The air was a biting edge on a very cold winter morning in his woodsy corner of the town. Cj Ashwood, a seventeen year old living on his own, moved through his morning routine with practiced ease washing, eating, and dressing for school. He felt surprisingly blissful and energetic, the driving beat of hyperpop blasting from his speakers as he hurried through his preparation.
Once finished, an unexplainable urge drew him towards the window. He drew open the drapes and was instantly mesmerized. The windowpane was a masterpiece of frost, cracked ice branching out in patterns that unnervingly mirrored a lightning strike, while the lawn was coated in a pure white powder, mimicking glittering snow.
As Cj admired the serene view, the tranquil silver sky suddenly bled into a terrifying shade of blood red. His body locked, consumed by a fear he couldn't name. Without warning, the clouds erupted, and lightning tore the morning air. The violent, rough five minute storm hammered the area, yet miraculously left the structures untouched.
He was hesitant to go to school after the storm but then remembered that his writing an test today so Cj grabbed his bag and headed out. His path to school cut through an area rich with trees, where the morning frost created a beauty he genuinely appreciated. He enjoyed the familiar sight of small animals scurrying and birds chirping their sweet tune.
It was in this moment of routine calm that he heard it... a deep, resonant whooshing noise tearing through the sky directly above him.
He looked up and saw an object falling from the sky ablaze and at a swift speed coming towards him.
"Huuh!"Cj screeched out of confusion
He tried running away puffing out more air than he can muster but at every moment he took a peek at the sky, the object came closer and closer towards him until... the object struck the earth a few meters In front of him.
Cj shivering from shock after fearing for his life finally got the guts to step forward and examine what has fallen, fearful he walked slowly step by step afraid that something bad could happen. On a closer examination he realized it was a fragment of a rock about the size of a golf ball and it had crystalline structure to it and it was glowing red due to the altitude it fell from.
He gave it a minute to cool down before he was even willingly able to touch the rock... he slowly bent down onto his knees and and let his forefinger touch the stone. He got goosebumps the moment he touched it and could feel an lingering aura that was neither hostile or safe. Cj being a complete Idiot decided to grab the stone without thinking and lunged it within his pocket.
He checked the time on his smartwatch and realized that he was almost late for school and rushed off in a hurry to make it up on time. As he entered the school gates he stopped and looked around him, the trees within the schoolyard were destroyed and scattered but even in-between this mess all his schoolmates still came to school which was quite surprising to him because his friends would take any chance they get to not attend school. He scurried off to go greet his friends but on his way towards them he froze like an statue breathless and he heard a voice...
"Do not look to the sheep for comfort. They are beneath your notice. And you, boy... your body is already mine."
CJ shook off the cold feeling, deciding the creeping unease was just the shock of the morning. He forced a smile, waved to his friends, and was instantly swallowed by the morning buzz of the schoolyard a chaotic symphony of shouts, locker slams, and frantic chatter. The school bell shrieked, slicing through the noise and signaling the brutal start of the day.
They dashed into the main building, weaving through the thick crowds. Their path to class was a frantic sprint: cutting corners, leaping up stairs two at a time, until they hit an insurmountable obstacle. Four girls, moving with the glacial confidence of royalty, took up the entire hallway, their slow pace a deliberate challenge.
"Excuse us," CJ called out. No response.
"Coming through!" his friend added, louder. They did not even shift.
They finally slid into their classroom seats, gasping for breath, where their friend Junior Lebeta was waiting. Junior affected the persona of a totally nonchalant dreadhead—all slow, drawn-out gestures and heavy-lidded cool. But sometimes, when he got excited, the act dissolved, and his true, frantic energy would leak out.
That excitement was bubbling right now.
"Yo, fam," he began, his voice surprisingly high pitched and rapid, completely betraying his laid back posture. "Did y'all see the sky this morning? That blinding red light?"
CJ and the others nodded, the memory of the unsettling color still fresh. CJ, however, kept his head low, having flashbacks of the strange events from this morning, the voice, the destruction, the zap all churning uncomfortably in his gut.
Before anyone could elaborate, the teacher, a man whose voice was guaranteed to induce boredom, clapped his hands sharply. "Lebeta! The bell has rung. Take your seats so we can begin this important lesson." They settled in, trying to focus on the board but were unable to keep their eyes from shutting.
As CJ rested his head on his arm, the menacing aura returned, heavier and colder than before. It wasn't just a feeling this time; it was a physical weight, pressing down on him. The air in the classroom thickened, and then, the fluorescent lights above began to flicker in sickly, pulsating waves, like a dying heart struggling to beat.
