We were completely surrounded. The creatures kept swarming in, a relentless tide that prevented us from making a direct play for the "Healers." I gnashed my teeth in frustration, my sword humming as I carved through another wave. I hated holding back; if I could only use my full power, I could have ended this in a heartbeat. I spun, slamming the hilt of my blade into the ground. The shockwave rattled the floor, sending several creatures sprawling. In that split second, a volley of red arrows whistled past my face, skewering the Y'ivak.
As I turned, I saw one of them leaping toward Luk. He still had his bow drawn, unaware of the threat closing in from his blind side.
"Luk, get down!" I lunged toward him.
Without a word, he dropped low, bracing one fist against the floor and keeping his back straight. I used his shoulders as a springboard, vaulting over him in a mid-air spin. I gripped my sword with both hands and brought it down in a devastating overhead strike. The blade bit deep, shattering the floor. The creature was split clean down the middle. The wet, slapping sound of viscera hitting the pavement made my stomach turn; no matter how many times I saw it, I never quite got used to the gore.
A flash of movement caught my eye. I jerked back, feeling the wind as a massive claw whistled millimeters from my nose. Then, a sharp, searing pain erupted in my side. A bladed tentacle had punched straight through my abdomen.
Blood sprayed in heavy bursts. I heard Luk scream my name, but my vision was already beginning to swim. I tilted my head just enough to see it: a King-class Y'ivak. One of the strongest ever recorded. It loomed over the others, its massive frame encased in a jagged, reinforced exoskeleton. Two wicked tusks protruded from its maw, extending past its chin.
Gritting my teeth against the agony, I reached back and grabbed its tail. I flipped my sword into a reverse grip and severed the limb in one clean stroke. But that brief moment of retaliation cost me. The beast lunged, seizing me by the throat and hoisting me into the air. I tried to stab it, but before I could find an opening, its claws tore through me again. Blood began to leak from my mouth and nose. The pain was a sickening cocktail of ice and fire—something I can't quite find the words to describe.
The world blurred into gray. The last thing I saw was a brilliant flash of red.
"You bastard…"
In a blur of motion, Luk snatched Masha from the monster's grasp. He bolted, leaving a trail of red light in his wake as he tore out of the building toward the main wing. He prayed he would run into Stefani; she was the only one who could treat a wound this severe.
Luck was not on his side.
The Y'ivak matched his speed, then surpassed it. It landed a thunderous blow to Luk's back, sending him crashing through a wall. He tumbled across the vast expanse of the main hall, the impact rattling his bones. Despite the blinding pain and the looming threat of unconsciousness, he managed to twist in mid-air, sliding to a halt on his feet. He bared his teeth and sprinted again, this time trying to use the architecture to lose his pursuer.
Masha was fading. Her pulse was a thready, dying rhythm beneath her skin. Luk was in a race against time, and the odds were stacked heavily against him. Then, a desperate idea flickered in his mind—a gamble he was terrified to take. He feared losing control, but he was out of options.
He laid her gently on the ground and stripped off his tattered combat suit. He draped the garment over her and pressed his palm against the fabric, channeling a concentrated pulse of light. A red hibiscus—a cayenne—bloomed upon his neck, and his right eye bled into pitch black with a stark white pupil. Masha's wounds began to knit back together, but the cost was written on Luk's face. He let out a strangled cry of agony.
Bloody tears tracked down his face from his darkened eye as his companion's body was made whole. The light flickered out, and Luk collapsed. He panted, his breath coming in ragged hitches as he forced himself to stand. His body felt heavy, unresponsive—a bitter reminder of the helplessness that had haunted his past. From the shadows of the hall, the beast roared, the sound of splintering wood and stone echoing its approach. Luk hissed one last breath of defiance and scooped Masha into his arms.
Every step was a trial, like walking on a bed of nails. His vision clouded, and his strength failed him, forcing him to slump against a wall. He tried to catch his breath, using what little "Dew" he had left to dull his own pain. His life hung by a thread.
