The Lord of Flames, huh?
A fitting nickname… if I say so myself, Kealix thought, watching as the wolf-like monster reeled beneath the unrelenting inferno pouring from Joshua's body.
Flames danced with a fury that should've belonged to a dying star, pushing the creature back step by step. The heat scorched the air, warping the ruined buildings and turning the rubble beneath it to glowing embers. And yet… something was off.
Joshua wasn't just calm—he looked thrilled.
No trace of fear in his posture. No hesitation in his expression.
He stood tall, smiling wildly, like this was the best day of his life.
What the hell is wrong with him? Kealix thought, unease creeping up his spine.
"Nice!!" Nox yelled, voice hoarse with adrenaline. He looked toward Joshua, awe in his tone.
But Joshua said nothing.
The flames slowly began to die down, shrinking into flickers, and with their retreat came silence—until it broke, all at once.
"You see that, kid?! I told you—letting me take over your body was the right choice! I'll fry that bitch-ass wolf until it's less than ash!"
The voice was not Joshua's.
It came from him, but it was sharper, deeper—laced with aggression and pure, chaotic glee.
Kealix froze.
What… did he just say? He almost wondered if he'd imagined it.
But then—he looked closer.
Joshua's flames still shimmered around him… but they weren't quite right. The color—while technically unchanged—now pulsed with something else. Something alive.
A figure stood inside the fire itself. Not made of flesh—but formed from color and light.
A grinning silhouette, stretched unnaturally wide, with glowing eyes made of flickering fire. Its mouth twisted in wild excitement as it watched the chaos unfold.
Is that… the voice? Kealix's stomach sank. Did it manifest inside him?!
Panic twisted through his chest.
What if Joshua wasn't in control anymore?
What if this thing got him killed—what if he was already gone?
"Hey, YOU!" Kealix yelled, his voice sharp with fury.
The thing turned. The grin didn't fade.
"I don't know who you are," Kealix snapped, "but if you get my friend killed, I swear—I'll find you in the afterlife and tear you apart myself!"
Joshua—or whatever had taken his place—smirked.
"You seem to be mistaken, kid," it said with a disturbingly amused look. "If we lose this fight… there won't be an afterlife."
The words hit Kealix like a blow to the chest.
No… afterlife?
His eyes widened. Breath came faster. His pulse thudded hard in his ears.
What did that even mean?
He knew the spiritual plane existed—he'd been there. The soul didn't just vanish. So either this voice didn't understand the afterlife…
Or worse—it knew something he didn't.
He couldn't afford to think about that now.
Dust still clung to the air like smoke from a dying fire, but the monster—burned, bruised, blinded—was already rising to its feet.
Patches of scorched fur clung to its limbs, singed and curling from the flames. But its bony exterior—those jagged, stone-like plates—remained untouched.
It lifted its massive head… and sniffed.
Kealix's blood ran cold.
The monster turned—slowly, deliberately—toward Joshua. Buildings crumbled under its steps like paper under stone. Whatever had once stood in its path—ruined towers, broken concrete, the remains of a fallen city—was crushed without effort.
It didn't matter how much fire Joshua had thrown at it.
This thing wasn't finished.
And neither were they.
The beast lowered itself to the ground, massive limbs coiling like springs.
No way.
Something that big shouldn't be able to jump.
Kealix felt a chill ripple down his spine like a breath of winter air. His fingers clenched instinctively around the edges of his gauntlets, muscles tensing for whatever was about to come.
Then it moved.
A blur.
The wolf-monster charged forward—blisteringly fast—faster than any vehicle, faster than thought. The ground trembled beneath its gallop, and Kealix's breath caught in his throat.
Just as it was about to reach them—mere moments from impact—it slammed into a barrier of pulsing violet light.
Then another.
And another.
A shimmering cage of glowing walls materialized in an instant, boxing the creature in. Alora's doing.
"I've got it!" she shouted, voice strained. Sweat dripped down her temple, her hands glowing as she poured energy into the spell. The monster threw its weight against the barriers, shaking the air with every strike.
"Get into position—now! This won't hold for long!"
Kealix turned to her just in time to see the desperation in her eyes. She was burning through her strength. If the wolf landed one more hit, the barrier would shatter—and there'd be nothing between it and them.
And Joshua…
Joshua wasn't helping.
That damn thing—the voice, the presence that had hijacked his body—was just watching, smirking like this was all some kind of game.
Do something, damn it!
The wolf lunged again.
But this time—chains.
Brilliant, golden chains of light burst from every direction, snapping tight around the creature's limbs, chest, and neck. The monster froze mid-strike, wrapped in a glowing snare that pinned it like a trapped god.
"Yes!" Alora cried, voice shaking with relief. She glanced toward Lucius—he stood motionless, arms outstretched, his power still glowing from his fingertips.
The beast snarled.
And then it began to struggle.
