The journey was a long walk across campus, and after he walked past fancy lecture halls and old libraries, even losing his way a few times, he finally made it to one of the administrative buildings, the one he was looking for.

The Administrative Building was a stately, older structure seemingly made of grey stone, as grey as the soulless sky above it.

Walking inside, he climbed the dirty steps and pushed open the heavy doors to enter a quiet, black-carpeted lobby.

There was no one in sight.

He then located and searched the bulletin board map for Professor Albright's office on the third floor and climbed the staircase there.

The hallway was also quiet, and as he moved, Mr. Valen took note of wooden doors with golden nameplates to his left and right.

He stopped at one of these doors, which read Prof. M. Albright, but he did not knock just yet.

'Albright, I have looked into the man, but he is suspiciously clean, RD alumnus, tenured professor, but he undoubtedly has an avatar, how do I get close enough to touch it?' Mr. Valen pondered before knocking on the door.

"Come in," a familiar voice tore through the wooden gaps, only the last time he heard it, it was hurling profanities at his stepmother, while drunk on arousal.

In response to the familiar voice, Mr. Valen pushed open the door and stepped inside, his eyes taking in the new environment.

The first thing he saw were books, arrayed on towering bookshelf, a faint leathery scent invading his nostrils.

Seated in a high-backed leather chair was the man of the hour, Professor Albright, his broad shoulders and notable physique hinting at his athletic past.

His brown beard, though still messy, was not as messy as the last time Mr. Valen saw him, most likely having been groomed properly, but Mr. Valen could hardly care about any of this at the immediate moment.

Rather, his eyes were instantly, irresistibly drawn to a familiar maggot-like delicacy slumped over the professor's shoulders, its faceless maw rasping, biting soundlessly at the air.

'If I were to kill them both... ((NO!)) Control yourself,' Mr. Valen's thoughts began to wander as violent hunger surged in his gut, the feeling so intense that he had to clench his jaw to keep from shuddering.

Tearing his gaze from the professor, he looked upon Amanda, his stepmother, who sat elegantly on the edge of the desk, her legs crossed as she stared at him.

She held a little tea cup in her grasp, looking every bit like the life she had coveted, rich, elegant, and by the way she was dressed, seemingly a professor.

Her long blonde hair was impeccably styled, and her eyes had that familiar look of disgust he expected of her.

"Ah, so the wayward child arrives, after days of skipping classes," Amanda spoke, her voice even, not even waiting for a response before she added, "Don't just stand there gawking, Valen. The tea service is on the cart over there," she gestured to the cart at the side. "Be a dear and pour the Professor a fresh cup, and kneel while you serve it; I'd hate for you to drip on the rug."

'This is interesting,' Albright thought, letting his gaze wander on Mr. Valen's form for a brief moment, curious as to how the boy would respond.

'He's sizing me up,' Mr. Valen noted that stare, a faint feeling of disgust welling up in him, that his prey should look down on him.

But Mr. Valen was careful; he knew nothing about the man, for all he knew, this man could even be a hellspawn.

So he forced his shoulders to slump slightly, making his body seem smaller, his gaze downcast.

Amanda then noticed a faint nervous tremor run through Mr. Valen's form as he walked towards the cart and poured the tea, the clink of porcelain echoing in the room.

As instructed, he walked over and then knelt on the floor, offering the cup to Professor Albright with lowered eyes.

'What cowardice, and here I expected the kid to be interesting, he's just like his father,' Albright thought as he took the cup without a word of thanks, his gaze emotionless as he spoke to Mr. Valen, "You should be grateful, boy, your... mother... went to great lengths to secure your place here. Lengths your pathetic father could never have managed. A failing business, a failing son. Quite the legacy."

