"Run!"
Noen grabbed Lyra's hand and pulled her into a side alley. Their breaths raced as Kairn's voice thundered behind them through the streets.
"Stupid kids…"
A violent crash made the ground shake. Pieces of masonry flew through the air, dust swirling up, screams echoing through Halmswick.
"Faster!" Noen gasped.
They turned sharply, nearly slipping, jumped over a fence, tearing through hanging laundry lines. Behind them, another crash — and this time Noen saw it clearly.
A market stall Kairn had brushed with his hand collapsed in on itself, as if seized by an invisible fist. Wood splintered, goods burst apart, the entire stand compressed into a mangled lump.
Lyra clung tighter to Noen's arm, her face pale, eyes wide with panic.
"This way!" Noen shouted, pulling her around the next corner.
They kept running, their lungs burning.
"Noen… we—we're not going to make it," Lyra gasped.
"Yes, we will!" His voice nearly broke. "Just a little further!"
They turned into another alley — and froze.
A dead end. High walls. No windows. No escape.
"Back!" Lyra yanked at his arm. "We need to find another—"
But when they turned around, the path was already blocked.
Kairn stood at the entrance of the alley, swaying slightly, the bottle in his hand, a grin spread across his face.
"Hahaha… got you."
Their last hope shattered.
Noen and Lyra sank to the ground, their knees shaking.
"Please… we didn't do anything to you… we just want to go home," Noen stammered.
Lyra nodded frantically, tears streaming down her cheeks."Let us go… we'll do whatever you want… just please, please don't hurt us."
"We'll give you everything," Noen gasped. "Food, money… everything we have. But please, let us live!"
Lyra pressed her hands together in desperation."Please… please…"
Kairn laughed, loud and filthy. When he realized the bottle was empty, he threw it to the ground, where it shattered with a sharp crash.
His gaze fixed on Lyra."You… woman."
Lyra lifted her head, tears glistening in her eyes.
"I'll let you live. But…" His grin turned vile."…you'll be my wife."
Lyra sobbed, lowering her head. Droplets hit the stone beneath her.
"No!" Noen shot up, horrified, his voice trembling."She is MY girlfriend! And she's underage!"
"Hahaha!" Kairn staggered closer."Like I care!"
Something inside Noen broke.Tears ran down his face — but they burned with rage.
"YOU… BASTARD…!" he growled.
His muscles tightened, ready to spring. Every part of him screamed to destroy this man.
But Kairn was faster.
He grabbed Lyra brutally by the hair, pulling her to him until she cried out. His hand — still surrounded by that horrific power — hovered dangerously close to her neck.
"One more step, boy," he snarled, "and she dies."
Noen froze. His heart pounded in his chest, his breath caught in his throat.
Everyone in this area knew Kairn's godly power.
Everything he touched, he could collapse into a single mass, as if the world itself crumpled in his hands. Buildings, stalls, walls — nothing could withstand it. Entire facades had folded in on themselves like paper when he laid his hands on them.
And worse… he had already used this power on people. Several had died that way — crushed, as if squeezed from the inside out.
And now…Now he had Lyra in his control.