Episode 7 — Ashes in the Veins
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Act I — Hospital Chains
The hospital room was dim, the curtain drawn against the dawn. Machines beeped their mechanical lullaby, the rhythm of denial. Zack sat in the hard-backed chair beside his mom's bed, head tilted against the wall, hoodie sticking to dried blood he hadn't bothered to wash.
His HUD floated faintly at the edge of vision:
LEVEL 7
EXP: 275 / 1000
STATUS: Fatigue — Severe | Alloy Veins: Microfractures
He tried to close his eyes. He couldn't. The memory of the Hollow Mass—those writhing mouths, that stitched chorus—burned behind his eyelids like neon scars. Every time he blinked, he saw worms crawling under his skin.
"Zack?"
Her voice was thin, brittle, but awake. His mom's eyes were open, shining in the half-light.
"Hey, Mom," he whispered, forcing a smile. "You caught me on break."
She tried to chuckle but it broke into a cough. He was at her side instantly, holding her hand. Her grip was faint, but it was there.
"You… look worse every time I open my eyes," she said softly. "Where do you go?"
He swallowed. His fangs ached when he lied. "Out. Just… keeping the city from falling on us."
"Always saving someone." She coughed again, blood flecking her lips. "When do you save yourself?"
He looked at her, eyes burning steel-bright with something between love and fury. "When you're better."
The machine beeped louder for a moment. She closed her eyes, tears leaking. "Zack… it's okay to let me go."
"No." The word was iron. "You don't get to say that. Not yet."
She smiled faintly. "You sound like your father… stubborn until the world breaks around you."
His chest clenched. He hadn't thought about his dad in years, a ghost of a ghost. He rubbed her hand like friction could keep her anchored.
The doctor entered, clipboard tucked under his arm. His voice was careful, like someone walking a minefield. "Her condition is declining faster than we expected. We're adjusting comfort measures, but… Zack, I think you should start preparing."
Zack stood so suddenly the chair screeched. "No. I don't prepare. I fix it."
The doctor hesitated. "Some things can't be fixed."
"Then they weren't trying hard enough." His voice cracked into steel, and the lights above flickered as if the building knew to shut up.
The nurse slipped in, checking vitals. She gave Zack a look—half pity, half fear. She'd noticed the sparks under his skin. Humans always noticed, even if they didn't know what they were seeing.
Zack kissed his mom's forehead, whispering, "I'll be back."
"Stay," she murmured, barely audible.
He walked out anyway, fists shaking, guilt boiling in his gut like molten lead.
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Act II — The Setup
The rain hadn't stopped. The city seemed to sweat guilt with him. Zack leaned against a busted streetlight outside the hospital, staring at the ground until a shadow slid into place.
"Chrome-teeth."
Luna. Black leather jacket over ripped stockings, eyes tired but sharp. She smelled like perfume, ash, and secrets.
"Bad time," Zack muttered.
"Bad times make for delicious work." She smirked. "Marrow knows you've been nipping at his pantry. He's setting a table. Wants you seated. I can get you in."
Zack's steel jaw tightened. "What's the catch?"
She circled him slowly, cigarette glowing like a wicked star. "The catch is obvious. It's a trap. He'll smile, offer you something you can't refuse, then try to break your brain. You'll probably bleed out in a dumpster if you're sloppy. Which is why I'm telling you—because I want to see if you're better than sloppy."
"Where?"
"Old cathedral under the river. Abandoned since the flood. He's nesting in the drowned altar. Very poetic." She blew smoke into his face. "Say thank you."
"Fuck you," Zack said, stepping past.
She laughed. "Close enough."
From across the street, a pair of silver eyes watched: Silas. He leaned in a doorway, rain dripping off his hair, cigarette balanced between long fingers.
"Still dancing for scraps of information," he called.
"Still creeping like a pervert," Zack shot back.
Silas smiled. "Every step you take makes you more interesting. Don't waste it."
Zack kept walking. He could feel both of them watching—one smirking, one calculating. He hated both. He needed both.
