~Laurent
Everyone was frozen in fear for about a minute before we turned on our heels. Adrenaline pumped through our veins, fueling our speed.
My feet pounded against the dirt, frantic and desperate. Behind me, I heard the sound of bones snapping, claws raking flesh, and the unending roar of the monster chasing us. The monster was catching those too slow to keep up and ripping them apart.
"Don't look back!" Ciela's voice cracked with panic. Her hand gripped mine like iron, dragging me forward when my legs threatened to give way.
But the screams—they wouldn't stop. Every few seconds another one rang out, high-pitched, choked, then cut short. A boy I knew from class, gone. A girl whose laugh used to echo across the cafeteria, gone. I could hear them being caught, shredded, crushed, but I couldn't turn. If I turned, I'd freeze. If I froze, I'd die.
My chest burned, my ribs screamed in protest, and tears blurred my eyes. I wanted to shout, to beg, to stop running. But Ciela's hand in mine was relentless. Her golden hair whipped in front of me, her breaths ragged but steady. She didn't let go. She kept dragging me along as she ran.
Don't look back. Don't look back. Don't look back.
When the monster roared again, it rattled the marrow in my bones. I stumbled, nearly falling, but she yanked me upright. My heart hammered, screaming louder than my mind.
Then—someone shouted. "There! A cave!"
Heads snapped toward it. A gaping maw of stone loomed between the trees. Desperation made the decision for us. One by one, students veered, funneled into the darkness, the last thirty of us who were still alive hurled ourselves into that hole like rats diving into a sewer to escape a flood.
The monster skidded to a halt outside, its massive body shaking the ground as it clawed at the entrance, but it didn't follow. It snarled once, twice, then lumbered away, its footsteps fading.
We collapsed, wheezing, gasping, sobbing. My legs shook so badly I thought they'd give out. My chest rose and fell like I'd swallowed knives.
Thirty of us left. From fifty.
The cave was silent, save for the panting of survivors. Its air was damp, stale, too still. My eyes adjusted slowly to the gloom. At first, it looked like any other cavern—stone walls, uneven floors, a faint drip of water echoing somewhere. But then I saw it.
On the walls.
Carvings.
Lines etched deep into the rock, curling symbols I couldn't place, words in a language I didn't know. But the shapes felt deliberate. Almost… ceremonial.
I squinted, brushing dust away with my fingertips.
Ciela knelt beside me. "What is it?"
"I don't know," I whispered. "But this cave is weird."
"What do you mean?" Ciela inquired.
"Look at these walls." I pointed. "See these markings? They're related to something ancient. I saw it in a textbook once. I don't think we're supposed to be here."
As if to prove me right, the ground shook. A grinding sound echoed from behind us—the entrance. My stomach dropped as we spun to see the boulder shift and seal itself shut. Darkness swallowed us whole.
"No! No, no, no!" A student rushed back, slamming fists against the sealed wall. "We have to get out!"
"Wait!" Ciela called, but he didn't wait.
A sharp crack rang out. The floor beneath him splintered. Before anyone could scream, spears of stone shot upward, impaling him clean through. Blood sprayed, hot and metallic in the air.
Two more rushed to help—triggers snapped, arrows of steel firing from hidden slits in the walls. They fell instantly, pierced through chest and throat.
This cave wasn't a cave.
It was a trap and I had that sinking feeling that we might not get out of here alive.
Students shrieked, scrambling back. My throat closed. The smell of blood clung to my nose.
I pressed trembling fingers against the wall again. This time, I read more carefully. The symbols weren't random. They told a story—fragmented, broken, but still a story.
A king. A crown. Blood. Fangs. War. Death.
My skin turned cold.
"Ciela…" My voice cracked. "This isn't a cave. It's a tomb."
The words froze the group.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to keep reading, tracing the grooves with my finger.
"It says—" I hesitated. My stomach twisted as the translation formed in my mind. "It says this is the tomb of a vampire king. And we've trespassed."
Gasps rippled through the survivors. One boy shouted, "A vampire?!" Another cursed under his breath.
"How can you read this?" Ciela asked.
"I'm a vampire too. My system, remember?"
"Keep reading." Another student said.