Not like an animal—but like something ancient and furious. Its skin tore as it writhed against the chains, ripping open muscle and fur, but it didn't stop. Didn't flinch. It didn't seem to feel pain.
Cracks formed in the glowing bonds.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then—with a blinding flash—they shattered.
The world was bathed in a shower of golden dust as the chains exploded into nothingness.
The monster surged forward, slamming into the final wall of the barrier. It cracked—then crumbled.
But the others had already moved.
Kealix's eyes darted toward Joshua. He was crouched low, hand pressed to the ground, a wide, manic grin stretching across his face.
What is he doing?!
Kealix's body tightened, nerves sparking like lightning in his veins.
The wolf tensed again, choosing its next target.
Then—eruption.
From the ground beneath it, jets of fire burst upward. Massive plumes of flame roared skyward, searing the air, scorching the earth, each one hot enough to melt steel.
They struck the creature full-on, engulfing it in blistering heat.
But it didn't move.
Didn't scream.
Didn't even blink.
It stood motionless, surrounded by fire, as if waiting—watching—for something.
For someone.
And Kealix couldn't shake the feeling…
It was waiting for something.
Then the wolf lowered its jaw to the ground.
It opened wide—gaping toward the scorched earth—but there were no roars. No howls. No screams of pain.
Something's wrong.
A chill dripped down Kealix's spine like cold sweat, and his breath hitched in his throat.
What the hell is it going to do?
Before the thought could even settle, a stream of bright, crimson blood poured from the creature's gaping maw.
Not flame. Not magic.
Blood.
And within it—corpses.
Half-eaten. Twisted. Mangled.
Victims. Dozens of them, spilling out like garbage from a broken container.
The blood drenched the ruined earth, soaking what little remained of the battlefield in a dark, glistening red. Bones and rotted flesh piled up beneath the monster like a grotesque offering to something older, darker, and far crueler.
Then the wolf lifted its head once more, and locked its empty skull—eyeless, emotionless—onto Kealix.
A heartbeat passed.
Then—suddenly—an eye formed.
What—?!
In the space of a blink, a crimson eye bloomed from the bone of the creature's skull, staring directly at him—alive, intelligent, and hungry.
And before Kealix could move, react, or even comprehend—
Boom.
He was thrown backward with titanic force. His body smashed through the shattered remains of the college wall, stone and steel crumbling around him as he slammed to the floor.
It hadn't touched him.
But it was definitely its doing.
He coughed hard, blood spilling from his mouth as he lay sprawled across the cold stone. His vision spun, blurred at the edges. Sound faded in and out like wind through broken glass.
What the hell just happened?
He tried to rise—but gravity turned against him.
No—this wasn't gravity. This was something else. Something worse.
A pressure heavier than mountains crushed his body. He dropped to his knees. Then further—face down against the ground, helpless.
[Don't worry, my child… I'll heal you as fast as I can,]
Nurturer's voice whispered in his mind, calm but trembling.
[Kid! Use my strength—get out of there now!]
Betrayal's voice cut in, sharp and commanding.
Kealix summoned Betrayal's strength. Power surged through his limbs. He pushed against the ground—
And his hands went straight through it.
Like the world itself was rejecting his will. Like it wanted him to stay down.
Even his strength—his birthright—was useless here.
As Nurturer finished healing him in a burst of divine speed, Kealix lifted his head. His body screamed. His heart raced.
Then he saw it.
The wolf.
Where once it looked like a decaying husk, now—it was changing.
Flesh twisted, reforming violently. Bones cracked back into place. Veins spread like roots. Muscle and sinew stitched themselves together in fast-forward, like time itself was healing it.
Its skull—the eyeless one—now had two full eyes. Then three. Then more.
The final piece of flesh latched into place, and Kealix could feel it—that pressure—growing stronger. Like the air had turned into stone. Like the sky itself was falling.
The beast's crimson eyes now glowed, and they locked directly onto his.
And in that terrible moment, with the force of the wolf's rebirth pressing down on him like a divine curse, a single, quiet thought formed in Kealix's mind:
We never stood a chance, did we?
You were just regaining your strength.
And now that you're back… even your presence alone is enough to crush us.
He stared at the creature with a heart full of dread and grief.
The wolf—now twice its original size—stepped forward. Its head lowered. Its jaw unhinged, revealing rows of teeth that could crush boulders like glass.
Kealix couldn't move.
The weight of its presence had him pinned to the earth. Even the concrete beneath him cracked.
The monster loomed closer.
Its mouth opened wider.
This is it. This is where I die.
I hope the others made it out... at least.
He shut his eyes.
Waited.
Waited to be torn apart. Waited to vanish.
Seconds passed.
Five.
Ten.
Twenty.
Nothing.
His breath trembled as he slowly opened his eyes, expecting to be staring into oblivion.
Instead—
The wolf's massive head hovered inches above him, frozen in place.
It twitched.
As if something had grabbed it.