Alright. Here is Chapter 23 of A Call in the Dark, cont
CHAPTER 23 — "WHEN HUNTERS LEARN TO BLEED"
The city did not sleep that night.
Streetlights flickered as if afraid of the darkness above them. Sirens wailed in distant districts where no crime had been reported. Dogs howled. Birds abandoned rooftops.
Something unseen was moving.
Adrian stood on the roof of the abandoned gymnasium across from their school, staring down at the city that had once been normal. His breath fogged in the cold night air. The faint glow of spectral crosses flickered above scattered souls below—white, red, orange—layers of morality exposed whether he wanted to see them or not.
He clenched his jaw.
No off switch.
Behind him, Adriana cracked her whip against the concrete. Crimson energy lashed outward, slicing cleanly through a rusted ventilation unit. The metal split in half like wet paper.
"Again," she muttered to herself.
She swung harder.
The whip screamed through the air, wrapping around a concrete pillar. Adriana yanked, and the entire structure shattered, collapsing in a rain of dust and rubble.
She exhaled sharply, wiping sweat from her brow. "Still not enough."
Adrian turned. "You just destroyed half the roof."
"Not fast enough," she replied. "Kaelzor barely acknowledged us. That means we're still prey."
Adrian didn't argue.
Since the encounter with the Third Elite, something had shifted between them. Not fear—but urgency. Every second felt stolen. Every breath borrowed.
The war had a schedule.
And they were behind.
Adrian raised his hand.
Ice crept outward from his palm, forming jagged crystalline patterns across the rooftop. The temperature dropped instantly. Frost crystallized in the air.
His weapon formed slowly this time—a katana of pure ice and compressed shadow, its blade translucent, glowing faint blue from within.
He swung.
The air split.
The shockwave ripped across the rooftop, obliterating debris, shearing steel, and carving a deep trench straight through the building behind Adriana.
She stared. "…Okay. That was new."
Adrian stared at the blade, breathing hard. "I didn't call it."
The katana pulsed.
It had answered.
A low vibration rolled through the city.
Both twins froze.
"That wasn't you," Adriana said.
"No," Adrian replied. "That's… incoming."
The sky cracked.
Not lightning—fracture.
A tear split open above the downtown district, spilling red light and thick black smoke. The air screamed as something forced its way through reality.
Then another tear.
Then another.
Adriana's eyes widened. "Multiple breaches."
Adrian clenched his katana. "They're not hiding anymore."
Below, screams erupted.
Demonic figures poured from the rifts—smaller than Elites, but stronger than anything they'd faced before. Armored, disciplined, moving in squads.
Shock troops.
Adrian's vision ignited.
Red crosses.
Orange crosses.
A flood of corruption.
He didn't hesitate.
"Move," he said.
They leapt.
The twins hit the street like meteors.
Adrian landed first, ice exploding outward in a freezing shockwave that locked three demons in place mid-charge. Adriana followed, her whip snapping forward, wrapping around a demon's neck and yanking it clean off its feet before crushing its skull against the pavement.
The demons reacted instantly.
Formation shifted. Blades raised. Energy cannons charged.
"These aren't berserkers," Adriana shouted. "They're trained!"
Adrian dashed forward—speed of light—vanishing in a flash of blue. He reappeared behind a squad, katana carving through armor and flesh in one seamless arc.
Frozen corpses shattered as they hit the ground.
A demon roared, charging Adrian head-on.
Adriana intercepted.
Her whip glowed brighter—crimson energy coiling tighter, denser. She lashed once.
The demon split in half vertically.
But then—
A massive presence slammed into the street.
The ground cratered.
Smoke cleared to reveal another Elite.
Taller than Kaelzor.
Broader.
His armor was silver-black, etched with glowing violet sigils. Six blade-arms unfolded from his back like a mechanical halo.
He tilted his head.
"Twins," he said pleasantly. "Fourth Elite. Vaelthrix."
Adrian felt pressure crush his chest.
This one wasn't here to observe.
Adriana stepped beside him. "We don't run."
Vaelthrix smiled. "Good. Running is boring."
The Elite moved.
In an instant, six blades struck.
Adrian barely blocked—ice katana screaming as it deflected two, then three, then—
Pain exploded.
One blade pierced his side, ripping through flesh and shadow alike. Adrian crashed through a storefront, glass and concrete detonating around him.
"ADRIAN!" Adriana screamed.
Vaelthrix turned casually toward her. "Your turn."
Crimson energy erupted.
Adriana's whip lashed forward, wrapping around Vaelthrix's torso. She pulled with everything she had.
Nothing.
The Elite didn't move.
Vaelthrix grabbed the whip.
And yanked.
Adriana flew forward.
The world slowed.
Adrian saw it through blood-blurred vision—his sister hurtling toward death.
Something inside him broke.
The katana shattered into mist—
—and reformed instantly, denser, colder, darker.
Adrian vanished.
He reappeared between Vaelthrix and Adriana, blade colliding with the Elite's strike in a thunderous explosion of ice and shadow.
The street froze solid.
Vaelthrix's smile faded—just slightly.
"…Interesting."
Adrian snarled, blood dripping from his mouth. "You don't touch her."
The ground shook again.
From above, a voice echoed—ancient, amused, and cruel.
"Enough."
Every demon froze.
Vaelthrix stepped back immediately, lowering his blades.
The sky darkened.
A massive, distant presence pressed against reality like a hand against glass.
Adrian felt it.
Adriana felt it.
The real war had just acknowledged them.
The voice spoke again.
"Grow stronger, little keys," it said. "You will be needed… soon."
The pressure vanished.
The rifts sealed.
The demons disintegrated into ash.
The street was silent.
Adriana rushed to Adrian's side, catching him before he fell.
"You're bleeding everywhere," she said.
He laughed weakly. "You should see the other guy."
She shook her head, gripping him tighter. "We're not ready."
Adrian looked up at the sky—at the place where the voice had been.
"No," he said quietly.
"But we're getting there."
Far beyond the city, the Twelve Elite Warriors watched.
And one of them smiled.