I forced myself to continue. "It says his spirit… his spirit is angry. That he'll kill all who disturb him unless—" I faltered. My heart hammered.
"Unless what?" someone snapped.
I clenched my fists. "Unless a sacrifice is made. Only then will the entrance open again."
The silence after that was heavy. Too heavy.
"No." A girl shook her head violently. "We're not killing anyone."
"Agreed," Ciela snapped. "No one is dying. We'll find another way. Did the writing say anything else?"
"Unfortunately, no." I replied. "That's all."
Before Ciela could speak again, blades dropped from the ceiling, slicing down another student. His scream echoed, then cut short.
The group turned feral.
"We have to do it."
"Sacrifice someone—just one—and we all live."
"Who?!"
"I don't know but it's not going to me."
"It can't be me either. I'm a B-rank. I'm too powerful to be sacrificed."
"Powerful my foot. You couldn't do anything against those monsters that chased us here."
"Quiet everyone!" Someone snapped. "It has to be one of us but I believe it's better it's someone who's weak. Someone who won't be missed. If we sacrifice someone like that, it won't be much of a loss."
And then their eyes turned.
To me.
"The E-rank." A boy sneered. "It should be him. He's useless. He was deadweight anyway."
I froze. My heart dropped into my stomach.
"Are you guys insane? If not for him, you wouldn't even know that this place was a tomb." Ciela snapped. "We need him."
"Would you rather sacrifice yourself? We're not picky. We just need a sacrifice." Another one said, walking forward.
Ciela stepped in front of me instantly. Stones around her rattled, lifting into the air, spinning like blades. Her voice shook with fury.
"You touch him, you'll answer to me."
"Do you think you can stop all of us? Only an S-rank can." One sneered.
"Watch me."
They charged.
Magic flashed, fists swung. Ciela fought like wildfire—stones shot forward, crushing ribs, arms flung bodies aside with invisible force. She screamed with rage, blood trickling from her nose as her telekinesis ripped into them. But they were too many.
A Titan grabbed her from behind, locking her arms. She struggled, kicked, but others piled on, dragging her down.
"NO!" I shouted, lunging forward. But hands seized me too—half a dozen students pinning me, hauling me across the chamber.
I thrashed, screamed, but their grips were iron.
"Let me go! Please!" My voice cracked into sobs.
They didn't listen.
The pit yawned before me—dark, endless. At its heart lay a coffin, massive and ancient, bound in iron chains.
"No—no, no, no!" I clawed, scratched, begged, but they lifted me like cargo.
"Don't do this!" Ciela's voice shredded the air. "He's just a boy! We can find another way out of this!"
"Better him than us!" someone spat.
The Titan forced her down as they lowered me over the edge.
"STOP!" I screamed, my voice breaking.
Then they let go.
I fell. The air rushed past me, my scream echoing until—thud. My body slammed against the coffin, pain ripping through me like knives. Blood spilled from my mouth, dripping across the ancient lid.
Everything blurred. My vision swam, my body numb.
Above, I heard the grinding sound—the cave's entrance creaking open. My sacrifice had worked.
Was this is it? Was this the end of my story? Used as a sacrifice so others can live?
I laid there, breath shallow, blood warm under me. My chest rose and fell weakly. My thoughts blurred, scattering like leaves in wind.
Maybe this was always my fate. Maybe they were right. I was weak. I was useless. No one will remember me. No one will care.
I tried to smile, but it hurt. My eyes fluttered shut.
Darkness pressed in. Death creeped in.
Then—
A sound.
Like a whisper, muffled, as though underwater.
And in front of me, a flicker.
Not light. Not fire. Something else.
Words.
Glowing letters burned into the air, sharp and unrelenting.
[Become a vessel or Die]
Seconds left: 10.
My breath hitched. My heart lurched.
"What… what is this?" I thought.
7
The letters pulsed.
I shook my head, tears blurring my vision. "This isn't real. I'm dying. This is my brain breaking."
6
"No… no, no…"
5
My body convulsed, blood spilling over the coffin. My vision darkened further.
4
Die here. Forgotten. Worthless.
Or…
3
Or…
2
My lips trembled. My fists clenched weakly. "I… I don't want to die."
1
Suddenly, everywhere went black.