The teacher, oblivious to the dread radiating from CJ, scrambled for the wall switch. He frantically flipped it up and down, muttering about faulty wiring, but the lights refused to stabilize. They continued their maddening, rhythmic strobe for five agonizing minutes, casting the room in a strobe of unsettling shadows.
Finally, with a weary pop, the lights held steady, and the normal hum of the classroom returned. Simultaneously, the crushing aura around CJ vanished, leaving him breathless.
The bell rang violently indicating the end of the period, and CJ bolted for the bathroom. He barely made it into a stall before the strange feeling returned... but this time it was physical. A frantic vibration was emanating from his pocket
He reached within his pockets and drew out the fragment he picked up earlier today, it was pulsating a green light from within its cracks and it throbbed like as if it had an heartbeat... Just as he was deep into thoughts wondering if this is connected to this aura and voice his hearing. His friends bang against his stall and yelled.
"Hurry up, dude! We don't have all day!" they all yelled together snapping him away from his thoughts.
"Im coming!" yelled Cj, tucking the stone back into his pocket.
On his dash to the next class, Cj had to swerve around a trio of maintenance men who were frantically hammering on the main Service Panel in the hallway. They were muttering about the entire day being "It is almost as if a ghost possesed the system like in those horror movies," complaining about "wiring and interferences everywhere." Cj ignored the commotion, the chaos blending into the low thrum of dread the strange rock had left him with.
He slipped into his seat just as the teacher was preparing their lesson. Cj was dabbling down his notes in a messy handwriting as he began to feel the fragment pulsating again from within his pocket, was when he began thinking to himself: "I am curious as to why this fragment landed precisely in front of me today... Does it have any special meaning? and why am I also hearing this strange voice every since I touched it... can i even trust it?"
Just as the thought coalesced, Cj gasped, clutching his chest as a searing, internal pain ripped through him. It was then the chilling voice, sharp and immediate, returned to his mind:
"We are bound by soul and spirit. But this shall be the last you hear from me... until I take what is rightfully mine."
With that final, cold pronouncement, the pain vanished, leaving Cj breathless and alone in the suddenly too-quiet classroom.
Without a word, he scrambled to his feet, knocking his chair skew, and bolted for the door. "Excuse me!" he choked out as he reached the threshold, the old teacher's worried tone shouted out , "Ashwood! Is everything alright?" Cj frantically ran off while feeling every heartbeat deep within his chest.
He bolted toward the bathroom, the fluorescent lights in the hallway beginning their sickly, rhythmic flicker again. Oddly, the crushing, menacing aura he'd felt earlier wasn't there, he was just dizzy and profoundly nauseous. He dismissed the light show as a symptom of his own reeling sickness and stumbled into an empty stall.
Just as he bent over the toilet bowl, a tremendous bang sharp and concussive shook the entire building. Before the sound could even fully fade, it was swallowed by a terrible wave of student screams erupting from the hallway outside.
Instead of fleeing, Cj reacted with courage, stupidity and thoughtless adrenaline, rushing directly towards the source of the crash. He burst from the bathroom, stepping into a scene that defied reality.
Standing in the shattered, smoke-hazed hallway was a being of paradoxical nature angelic yet demonic, possessing a face so arrestingly handsome it would stop any heart, yet framed by iridescent scales that ran down his hands and a heavy cloak draped with countless iron chains. In one hand, the being held the end of a thick chain, which was bound to a reptilian beast the size of an medium dog thrashing in agony on the floor.
The air around the creature was thick with an aura Cj recognized it was a dark, hostile echo of the presence he'd felt that morning. But this was different... more potent, purely malignant, and unmistakably its own.
The figure lifted its chin and spoke, its voice was siren like command that cut through the hallway's panic and drew every eye. He announced that whoever could defeat him would gain power beyond comprehension and scoffed at the idea that they should fear him.
He then began to walk, adopting a deliberate, swaggering pace, trying to affect a "bad-boy" charm. But as he passed the terrified female students, they didn't swoon they shrieked in revulsion, seeing only a horrific monster and a crude pervert. He reached the main exit and issued a final, ringing order to everyone that they was to meet him on the school's field to decide his champion.
Ignoring the tremor in his hands, Cj moved with reckless courage, sprinting toward the field. Behind him, the students marched slowly, a terrified, huddled mass, their fear palpable.
When Cj reached the edge of the grounds, he found Junior already there, huddled behind the bleachers and visibly shaking.
"Yo, fam! Don't be an idiot!" Junior hissed, his laid-back persona entirely shattered. "Let me handle this! You stay safe. I'll go slay this demonic freak that wrecked the school and hurt people!"
Cj paused, the words of his terrified friend making him hesitate. But the pull of the metallic object in his pocket, the mystery of the voice, was too strong. "I can't, man," Cj said, his gaze fixed on the center of the field. "I have to see this for myself."
