The group wanders through the desolate, gray city, eyes scanning for shelter. Towering office buildings loom overhead, their glass windows shattered, leaving only jagged teeth of steel and concrete.
A sudden clatter echoes from just around the corner, a sharp, metallic crash followed by hurried, uneven footsteps.
"I don't want to be out here," Calen mutters, voice tense with barely restrained panic.
"None of us do," Lyra replies, her tone cold and clipped.
Ronan groans. "Quit whining and..." He stops mid-sentence, eyes narrowing at something ahead. "What the hell is that?"
Floating motionless near the curb is a dull gray sphere, its surface smooth yet weathered. A hatch, just large enough for a person, sits beneath it.
Without hesitation, the group moves toward the sphere.
Lyra tugs at the hatch, cursing under her breath as the rattling sound of pursuit grows louder behind them. "This shit is locked."
"Move." Ronan shoves her aside and plants his feet. Muscles tensing, he wrenches the hatch with three forceful yanks before tearing it free. "Everyone in. Now."
One by one, they climb inside, Lyra first, then Kaitlyn, then Calen. Ronan takes a final glance at the darkened streets before slipping in and slamming the hatch shut behind him.
Inside, the space is eerily plain, four flat walls, a cracked concrete floor, and a domed ceiling matching the sphere's curved exterior. The air is thick with dust, the scent of old, dry stone filling their lungs. The room has long been stripped of valuables; all that remains is a broken table, a battered dresser, and a single chair, its worn fabric barely holding together.
The chair looks comfy enough.
"It's small..." Kaitlyn complains. She only takes a few steps before a different wall stops her.
Calen goes and sits in a corner and ponders about his past life, it hadn't even been a day but it has felt like an eternity.
He thinks about his family, or what they think of his disappearance. It wasn't unusual for Calen to disappear for a day or two without mention, but eventually, they would notice something was off.
He thinks about his brother, and how he never got to see him at his college.
At least he had his friends. He smiles and looks up at them, a frown becomes plastered on his face.
Kaitlyn and Ronan bicker over what to do next. In the past, they would compete for 'leader' of the group but never argued for control like this.
Lyra is just standing there, with her hands up to her face making a box. She then walks over to Calen and does the same to him.
"What are you doing?" Calen inquires.
"I got the same dormant skill as Kaitlyn." She pauses, "Was hoping for something different, but it's cool. I guess..."
"Well, what is it?" He pries further.
"Danger Identifier" She answers, "You got a... 2." She stifles a laugh.
"Sounds low," Calen says, dejected.
"Cheer up." She lets the silence settle before adding, "Ronan's is only 6. Kaitlyn's is 4." She smiles softly, "You'll catch up."
"Maybe..." The thought of fighting makes Calen shiver.
He focuses back on the arguing, it makes the ringing in his head come back.
"We need to stay here and see if these 'patrols' they are doing have any fixed schedule!" Ronan bickers.
"I can't stay in this shitty, dull, colorless, small room!" Kaitlyn is about to start yelling.
"Everything is colorless!" He scoffs.
Calen stops focusing on them, this place is starting to get to them. Thinking about that, hunger is about to get to Calen.
He looks at Lyra, just a few steps away, and she takes the chair.
Their arguing only grows louder and louder. He grows sick of it, and the gnawing hunger is starting to drive him bonkers.
Calen finally decides to stop being passive, he needs to start voicing his concerns too.
He stands up and approaches them, "Hey." He says coldly.
Ronan and Kaitlyn stop and look at him, then continue arguing.
"I said 'Hey.' Are you even listening?" Calen tries to speak but is talked over.
"We could just walk out there and be attacked by hundreds of those 'soulless' Karduth mentioned," Ronan argues.
Calen grimaces, even though he has a breaking point, "I said stop your BITCHING!" He subconsciously digs his heel back.
Ronan and Kaitlyn finally fall silent and look at him.
"We are hungry, hot, and tired..." He tries to reason, "We all just need to find some food and sleep." He stares at them.
They process what he is saying.
"Okay... that sounds... logical." Kaitlyn looks off to the side.
"I guess food is important." He stares at his boots, "I am quite hungry."
"How are we gonna get food?" Lyra says, just now entering the conversation.
The silence that followed was deafening.
"Well, don't the soulless also have to eat? Also, Karduth was still alive." Calen brings up.
"I mean... sure... but that doesn't mean we can eat what they eat." Kaitlyn scratches her face with the metal hand.
Lyra clears her throat, making her presence once again known.
Everyone looks at her, "Let's just eat them." She giggles, "I'm only half joking." Lyra rests her legs on the broken table.
"That's a horrible idea!" Ronan frowns at the horrendous suggestion.
Before Ronan continues to dig into Lyra for the joke, a loud thud is heard. Then another, and another.
Fear strikes everyone, especially Calen.
He digs into his fingers with his nails, the skin turns red.
"What do we do?" Kaitlyn asks in a hushed voice. Cold sweat beads down her face.
Lyra stammers, but no words come out
"I... let's just... sit here." It sounded more like a question due to his lack of confidence.
The stomps get louder and louder.
"Do you think it's that thing?" Calen finds it hard to breathe, chewing on his fingers.
Ronan takes a deep breath, trying to reclaim his logic and reason, "Let us not jump to conclusions."
Ronan's calmness affects everyone, the air becomes easier to breathe.
Everyone besides Calen.
"It's not getting quieter..." He thinks to himself, "Should I say that?" He looks around frantically for ways to run if need be, "No... they hear it too."
As the thumping gets louder, everyone starts to accept that the worst-case scenario is happening.
Kaitlyn clutches both her fists.
Ronan holds his sword at his hip, ready to draw it out in an instant.
