Time: 6:25 PM
Warehouse Ruins – Sector 4
Adam dodged another crushing blow — barely.
The gorilla-rhino Hybrid slammed both fists into the ground, cratering the concrete. Adam rolled to the side, flames blazing across his fists, sweat pouring down his face.
He spun and landed a brutal uppercut to its jaw, flames surging from the impact — but before he could follow through, a vine-whip snapped from the side, wrapping his ankle and yanking him off his feet.
He hit the ground hard. The plant Hybrid loomed over him, its piranha-like heads gnashing and shrieking.
Adam roared and yanked the vine upward, dragging the creature off balance and sending a fire-fist straight into its core.
For a moment, he stood — panting, bloodied — between both monsters.
One on his left. One on his right.
"Come on…" he muttered, steadying his stance. "One more round."
But his eyes flickered behind them…
…to Jack.
Jack's body lay still, surrounded by the splintered remains of the crates. His arms twisted, face pale, blood soaking through his shirt. From the impact, shards of wood had spread around him — but beneath the rubble, something old and cold waited.
His blood, slow and steady, dripped through the shattered debris…
…landing on a strange, rusted object.
It was hidden beneath the crate's base — an iron-like thing, ancient, almost melted into the floor. The blood seeped through the grooves… and something inside woke up.
Inside Jack's mind.
Silence.
A warm field. Blurred skies. Echoes of laughter.
He stood in a space made of memories — but distant, fading.
He saw his parents — smiling, waving from an airport. Then the sound of sirens. Screaming. The wreckage of a plane.
He turned and saw his grandmother, gentle and sweet… until she fell, clutching her throat. A man's shadow fleeing the kitchen.
Then… his grandfather.
The old man who raised him. Carried him. Told him bedtime stories when the world felt cold. Jack held his hand in a hospital room — the only death he'd ever witnessed in peace.
Jack, weak and broken, stood in the center of it all.
He smiled faintly.
"Thank you," he whispered. A tear rolled down his cheek.
"Even if this is the end… I had a good life."
Then the ground cracked beneath him.
Back in the real world, the rusted object under Jack shattered.
A brilliant golden light burst through the gaps. From within the broken husk, something emerged — shaking, like it had been waiting centuries.
A mask.
Gold. Shaped like a jawless skull, its edges curved into fang-like designs. Ancient, polished beneath layers of age. And from it… spider-like legs extended from the sides — not living, but mechanical, like a crawling relic.
It scuttled toward Jack's limp form.
Climbed onto his hand. Then his forearm. His shoulder.
And finally, it latched onto his face.
SHING.
A blinding flash of gold light erupted through the warehouse.
The vines recoiled. The two Hybrids turned.
Adam shielded his face — eyes widening at the glow.
Inside Jack's mind.
A vast void opened up.
Before him stood a massive human skeleton, larger than life, plated in gold. Its eye sockets burned with light, and its entire being shimmered like a god of old war.
Around them floated souls — warriors from every century. Samurai. Knights. Duelists. Rebels. All of them marked by the same golden insignia.
The giant skeleton stepped forward.
"To accept the Golden Skull… is to carry the weight of every blade before you."
"You will slay Hybrids. You will sever corruption."
"You will burn until your edge is dull… and then sharpen again."
Jack's voice echoed, shaky.
"…Why me?"
The golden skeleton leaned close.
"Because you never ran."
Time: 6:29 PM
Back in the real world, the shattered crates exploded outward in a burst of black and gold energy.
Adam turned just in time to see Jack rise.
No longer broken. His body fully healed.
His hair now golden-blond, windswept. His eyes glowing yellow, pupils slit and surrounded by a pitch-black sclera.
And on his face — the Golden Skull Mask, glowing with sharp light, fangs catching the firelight.
Jack reached down and picked up a splintered wooden stick.
The moment his hand gripped it—
SHRING!
The stick twisted, extended, and reshaped into a massive black-and-gold longsword, humming with energy.
The air rippled around it.
Adam stepped back, stunned. "...Jack?"
Jack didn't answer.
He walked forward.
The two Hybrids growled, circling him.
Jack held his blade to the side. The black aura flickered from the edge — lined with burning gold.
He pointed the sword at them.
His voice, calm. Cold. Changed.
"I'll handle this."