The rest of the student body arrived at the field, nervously taking positions. They huddled together to form a vast, unbroken circle that, from Cj's perspective, unnervingly resembled the ancient, intimidating ring of a colosseum.
The celestial being, the horror with the beautiful face, strode with pride toward the center. He moved with a dismissive arrogance, yanking the heavy chain attached to the massive, struggling Beast like a master dragging a miserable slave.
As the pair approached the edge of the human ring, the mass of students instinctively parted their ranks their heads were bent down not daring to look him in the eye. They stood in silent, terrified rows on either side of the creature's path, creating an unnaturally perfect lane. The action was involuntary and reverent, a grim, instinctive welcome fit for a tyrant king.
The celestial figure, the horror with the beautiful face, reached the center of the ring and threw back his head, a soundless, arrogant laugh echoing in his eyes. He stopped pulling the chain, allowing the miserable Beast to slump to the ground.
With a contemptuous wave of his scaled hand, he roared, his voice carrying effortlessly across the field: "Those ready to fight for power, show your ugly faces and bow before me to compete!" His features were rigid with pride, the look of a god who expected nothing less than instant, total submission.
From the terrified, huddled mass of students, a single figure began to rise. It was Junior!
"Junior, don't be an idiot!" Cj hissed, scrambling to grab his friend's arm.
Junior slowly turned, looking down at Cj with a tight, uncharacteristic smile. He shook off Cj's hand. "Don't worry, fam," he said, his voice surprisingly calm despite his trembling body. "I'm gonna destroy whatever monstrous being this is. We can tell by his action thus far that he won't wait an minute before he slaughters us all" Then, he took a shaky, defiant step out onto the grass.
Junior walked deliberately to the very edge of the ring and, in a sudden, theatrical motion, dropped to his knees before the celestial figure. He shouted his name across the field in a rush of air, then immediately bent his head in a deep, defiant bow.
The Angel threw back his head and roared with hysterical, mocking laughter. "Ha! I like him!" he shouted, pointing down at Junior. "For this warrior stepping forward, you shall now hear my name!"
He drew himself up, his powerful form towering over the kneeling student.
"For I am Kaelus,"he announced.
His voice ringing with power, "one of the Demi-Angels freed from the Realm to aid humanity!" His face was a mask of smug, deceitful pride, promising salvation while clearly plotting ruin.
Kaelus motioned for Junior to rise. From beneath his heavy, chained cloak, the so-called "Demi-Angel" smoothly drew forth a sword—a blade that seemed to drink the light.
"Take it," Kaelus commanded, thrusting the weapon hilt first toward the student. "I shall grant you a temporary fifty percent of my power. We wouldn't want this to end too early and become boring, would we? Let's make it an even match."
Junior snatched the sword. The moment his fingers closed around the hilt, a powerful, dark aura shot from the blade and slammed into his body. He let out a piercing scream as the foreign energy ripped through him.
But when he lifted his head, the terror was gone, replaced by a fierce, blazing resolve. He fixed Kaelus with a courageous glare, the first sign of real strength Cj had ever seen in him.
"I don't know what kind of being you truly are," Junior roared, his voice ringing with a newfound power, "but you are no angel if you hurt the people I love!"
Junior stood his ground and recklessly brought the borrowed sword up in front of him. Having never held a blade in his life, his first strike was a clumsy, desperate slice that was miles wide of its target.
Kaelus dodged it with a serene, mocking ease. With a speed that defied the eye, the Angel's scaled hand not the sword slashed across Junior's back. Blood exploded outward in a horrific spray.
Kaelus threw his head back in a peal of laughter. "Is this all this world has to offer in this country?" he sneered, looking entirely bored.
Junior screamed, the pain overwhelming the new power coursing through him. Driven by pure spite, he spun and swung the sword again, a blind, desperate stroke. Kaelus merely took one step, avoiding the blow, and his own blade flashed. Junior's right arm, still clutching the enchanted sword, was instantly severed at the shoulder.
He collapsed to his knees, his good arm instinctively clamping down on the stump of his shoulder, his face contorted in a silent, agonizing cry.
The self-proclaimed Demi-Angel laughed hysterically. "Useless," Kaelus spat, raising a boot to Junior's shoulder. He ground the heel down, forcing the boy's head low, and retrieved the fallen, blood-soaked sword with a lazy flick of his foot.
As Kaelus raised the sword high for the final blow, Cj's anguish burst out. "STOP ITT!" he screamed, instinctively reaching out his hand.
Junior's eyes found Cj's in the final moment. A single tear tracked through the grime and blood on his cheek as he whispered, "I'm sorry, I couldn't do it."