The beasts came like a flood—feral, mindless, relentless.
Peter met them first, hammer singing as it caved in skulls. Jack flowed beside him, carving gaps in the tide with every precise strike. Ciara was faster than both—her daggers sliced through necks before the beasts even realized she'd moved.
And Alex?
He walked.
Sword dragging behind, leaving no cuts in the earth—just silence. He did not swing, did not charge. And yet, wherever he passed, the beasts veered away.
They didn't snarl.
They didn't try.
They simply… avoided him.
As though every thread of instinct screamed:
**Do not touch that one.**
Even when the so-called *God of War* waded into the fray, beasts leapt toward him—then slowed, turned, and chose other targets. Not fear. Not submission. Something deeper. Recognition.
They were driven to kill humans—not them
---
Inside the walls, the command post bristled with soldiers. Bloodied, scattered, but holding.
Then *he* arrived.
Tall. Cloaked. His armour caught no light. His presence dimmed the room.
General **Arvek**, commander of the inner forces. Unknown to most outside the capital, but among his men, stories whispered like prayers: *The one who takes without striking.*
"Leave the walls," he said, calmly, voice cold as winter. "Fall back. Seal the gate."
A murmur of protest rose.
One soldier stepped forward. "But the commanders—our people—they're still fighting!"
Arvek looked at him. Just looked.
And the soldier collapsed.
No blood. No cry. Just… *emptied*. Flesh greyed, eyes hollowed. A dried husk on the stone floor.
"Vorrsink," Arvek said softly. "Your energy is mine the moment you defy."
The silence that followed was absolute.
The soldiers obeyed.
---
Then—*impact.*
A deafening crash.
A massive armoured body dropped from above like a meteor, slamming into the centre of the compound. Stone shattered. Fire burst from ruptured fuel lines. The central command tower folded like paper.
When the dust cleared, all eyes turned to the crater.
A figure stood atop the ruin—still burning, cloak torn.
Unmoving.
Watching.
And from behind the smoke, a calm voice echoed:
"Leaving so soon?