Race 13 – Fire and Dust
The night over Apepolis was thick — heavy with smoke, burnt asphalt, and the lingering scent of gasoline that still floated in the air after today's race.
The streets looked like a battlefield — here and there, drops of oil glimmered under the lamps, red taillights flickered in the distance, and the echo of engines still hung in the air, refusing to fade completely.
Kaiyo walked slowly down a cobblestone alley, his fur gleaming under the cold glow of the streetlights. He could still feel the vibration of the steering wheel in his hands, and in his chest — the echo of Inferno's roar. Every step sounded like it came from some distant racetrack, far away from this silence.
— Drax… — he whispered softly, as if the name itself might answer him back.
He stopped at the corner of the street. For a second, he thought he heard a familiar sound — the brief hiss of an engine, the sigh of a turbine — but it was only the wind.
He drew a deep breath, tasting the scent of oil and night.
"I can't just walk away," he thought. "I have to find him. I want to see what was in his eyes when he lost."
He kept walking.
He moved through narrow alleys between old wooden buildings, their windows still glowing with warm light. From within came soft voices, the creak of doors, and footsteps against the floorboards. The night was alive — but Drax remained nowhere to be found.
At last, Kaiyo stopped at a small square, where a rusted fountain stood — its statue depicting a gorilla holding a steering wheel. He sat on the stone edge and looked into the water.
His reflection shimmered under the moonlight — tired, yet proud.
— If I don't find you tonight… I'll find you tomorrow, he murmured. Inferno doesn't sleep. Neither do I.
He took a long breath and stood up. He turned toward the distant lights of the city.
In the background, there was only the soft hum of the wind — and a lone car horn, echoing somewhere far away.
A shadow slipped across the rooftops — a reminder that someone else wasn't sleeping either.
Far outside the city, on the outskirts — where asphalt gave way to packed dirt and old wooden houses stood half-lit in the dark — Drax sat on a dented metal crate once used for car parts.
A small fire crackled in front of him, spreading orange light across the muddy yard between the houses.
He was enormous — a white gorilla with massive shoulders and pale pink skin showing beneath his snow-colored fur. The flames danced across his coat, reflecting in his cold, steel-gray eyes.
His hands were scarred, smeared with grease, and the heavy, torn jacket hanging from his shoulders bore the faded words "INVINCIBLE KING."
The fire flickered in his eyes — but gave him no warmth. His gaze stayed cold and sharp — the kind of stare that belonged to someone replaying every mistake, one by one.
Around him stood his crew — younger monkeys, tired, wearing ripped racing jackets.
Some held fuel cans, others just stared at the dirt.
In the shadows behind them, old wooden sheds and broken-down cars gleamed faintly like the corpses of machines.
Drax sat in silence, his elbows resting on his knees.
The firelight reflected off his pink skin and white fur like off steel — cold and unfeeling.
A skinny macaque with wide eyes exhaled smoke from a cheap cigarette.
— Damn, Drax… — he muttered, blowing out a thin trail of smoke. — How did that even happen, huh? You were supposed to lead. To crush them on the track. But then… what?
Another one — shorter, with dark fur and ripped sleeves — added with a smirk:
— We thought you had it in the bag. That you'd show everyone who still rules the circuit. But then outta nowhere… that Japanese macaque shoots right past you like lightning.
Drax didn't answer at first.
He just stared into the fire, his thick, battle-worn hands tightening slowly around a dented metal cup of coffee.
— Kaiyo… — he said finally, his deep voice calm and heavy. — He knows what he's doing out there. He didn't drive faster. He drove smarter.
He took a slow breath, letting out steam through his nostrils. — I didn't lose because of the engine. Or the corner. I lost because of his mind.
Silence. Only the faint crackling of burning wood.
Then the third one — the biggest of them — let out a short laugh.
— Oh, come on. We're supposed to back you up, Drax, not hear you tear yourself down. Everyone calls you The Unbeatable King, right? "Invincible Drax"?
— And now some… what, a Japanese macaque beats you? — He snorted and turned away.
— Pathetic.
The laughter died. The fire dimmed.
