No.
Enough.
I'm done fighting.
I stand up straighter.
My hands shake a bit, but I raise them slowly, palms open toward the sky—
like I'm letting go of a burden,
like kneeling without bending my knees.
— "I surrender. You win. I give up."
She doesn't move.
Nora stares at me, claws raised, eyes sharp with suspicion.
She's breathing too fast—her own energy devouring her.
Her voice cuts the air:
— "You trying to trick me? I won't fall for it again."
I shake my head, slow, almost ashamed.
— "No… Believe it or not, we're in the same situation now. Your Word awakened. You're going to become a soldier. Just like us."
She narrows her eyes like a cornered beast—
a survival reflex, but also pride.
— "And if I don't want to?"
I give a sad smile.
Not mocking.
Just… resigned.
— "Unfortunately, we don't get to choose. You'll be forced."
She hisses:
— "And what if I refuse?"
A dry, pathetic laugh escapes me.
— "Same way they forced me.
They made me come here.
Meet you.
Break you.
Push you to awaken."
I lower my eyes.
— "By force. A force… that crushes any desire to rebel."
And then—
She explodes.
Not by shouting—
but with a voice carved out of raw nerves and injustice:
— "You say you're not free, but you talk like this is normal! Like it's some game! I thought I was going to die! Burn! Be shot like a dog! And now you tell me it was your mission?! That you were 'forced'?!"
I run a hand through my hair.
I don't understand it either.
I talk about chains I feel but can't see,
a master who never shows his face.
— "It's complicated… but you'll understand soon."
But she doesn't wait.
Her energy ignites.
She trembles.
Loses patience—
or maybe she finally abandons fear altogether.
— "NO! I WON'T ACCEPT THAT!"
Her voice shakes—
but she doesn't.
She screams—
but the scream is a vow.
— "I have to save my grandpa and grandma! NO ONE will stop me! And YOU—stop being so damn casual! Fight me! And if I win… YOU LEAVE!"
I throw my hands up again like I'm blocking invisible punches.
— "No. I'm done. I refuse to be his puppet. I completed my mission. That's it."
And then—
Something changes.
Her energy shifts.
Not an aura.
Not pressure.
A black inferno.
Flames rise around her, eating the air, and yet—
the world becomes painfully quiet.
Her voice drops.
Too calm.
— "I don't understand. And I'm scared."
Her words shake—
but she doesn't.
Instead—
she rises.
— "So I'll hurt you. Because you deserve it. You were… mean to me."
Tears fall down her cheeks,
but they don't soften anything.
They fuel the flames.
Black fire engulfs her.
I step back.
One step.
Two.
Instinct speaks louder than thought.
Then she emerges—
not slowly,
not dramatically,
but with terrifying precision.
She doesn't have one horn—
she has two.
Her long, shining mauve hair glows like poisoned starlight.
The flames turn into armor—
black plates edged with violet, wrapping her body without sexualizing it.
A carapace.
A threat.
A symbol.
And her eyes…
Silver drowned in ruby.
Two slits.
Two fangs.
I take a step back.
Stop.
— "If hitting me forgives what I said… then go ahead."
She grits her teeth.
She trembles.
No hesitation.
Only rage.
— "Oh, I'll enjoy it."
She moves.
I blink—
And scream.
Her punch tears through me.
My stomach feels like it explodes.
The pain is instant. Pure.
No dodge possible.
She's too fast.
Faster than Cygue.
I'm airborne.
Shot like a bullet.
I crash through the slums.
Roofs.
Shacks.
Bodies.
Concrete—
Everything shatters.
Walls crumble.
Metal folds.
I'm a projectile.
A corpse in motion.
I see nothing.
Control nothing.
Only pain—
and the fire twisting inside me.
The impact never comes.
Because I keep flying.
Too long.
Way too long.
Then—
The sensation hits me.
That old one.
The one I hate.
The slow-motion.
The float.
The void.
That face—
It reminds me of something.
Someone.
A time.
A nightmare.
A memory bent out of shape.
I float.
Or rather—
I fall, but gently, like the world is delaying the crash just to mock me.
Then—impact.
Not the ground.
Not a wall.
Something alive.
A chest.
Warm.
I clutch my stomach—it burns, pulses, screams.
But I'm alive.
Barely.
I open my eyes.
— "Kairo…?"
Not him.
Not now.
He stands there with his hands in his pockets, looking as tired as ever—
like he carries the world but refuses to complain.
Behind him, a girl wrapped head-to-toe in gray cloth, like an ageless mummy.
Am I dreaming?
Hallucinating?
Kairo exhales, disappointed before anything even starts.
— "Wow… you made a real fucking mess. Bad luck, man. You just interrupted me during an important moment… with my sister."
His voice is soft.
But cold.
Sharp.
— "I'll finish the job."
Fuck.
I'm screwed.
My energy is almost gone, but I've still got one trick.
I know his power.
He slows time.
Bends it.
But he rarely dodges—
either because he thinks he doesn't need to,
or because whatever mode he's in doesn't allow it.
I dive at him.
He smiles.
Time slows.
I feel it.
My arm weighs a hundred kilos.
My breath stretches.
He watches me with tired eyes.
Waiting.
But not this time.
— ZAP.
A military taser.
Built for Word carriers.
He didn't see it coming.
He drops to his knees, groaning—
even yelling a bit.
I hold it.
Press harder.
He suffers.
But I know him.
And he proves it.
Time collapses.
Everything freezes.
I'm too slow to react.
He steps out of the taser's range, stands up, and spits:
— "You bastard. That stings. Let me send you back where you came from."
And he does.
One step.
One strike.
One fucking hit.
And I'm airborne again.
No buildings this time.
I already destroyed them.
I fly through emptiness.
Then—
Arms.
Warm.
Steady.
I open my eyes.
Nora.
Back to normal.
I'm drained.
My Word is silent.
My body is shattered.
Everything hurts.
My heart races too fast.
Drops fall on my face.
Tears.
She's crying.
— "Did I… did I kill people? I didn't want to. I didn't want to destroy anything. I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I'm a monster. You should've killed me…"
I'm exhausted.
Nothing makes sense.
Everything hurts.
I close my eyes.
— "Stop crying… you look much prettier without tears."
Then a voice stabs through the air, mocking, amused:
Fortuna.
— "Oh la la… At death's door and you confess your feelings? Adorable."
She giggles, then grows serious.
— "We managed to calm her down after she punched you into orbit. But the real question is… who the hell beat you up after that? Looks like you took a second round."
I gasp for air.
— "He's coming. Someone powerful. He can slow time. Be careful."
Aris looks at me—
really looks—
and understands.
— "Rest for now. We'll handle him. Evra won't intervene. This is his way of testing us. Of training us."
He turns to Nora, eyes sharp and loyal.
— "Nora, protect Heyo. We'll stop him."
And I close my eyes.
Not to sleep—
but to forget.
Just for a second.
That I almost died.
Twice.