"But you look human," I blurt out. I pace up and down the hallways, trying to make sense of this new information.

This isn't right. Sure, I've always felt there was something off about him, but I've never thought he was anything but human. I shouldn't even have to consider that.

"Quite the contrary," Ronan says, "Isn't it humans who resemble us?"

I shouldn't be surprised anymore, given all that I've been through. It shouldn't be that big of a deal, right? So what if he's a demon?

A sane person would be scared out of their mind when confronted with something unworldly. Unfortunately, years of witnessing abnormal things has distorted my perception of what's normal and what's not.

However, something still strikes me odd. I have too many questions and not enough answers.

I look at the shadow, then at Ronan, then the shadow again. "You two...," I say in a daze, "...are related?"

His expression immediately stiffens, and he gives me a dark stare. "I'll kill you." A dangerous aura drifts off of him and I begin to feel uneasy. If I anger him, he might really kill me.

I clasp my hands together and put on an act. "Oh, forgive me mighty demon. I should have never compared someone so powerful with that weak thing."

It seems those little demons I saw before and this shadow that attacked me aren't demons, after all. They're 'parasites', as Ronan had said.

He nods, a conceited grin back in its rightful place. I'm saved. "Luckily I'm a forgiving person, so I'll spare you. Besides, I still need to bring you back to my superiors."

"Excuse me?" I must have heard him wrong, but he doesn't seem like he's going to repeat himself.

"You see, you intrigue me. At first glance, you're clearly human. But why is it that I can sense some demon in you?"

Me? A demon? The very idea is hilarious. I try stifling my laugh but fail, irritating Ronan in the process.

I clear my throat. "That's impossible. I'm human, born and raised." It's amazing how fast I've managed to adjust to this situation. I've had my share of crazy in my meager seventeen years than anyone could experience within two lifetimes.

He takes a few steps closer, closing off the distance between us. He's taller than I thought – a few more inches than me. My shoulders sink under his stare. "Haven't you ever felt that you were different?" He asks, looking down to meet my eyes.

"That...that is...," I trail off.

Different.

"They say everyone close to her is destined to die."

Too different.

"What a scary child."

Yes, I'm different.

"I don't want my kid near her."

I've known it all my life. I pretended not to notice.

"I might as well tell you," Ronan says indifferently. He seems preoccupied with cleaning the blade of his sword, polishing it to his heart's content. "I was assigned by my superiors to investigate the unusual amount of death energy in this area. The more I investigated, the more all the loose ends tied to you. 'The Shadow' nested here because it was following your scent – your demon scent."

"I...don't understand." My mind is a whirl of unfinished thoughts and the sickening feeling in my stomach grows more powerful with every second.

"The longer you stay here, the more you'll endanger the people around you – the people you love."

"Did you hear about what happened to her mother?" 

"N- No." I rub the sides of arms, if only to comfort myself from the voices of my past.

"I say her kid was the one who killed her."

"Shut up," I say, pulling at my hair. The voices that have haunted me for so long grow stronger.

Ronan arches his eyebrow. "What was that?"

"It makes sense. Even her own family members act hostile towards her. I bet they know the truth."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" I clench my head, fingernails forming tiny wounds. It's pulsating more than ever and my vision has long since gone blurry. "I didn't do it." Hot tears stream down my face, stinging my cheeks. "I didn't do it!"

Something feels different within me – as if all my life I've been keeping something bottled up within me, preventing it from escaping. But now, when I'm the most vulnerable, it's gone out of control.

I can faintly hear a voice in the distance. "What's going on with you?" A hand finds its way on my shoulder.

Something is rising within me. Something indescribable.

"Go away!" A powerful pressure weighs down on my body, to the point where I lose all my senses. All the pressure concentrates in my hand, its nature volatile and uncontrollable. I release the massive pressure all at once, pressing all my strength into my hand and pushing the foreign hand away. A boom sounds out, followed by a groan.

Dust. Tremendous amounts of dust cloud the hallway. The pounding in my head has disappeared. So has Ronan.

I catch my breath and grip my hand, now back to normal. I'm rational again but...what happened? Or rather, what did I do?

Another groan makes its way to my ears and I hear shuffling. "Damn. I was not expecting that." Ronan walks out from a cloud of dust. His clothes are covered in grime and dirt. Behind him, a wall has caved in on itself. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?" 

I know what I did, but I can't bring myself to believe it. Because of the strange power that took over me, Ronan was actually thrown back, going straight through a wall. I can't even do five consecutive pushups and I managed to push someone through a wall. How is this possible?

"This is great news," Ronan says, more to himself than to me. Excitement with a twinge of greed glows within his eyes. "My superiors will surely reward me handsomely. It was worth getting my clothes dirty."

I study my own hands, looking for any strange signs. "Did I really do that?"

"You never mentioned you could control your demonic powers," he says and motions towards the corpse. "You could have easily beaten that thing. Perhaps you purposely acted as the damsel-in-distress?"

"Of course not," I snap at him. "I have no idea what went over me, but I certainly don't have any demonic powers."

He eyes me suspiciously, but makes up his mind. "Regardless, you're coming with me."

This is all moving way too fast. "But..."

"Let's take care of my appearance first. Presentation is everything." With a snap of a finger, Ronan's clothes are good as new.

I have no time to react before he proceeds to swiftly bite down on his finger. He wipes the blood on a nearby wall and a space opens up. It's like a gap in time – something so unnatural it causes the air around it to distort.

My feet lead me to peer into the endless void, entranced by the sight of a multitude of colors crossing each other at various points, like dancing dragons. It's not something I can ever put into words.

"You should feel honored to be able to gaze upon this sight," Ronan says. "It's extremely rare for a human to witness this."

Normally I would feel provoked by his comment – 'human this' and 'human that' – but he's right. I can tell this scene is not meant for my eyes, and I'm breathless.

"I suppose it's what your books describe as a portal. But really, it's the fabric that separates one world from the next," Ronan says. I can tell he's watching me, observing me like I'm some sort of science experiment.

He goes on to describe every single detail involving portals and galaxies – things that I can't comprehend. With glowing eyes and a rambling mouth, he continues to rant, forgetting our circumstances. He finally looks like a teacher, the one he was supposed to be before my world was turned upside down. Thankfully, he stops after seeing my dazed expression.

"Well, you couldn't possibly understand." He offers a hand towards me with upturned lips. "Shall we be on our way?"

I hesitantly look back at the world as I know it. It seems so much smaller when I look at the void in front of me. If I leave, I'll be able to protect the ones I love from myself. That's enough for me.

But there's still an issue holding me back.

"My friend, Claire. Is she alright?" I ask urgently.

Ronan nods. "I found out where the Shadow was keeping your friend and the other two girls. They're safe and sound now. Although, I had to erase their memory."

Putting my trust in him, I firmly take his hand. He grins and pulls me closer. "Oh, but one more thing," he says, as if he's just remembered something.

The dark haired youth lifts up his fist and points it towards the dead creature. The ring on his finger glows and the corpse is sucked into the ring. He glances at me from the corner of his eye. "Don't call me stingy. This corpse is worth at least five low-grade death crystals at the market." I cock my head to the side, about to inquire further, but decide against it.

Fastening his grip on me, Ronan steps into the endless void and the portal closes up behind us. The world as I know it disappears as a stream of colors surround me.

Everyone, forget I ever existed. It's better this way.

A/N- Finally! An action-packed chapter! And there's even more action to come when I update this Friday :) Don't forget to vote if you enjoyed this chapter~