Pain.
All I could think about was the pain in my side. My dreams had been painful, my body was tired, and I just wanted to get up off the floor.
Grunting, I pushed myself upright and rubbed my eyes. My vision swam until I found my glasses on the nightstand and slid them on. The world snapped into focus.
My bed was a wreck—sweat-drenched sheets, pillows tossed aside. I sighed, pressing a hand against my aching ribs.
"That's going to hurt for a while," I muttered.
The clock read 5:00 a.m.
"Guess I'm cooking today."
I walked to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and splashed cold water on my face. When I looked up, a stranger stared back.
A young woman with long, curly black hair. A mouth a little too wide.
And eyes—black as the void.
Wait. What?
I blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. Still black. Not my usual brown. I splashed my face again, hoping I'd wake up. But when I looked back, my reflection hadn't changed—and I wasn't in bed.
So… not a dream.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears. Sound, sight, thought—all started fading into the background, until the only thing I could hear was my pulse. My breathing turned ragged—then suddenly, everything stopped.
An unnatural calm washed over me. The panic drained away, replaced by stillness. My breathing steadied. My hands stopped shaking.
When sensation returned, I felt nothing. No fear. No confusion. Just emptiness.
I looked back at the mirror and pretended nothing had changed.
I just hoped Dad wouldn't notice.
Turning off the faucet, I dried my face with slow, deliberate motions. Then I stripped and stepped into the shower.
Under the running water, the calm began to crack. Panic and confusion bled through the surface.
"What's happening to me?"
Should I go to a doctor? A hospital? Maybe it's… genetic? Some weird mutation? Don't panic, Taylor. Don't panic.
I tried to think about something else—anything else. The summer ahead. Peace. No school. No Emma. Just me, my room, and quiet.
I finished my shower, dressed in a hoodie and baggy pants, and crept down the hallway. The house was silent.
"Maybe he's in the kitchen," I whispered, though I already knew he wasn't.
The fridge hummed softly when I opened it. Eggs. Bacon. That would do.
As I cooked, I noticed my movements felt… different. Smooth. Efficient. Every motion flowed into the next, like muscle memory I hadn't earned.
"What kind of power gives me this?" I thought, half-joking. "Black eyes and better cooking skills? Maybe I'm the world's most domestic Cape."
The joke fell flat, even in my head.
I finished cooking and sat down to eat. The food tasted… better. Not just good—transcendent. Like every flavor was sharper, more alive.
I waited for Dad to wake up. And waited. Then remembered—it was only five in the morning.
The stillness pressed in again. I needed to know.
If I really was a Cape.
The basement would do.
At first, I just punched the air. Clumsy, half-hearted strikes. Then, minute by minute, something changed. My punches grew smoother, faster, heavier. My body adjusted itself, correcting stances I hadn't learned. Soon, my fists were a blur.
Then I stopped.
I had powers.
Now what?
If I were younger, maybe I'd be thrilled. But now all I felt was numb.
A sudden clatter snapped me out of it. I turned—and froze.
A white scythe lay on the floor, its edge gleaming faintly in the dim light.
I stared. Maybe it was part of my power? Some kind of projection? I tried to will it away. Nothing happened.
So, I did what any rational teenager wouldn't do. I picked it up.
The moment my fingers closed around the handle, energy flooded through me—vast and cold, like touching the heart of a storm. A presence stirred.
[Designation]
[Queen Administrator]
[Function]
[Defend host entity: Taylor / D]
[Sub-function]
[Serve D]
My thoughts fractured. My breathing quickened.
"No. No, no, no. This can't be real. It was just a dream. Just a nightmare."
I almost threw the scythe away—but that same eerie calm smothered my panic, leaving nothing but ice in its place.
And all I could think, perfectly clear, perfectly cold, was:
"How could my servant from my dream have followed me into reality?"