26. The Declaration

The reflections on the walls capture fleeting glimpses of the man's panicked face as he stumbles through the darkness, each wrong turn amplifying his despair. It's a spectacle I can't tear my eyes away from. His sweat glistens on his forehead, his face flushed from the ragged breaths he keeps drawing, his nostrils flaring with each gasp. I lick my lips, trying to control the hunger that's reaching its peak.

"The longer we wait, the better he'll taste," Echo murmurs beside me, his hand gliding up and down my arm with slow, sensual strokes. I can feel his delight—relishing a prey that's purely a victim.

I was an anomaly to him; I see that now. The fact that he let me live for so long, playing with me when he could have devoured me instantly, meant he saw beyond the need to feed.

As much as it warms my already cold heart, I could never become like him. Whatever allure he found in my human self wouldn't be as enticing to my demon self. I was the perfect prey—already resigned, yearning for escape.

But I'm glad things turned out the way they did. I cherish Echo's companionship, even in this very moment. I don't ever want him to leave me, and I don't want to leave him either. We could complement each other perfectly. Him, hunting in the night. Me, hunting in the day.

"I want us to taste him together," I murmur, shivering as his shadows wrap around me. This isn't love—I don't think either of us is even capable of that. But it's the closest we'll ever get, in our own fucked up way.

"Demons don't share," he growls.

"Demons do what they want," I hiss back.

He can say whatever he likes, but the fact that he brought me here says it all. Echo wants me by his side. He fears being alone as much as I do. And this... This seals our bond. Are we a couple? No, it's deeper than that. We're partners in crime.

"Alright," he says at last, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "Let's make him feel our presence. Make him afraid." His laughter is dark and velvety.

He doesn't have to tell me twice. One day, we'll do things differently. I won't hunt like him. I'll hunt alongside him. But that day isn't here yet.

So, I move through the maze with a predatory grace, shadows clinging to me. With each step, I feel the man's fear intensify, his desperation growing as he realizes there's no escape. The reflections in the walls taunt him, showing him visions of his lost life, his failures.

It's cruel. It's beautiful. It's macabre. Just like Echo.

I can understand what he meant when he talked about corsets before. There's just something incredibly alluring in tearful elegance.

"You can never escape us, human," I whisper, my voice bouncing off the glassy surfaces, making it seem like I'm everywhere and nowhere at once. "Just give up already."

The man freezes, his breath hitching as my words take hold. His eyes dart around, searching for me, but all he sees are cruel reflections. In one, his wife glares at him with disgust. In another, he sees his own grave, lonely and unmarked. Another shows him with a bottle in hand, dark circles under his eyes, and a stained t-shirt clinging to his frail frame.

I glide through the maze after the human. Each wrong turn deepens his despair, and I drink it in, savoring the sweet, intoxicating taste of his terror. The hunger inside me roars, demanding to be sated, but I hold back, relishing the anticipation. The longer I wait, the more delicious his fear becomes. Just as Echo told me.

"We are always watching," my demon purrs into the darkness, his distorted voice sounding exactly like the one he once used on me.

He's keeping me on my toes, shadowing me, watching me as I stalk our prey, but never interrupting. He lets me be in the driver's seat.

"Do you see now?" I continue talking to the human, my voice soft. "How much of your life you have wasted? How you've ruined all your chances?"

The man collapses to his knees, fingers clawing at his hair as if he could tear away the nightmare by sheer will.

"Please," he begs, his voice raw and broken. "Please, stop this."

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.

"And you? What is your name?" he asks, his voice softer, almost tender. It doesn't seem like a facade, not like the mask he wore as Echo, the guardian spirit. It's that vulnerability again.

I lick my lips, knowing exactly what to say. I didn't understand my essence before, but now I do. The name resonates within me. I can hear it whispering to me. I am no longer Claire, the human who once feared the dark.

Why fear the dark if you become it?

"My name…" I pause, feeling the power thrumming through me, shaping and molding me into something new, something dark and beautiful. I listen to that voice deep inside me. "My name is Vesclaira."

As soon as the words leave my lips, a searing sensation spreads across my back. I feel each letter etched into my skin, branding me. This name seals my transformation, making it complete.

I have turned fully.

Acheon—no, Echo—smiles, a slow, dangerous curve of his lips. "Vesclaira," he repeats, savoring the sound. An involuntary shudder crosses through me. "Fitting." He steps closer to me. "And what do you want, my Little Demon? What do you truly desire?"

I don't hesitate. "I want more. I want to consume more souls."

His grin widens, eyes gleaming with approval. "Then let us hunt again."

"But this time, I choose the prey," I say, licking my lips in anticipation. There's a void inside me that aches to be filled, a dark craving I have no intention of stopping. In fact, soon, I intend to satisfy it. A certain person… I want them.

Echo laughs, a chilling sound that reverberates through the darkness. His eyes, unblinking and fixed on me, seem to pierce right through. Something tells me he'll keep watching me like this forever. It will never change. After all, he's always watching me.

"How about," he says, narrowing his eyes, "we play a little game for it?"

Excitement makes my dead heart squeeze. "For the right to choose?" I ask, my voice airy, more melodic than before. Unlike Echo's, mine isn't meant to scare the prey—it's meant to lure them in.

"Yes, my Little Demon." His smile is as wicked as always. I learned to adore it. It's such a pretty, cruel slash in the dark.

"Fine," I quip. "What are the rules?"

He chuckles again. "Race me. Run from my shadows, Clarity. If you last long enough, you'll be the one to choose."

How nostalgic…

He wants to hunt me. I am his perfect prey, always and forever.

"And what if I don't want to run?" I ask. But my excitement already intensifies, my senses sharpening. It feels like a lifetime since we've last played this game, too long since I've felt the rush that comes with it. I might not be a human anymore, but I still want him to catch me. I always have and I always will.

His grin widens further. He knows exactly how I'm feeling. "Then I'll make you run anyway. You know I can. I can still torment you if I wish. You remember that."

Oh, I remember. The only difference between now and then is that I no longer pretend to dislike it. I crave every bit of it. Everything he has to offer, I'll gladly take. So when his shadows envelop us, I simply nod, ready for whatever comes next.

"I accept," I purr. And that's when turn, already ready to bolt.

There's no need to ask how long I'm supposed to run. I already know. A demon that doesn't hunt doesn't exist. And we intend to exist together forever.

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three…"

I take off into a sprint. This time, when he finally catches me, I don't cry at all. This time, I'm only happy.