The forest doesn't burn. It devours itself—flames born of the Fire-Possessed tearing through the canopy like breath made fire. Atop a charcoaled branch, Vulkran grins down at me—his devilish smirk illuminated by the flickering glow of destruction.
"I've finally caught you, Wolf." His voice drips with satisfaction as he steps off the branch, landing hard in the crater formed by his overwhelming fire pressure. The earth trembles beneath him. "You won't be running away this time."
I exhale sharply, gripping my bleeding side. The sneak attack had torn through my abdomen while I was resting, leaving a deep, burning wound. Pain surges through my body, but I force myself to remain standing.
"…Sneaking around finally taught you something… at least," I mutter, my voice laced with exhaustion.
Before I can analyze my surroundings, walls of fire burst up, trapping us within a ten-meter radius. The heat distorts the air, warping my vision.
"Oh, don't you worry, Wolf…" he chuckles, stepping closer. "I've learned enough to burn you to a crisp."
Blood seeps through my fingers as I press against the wound. My legs tremble, and I drop to one knee, forcing myself to glare at him through the searing heat.
As he steps closer and closer, I steel myself and stand through the pain, searching for a solution.
"For you… to be this strong…" My voice trails off as a realization dawns on me.
Back then, he was always sneaky, lurking in the shadows. But this time… something is different. Way too different. There's only one explanation.
I glare at him, my breathing heavy. "You've killed… no… no… you've killed and consumed a victim's Weather Core."
I take a martial arts stance, annoyance flickering across my face as I glare at him intensely, while realizing how dangerous my situation is.
"Today, I will kill you."
Finally, I activate Dark Matter Constructs—a dark patch forms over my wound, sealing it temporarily. But the cost is immediate, draining a massive amount of my energy just to keep it stable.
"Still trying? You're wasting your time."
He thrusts his fire lance at me, the flames shrieking through the air. I react instantly, instincts sharper than my pain. With a flick of my wrist, I activate Teleportation, blinking a meter to the left, barely dodging the attack. The lance strikes the ground, exploding in a fiery blast that sends molten debris flying.
I reappear mid-air behind him, my hand already forming a Dark Matter Construct Spear. With a powerful downward slash, I aim for his exposed back. But he twists unnaturally fast, raising his arm. Fire erupts in a burst, colliding with my weapon. Heat surges against my skin, forcing me back.
He's fast… too fast.
I land, skidding across the scorched ground. He doesn't give me a chance to breathe. Fire surges beneath his feet, launching him forward like a missile. I brace myself.
"Burn!" he roars, his entire body engulfed in a fiery aura. His fist shoots forward, a blazing comet of destruction.
I have no choice. Channeling all my remaining strength, I activate Dark Matter Pulse. An explosion of pure darkness erupts around me, swallowing the flames as his attack slams into my barrier. The collision sends a shockwave through the battlefield, tearing apart the burning trees around us.
He staggers back, his fire dimming momentarily. I seize the opening.
Focusing all my energy, I unleash Singularity Drive—a miniature black hole forming in my palm. The air warps around it, distorting gravity itself. I hurl it at him.
His eyes widen in horror. He tries to dodge, but the singularity pulls him in. His body twists unnaturally, his limbs stretching, the fire around him flickering wildly as he struggles against the force. He lets out a guttural scream, thrashing against the void's pull.
The strain hits me just as hard. Blood drips from my nose, my vision blurs. My body feels like it's being ripped apart from the inside. Too much power… I can't hold it…
Then, with a deafening implosion, the singularity collapses.
He crashes onto the ground, his limbs torn off, blood pooling rapidly around his twitching, broken body. His mouth opens, but no sound comes out—only choking gasps as his fire dies out completely. He glares at me, Vulkran's eyes burning with hatred and desperation.
I stagger forward, my legs weak, but my purpose strong. Step by step, I close the distance, towering over him as he writhes helplessly in his own blood.
Reaching down, I pierce his abdomen with my hand, digging past broken ribs until I feel it—the Weather Core.
A Weather Core—the condensed essence of a storm, a force of nature. And now, stolen, ripped from a living soul.
Then, with one brutal pull, I tear it free..
A surge of power rushes through my veins. His body jerks violently before falling completely still, the last remnants of life fading from his lifeless eyes.
The battle is over.
For now.
I drag myself forward, each step heavier than the last. My body feels like it's shutting down, but I force myself to move. One step. Another. A dozen feet. Then—
My legs give out.
I hit the ground face-first, the impact barely registering against the burning pain spreading through my body. My breath is ragged, my vision blurs, and my limbs refuse to move. With what little strength I have left, I turn onto my back, gasping as I stare up at the ruined sky. The fire has finally calmed, its hunger satisfied after consuming the entire forest. Smoke drifts lazily above, and beyond it, the stars peek through—a quiet reminder that the world doesn't stop, even when everything else turns to ash.
Then it starts.
A searing heat erupts inside me, not from the fire, but from within my own core.
I groan, my fingers clenching into the dirt as my body convulses. My blood boils, my veins burn like molten lava is flowing through them. A pressure builds deep in my chest—an unbearable force fighting to break free.
I realize what's happening.
The Weather Core… It's clashing with mine.
My own core—the essence of my being—fights against the foreign invader, both struggling for dominance, refusing to coexist. It feels like I'm being ripped apart from the inside, like two forces are waging war within me, neither willing to submit.
I let out a ragged scream, my back arching as the pain reaches its peak. Every nerve in my body burns, and for a moment, I think I might lose myself completely.
But then—
My core devours the intruder.
Like a predator claiming its prey, my own Weather Core overpowers the foreign one, absorbing it piece by piece. The pain doesn't stop—it intensifies—but something changes.
I feel it.
My body strengthens, my cells reinforcing themselves as the new power becomes mine. My stamina expands, not by much, but enough to notice. The storm that once sought to consume me is now part of me—an energy buried deep within my being, fueling my existence. This strength is permanent.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, the struggle ends.
I gasp for air, my muscles trembling as the overwhelming heat fades into a dull ache. The pain hasn't disappeared, but I can feel my wounds healing—not fully, but enough to keep me from passing out. Yet, exhaustion refuses to leave me. My body is spent, drained beyond anything I've felt before. Using Singularity Drive had already pushed me past my limit, and now… even with the stolen power reinforcing me, I can barely move.
Time passes.
I don't know how long I've been lying here, staring at the sky, but eventually, my breathing slows, the pain dulls to an ache, and my body settles into the scorched ground. The fire has long since died out, leaving behind only smoldering embers and the distant scent of burnt earth.
They say it began on April 12, 2999.
Midnight.
The world shook, not with thunder, but with silence—when White Mystic's artificial weather experiment went wrong. A single, failed attempt to control nature through a nuclear fusion processor shattered the balance of the Earth.
The planet stopped rotating for just a few seconds. That was enough.
Shockwaves tore across continents, skies turned black, and people… changed. Over two-thirds of humanity survived, but they weren't human anymore.
The Momentous had begun—and with it, the era of Weather-Possessed.
An hour. Maybe more.
Even though I can move again, I don't.
For now, I rest.
But when I rise, it won't be as prey. It'll be as something worse.