He vanished again, leaving me alone with fifteen corpses and a choice.
Go home. Hide. Try to be normal.
Or go to Pier 19 and face an army.
I looked at Danny's body one last time through the warehouse door.
Then I started walking toward Pier 19.
I had twenty-four years, eleven months, and twenty-nine days left.
Time to make them count.