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Act III — The Trap
The cathedral was a drowned husk. Black water lapped at the lower pews. Stained glass hung shattered, moonlight painting corpse-colored puddles.
Zack pushed through the rotted doors. His HUD flared warnings:
MARROW DOMAIN DETECTED
Illusion Probability: 72%
Threat: Unknown
The air thickened. Shadows twitched into shapes. The sound of weeping filled the rafters.
And then—his mother's voice. "Zack…"
He froze. She stood at the altar, not in a hospital gown but in a white dress, healthy, glowing. She smiled like sunlight. "Come home, baby."
His steel fangs clenched. "You're not her."
"Why not?" Her voice wove through the air like silk. "You want me alive. Here I am. All you have to do is kneel. Let go. No more fighting."
The HUD blinked:
Neural Invasion Detected
Countermeasures: Engage Hex Resistance? [Y/N]
Zack growled. "Y."
Pain lanced his skull. He screamed, veins glowing white-hot as the illusion melted. The figure twisted, skin sloughing off into black ichor. It grew taller, sharper—Marrow, in a white suit, smile wide and awful.
"Shame," Marrow purred. "She'd have liked the fantasy."
"Shut the fuck up."
Marrow's fingers twitched. Shadows peeled from the walls, turning into creatures with too many arms and no faces—Marrow Shades. Ten of them.
"EXP buffet," Zack muttered, charging.
He blitzed the first Shade, fist exploding through its torso. It disintegrated into smoke.
+150 EXP
EXP: 425 / 1000
Another clawed his back, sparks flying as steel skin resisted. He spun, biting down with fangs, ripping shadow into ribbons.
But for each one he killed, another slithered from the walls. Endless.
Marrow clapped, laughing. "You level, and level, and level—but the clock ticks, Zack. Tick. Tock. Your mother's lungs don't wait."
Rage roared through him. His HUD blinked options:
STEEL SURGE [Prototype] — Cooldown Active
Option: Force Reactivation? RISK: Cardiac Failure
Zack snarled, "DO IT."
The world fractured. Surge ignited, steel veins blazing white. He blurred through Shades, fists smashing skulls, jaws crunching shadow-flesh. Screams echoed like an orchestra of death.
+200 EXP
+250 EXP
+300 EXP
EXP: 1000 / 1000
LEVEL UP → Level 8
NEW ABILITY: Steel Surge Stabilized (Phase 1)
Zack roared, body glowing furnace-hot. His punches no longer just shattered Shades—they erased them.
Marrow smiled wider, unbothered. "Good. Grow faster. Bleed harder. Because no matter how high you climb—time wins."
The Surge flickered. Zack collapsed to one knee, chest burning, smoke pouring from his mouth.
Marrow stepped closer, crouching. "Want her to live? Bring me her heart. I'll make it beat forever."
Zack lunged, swinging a steel fist—but Marrow vanished, laughter echoing in the rafters.
The cathedral collapsed back into silence. Only Zack remained, broken, steaming, furious.
⸻
Act IV — Aftermath
Zack stumbled into the hospital hours later, hoodie shredded, body cracked. He pushed into Room 412.
His mom was asleep, monitors ticking like a tired clock. He sat, head against her hand.
"I'm gonna get you out of this," he whispered. "I don't care if I have to burn every goddamn vampire, priest, and warlock in this city. I'll cheat time."
The HUD flickered.
LEVEL 8
EXP: 75 / 1000
NEXT GOAL: Level 10 (Steel Surge Phase 2)
Advisory: Human Lifespan Limitation — Imminent
Zack laughed, broken and furious, and whispered to himself: "Then I break lifespan too."
Outside the window, Silas smoked on the rooftop, smiling faintly. Luna's voice rang in his head from the earlier call: "You'll lose, chrome-teeth. But make it loud."
Zack bared his fangs to the night, whispering: "Prestige or die."
The rain didn't answer. But it kept falling, like the city itself was weeping with him.