The air seemed to grow colder as the figure moved closer, its long, razor-sharp claws extending with a menacing slowness. With a swift, precise strike, the figure slashed through Valeria's arm, tearing her sleeve and revealing the intimidating black dragon tattoo on her shoulder.
The tattoo, though not large, seemed to pulse with a life of its own, its scales glinting like dark gemstones in the faint light. Its eyes, two glinting embers, appeared to burn with an inner fire, as if ready to unleash a fiery fury upon anyone who dared approach. The dragon's claws, wrapped around Valeria's shoulder, seemed to grip her flesh like a vice, as if holding her in place.
In a haze of darkness and chaos, Valeria's mind became consumed by the corruption, her actions no longer her own as she succumbed to the dark force within her.
The corruption raged on much more intense than the last time, her body trembling as she coughed up blood.
Back in the field where the competition took place, no one seemed to notice Valeria's absence, except for Rachael, who had received a distress signal from Valeria's necklace. Frantically searching for her friend, Rachael called out her name, but she was too far gone to respond.
Meanwhile, Valeria saw the wound on her arm and the exposed tattoo on her shoulder which seemed to have caught his eyes as he kept staring at it. His eyes were gleaming with an otherworldly intensity but she wasn't afraid of him. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice weak but determined. "Why are you stirring up my corruption?"
The man's response was cryptic, his words sending a shiver down Valeria's spine. "Your soul mate is looking for you, I guess this tattoo proves that you're truly the "One" he hissed, "but we'll take you before he finds you. See… you're the key, the key to all the greatness that we need."
Valeria's mind raced with questions, but the man refused to answer. Her corruption worsened, her senses fading as she stumbled towards the man. Her eyes blazed with an unnatural desire, her fangs bared as she pinned him to a tree.
"Who is my soul mate?" she snarled, her voice barely human. "What do you want from me!!"
But the man remained silent, his eyes wide with terror. He clearly hadn't anticipated that she would have enough strength to attack him.
Valeria had noticed that though he looked like a human, he had claws and she sensed dark energy around him and she was intrigued.
Her patience wore thin, she held his neck tight and her fangs suddenly sank into his skin as she began to drink to her content.
As she tasted it, she finally realized what creature the man was.
'Interesting… I'll have to tell Desmond about this when I see him', she thought.
Anyone who would have stumbled upon the scene would have thought of it as romantic from the position they stood, but it was far from it.
It was a horror full scene as either of them could lose their life at any moment.
Valeria, who was corrupted and not in her right mind, kept on drinking from the man with no pause. But just as she was about to finish him off, Rachael arrived on the scene.
She was horrified to see Valeria who had dilated crimson eyes, her fangs appeared thicker than she had ever seen with her lips smeared with blood making them look red.
Rachael quickly shoved a water bottle into Valeria's hand when she saw that Valeria was slowly going back to her senses.
Valeria drank greedily, her senses slowly returning as she pulled away from the man. He collapsed to the ground with a thud, and Rachael helped Valeria to her feet.
"What happened?" Rachael asked, her eyes wide with concern.
Valeria's expression was grim. "I lost control. My corruption... it's getting worse. And I think I have a soul mate, but I don't know who it is or why he's looking for me."
Rachael's eyes narrowed. "We'll figure it out, Valeria. But first, we need to get you out of here before you hurt anyone else."
Rachael saw the tattoo on Valeria's arm but didn't ask of it. She thought it might belong to the family Valeria came from as they were very powerful.
As the inter-school competition came to a close, Valeria knew that she would have to confront the dark figure who had orchestrated the events that had led to her corruption again later. She vowed to uncover the truth behind the sinister plot.
And as she walked off the field, her gaze fixed on the horizon, Valeria knew that the battle against her own darkness was far from over.