The world had turned into a muted blur. A shrill, piercing ring screamed in Kaylen's ears, drowning out every other sound. His vision danced between flames and shadows, blinking rapidly as smoke clawed at his lungs. The cafeteria was a scorched ruin now—its walls flickering with firelight, its air heavy with heat and ash.
Clara was huddled near a fallen table, her knees drawn up, body shaking. Tears streaked through the grime on her cheeks as she stared blankly ahead, lips moving silently, perhaps calling a name—maybe praying.
Miles was facedown not far from the blast center, his shirt smoldering from the fire that licked at the edges. Kaylen's breath caught in his throat. He stumbled through the haze, boots crunching over broken tiles and blackened flour, every breath raw and shallow in the smoke-choked air.
Kaylen's eyes fell to the center of the room. The table where Kyle had made his final stand was split in two, its charred surface marked with claw marks and blood. Nothing was left but remnants—ashes, bone fragments, and the scorch pattern of a soul given in sacrifice.
It was too much. Kaylen dropped to his knees, gasping as the weight of it all pressed down on him. His birthday had become a massacre. His best friend—the one who screamed like a madman to draw those monsters in—was gone.
And yet… they were alive. At least for now.
He dragged himself to Miles, patting the flames from his back, coughing harder with every motion. "Clara," he called hoarsely, voice almost drowned by the chaos. "We need to get out. Now."
She looked up finally, eyes wide, a mixture of guilt, terror. The fire wasn't waiting. And neither were the monsters.
The flames howled like vengeful spirits, dancing along the crumbling edges of the cafeteria. The explosion had torn through the monsters like a divine punishment, their shrieks echoing into the walls, silenced as quickly as they came.
But not all of them had died.
From the center of the inferno, a horrible sound burst forth—a screech like splitting metal layered over a beast's dying roar. Something moved inside the flames, clawing against scorched tile, dragging itself forward.
Kaylen whipped around just in time to see it.
Clara let out a sharp cry, recoiling instinctively.
Miles stirred beneath Kaylen's hands, coughing violently, still too dazed to stand. Kaylen's heart pounded like a war drum.
And they had nothing left. No fire. No weapons. Just each other, ash-covered lungs, and sheer will to live.
Kaylen locked eyes with Clara. "Help me move Miles."
"But it's—"
"I'll stall it if I have to."
"No," she whispered, biting down the sob. The monster shrieked again, inches from dragging itself through the gap in the counter.
Then came the sound. A low, ragged scream—inhuman and furious. The monster. One of them had survived. Charred, but not dead. The burning creature thrashed inside the room, its blackened body spasming with rage and pain. Fire clung to its limbs as it let out a howl so deep it rattled Kaylen's bones.
The moment Miles coughed—a dry, weak sound—the monster snapped toward the noise and charged.
Instinct took over. Kaylen didn't think, didn't hesitate. He grabbed a broken chair leg, splintered to a stake, and lunged forward to intercept. The impact of his strike landed with a dull thud against the creature's head.
But it didn't even flinch.
With a guttural roar, the monster swung. Kaylen dodged—but not fast enough.
Pain exploded through him. He stumbled back. His right arm… it was gone. Torn off in an instant.
Blood gushed from the wound as he collapsed, screaming. Drenched in agony, his vision swam. Everything felt distant.
Miles was moving now, barely. Coughing, crawling through the broken glass and ash. He tried to stand, his burnt body trembling with every breath.
The monster turned, eyes locked on him. It lunged.
"Miles!" Kaylen tried to scream—but his voice was gone.
The monster didn't hesitate. It clamped its massive jaws around Miles's neck and ripped. The sickening sound of flesh and bone tearing echoed through the burning room. Kaylen watched in horror as his friend's body went limp.
The monster chewed greedily—recovering, feeding.
And that was when something inside Kaylen broke.
Sobbing, shaking, bleeding—but no longer frozen—he grabbed the stake again and charged. With all his rage and despair, he drove it into the monster's neck from behind. The creature howled and flailed, slamming Kaylen to the floor.
It pounced, claws tearing into his legs. He screamed, but pain became fuel. With a final act of fury, he grabbed the stake and kicked the creature in the head with every ounce of adrenaline left in his body.
This time, something cracked.
The creature's head twisted unnaturally—then fell.
Dead.
Kaylen lay under its weight, gasping, bleeding out. But something was wrong. Or right. He didn't know anymore. His body… it tingled. Not with pain, but with power. His injuries stopped throbbing. A warmth bloomed in his chest, rising like a tide. Something inside him had awakened.
He pushed the body off. Staggered to his knees.
But then, he froze.
In the corner stood the last Monster—untouched. Unburned. Whole.
It hadn't been in the room during the explosion.
Kaylen didn't move. He barely breathed.
But it was too late. The creature saw him.
It lunged. Kaylen closed his eyes. Then—nothing.
No pain. No impact.
When he opened them, Clara stood in front of him. Her chest was pierced through. She smiled. Just a little. Tried to speak. But the monster didn't wait.
With a single, monstrous swipe, it ripped her in half. Kaylen's mind shattered. Everything went red. The trauma. The blood. The pain. The loss.
A scream erupted—not from his mouth, but from his very soul. His skin burned. Horns began pushing from his head. Cracks formed under his eyes, glowing faintly like magma beneath stone. His breath was ragged, but his vision clear. He had changed. He was no longer just human.
His body twisted. Warped. The horns lengthened. His skin cracked further. A cross-shaped fracture spread across his face, glowing with unbearable heat.
He was no longer Kaylen. He was something else. Something born in fire and baptized in blood.
Because now, he didn't feel human. He felt powerful. And yet, just as he was about to stand—about to strike back—Then—piercing pain. Not from the monster. From behind.
A blade. Straight through his heart. He looked down. Someone had stabbed him.
Everything was black.
Kaylen wasn't sure if he was dead. The pain was gone—but so was everything else.
No sound. No breath. No weight. Just endless dark, swallowing him whole.
Then—something stirred.
A sound. A low growl. Kaylen opened his eyes—or maybe he didn't. He couldn't tell if he had a body anymore. But before him, something took form in the nothingness.
It stepped forward from the dark like it had always been there, waiting. —A figure.
A dull clang, metal on metal.
Then—eyes.
Two glowing slits, bright and blue, burning through the dark like twin flames igniting in the void.
From the shadows stepped a figure—humanoid, but only in shape. Its body was forged from something alien—dark metal, cracked and glowing faintly with fire beneath, like a furnace barely contained by a shell. Each movement it made released embers into the stillness.
Its face… wasn't a face. Just smooth iron-like plating with sharp angles, and a wide, inhuman smile carved into it—glowing faintly blue at the edges.
Flames surged from its head, not like hair, but like a crown of wild, raging energy. Its eyes were pits of blue fire, locked with Kaylen's own.
They stood like that for what felt like an eternity.
Eye to eye. Flame to soul.
The figure opens his serrated mouth. Flames are gushing with every little move. "Let's see what's so special about that odd blood, Shall we?"