Lyra messes with her watch, looking utterly confused.
Calen just sits there.
The stomping gets closer, buildings can be heard toppling over from inside their hiding place. Had the building been on the ground, it might have collapsed. A few more stomps and then it stops, right outside the sphere.
Suddenly, a hand swats the front of the sphere. The behemoth stares... or for lack of a better word, faces its body in their direction.
If the beast hadn't made a career out of murder, it could have been an architect. With a single swing, it renovates their hiding place by ripping a gaping hole in the front.
"Protect your heads!" Ronan shouts, his voice muffled by the thick dust cloud.
Everyone throws their arms up as fist-sized pebbles pelt them.
The moment the debris settles, Ronan launches himself through the new opening.
Midair, he draws his sword, just as a deafening explosion of light and sound erupts, forcing the others to squint.
Calen holds his breath. Time feels like it slows.
Ronan's blade rockets toward the giant's neck, moving too fast to dodge. A perfect strike.
And he whiffs.
The sword misses by inches, slicing nothing but air. The sharp whistle of its arc is the only sound before Ronan vanishes beneath the sphere.
Then, a thunderous kick from the beast.
The group stares, frozen.
"Did he… just get squashed?" Lyra asks, blinking in disbelief.
The behemoth sniffs the air, then raises its massive fist high, aiming to pulverize the rest of the sphere.
"Move!"
Kaitlyn grabs Calen and Lyra, leaping clear just as the beast's strike comes crashing down.
Calen barely lands before his eyes snap to the wreckage.
Ronan is still alive, climbing the sphere with his sword embedded in its side.
The group exhales in relief.
"Calen, just stay put and don't get hurt," Kaitlyn orders, pointing at him with her metal hand.
Calen nods. He knows he'd only get in the way.
"Okay! Here we go!" Kaitlyn steels herself. It's her first time trying her Soul ability.
With a sharp hiss, an iron thread shoots from the box on her mechanical arm, embedding deep in the beast's shoulder. A quick grin flickers across her face.
Calen watches the fight unfold from behind a rusted metal mailbox, heart pounding.
The beast suddenly grabs the wire and pulls it out like it's a tick.
Kaitlyn's smirk is instantly replaced with a horrified look.
The behemoth yanks on the cord, and Kaitlyn is sent flying in the air. Her scream grows quieter until a thud is heard.
Ronan, Lyra, and Calen watch as she disappears into the rubble across the street.
"Uh... okay... it's my turn then." Lyra says, sounding unsure.
She raises her watch again, pressing a button. Four duplicates of her flicker into existence, each appearing in a different spot.
For a moment, she seems hopeful, until doubt creeps onto her face.
"Guys… how is my ability useful? These things can't see!" Her voice wavers with worry.
From the top of the sphere, Ronan yells, "Just keep trying! Maybe there's more to it than you think?"
She swallows hard and nods. Slowly, she frames her fingers into a box, as if searching for an answer.
Meanwhile, Ronan leaps from the building again, sword drawn mid-fall. This time, the explosion is weaker, less volatile. His blade strikes, but instead of cutting through, it lodges deep in a swollen tumor on the beast's head.
Before he can react, the behemoth's massive hand clamps around him.
Calen's breath catches.
For a second, it seems like instant death.
But instead, the monster simply hurls Ronan aside, sending him skidding across the rubble.
"Twenty," Lyra murmurs, her voice trembling. "Its danger level is twenty."
She whirls around, but no one is near her.
The beast lurches toward her.
Calen watches, frozen. Horror crashes over him.
He has to do something. Anything.
He can't just watch his friend die.
He had felt it ever since the first thud. The ringing. That never-ending ringing that had plagued him since entering The Dark City.
Emerging from his hiding place, he forces his legs to steady beneath him.
One step. Then another.
Then a sprint.
An iron string slams into the beast's head, cracking against its skull. It wails in agony, massive hands clawing at its own back in a desperate attempt to rip the string free.
The creature's unwieldy, misshapen body betrays it. With an earth-shaking crash, it topples backward.
Calen barely leaps out of the way in time.
His breath is short and shallow. His hands tremble. Tunnel vision sets in.
But he doesn't stop.
Seizing the opportunity, he scrambles onto the creature's back, climbing its thick, ridged neck. His fingers tighten around the hilt of Ronan's Ruby-Dragon Sword. He yanks.
It doesn't budge.
With a desperate growl, he tugs again, muscles straining. The blade finally wrenches free, slick with dark blood.
He steels himself and drives it down into the behemoth's forehead.
Twisting. Digging.
The ringing surges to a deafening pitch. Everything else, every sound and every voice, fades into nothing.
Lyra stares, wide-eyed. "Calen...?"
Then the beast roars.
Its hand swings blindly, catching Calen and flinging him through the air. He crashes into a crumbling building, the impact driving the breath from his lungs.
Blood pools in his mouth. His limbs tingle, distant and numb. He has never been hurt this badly before.
The ringing swells.
Ronan is suddenly there, crouched over him. "Calen?! Can you hear me?" He checks his wounds, pressing a hand against his chest.
Calen blinks, his vision swimming. "Am I... dying?" His voice is barely a rasp.
Ronan exhales, shaking his head. "I think it's just shock. You're fine." He glances toward the ongoing battle. "You did something great back there. I'm proud of you."
As he stands to rejoin the fight, Calen forces out one last question. "What does it feel like to manifest?" He coughs, blood splattering against the cracked pavement.
Ronan hesitates. His gaze drifts off.
"Like your entire body is on fire," he finally says. "Like you're being torn apart from the inside out. In the moment, it's horrific."
A heavy silence lingers between them.
Then Ronan continues, softer now.
"But after the fire, after the pain, you come out of it different. You come out of it stronger."