Drax stayed still, staring at the flames. There was no anger on his face — only a hard, focused silence.
Then he stood up.
He threw the cup aside; it hit the ground with a dull clang.
— I don't give a damn! — he growled, turning toward the others. — I don't care what anyone says!
His voice cut through the air like an engine's roar.
— Next time, I'll beat him. You hear me!?
No one spoke. Only the wind answered.
— I'll beat him… — he repeated, quieter this time — as if telling himself more than them. — Because now I know how he drives. How he thinks.
The firelight flashed in his eyes — like the red of a starting signal.
— Kaiyo… — he murmured, a faint grin curling his lips. — Next time… I win.
Night — back at Kaiyo's.
Kaiyo kept wandering through the streets of Apepolis, his steps quieter with every turn. The further he went, the more his pace slowed — not out of fatigue, but as if he wanted to slip through the city unnoticed, invisible even to his own thoughts.
The alleys were narrow and wet. Streetlights shimmered on the puddles. The scent of rain, oil, and silence hung in the air.
He stopped once, glancing back — but Drax was nowhere. Not even a trace.
He exhaled softly and turned for home.
The streets were empty now. Beneath his feet, bits of glass crunched faintly, and the old neon signs buzzed weakly in the wind.
Everything looked the same as always — yet tonight, even the city seemed to breathe slower.
When he reached the edge of the district, a familiar scent hit him — metal, oil, and smoke.
Home.
A warm, flickering light shone through the cracked window of the workshop.
The door creaked as he pushed it open.
Inside, half-darkness glowed from a single work lamp.
On the table lay the scattered parts of Inferno — cables, screws, turbines, and half-assembled metal pieces.
The air was thick with the smell of tools and effort — the kind of air that always made Kaiyo feel safe.
Tsuki sat on the edge of the table, leaning over a small mechanism with a magnifier in hand. Mori Mori was near the cylinder, scribbling notes in his pad.
— Kaiyo! — Tsuki called without looking up. — Thought you'd be back later.
Kaiyo stood in the doorway.
— I didn't find him, — he said quietly. — It's like he vanished.
Mori Mori sighed. — Drax has his hideouts. He won't show up until he wants to.
Kaiyo didn't reply.
He walked up to Inferno and brushed his hand along its body. The red paint gleamed faintly in the light — the metal still warm from the earlier race.
— This button… — he murmured. — Inferno's alive. But I feel like there's something else inside it.
Tsuki smiled faintly. — It's alive because you understand it.
Kaiyo nodded slightly, though his face showed doubt.
Somewhere beyond the thin wall, his mother's calm voice could be heard — talking on the phone, like her world was the normal one… and not this one.
He rested his hand on Inferno's hood.
— We need to be ready, — he whispered. — He'll be back.
The air seemed to shift — as if even Inferno's shadow understood his words.
For a long moment, silence filled the room. Only the soft buzz of cables and the faint clink of tools.
— Hey, Kaiyo? — Mori Mori suddenly said, sitting on a crate and chewing on a bit of wire like a straw. — What's the next race?
Kaiyo looked at him, surprised.
— I don't know. — he said quietly. — Haven't checked yet.
Tsuki closed his laptop, the faint blue glow fading from his face.
— I did, — he said. — There's another one coming up soon.
Mori Mori leaned forward, curious. — Who's in it? Anyone worth mentioning?
Tsuki nodded slowly. — Yeah. Two names stand out.
He crossed his arms, voice low and calm. — They're brothers. Top-tier. Fast, clean, ruthless when they need to be. The rest are just noise compared to them.
Kaiyo's gaze sharpened. — Brothers… huh?
Mori Mori gave a crooked grin. — Sounds like trouble.
Kaiyo's hand slid across Inferno's hood — the metal cold, but alive under his touch.
— Then that's the kind I like.
For a moment, none of them spoke. Only the quiet hum of power running through cables and the soft hiss of oil cooling in the furnace filled the air.
Outside, Apepolis glowed under the moonlight — its lights stretching out like veins of fire.
And somewhere beyond the city, two engines started at the same time — their twin roars echoing through the dark.
End of Race 13 and Volume 2.
Thanks for reading!