Kathryn laid down continuous fire on her opponent. Shot after shot, occultic blast after occultic blast, but unfortunately for the young ghoul...

It wasn't enough.

Despite her gunfire, despite the illusionary magic she wielded in an attempt to misdirect the Neries, and despite all the training and experiences that had lead her up to this single moment, she just wasn't good enough, that's all there was to it.

The Neries charged at her with blinding speed, appearing to outright absorb the mana to Kathryn's dismay; if only she had experience with this species prior, it may have turned the tables of this battle, but no.

The young woman finds herself thrown to the ground with inhuman force. Her glasses are sent flying nearby, one of the lenses cracking and threatening to outright shatter, but not doing so, luckily. The Neries' predatory gaze is met with Kathryn's dark, void-like eyes; her expression was contorted into a fierce scowl, but no matter how much she wanted to get up and strike at her opponent, she was just unable to.

Her mana circuits had been riddled and drained, but it wouldn't compare to what she would experience shortly after.

The Neries' words fall upon deaf ears as she begins the siphoning. Kathryn wasn't quite sure about what was happening just yet, but it soon became apparent when she not only felt herself growing tired, but she also realized there was a distinct tingling-

And then suddenly it was agony.

Her very lifeforce was being siphoned right out of her body. As much as she wanted to scream and thrash, she couldn't.

Her eyes... her eyes, while initially black and voidlike, began to rever to their normal, blue shade. She could only stare up with wide eyes, unable to do anything except stare in horror as the Neries' slowly killed her.

Her mana flowed out of her body along with her memories. She briefly recalled her parents and how she just up and disappeared one day after frequently leaving her home in order to visit the Apropriyans. She recalled how the drive for immortality and 'power' would make everything she had done as right. She recalled how she had driven a certain ghoul to end his own life.

She also recalled a certain vampire and how he reacted to the death. She didn't have extremely fond memories of the vampire, but she almost felt that he was a father figure in a sense, quiet and strong, grooming and teaching her the ways of his people.

She would never be able to accomplish that now. She wouldn't ever be able to return to her family one day and show them what she had become, though it was unlikely they would even welcome her back as a creature of the night.

Her dreams were never going to be realized because she was dead now.

Kathryn was dead.
(Kathryn Graves)