Diego was still lying on the ground, breathing hard, his eyes locked on mine.
I hadn't said a word in what felt like forever.
"You okay?" he asked, voice hoarse but steady.
I nodded slowly, but the images in my mind kept flashing.
My thoughts were scattered, drifting in and out like static noise.
"Yeah," I mumbled.
"Maybe a few bones cracked… but I'll live."
Diego gave a weak smile, letting out a long breath.
"Same here."
Then he squinted at me.
That shift in his expression—I recognized it.
He was scanning me.
He always did that.
"How's your shoulder?" he asked, tone sharper now, more serious.
I glanced at the stab wound.
It still burned, but it didn't feel deep.
Nothing fatal.
"Looks worse than it is. Probably just a scrape," I muttered, trying to joke through the pain.
"There's gotta be a medkit around here, right?"
Diego didn't wait.
He was already pushing himself to his feet and heading toward a nearby room.
I blinked.
"Hey! I was kidding!"
But he disappeared around the corner.
I swear—this guy…
.
.
.
.
A few minutes later, he came back with a small medkit in hand.
There was dust all over it, but it looked untouched.
"I found one," he said, kneeling beside me.
He was still clearly exhausted, but his focus never wavered.
With surprising care, he helped me sit up and began cleaning the wound on my shoulder.
He worked fast, steady.
"You've done this before?" I asked, watching him wrap the bandage cleanly.
"Kind of. My mom used to patch my dad up a lot," he said.
"He got into fights with street punks when I was a kid. I'd help hold the supplies."
"Oh… right," I said, a little surprised.
"Makes sense."
Diego's dad, Harvey, always gave off serious Siberian Husky vibes—stern, protective, tireless.
Diego, on the other hand… was a Golden Retriever in human form.
"By the way," I smirked, "how'd you end up nothing like your dad?"
Diego chuckled.
"Don't forget my mom exists."
"Fair point," I said with a nod.
"You're definitely her kid."
He finished the bandage and gave it a final tug.
"All done. Don't move too much unless you want it to open again."
"Thanks," I muttered.
He just grinned.
"No big deal."
Then he pulled out his phone, the screen lighting up faintly.
"You getting anything?" I asked.
"Any signal? News?"
He tapped at the screen.
"No internet," he said, frowning. "But... I did get a message from my dad earlier, before everything went dark."
"What'd he say?"
Diego hesitated.
His voice was softer now.
"He told me to head home. Said to go to the bunker and not worry about Mom—that he'd handle everything."
"Classic dad," I muttered.
"Trusts you to stay alive without blinking."
Diego stared at the floor.
"Yeah, but outside... that thing is still out there."
We both glanced toward the dead Voraxes near us.
Its body was twisted, leaking green-black fluid that shimmered under the faint light.
"…Voraxes," I whispered.
The word stuck in my throat.
Then everything shifted.
.
.
.
.
A pulse of something dark flowed through me. My body tensed—my chest tightened.
My vision blurred… and then twisted.
Burning light surged behind my eyes.
Suddenly, I wasn't in the underground anymore.
.
.
.
.
I saw a battlefield soaked in blood.
Insects like the one we'd killed—but bigger, faster, more vicious—clashing with elegant warriors.
Elves.
Dozens of them.
Their armor glowed with ancient magic.
Their blades shimmered.
I watched as the elves fell, one after another.
Then—another shift.
I saw her.
The Queen of the Voraxes.
She was monstrous.
Buried deep in a dark nest, surrounded by guards.
But my attention was pulled to a detail—something specific.
A spot on her back.
Behind a shield of spines—almost invisible.
That was it.
Her weak point.
Suddenly, I saw an elf aiming a glowing bow directly at it.
He was powerful. More than the rest.
He struck once—twice—
Then the Queen screamed.
A scream that shook the earth.
I felt it.
It wasn't just sound.
It was a call.
And then I saw them.
.
.
.
.
Thousands of Voraxes answering.
Descending like a wave of black death.
The elf was buried under them in seconds.
Everything went dark.
.
.
.
.
I snapped back.
My body shook.
My vision swam.
"Hah…?" I gasped.
Diego was staring at me, startled.
"Kai? What just happened?"
"I—I saw her," I choked out.
"The Queen. The battle. Everything. That was real."
He blinked.
"You saw what?"
I gritted my teeth.
"It wasn't just a vision. It was a warning."
I stood—legs trembling, every breath sharp.
"We have to leave. Now."
"Kai, slow down—"
"No. No time. She's calling them. The Queen's screaming for backup—just like she did back then."
And then, as if on cue—
.
.
.
.
"KYYEEAAAIAIIIAIIAIAIHHHHHHH!!!"
.
.
.
.
The scream echoed through the tunnels.
The ground shook.
The air thickened.
"She's calling her army," I said.
Panic flared in my chest.
"She knows we're here!"
"Are you serious—?" Diego started, but I was already running.
"There's no time to explain!" I shouted. "It's either we kill her—or we die."
I didn't look back.
.
.
.
.
The tunnel led deeper into the earth.
A massive hole opened before me like a throat carved into the stone.
I entered.
It felt like walking into a furnace made of venom and rot.
There she was.
The Queen of the Voraxes.
Even more grotesque than in the vision. Massive. Nestled in a pit of sludge and pulsing walls.
I scanned her body—searching, searching—
There. The same spot.
That single, vulnerable point.
"I have to do this... I have to..." I murmured, trying to calm myself.
Time was running out.
The sound of the insect army's footsteps grew closer, and the sound of their wings echoed louder.
The decision had to be made quickly.
I ran. Grabbed a jagged stone. Climbed her body.
Smash.
Nothing.
The spines didn't budge.
I grabbed another stone—useless.
I clawed at the skin until my hands bled.
"Come on!" I screamed, throat raw.
She hissed.
I could hear them—the army—closing in.
Their claws scraped stone. Wings buzzed.
Time was gone.
Then—
"Move!"
Diego arrived, wielding a rusted steel pipe.
He shoved it between two spines, grunting with effort.
I threw my weight behind it.
"COME ON!!"
I prayed the spines would come loose.
Each attempt was wearing me down, but I knew that if we failed, we'd die here.
Finally, after a long struggle, the spine came loose!
But in the panic, the metal pipe was thrown far away, falling to the ground.
The exposed flesh behind it quivered.
Diego didn't hesitate.
He struck with his hand.
Again.
And again.
But it wasn't enough.
The Queen screamed again—deafening.
I saw Diego falter, breathing heavy, eyes clouded with desperation.
I stared at the broken pipe on the ground.
We had seconds.
The Queen's flesh pulsed.
We looked at each other—unspoken understanding between us.
We cannot die here.