For the first time in years, John’s mind began to overthink every single one of his past and future choices, the what-ifs and the regrets plaguing his thoughts. He tried to push these thoughts out of his head, but to no avail, as the moment he sat beside Stephanie on her bed and tried to hold her, the memories resurfaced like a tidal wave.
The time when he met her when the apocalypse started, how he rescued her, the time they spent together, the conversations and the physical intimacy, all of it. No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t make sense of it.
Their gazes met, but this time it was different. Before stepping inside the room, John had no idea what he would do or how he would deal with Stephanie, but his Class Upgrade brought some useful utilities, such as the ability to see detailed information about his love partners.
[Stephanie Mitz]
[Age: 21]
[Class: Genius Fighter]
[Strength: 29 .4]
[Vitality: 18.5]
[Agility: 29]
[Energy: 28]
[Skills: Muscle Strengthening (D), Skill Assimilation (B)]
Those were her combat stats, but his new ability had much more information. His Love Meter skill had disappeared as it was no longer needed and brought with it additional information:
[Affection: A]
[Bond Strength: B]
[Loyalty: A+]
[Trust: B]
All these were indicators of the current level of Stephanie’s attachment to John, her love and loyalty towards him. Her high level of Loyalty told John that she was being controlled. Maybe it was another situation like August, but this could not be Stephanie. He now had numerical and factual evidence of her commitment to him.
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"What is it, John?" Stephanie asked in a concerned tone, placing the pillow beside her and turning her entire body towards John, her legs brushing against his.
"Who are you?" John’s eyes bore into Stephanie, trying to see the truth.
Stephanie tilted her head, not understanding his words and smiled.
"I’m your woman."
Her eyes glistened in the moonlight, reflecting John’s shadow as if they were his mirror.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" He asked, but his words were sharper this time, almost a growl and it put Stephanie on alert as she gripped the bedsheets.
Her gentle expression vanished in an instant and her lips curled up. Her smile was so disturbing that it made John flinch in shock.
"John," she whispered. "Did you finally find me out?" Her words sent chills down John’s spine, but he was ready. His mind was already racing at full speed trying to think of a plan of attack.
John stared at Stephanie and asked in a stern tone.
"Where is Stephanie? What have you done to her?" He growled through his teeth and his grip on her tightened.
Stephanie chuckled softly, the sound reverberating through the empty room.
"Oh, John. Don’t be like that," she said as she pouted and caressed John’s face with her small, soft hand.
"What did you do with Stephanie? Tell me now or I will make you pay," John warned with a cold, emotionless voice. The time for games was over. Who knew where Stephanie had been all this time and for how long, he needed to get to her, immediately.
Just then, an eerie giggle escaped Stephanie’s mouth and her golden eyes turned blue.
’Fuck! I knew it,’ John thought as he realised she had been replaced by a Luminar, just like August.
He knew there was no reasoning with her anymore and so he decided to strike first. While Stephanie laughed and mocked John, a Shadow Claw skittered towards Stephanie from below, but before it could reach her, she was engulfed by a black cloud that came out of nowhere, hiding her body within itself.
The shadowy substance then enveloped her whole, obscuring her from view and then the shadow cloud floated in the air before turning into a black vortex of shadows.
It seemed as if the vortex was trying to pull John and Stephanie inside.
"I’m not letting you! Shockwave, motherfucker!" John yelled while a blast erupted from his hands, blowing Stephanie away from the vortex. The blast was so strong it had nearly obliterated the small bedroom and put everyone in the base on high alert.
"You’ll have to try harder, John!" The Luminar in Stephanie’s body said as she engulfed herself in shadows once more and flew at lightning speed towards the front gate.
"MARIA!" John bellowed with enough volume to shatter every glass window in the entire building as he followed her with the same speed, leaving a sonic boom in his wake as he zipped past the courtyard.
John arrived at the gate almost at the same time as Stephanie was about to fly past the gate when an Energy Projectile from the watchtower struck the black mass, staggering the shadow vortex and smashing Stephanie against the courtyard’s floor.
John appeared in a blur, tackling her to the ground with all his strength. John grabbed ahold of the shadow cloud, and he felt like he was touching cold steel instead of soft flesh, the coldness piercing through his fingers, but John refused to let go of it.
"John! What’s happening?" Maria asked with concern as she climbed down the watchtower. Suddenly, almost everyone in the base had come out to the courtyard, their weapons brandished and ready to attack the intruder.
John gritted his teeth as he struggled with the vortex. His hands were turning red due to frostbite, the icy coldness spreading throughout his whole body and it was only a matter of time before his muscles and bones would give way under the immense pressure.
He growled through clenched teeth. The pain was immense, but he pushed through it as he poured Energy into his arms.
"Oh my god! Is that Stephanie?" Dalia shrieked, pointing to Stephanie whose face had appeared in the shadow cloud. Her eyes were lifeless and her expression was vacant and blank as if she were in a trance.
"Don’t come closer, Dalia. It’s not Stephanie, she has been replaced with a Luminar, just like August," John said as he struggled with the black cloud.
John’s entire body trembled under the immense pressure of the vortex, but he could not last forever. Before long, the pressure built up and a blast sent both Stephanie and John flying in opposite directions.
John stood back up immediately and dashed towards Stephanie just as an immense amount of Energy was separated from her body and someone had somehow slipped out of Stephanie’s body.
She was a stunning beauty with a face so ethereal, so angelic, she could rival Aphrodite’s beauty.
Her silver-white hair was tied up in a tight braid and she had a slender, voluptuous body that would make any woman jealous, and she was naked, but the fact that she was floating in the air in a lotus position, made her alluring form even more striking. She had blue eyes typical of a Luminar, but she exuded strength and majesty that rivalled any Luminar that John had ever met, including Nova and that frightened John to his core.
Her lips curled up into a grin, the edges of her eyes crinkling, giving her a regal appearance. She glanced at her surroundings, as if observing an unknown territory. Her eyes fixed on the crowd gathered in the courtyard, studying them one by one until her gaze landed on John.