Pushing myself off the ground, I tasted bitterness on my tongue. The humiliation stung, but beneath it burned an idea, a faint spark that this might be an opportunity I couldn't afford to waste.

My nails dug into my palms, sharp enough to draw blood. The pain kept me steady. Without it, I might have already exploded, cursing the system and everything it stood for. Instead, I wiped the blood from my mouth and nose with the back of my hand and locked eyes with the woman who watched me over her shoulder. My glare spoke for me. I would reclaim those needles, no matter what it took.

"[Your first lesson today...]" The lips that wore my face moved stiffly, almost mechanical. "[Basic control.]"

The words rippled through the air like a command, and the world answered. The ground trembled beneath my feet, twisting and warping out of shape. My body lurched upward, lifted as if by unseen hands. The surface beneath me narrowed into a thin, unstable platform that wobbled under every movement.

I struggled to keep my balance as the world spun faster and faster. My stomach flipped as wind screamed past my ears, the air itself spinning out of control. "What the fuck?!" I shouted, the sound torn from my throat as the speed surged.

Everything happened so fast that I barely caught the red glint in the distance. Instinct took over, and I rolled to the side, dodging the attack by a hair. The motion threw me off balance, and I felt my body drop into the darkness below. At the last moment, my fingers caught the edge of the pitch-black platform, clinging to it for dear life.

The void around me swallowed all light; I could hardly tell where the edge ended. With what little strength I had left, and maybe a bit of luck, I forced my body upward. My elbows found solid ground, and for a fleeting second, I thought I might make it back up. Then several crimson flashes streaked through the dark again, from another direction this time.

I released my grip and let myself fall, my fingertips scraping the edge as the needles cut through the air where my head had been a heartbeat before. I'd dodged them, but just barely.

"AAHHH!" A sharp pain shot through my fingers. I looked up and saw a copy of me standing on them, her expression empty yet terrifying. Her heel twisted, pressing down harder until I heard the crack of bone giving way, my fingers crushed to dust beneath her weight.

"[Did you forget you're no longer human? What are those wings for if you don't use them?]" Her voice slipped from my lips, calm and cold. My body grew weightless, the strength draining from me as the endless abyss below opened wide, waiting to claim me.

That's right… I'm a vampire. I can fly.

The thought almost made me laugh as I fell. Sometimes I still forget that, but what did the system expect? I only got my wings back yesterday. A sharp grin tugged at my lips as my heart pounded, flooding me with a rush of excitement I hadn't felt in ages.

I spread my wings, the leathery stretch catching the air and halting my descent. Wind roared against them, the sound filling the void around me. For a moment, a strange nostalgia stirred deep in my chest, something familiar, yet distant, something I couldn't fully name or understand.

I shot into the air, feeling the wind twist and rush past my face. In a heartbeat, I was level with the copy of me, who stood unmoving on the pitch-black platform, utterly indifferent to my approach.

"You know, this feels less like training and more like a one-sided beating. Did I do something to piss you off?" I lifted an eyebrow, my fingers already shaping the {Surgeon's Scalpel} from my own blood. I was ready to fight until this thing yielded, or at least showed me how to use the needles, instead of knocking me down over and over again.

It didn't answer at first. Its lips parted, then closed again, as if caught between thoughts. The silence stretched until something shifted, its expression twisted into a smile. Not a kind one, but something far worse. I never knew my own face could look like that. It was a grin dripping with pleasure and satisfaction, warped by a darkness that made my stomach tighten.

"[Take the needles from me. Only then may you train with them. For now, they belong to me. You lost the right to use them.]"

I nearly choked on my own breath. "You've got to be kidding me," I muttered before the curse slipped out fully. "Fine then. If that's what it takes… just don't cry when I win."

The words came out bold, but inside, I felt the sting of doubt. Confidence was easy to fake until the moment you had to prove it.

I lunged forward, fast as the wind, hoping to catch her off guard. How foolish that was. In the next instant, I understood the difference between us.

I hadn't even realized when it happened, but my body stopped responding. Every muscle refused to move. Power drained from me completely as the darkness below opened its arms once more. Her eerie smile lingered in my fading vision, calm and mocking, until even that vanished from sight.

I fell faster and faster, the rush of air tearing at my skin, the taste of the ground already heavy on my tongue.

Shit, what do I do now? Panic clawed up my throat. Who wouldn't, when you can't even hold your own fate in your hands? The ground was only inches away when my life began to flash before my eyes. I saw everything: my old self as Sarrah, the long days of school, the sleepless nights in med school, the surgeries I'd performed. All of it passed in an instant, and I realized it was over. Just like that.

Shit...

I shut my eyes, bracing for the impact, but it never came. No pain, no sound. Instead, warmth spread across my skin, sunlight pressing gently against my eyelids. When I opened them, I stood in the same place where I had vanished before. The same spot. The same moment, or close enough.

But the system window flashed before me, its red letters burning across the air.

[CHALLENGE FAILED - ENTERED COOLDOWN PERIOD: 20 HOURS]

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