Figure In The Night

During the previous night, while Aurik was fast asleep and his body was undergoing it's changes, a young man named Tristan was sitting on his bed at home while staring at his bandaged arm.

The images of a black haired young man biting into his arm were still fresh in his mind and caused him a fair amount of anxiety whenever he thought about it. He had just returned home after getting treated at the hospital and was feeling quite tired from the stressful day so he lay on his back and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes as he waited for his body to fall sleep.

There room was almost completely dark, with the only source of light being that which leaked passed his curtains from outside. It wasn't much but the light made it easy enough to see inside the room and even cast a few shadows here and there.

These shadows were exactly what drew Tristan's attention just as he was about to fall asleep. The sudden movement of the shadows attracted his eyes for a moment, it was an involuntary movement and he would usually just ignore such things since it was often just a bird or something flying passed the window and obstructing the light for second. However, this time that wasn't the case.

Tristan felt his heart squeeze as the shadows started to shift and glide across the walls like they were trying to run away from the window. The light started to dim and for a moment the room was plunged into complete darkness before the shadows returned to normal and the light filtered in again.

Tristan let out a sigh of relief and stopped looking at the window as he realized that everything was fine. As he turned his head to look straight up again, the sight of a human-like figure standing over him from the other side of his bed filled him with fear as he opened his mouth to scream.

The shadowy figure stretched out it's hand with immense speed and quickly clasped it's fingers around Tristan's throat before he could make a single sound. Tristan's body shook with fear as he stared at the figure that threatened his safety and after a few seconds a realization that multiplied his fear tenfold flashed through his mind.

The figure that appeared in his room wasn't just shrouded in darkness, it was darkness itself! It's body was literally made of shadows that writhed and swirled constantly as it slowly leaned forward and loomed over Tristan.

"Who Injured you?" The shadow suddenly asked. It's voice was like that of any normal human man but to Tristan it was the voice of a demon .

"A-Aurik...!" Tristan didn't even hesitate as he blurted out Aurik's name. His voice was strained and raspy due to the fingers squeezing his throat but the pressure was released just enough for him to talk at the level of a whisper.

The shadow's 'face' moved closer to Tristan's and stopped just before the two were touching and spoke with a more menacing tone than before.

"Where can I find Aurik?"

"He works... at a restaurant by... the train station...!" Tristan barely managed to squeeze out an answer, trying to say an entire sentence while being choked was much more difficult than a single word after all.

After receiving an answer the shadow released it's grip on Tristan's throat, much to his delight. Tristan was silently celebrating now that he believed he was going to survive this ordeal despite not knowing why this was even happening to him.

This joy left him instantly when the shadows that made up the figure's body suddenly hardened and the body of a human man with glowing green eyes replaced it. The man lifted his arm and punched down hard into Tristan's chest without warning, sending his arm right through the young man's body like it was made of paper and piercing into the mattress beneath him.

Tristan's eyes widened with fear for a brief moment before the light in his eyes faded and his life was extinguished. The man pulled his arm back, revealing the gaping hole left in Tristan's chest, and grabbed the boy's blanket to wipe the blood from his arm.

A few seconds later his body morphed into shadows once again and melted into the ground. The shadows by the window flickered once again, just as they had done a few minutes before, and quickly returned to normal as though nothing had happened. Tristan's body was left in an empty room by itself, with no sign that anyone had ever been there other than the body itself. 

**

-Back to the present-

Aurik pulled himself away from the mirror he had been staring at for several minutes and returned to his work shortly after. Thea attempted to ask him what was going on but he had no answers to give and she eventually gave up.

Aurik was pleasantly surprised to find out that his boss wasn't coming to work today due to 'personal reasons'. He got on with work as the customers started to filter in and after about an hour had passed a thick grey cloud passed over head that dimmed the light and caused some light rain to fall.

More people rushed into the restaurant, likely trying to avoid the rain, and everyone became extremely busy due to the rush of new customers. At some point in the chaos Aurik noticed a well dressed man slip passed the others and make his way to an empty table at the edge of the restaurant before immediately taking a seat.

Aurik thought about telling the man that he can't just walk in and sit anywhere but decided to just leave the matter alone as he approached the man, He pulled out a small notepad and a pencil and stopped beside the man's table.

"Good morning Sir, what can I get for you?"

The moment the man locked eyes with him, Aurik felt a tinge of recognition flash through his mind, like he knew this man from somewhere, only he was 100% sure he had never seen or met this man before.

"Looks like I was right." The man suddenly said as a smile spread across his face before he continued. "That feeling is one that those like us feel when we meet each other."

The man's words alerted Aurik, how else was he supposed to react when the strange feeling inside of him was so accurately described in less than a second after it appeared.. Although he couldn't be sure, there was a thought that crossed his mind and he just had to ask.

"How did... do you know what's happening to me?"

He realized it would sound strange if this man didn't know anything but he couldn't afford to miss this chance. The man spoke with such a confident and familiar tone that it was hard to think he didn't know something.

"You asked what I wanted, right? Well, I came here for you. Take a seat, we have much to discuss."