MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

[United States -- Los Angeles]

As Adam continued to walk through roads known and unknown, he slowly became more and more absent-minded as the high brought about by his previous precarious situation was slowly receding from his body, leaving him in a lethargic and dizzying state.

Even when he had woken up previously, at Natasha's home which was akin to a mini castle in the midst of LA, he had been in a highly stressful environment overall.

There was a woman, the ancient werewolf Aleksandra, always in his immediate vicinity who, no matter how friendly she seemed and acted, could crush him with just a wave of his hand.

Moreover, all around the mansion were strong individuals that could become his potential enemies with just a single wrong move on his part.

This was why, even until this very moment, he never truly had the time to stop and think about his actions that had dictated the scenario he lived through this day. Until this very moment...that is...

'I...'

He closed his eyes and shook his head to put those dismal and harrowing thoughts at the very back of his mind. He was still outside. He was still not completely safe from the hands of the Supernatural.

There could still be potential threats to his life lingering everywhere, in every corner of every block and even every household.

He needed to stay vigilant. He needed to focus. He needed to...

But...

All he wanted to do now...was just to go home and sleep.

------

When Adam finally reached his neighborhood, reached the vicinity of the small apartment that he could call home, and entered his house, he stopped advancing further and just stared in a daze at the hallway and everything that encompassed the starting layout of their apartment.

Just this morning... He had simply left his house because he wanted to go to school and have a normal day. Away from the Supernatural, away from all the troubles that his new life entailed...

But what did that bring him...?

Now it was only night, not even a single day had passed since he left the confines of his house, and he had murdered nine people in cold blood while causing the last one to be sent to be tortured.

Adam was sure that the man would be killed once he had lived through his usefulness or may even die through the process.

He was sure that whatever situation that he was going through, even at this very moment, would be excruciatingly painful and horrifying for the man.

All of this, every single thing that transpired today, had happened because of him. Because of his choices. And then the subsequent actions he took following them.

"Adam? Why didn't you say that you were home?"

Walking out from the end of the hallway was Cecilia, having exited the shower a few moments ago. She was wearing a simple red colored shirt and shorts while her hair was still damp due to the shower.

She had been training not long ago in order to understand her new limits and had taken a shower afterward to wash off the sweat and the fatigue away from her body.

When she saw Adam standing before the door, she came close, wishing to hear about his day with a slight smile tugged on her lips. But as she came near him and looked at him proper, the gaze Adam threw at her before walking past her made Cecilia stop in her tracks as the smile slowly receded from her mouth.

This was the first time she had seen her child make such a look, and for a second everything seemed to have frozen for her. As memories of her past resurfaced.

"I am sorry. I was distracted."

Adam said quietly before walking toward the shower. He desperately needed that to wash away the thoughts plaguing his mind.

------

The sound of the water dropping on the wet ground filled his head as he savored the sensation of the hot water against his skin.

His mind was completely blank as he gazed at his hands while he placed his head against the wall. It was done subconsciously, just like many things he had been doing after leaving Natasha's place. As he looked at those hands, wetted by the dripping water, there weren't many things that he could think of anyways...

Not long ago, those hands were used to twist the neck of a man. [1]

It was funny that out of the nine people he killed, this particular one was the most vivid. Killing by using his telekinetic powers made the process so easy. It was like he was in a video game and was killing some NPCs for his leisure.

Meanwhile, using his hands, feeling the life leave out the body of the desperately struggling man under his palms was so much more vivid that it felt disgusting and nauseating.

That was the moment that had truly woken him up today...

Those people weren't just some mindless NPCs. They were people, with a past and people who loved them. Parents, children, friends, family and so much more.

For him. Death was just an afterthought now. He became numb to it and now simply saw it as the best alternative when taking damage to his body and mind.

But for humans, death was all too much real. They only had one chance at life.

Death represented not only the end of the individual but everything that encompassed him, Death didn't just destroy one individual, it wrecked the lives of so many more.

And Adam now found himself acknowledging that he too had been the cause of destruction for innumerable people's lives. Not just the nine that were openly hostile to him and he had decided to kill.

Perhaps what made him feel worse was that... Deep down, he knew that his remorse was nothing more than pure hypocrisy.

After all-- he would do it again without hesitation if he was placed in the same situation once more.

"Adam."

Adam was woken up from the spiraling hell hole of guilt mixed with indifference that he was slowly crawling towards as he heard Cecilia's timely voice coming from the other side of the door.

"I am taking a shower. I will be out fast."

He tried to put more joy in his voice. Trying to act as normal as possible even though it was quite hard for him currently.

While he was feeling drained in mind and soul, feeling as though his life and everything he lived for were crashing down in front of his eyes, Adam refused to burden his mother with his own issues.

He just had to deal with them by himself. He had two minds currently and could have more in the future. Surely he could simply repress the memory and walk away from this without any issues. Surely there would be nothing wrong with him after a much-needed sleep.

"..."

Cecilia did not talk for a few seconds before she finally continued with a calm tone, "We need to talk. Finish your shower and come down."

Adam rose his head from looking down and let the cold refreshing embrace of the water wash his face. Cecilia had already walked away, not waiting for his answer.

'Did she notice?'

Adam idly wondered in his mind. He also wondered to himself just what he should say to her when he was questioned by her about the happenings of today. That is... If she had really sensed something out of place...

"Well, I deal with it when I need to."

His desire to sleep was still lingering in his mind. Just sleep for a bit and forget everything else that did not matter. Casting away all his worries and taking refuge in the world of dreams.

He wished for nothing more than that.

------

[1]: So unlike what movies say. Neck twisting isn't that easy and it's generally not instantly fatal. You need some serious damage to bring death. But Adam has a D+ rank strength, in terms of pure physical strength. This means that even the greatest weightlifter doping themselves to hell and back would still be weaker than Adam.

My goal is to reach the top 50 in trending (All time/monthly). I know we can do it. If you want to read my other works, join me on P@treon: /HikaruGenji (Replace the @ with a for those who don't know about the site)

Changed the gift-to-chapter ratio for a new month and because of the changes on WN.

Bonus for Gifts:

A Castle= 3 Bonus chapters

A golden Gachapon= 5 BC (Spread over a week, otherwise I would die)

Bonus for Priv unlock

5K= 3 BC (Spread over four days)

15K= 8 BC (Spread over a week, otherwise I would die)

Bonus for Golden Tickets

500 GT= 1 BC

1000 GT= 2 BC

This is a tentative price. Will adapt and possibly increase the rewards depending on the results.