The void cracked like glass.
The storm shattered, words falling like rain. Red eyes blinked once—
and vanished.
Aiden lay on the fractured stone, chest rising and falling in ragged bursts. Sparks jumped across his skin. His fingers twitched. Every breath tasted of metal and ozone.
"...Chain… Lightning," he whispered. Just saying it made something deep in his veins thrum with raw power. His body, however, filed a complaint in all caps: STOP OR DIE.
The ground shook.
Shadows spilled upward, writhing, knotting together into a colossal shape. A beast of ink and words, claws dripping with black liquid, its body a storm of broken sentences.
It had no face. Just a mouth. A wide, screaming mouth.
Aiden blinked.
"…Oh, come on."
The whisper purred in his skull.
"Read, and conquer. Or be erased."
The beast lunged.
Aiden rolled—barely—just as a claw cratered the platform. Stone chunks spun off into the abyss. He scrambled up, sparks flickering in his palm.
Instinct pulled at him. The curse wanted this. His runes flared. His arm rose like it remembered a motion he'd never learned.
"Chain… Lightning!"
Violet light ripped from his hand. A bolt speared the monster's chest, splitting into arcs that chained across its limbs. The beast convulsed, shrieking, smoke burning off its shadow-flesh.
Aiden froze. The power—
It was real.
But not enough.
The monster surged again, faster, claws cleaving stone like butter. Aiden stumbled aside, too slow, lungs burning.
The blow hit his arm. White-hot agony exploded. He was thrown across the platform, ribs cracking, blood spraying from his lips.
The whisper snapped.
"Pathetic. Draw deeper."
"I'll die if I do!" Aiden rasped.
"Then die."
The monster charged.
Aiden's fists clenched. His whole body begged him to stop. But survival was louder.
He slammed his palm onto the stone, runes blazing, curse roaring. Sparks burst across his skin.
"CHAIN LIGHTNING!"
This time the bolt didn't stop at one strike. It forked, multiplied, chains of violet wrapping the monster's body, binding it in a cage of burning thunder.
The beast shrieked, shadow-flesh unraveling, words ripping apart. Then—
nothing.
Just scraps of text fading into the dark.
Silence.
Aiden fell to one knee, gasping, shaking violently. Blood dripped from his nose. Sparks still jittered under his skin like angry insects.
"...I… actually…" He coughed hard, spitting red. "…won."
The whisper wasn't impressed.
"One page. One skill. A child with a stolen tongue."
The void shifted, platforms drifting together, stretching into a bridge that led deeper. The abyss was far from done.
Aiden staggered forward, each step an argument between willpower and collapsing knees. He didn't know how long he walked. Time didn't exist here. Only the bridge. Only silence.
Until—
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound echoed, deliberate, sharp.
Aiden froze.
From the mist ahead, a figure emerged. Tall, sharp, cloak black streaked with crimson. His eyes burned—literally, flames flickering in his irises.
He didn't look broken. He looked in control. Like he belonged here.
Aiden's curse marks pulsed, as if recognizing him.
"...Who… are you?"
The man smirked, stepping closer. "Names don't matter. Only survival does."
His hand lifted, fire coiling around his fingers.
The bridge cracked. Heat licked the edges.
The man's smirk sharpened.
"Consider this your third trial."
The fireball erupted toward him—
And the chapter ended.
---
Author's Note:
⚡ First boss fight down! But surprise—Aiden's not the only Reader in the Archive 😈 Who is this flame guy? Ally? Rival? Or worse? Drop your theories, power stones, and collections if you're ready for Aiden vs. Fire Daddy 🔥