The golden staff pulsed in my hands, radiating warmth up my arms. Power hummed beneath my skin, foreign yet familiar, like it had been waiting for me all along.
Across the chamber, the jackal warrior groaned, pushing itself off the cracked stone floor. Its golden eyes locked onto me, and I swore I saw something shift in its expression.
Recognition.
Great. The monster knew me, and I had no idea why.
Aunika pulled me back. "Aneria, listen—"
The warrior let out a snarl and lunged.
Instinct took over.
Before I could process what I was doing, I swung the staff. A golden arc of energy shot from the tip, slamming into the jackal's chest. The creature was blasted backward, hitting the stone wall with a deafening crack.
I stood there, chest heaving, staring at the weapon in my hands.
"…Did I just do that?"
Aunika whistled. "Yeah. And I think you pissed it off."
The jackal pushed itself to its feet again, growling. The golden armor on its chest was cracked where my attack had landed, but otherwise, it looked very much not dead.
And now, it was charging straight at me.
"Oh, come on!" I spun, barely dodging as its curved blade sliced through the air. The wind from the swing brushed my cheek, and I stumbled back, heart pounding.
Aunika cursed. "You need to fight, An!"
"I am fighting!" I swung the staff again, but this time, the jackal ducked and lashed out with its claws.
Pain exploded across my arm as its sharp talons raked across my skin.
I yelped, staggering back. Blood trickled down my forearm.
The jackal didn't hesitate—it lunged again.
Aunika grabbed something from her hoodie pocket—a small, curved dagger—and threw it.
The blade buried itself in the jackal's shoulder.
It howled in pain, spinning toward Aunika with murder in its eyes.
I saw red.
Before I knew what I was doing, I slammed the staff against the ground. A shockwave erupted from the floor, knocking the jackal off balance.
I moved.
Faster than I should have been able to. My body blurred forward, and suddenly, I was in front of the jackal, my staff crackling with golden energy.
The jackal's eyes widened.
I drove the staff into its chest.
A pulse of light exploded from the impact. The creature let out a choked sound—like static and a dying breath mixed together—before disintegrating into a swirling cloud of black sand.
Silence.
I stood there, panting, staring at the empty space where the monster had been.
Did… did I just win?
Aunika stepped up beside me. "Huh."
I turned to her, still gripping the staff like it was my last lifeline. "Huh? That's all you have to say?"
She grinned. "What? You did great."
I held up my bleeding arm. "I got slashed."
"Battle scars."
I glared at her, but my pulse was still racing too hard to argue.
Instead, I finally let go of the staff with one hand, shaking out my fingers. The golden glow was fading, but I could still feel the power humming inside me.
And that was when the real terror set in.
"What the hell am I, Aunika?" My voice was quieter than I meant it to be.
Aunika exhaled. "Aneria… you're a demigod."
The word hung in the air, heavy and unreal.
I swallowed. "No. Nope. That's not—" I laughed, but it sounded more like I was choking. "That's not a thing."
Aunika gave me a look. "You just blasted a monster with a god-tier weapon. What part of this isn't a thing?"
I opened my mouth, then shut it again.
She had a point.
I was still trying to process the fact that the jackal warrior had just dissolved into sand when the stone chamber started shaking.
"Oh, what now?" I groaned.
The hieroglyphs on the walls flickered, then burst into light. The air turned electric. The golden staff in my grip vibrated, like it was reacting to something.
Aunika grabbed my sleeve. "We need to go. Now."
"But—"
"Now, Aneria!"
The shaking intensified. Cracks splintered across the walls. Dust rained down from the ceiling.
I didn't argue. I ran.
We bolted through the tunnel, retracing our steps. The walls continued to tremble, but the moment we burst back through the secret door into Aunika's bookstore, the shaking stopped.
I doubled over, panting. "Please tell me that's normal."
Aunika locked the entrance behind us, then turned to me, dead serious.
"No," she said. "That was very bad."
Great.
I leaned against a bookshelf, running a hand through my hair. "Okay. Quick recap—I got chased by a monster, unlocked some kind of godly power, killed said monster, and now I'm apparently a demigod?"
Aunika nodded. "Pretty much."
I exhaled. "I need a minute."
I slid down to the floor, trying to steady my breathing.
Aunika sat next to me, watching me carefully. "You okay?"
I turned to her, finally taking in the way her dark hair was slightly messy from running, how her hoodie was dusted with bits of ancient stone, how her eyes—warm and steady—were focused only on me.
Even after everything, she was calm. Grounded.
Something in my chest fluttered.
…Yeah, this was not the time for a crisis about that.
I cleared my throat. "I just…" I looked at my hands. "Why me?"
Aunika was quiet for a moment.
Then she said, "I think it's time you learned who your godly parent is."
My stomach twisted. "I don't know if I want to."
"You don't have a choice," she said softly. "Because whoever they are? They just made you a target."
I swallowed hard.
I wasn't ready for this. I wasn't ready for any of this.
But somehow, deep down, I knew she was right.
This was only the beginning.