The damn thing won't die.
I don't even know what it is. It looks stitched together, like some nightmare creature made of bone and smoke and raw power, its chest glowing with molten fire.
We've fought monsters before—but nothing like this.
I lunge forward, blades drawn. I aim for the neck, the joints, the glowing core—anywhere that might count.
But it doesn't even flinch.
Then—
CRACK.
Pain explodes across my ribs. My back hits a pillar. The stone gives way, and I hit the ground hard. I can't breathe. Can't stand.
I try to shout—but nothing comes out.
I watch it swipe Nyra like she's nothing. Her arrows hit it—dead center—and it throws them back. She slams into the wall and doesn't get up.
"Airi!" I try again, but my voice is a whisper.
The monster punches her.
I see blood.
Then she is pushed away like ragdoll
Only one of us is left standing.
Kai.
He looks terrified. His hands are shaking. He's not strong like me. Not fast like Nyra. Not smart like Airi.
But his eyes…
His eyes say something I don't understand yet.
"Kai, don't be an idiot—RUN!"
But he steps forward.
Not away. Toward it.
His hand grips his chest like it's on fire. Something's building in him—magic? No, not quite. It's something else.
And then he says it.
"Create: Last Light."
The air warps.
Light bursts from his hand, blinding, pure, terrifying. My chest tightens.
He made that.
The beast roars. It knows. It charges.
So does Kai.
I can't move. I can't help.
All I can do is watch.
The impact rocks the chamber. Light explodes through the monster's chest, tearing it open from the inside. It lets out a final, broken shriek—
And falls.
So does Kai.
My legs finally move. I crawl to him. My fingers barely brush his shoulder.
His eyes flutter open, just for a second.
"I figured it out," he whispers.
And then he's gone.
I freeze. My mouth opens, but I can't speak. Can't scream. Can't do anything but kneel there, covered in dust and blood, staring at the friend who just gave up everything.
Airi collapses beside me, sobbing.
Nyra stirs, clutching her side.
None of it matters.
He's gone.
And I couldn't save him.