The creature found them. Seeing it loom in the corridor, Luk knew there was only one path left. He propped Masha against the wall as the flower on his neck began to glow a fierce, predatory crimson. Both of his eyes turned black with white pupils, and his canines elongated into sharp points. He walked toward the Y'ivak, his gaze locked onto the monster's.
A massive surge of red energy erupted from him, shattering doors and windows as it swept down the hallway. The force dragged the alien out of the building. The beast scrambled to find its prey, only to meet a fist driven straight into its face. The impact launched the Y'ivak into the air. It lashed its tail into the ground to stabilize itself, but Luk was already there.
Stripped down to a white undershirt and black shorts, Luk stared at the creature with eyes full of cold, concentrated hatred. He pointed two fingers at the beast. A red sphere of light condensed at his fingertips. In a trance-like motion, he reached out with his right hand, drawing the sphere back toward his chest as if pulling a bowstring. A jagged red arrow materialized.
The Y'ivak recoiled, a primal sense of fear—a feeling its kind rarely experienced—overtaking it. Luk released the string. The arrow streaked into the sky, exploding in a burst of light that stained the entire horizon crimson.
In the distance, Stefani saw the signal. She recognized the gravity of the situation instantly and began to sprint toward the source of the flare.
Luk settled into a textbook boxing stance, peering over his lead fist. The alien crept forward, its massive limbs trembling. Luk's hand began to glow, and a black scythe manifested in its grasp. The creature, sensing its end, lunged with everything it had.
Luk slipped the attack with a subtle sidestep. In one fluid motion, he pivoted and delivered a thunderous kick to the Y'ivak's ribs, sending it crashing through the exterior wall. He followed it in a blur. The creature tried to recover, but for Luk, the world had slowed to a crawl. He appeared before the beast, spun, and delivered a rising kick to its chin that sent it hurtling through every floor of the building until it burst through the roof.
With a single leap, Luk caught up to the monster in mid-air. His fist was suddenly engulfed in a flame so red it matched the flower on his neck. His pupils flared crimson just as he connected.
The flame died the moment his fist hit. The creature, thinking it had a chance to counter, tried to lash out—but it was too late. Its entire back erupted. Massive plumes of fire burst through its torso from the inside out. The charred husk of the King fell alongside the boy.
Luk hit the ground first, landing firmly on his feet. His eyes returned to normal, and he immediately doubled over, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
"Shouldn't have done that without the suit," he wheezed with a weak laugh.
He struggled to keep his feet moving as he headed back for Masha. His legs felt like lead; the world tilted on its axis. Just as he was about to collapse face-first at the entrance of the building, a gentle warmth caught him.
"My, my. I didn't expect to find a stray in the middle of all this mess," a girl teased.
Luk looked up to see a figure in pink and violet. He let out a breath of relief and relaxed into her arms. "You're late, Tef."
"Sorry, had some trouble on the road. Though you look way worse—you even lost your suit." She summoned her white pistol and fired a shot into Luk, the healing energy washing over him.
"Thanks."
The moment she let go, he started running toward the building. "Come on! We have to get to Masha!"
Stefani didn't ask questions. She followed close behind, her heart sinking at the thought that their friend might have met a grim end.
"Mother, where is Father?" A young girl with snow-white hair clung to the dress of a woman who looked exactly like her.
"He's…" The mother looked down, meeting her daughter's innocent gaze. She knelt, momentarily ignoring the grotesque, wet sounds coming from the other side of the door. She pulled the girl into a tight embrace and whispered into her ear, "He had something to do. I don't think he'll be back for a while."
Something slammed against the door with enough force to nearly unhinge it. The mother held her daughter tighter, chanting, "Everything is going to be fine."
But for the little girl, the world suddenly went black. She fell into an immeasurable void. Terrified, she screamed for her parents, but no answer came. Then, a sharp jolt snapped her back to reality.
"Where am I?" I sat up abruptly, my heart hammering against my ribs.
