The rift screamed.
Not a sound born of lungs or throat, but the tearing cry of reality itself. The air split like shattered glass, jagged edges of light and shadow shrieking against each other. Every stone in the plaza quaked as if the world itself feared what was about to crawl through.
Stone shattered when the first claw punched through. Massive, scaled, and slick with molten glow, it dragged down across the marble plaza. Sparks flared where talons scraped against the world itself, gouging trenches deep enough to swallow a man. It wasn't just breaking the plaza—it was peeling reality open like wet parchment.
The forgotten screamed. Their voices rose in a single note of terror, fragile against the rift's howl.
The boy stumbled on his crutch, almost falling before the mother snatched his collar and dragged him back. The child she carried pressed his face into her neck, sobbing without sound. The old man spun in panicked circles, searching for somewhere—anywhere—to run, but there was no escape. No alley, no cave, no god waiting to take pity.
Dev swore viciously, his blade shaking in his grip as he stared at the claw. His knuckles had gone pale. "That's not human!"
"No," I said, my own voice hoarse. The words felt heavy, as if my throat didn't want to speak them aloud. "It's worse."
The system confirmed with merciless clarity.
[ Dimensional Rift Expansion: Beast Realm. ][ Scenario Condition: Survive until dawn. ]
Dawn. Again. Always dawn.
✦
The first claw pulled back, curling into the rift's edge. Then another followed, wider and heavier, dragging sparks across the plaza as it crushed a statue into rubble. Shards of stone rained across the survivors, clattering like broken bones.
And then the beast itself stepped through.
It didn't crawl—it emerged. Each motion split the rift wider, a wound that refused to close. Its head pushed through first, long and angular, crowned with horns that scraped the sky. Black-crimson scales clung to its body like forged armor, each plate glowing faintly at the seams as if something beneath was hotter than fire. Its eyes opened slowly, each one a molten furnace that cast heat in waves across the plaza. When it breathed, the air burned, and the ground blackened beneath its weight.
A dragon.
But not the noble kind sung in myths, not the wise beasts carved into temples or whispered of by poets. This was lesser. Lower. Bred not for majesty, but for slaughter. The Beast Realm's spawn—creatures born in endless blood, survival hammered into their marrow until nothing remained but hunger.
Its gaze swept the plaza.
The forgotten froze, caught like prey before a predator that didn't need to chase.
The system delivered its cold decree.
[ Beast Realm Spawn detected. Difficulty rating: Calamity. ]
Calamity. Higher than the elder. Higher than anything we had faced.
✦
The girl with the crowbar stood rigid, her knuckles white. The weapon trembled in her grip, not with readiness, but with the body's betrayal—shaking when the mind screamed to be still.
The old man broke first. His voice was raw, shrill, stripped of pride. "We can't fight that! We'll die!"
The system didn't care.
[ Warning: Dawn survival timer initiated. Remaining: 5 hours 43 minutes. ]
Five hours. Five hours against that.
Dev's jaw clenched as he stepped closer to me, eyes flicking between the survivors and the beast. His voice dropped to a growl. "Reed—what's the plan?"
I lifted the Inkblade, shadows crawling eagerly up my arm like serpents that had smelled blood. "Same as always."
Dev's mouth twisted. "Which is?"
"Don't die."
✦
The beast moved.
One step was enough to crack the plaza. The ground split, knocking the survivors off their feet. Dust choked the air. When it roared, the world shook. Birds fell dead from the sky. Every soul in the plaza clapped their hands to their ears, faces twisted in pain.
Shadows stirred at my feet, rising as if in answer. The Inkblade whispered, voices curling around my thoughts.
"…devour the beast… carve its marrow… anchor stronger…"
I didn't wait. I charged.
The dragon's claw swept down with speed that belied its size. It could have crushed a house. I slid beneath it, the air burning against my cheek as the strike shattered the ground behind me. Shadows slashed upward at my command, the Inkblade singing as it bit into scale. Sparks erupted. Black fire spread through the wound like poison.
The beast shrieked, a sound that rattled bone, and slammed its tail. The force blasted through the plaza, collapsing half the stone into a pit. I rolled, gravel cutting into my palms, barely avoiding being flattened.
Dev shouted hoarsely, "You can't fight it alone!"
"Then don't stand there!" I snapped back, even as I sprinted for cover.
Another claw came, this one sweeping toward the girl. She screamed and ducked, swinging her crowbar with desperate fury. The metal sparked uselessly against the beast's hide, but the strike was enough—the creature's molten eyes turned toward her.
And that gave me an opening.
✦
I leapt. Shadows coiled around my legs, lending me height no mortal frame should have reached. The Inkblade throbbed in my hands, vibrating with hunger.
The voices roared.
"…take its strength… eat its flame…"
I slashed.
Black light erupted, carving across the beast's flank. Flesh parted beneath cursed steel. The dragon staggered back, its shriek shaking the plaza. Flame spilled from its maw, rivers of fire that set the stone itself alight.
The world burned.
Survivors scattered, screaming. The boy on his crutch stumbled and fell, his scream cut off as smoke choked his throat. The mother seized him by the collar, dragging him upright even as she shielded the smaller child with her other arm.
The old man tried to run again, legs carrying him toward the broken edge of the plaza.
The system pulsed.
[ Warning: Survivor cohesion critical. ]
Trust. Always trust. Even here.
✦
Dev swore, shoving himself between the beast and the others. His sword flashed uselessly against scale, but still he swung, wild and unrelenting. Flame washed across him, scorching his arm, searing flesh, but he did not step back.
"MOVE!" he roared, voice breaking. "Don't just stand there!"
The girl obeyed, hauling the boy upright, forcing him toward the others. The mother wrapped her body around her children, teeth grit against the heat.
The old man froze. For one heartbeat, I thought he would run.
Then—for once—he obeyed. He stumbled toward the cluster of survivors instead of away.
The system chimed.
[ Trust Value: Stabilized. ]
I almost laughed, a bitter edge in my throat. The gods had a twisted sense of humor.
✦
The beast roared again.
Its throat glowed, furnace-bright. I knew what came next.
Fire.
I had seconds.
The Inkblade whispered, frantic, demanding.
"…feed me flame… I will drink it…"
I raised the weapon, shadows surging around me, coiling into a shield of living night. The blade aimed at the dragon's maw.
The air turned molten.
The world went white as fire fell.
And shadows swallowed me whole.