The sky above Bellmare was rotting.
Gray clouds sagged like diseased flesh. The wind carried a stench of blood and acid.
Xin stood at the edge of a collapsed rooftop, eyes fixed on the creature in the distance.
It moved slowly now. Tentacles dragging across ruined buildings. Parts of Harper's remains were still stuck to its side — a red smear of what was once a person.
Behind Xin, Tara climbed up the debris, panting.
"You're not thinking straight," she said.
Xin didn't turn.
"That thing," she continued, "it moves faster than sound. It's bigger than anything we've seen. If you rush it, you're dead."
Xin turned to her, eyes hollow. "Harper died because of us."
"She died because we walked into a nest blind. You think dying now makes it right?"
He shook his head. "There are people still out there. Survivors. Kids. That thing's killing everything in this zone."
Tara grit her teeth. "We need a plan."
"There's no time."
Scene: The Confrontation
Xin dropped down from the rooftop. His feet slammed into the pavement. Dust kicked up around him. His arms were scraped, bruised, fists clenched tight.
Talla tried to grab him from behind. "Xin, stop—"
He kept walking.
Tara jumped down after him. "Don't throw your life away. That's not what Kaila would've wanted."
That name made him stop.
He looked back, voice cracking.
"You think I don't know that?"
He looked down at his fist. Harper's blood was still there.
"I watched Kaila die. I held what was left of her. And now Harper's gone too. I'm not losing anyone else."
He turned toward the creature.
"I don't care what it takes."
Then he ran.
Scene: The Charge
Xin sprinted toward the monster, dodging crushed cars and melted bodies. The ground pulsed beneath him with each of the beast's movements.
One of its tentacles rose — thicker than a bus, twitching like muscle under skin.
It snapped toward him.
Xin jumped, landed on a toppled billboard, and pushed off with every ounce of strength in his legs. He flew through the air, fist pulled back, storing every ounce of energy in his arms.
He screamed. "FOR HARPER!"
Then he saw it — the tentacle coiled for another strike.
Too fast.
Scene: The Slash
Before the tentacle could hit — the sky cracked.
A flash of light, like a blade splitting the clouds.
A single voice roared across the battlefield.
"BERZAR."
The sound split the air.
Xin stopped mid-air as something blurred past him — a figure descending like a missile, black coat trailing behind, sword drawn.
A man landed on top of the monster.
The moment his feet touched its flesh, the sword glowed.
And then — a single slash.
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't flashy.
It was absolute.
A clean, horizontal line split the creature in half.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then — BOOM — the monster exploded in a burst of gore and flesh. Tentacles flew in every direction. The body caved in on itself, melting.
Xin hit the ground and rolled, stunned.
Smoke and blood rained down.
The figure stood in the wreckage.
Scene: Rion Tanaka
He looked… human.
Maybe mid-20s. Pale skin. Messy black hair tied in a short knot. Eyes half-lidded, almost bored, but sharp as razors. A long katana rested on his shoulder.
He wore torn black armor with a red scarf trailing behind him, blood splattered across his chest.
He didn't even look winded.
Xin stood slowly. "Who… who the hell are you?"
The man sheathed the blade with a soft click.
"Name's Rion," he said.
Tara ran up behind Xin, jaw slack. "What the fuck did we just watch?"
Rion shrugged. "Berzar. One of my techniques."
"You killed it in one slash," Xin said, still stunned.
Rion looked down at the corpse. "It was loud. Annoying. I don't like loud things."
Scene: The Calm After
Smoke hung in the air.
Xin walked up to the still-steaming remains. The smell was awful.
Harper's death replayed in his head again. But this time, it ended with silence — with the monster gone.
Tara stood beside him. "You were ready to die."
"Yeah," Xin said.
"You didn't have to."
He looked at Rion.
"No," he said. "He showed up. But next time, I need to be the one who ends it."
Rion stretched, joints popping. "You will. If you survive long enough."
"What the hell are you, man?"
Rion smirked. "I've got something stuck inside me. not a god. More like… a demon."