Amanda giggled at those words, a wide, self-satisfied smile blooming on her lips. "King doesn't have the wit to understand true sacrifice, honey, not like you. He thinks the world just hands out opportunity," she spoke and looked down at Mr. Valen, who was still kneeling. "I was so blind to have been in that relationship, but I felt sorry for you, even now, you're still my poor, troubled child, and I want nothing more than for you to succeed. Thankfully, Professor Albright here is a kind man; he allowed a man of his stature to plead your case, and look at the results, you're here, though looking at you now, one has to wonder if it was worth it."

'I like that she talks a lot,' Mr. Valen thought in silence, as he fought the instinct to pounce on Albright and her ramblings helped a bit. 'From her words, she might have used the guise of a desperate mother to worm her way into Albright's heart, using her female allure and sheer wit all to her own benefit, a wonderful tactic if I do say so myself, I wonder why haven't you developed an avatar of your own Amanda?' he thought.

In truth, though, Amanda's aura was darker than most; she had yet to develop an avatar, but why was that? Her actions were certainly predatory.

"Now, now, Amanda," Albright said, sipping his tea, his deep voice bringing Mr. Valen back to the present. "Let's not be too harsh on the boy; he is a Psychology major, isn't he?" He turned to Mr. Valen, a small smile on his lips. "I do hope you pass your courses. It would be a shame to waste my… recommendation."

The way he said "recommendation" made it horribly clear that his admission into RD was a favor he could just as easily revoke, 'Great, another reason to silence him forever, I have to get close to him, but h...' A thought suddenly hit him as he glanced at Amanda, the weak link. 'This will be fun.'

"Now," Albright continued, his voice pulling him from his thoughts once more. "You may go. Remember your place in this institution, and remember that I am the only reason you are here. You are a smart boy, are you not?'

"Yes, Professor," Mr. Valen whimpered, his voice barely audible, his expression as though he was about to cry.

Amanda scoffed as she witnessed the pathetic display, watching him rise, slowly, his movements tremulous as he backed towards the door, not turning back until the last possible instant.

"Bam!"

He slipped out like some frightened animal, closing the door with great care, but the moment he left the room, his expression transitioned from fear to unnatural stillness before once again turning blank, almost like he was selecting a persona.

The hunger still lingered in his stomach, his thoat throbbing at the thought of Albright's avatar, but he tried to calm himself fearful of the impulsiveness that came with this feeling.

He then began moving, noting a few other professors moving to and fro in the building.

When he reached the lobby, he saw that more people had shown up, their hushed chatter ruining the peaceful silence.

The shadowy humanoid stood at the door, watching the people pass with a curious expression on its face.

Ignoring the being, Mr. Valen stepped outside, his mind occupied by what he planned to do next, 'Should I just stalk him and kill him?' he pondered, but scrapped the notion when he noticed the security camera positioned at every possible angle of the campus, and even if he chose the idea, there was a chance that Albright could be a hellspawn, "too risky," he muttered.

'Then I suppose my remaining option is to engineer a situation where I can get Amanda under my control and use her to get closer to him,' Mr. Valen concluded, a smile blooming on his lips, "I could contact Carla to get the job done earlier, but I strangely do not want to; I crave a challenge."

"What challenge?" A familiar, loathed voice sounded out, prompting a chill to run down Mr. Valen's spine, his head shooting back like a cat startled by something it did not like.

His eyes met a pair of green ones, the unnatural, creepy kind that did not sit right with anyone.

Her hair was black, and by her form, she was a pretty lady. Mr. Valen would not even recognize her if it weren't for her voice.

"Trinity." he spoke, his brows raised as though pleading that it wasn't her.

"MY GOD VALEN, WHEN DID YOU GET SO BIG?" Trinity basically shrieked in surprise when she saw how tall and robust Mr. Valen had gotten, her voice attracting the gazes of others.

'Loud, Impulsive, and sadistic, Trinity Sinclair, a pain in my ass,' Mr. Valen thought, his eyes trailing to a familiar group of students further down the road.

Of course, this group was Vincent, Alice, and Sophie.

They were looking at a campus map, seemingly lost, and when they noticed him, they all bore similar expressions of surprise.

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