I looked around. I was completely alone. The silence was so heavy it felt tangible, yet strangely safe. I leaned back against the wall and noticed I was wearing Luk's combat suit. It took a few seconds for the memories to rush back, but they didn't explain where I was or why I was wearing his clothes.
I remembered the searing pain of being impaled. I frantically felt around my abdomen, searching for the wound, but my skin was smooth. I pulled back the fabric of the suit and saw a jagged hole in my own clothes underneath. I had been skewered.
I shook my head. Tef must have done it, I thought.
I stood up and began to navigate the office corridor. Doors were splintered, and windows were shattered as if the place had been ransacked. It felt like a scene from a horror movie—the kind with creepy puppets and death traps. I couldn't help but smirk at the grim scenery.
Every now and then, the low growl of a Y'ivak echoed nearby. I tied Luk's suit around my waist and summoned my sword. For some reason, the blade felt heavier than usual; my body hadn't fully recovered.
I took a deep breath and bolted for the exit. At the far end of the long hallway, I could see light and feel a cool breeze. Suddenly, the wall beside me exploded. A pack of Y'ivak burst through, snarling as they pounced.
I swung my blade, releasing a horizontal crescent of green energy that lit up the hall. Several creatures were carved apart instantly. The ones that dodged scrambled up to the ceiling, their hands mutating into cannon-like shapes. Red orbs of energy began to glow in their palms.
Beams of energy streaked toward me. I dodged most of them, though a few grazed me, scorching the fabric of my clothes. I threw my sword in a spinning arc, cleaving through one of the snipers, while the rest dropped down to the floor. I sprinted toward them, ran a few paces up the wall, and flipped over their heads. I watched their tails whip out to empale me, only to get stuck in the ceiling where I had just been.
I leveled my hand like a pistol and fired several spheres of light, finishing them off. For a split second, as I fell back toward the floor, time seemed to freeze. I caught a glimpse of a shadow at the far end of the hallway—back where I had come from. The figure waved at me gently before vanishing into the gloom.
I landed flat on my back. I stayed there for a moment, letting my muscles go limp. I was spent. I wanted to close my eyes for just five minutes, but the universe had other plans. The suit's intercom crackled to life, hissing with the static of an incoming call.
"Good work, Masha. Stay put. Luk and Tef are on their way to you. You all did well—the Y'ivak are retreating. It looks like they won't be back for a while." It was Minnie's voice.
I tried to reply, but the connection cut out. I sighed and sat up, hearing footsteps approaching. Before I could turn around, someone pulled me into a fierce hug from behind. Blonde pigtails brushed against my face.
"Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere? Luk told me everything and I was so worried! Tell me, does it hurt?" Stefani began to buzz around me, inspecting every inch of my body.
"I'm fine, really," I said, giving her a reassuring smile and patting her head. "I don't know what happened after that thing stabbed me, but I feel better now."
She stepped back, and we both looked at Luk. He was leaning against a wall, his eyes glazed over as if he were staring at a ghost. I snapped my fingers in front of his face until he blinked back to reality. He didn't say a word; he just walked past us, motioning for us to follow. For a moment, I thought I saw his lips moving—as if he were talking to someone—but I figured he was just reciting one of his poems again.
"What did I tell you about taking control during missions?" Luk grumbled under his breath.
A boy appeared in front of him, floating lazily through the air. He looked almost exactly like Luk, save for two differences: his hair was snow-white, and his eyes were a piercing red. He smirked as he drifted on his back.
"Whatever you say, Luk. If it weren't for my 'intervention,' you and that girl wouldn't be around to have dinner tonight. Besides, I was barely out for a minute. You should be thanking me—and Stefani for showing up when she did." He crossed his arms, leaning toward Luk with a mocking grin.
"You're insufferable. You only ever come out to remind me of that day." Luk sighed, rubbing his temples as a headache began to throb. "And to top it off, thanks to you, I have to pretend I enjoy reciting poetry to 'relax' myself."
The floating figure began to fade away, his laughter echoing in Luk's mind as he turned back to wait for his friends.