The Silver Eyed Anormaly
The Broken Realm had many rules.
Most of them were impossible to understand.
But there was one rule every creature, hunter, and shadow respected without question:
"Do not approach the girl with silver eyes."
Leo, of course… had no idea about this rule.
He and Max walked behind Lyra as she led them through the upside-down forest of floating stones. Rivers flowed above their heads like glowing threads. The sky cracked every few seconds as if lightning lived inside the clouds.
Max whispered, "Bro… this place feels like the universe forgot how to function."
Lyra didn't look back. "That's why it's called the Broken Realm. It died a long time ago… but it refuses to stay dead."
Leo glanced at her. "Are you really the last survivor here?"
She paused.
For the first time, Leo saw something in her eyes—loneliness, maybe fear, maybe anger. It disappeared instantly.
"I said I'm the last survivor," she answered. "I didn't say I'm alone."
Max blinked. "That's the same thing."
"No," Lyra said quietly. "There are others. But they're no longer… human."
Before Leo could ask what she meant, the ground trembled.
Trees twisted. Shadows thickened. Something massive moved in the fog.
Lyra's expression sharpened instantly. "Get behind me."
Max grabbed Leo's sleeve. "Uh—Leo? She looks like she's about to fight a kaiju."
A deep growl echoed through the forest.
Then a pair of glowing red slits appeared in the fog… eyes the size of houses.
Leo whispered, "What is that thing?"
Lyra didn't blink. "A Ruinbeast. A creature born from leftover timelines. Keep your voice low. They hunt sound."
The creature stepped out.
It was enormous, insect-like, with broken wings and a body made of fractured stone and flesh. Every step cracked the ground. Every breath twisted the air.
Leo felt a chill crawl up his spine. "…That thing is worse than the Hunters."
"No," Lyra replied. "The Hunters at least have orders. Ruinbeasts have nothing."
The monster lowered its head, sniffing the air. A low, thunder-like growl rolled across the ground.
Max whispered, "It's smelling us. We're dead."
Leo's heart pounded. "What do we do?"
Lyra slowly raised her hand.
A silver ring formed around her wrist—thin, delicate, and glowing like a moon.
The Ruinbeast roared, the wind exploding outward.
Trees snapped. Stones shattered. The world shook.
Leo shielded Max with his arm.
But Lyra didn't move.
Her voice was calm, almost cold.
"Back away."
The Ruinbeast lunged.
Leo shouted, "LYRA—!!"
But before the creature reached her, its body froze mid-air.
Not slowed. Not pushed.
Stopped.
As if time itself refused to move forward.
Silver lines wrapped the monster's body like invisible threads. Lyra's eyes glowed—not black, not normal, but a strange metallic silver that reflected every crack in the sky.
She whispered one word:
"Return."
The air shattered.
The Ruinbeast disintegrated into dust—no sound, no scream, no trace. Like it had never existed.
Leo and Max stared at the empty space where the monster once stood.
Max:
"…Bro. BRO. WHAT DID WE JUST SEE?"
Leo swallowed. "Lyra… what was that?"
She slowly lowered her hand, breathing slightly heavier now.
"That was a Ruinbeast. The weakest one."
Max nearly fainted. "Weakest?! That thing could eat a building!"
Leo looked at her again. "You're strong. Really strong. But you said you're just a survivor. How—"
Lyra cut him off, her voice colder than before.
"I'm strong because I must be strong. I didn't choose this power."
Leo frowned. "Then who gave it to you?"
Lyra hesitated.
Her hand twitched—just a small movement, but Leo noticed. As if she remembered something painful.
Finally, she answered.
"…Someone who shouldn't exist."
Leo blinked. "What does that mean?"
Lyra turned around sharply. "You two are marked by the Nothing Scent. So listen carefully. In the Broken Realm, power does not appear randomly. Everything comes from a source."
She tapped her chest.
"My power… came from a fragment. Just like someone else's."
Leo froze.
A fragment.
Of Nothingness.
His heartbeat quickened.
"You mean—"
Lyra looked at him with eyes too calm, too knowing.
"You're not the first one to get touched by a fragment. I was chosen long before you."
Leo's breath caught in his chest.
Max's jaw dropped. "Wait wait wait—does that mean you two—are like fragment cousins or something?!"
Lyra didn't answer Max.
She stepped closer to Leo.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"There is someone in this realm with a fragment stronger than yours. Someone who wants the fragments collected. Someone who knows you're here."
Leo's skin went cold.
"Who?"
Lyra turned away again.
"The one who destroyed this realm."
She looked back over her shoulder, her silver eyes glowing faintly.
"And the one who wants you alive… only long enough to take everything you have."
Leo felt a chill crawl through his bones.
Before he could speak, the ground cracked beneath their feet. A distant roar echoed across the sky—multiple roars.
Lyra's expression darkened.
"They found us."
Max gripped Leo's arm. "Who?! More monsters?! More beasts?!"
Lyra shook her head.
"No."
She pointed at the horizon.
Six glowing masks emerged from the fog.
Six Hunters.
Their voices overlapped like broken echoes:
"Marked soul detected."
"Second fragment holder confirmed."
"Capture the girl."
"Capture the boy."
"Do not let them unite."
Leo felt his blood burn, instinct awakening again.
Lyra whispered:
"Don't die. If you die here… the Broken Realm dies with you."
Max shouted: "THAT'S NOT HELPING!"
Leo stepped forward, eyes glowing silver again.
"Then let's survive."
And the Broken Realm… began to shake.
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