Soon he reached the slum square. The hut was half-collapsed with flames licking the roof.
Still in shock processing the gravity of the scene in front of him.
He heard a faint voice beneath the roar.
"Lucien…"
Snapping back to reality, He threw aside burning debris, clearing his path into what remained of the hut his sister laid.
Elara lay half-pinned beneath a wooden beam, blood running down her side.
A Rift beast loomed above her, its head twitching as if smelling her fear.
"No…" Lucien's voice cracked. "No!"
He grabbed a spear from close, one of the weapons he had trained with for a while now. His hands trembled, but he forced himself forward, drawing the attention of the beast.
Not stalling, Lucien lunged forwards. With a forward thrust next to it's shoulder, a move he had honed through weeks of practice, but the strike barely cut through.
The beast shrieked, spinning toward him. As he ducked and thrust again, this time aiming for its eye. It hit — shallow, but enough. As black fluid splattered his face.
The spear snapped following the attack which made the beast stagger as it let out a broken roar in response.
Lucien saw it clearly in that brief opening, a faint glowing spot pulsing in its chest. A Rift core. The Weak point of all rift beasts.
He didn't think; he just moved. Using the broken shaft, and drove the jagged end into that light.
"Die!" he shouted, more of a plea than command.
Fortunately, it was only an F-rank beast, and was well within his ability to take down with his rigorous training and knowledge on rift beast..
The beast spasmed and fell, dissolving into ash and Aether mist.
Lucien dropped to his knees beside Elara. His hands shook as he tried to lift the beam. "Hold on, Elara. Please. I'm here."
She smiled faintly, blood on her lips. "I knew you'd come."
"Don't talk. I'll get help."
"You won't have time," she whispered. "The air feels heavy… and warm. Like you."
He froze.
"I can feel your light," she said softly. "It's warm, Lucien. Don't lose it."
Her voice broke as her chest stilled. The wind outside howled through the cracks.
Lucien's breath hitched. "No… no, no…"
He pressed his forehead to hers, gripping her hand. Everything else — the screams, the collapsing walls, the monsters, faded into a dull echo. The only sound left was her final whisper, lingering in the smoke.
"You'll live, Lucien… because your light feels too warm to fade."
The words sank into him like fire. Somewhere deep inside, something stirred, a flicker, faint but alive.
The sirens wailed again, but Lucien didn't hear them. He sat there amid the ruin, holding the only family he had left, while the world burned around him.
And above it all, the sky cracked open once more.
Lucien didn't feel the pain at first. His body had gone still, his thoughts drifting in a blur. The world around him was noise. The screams, fire, the dull hum of Aether tearing through the night. But none of it reached him.
Only Elara's faint smile stayed in his vision, even as her hand slipped cold from his grip.
Something cracked above. A heavy crash followed. Then came the sound he'd come to dread, a guttural roar that rattled the ground.
Lucien blinked. The roof of the hut gave way as another Low ranked Rift beast forced its way through, scattering splinters across the floor. Its massive claws tore through the debris, its body twisted and pulsing with violet veins of light. The air warped around it.
The sound ripped through him, RRRAAAHHHH!
The shock snapped Lucien out of his daze. He barely rolled aside as a claw slammed into the ground where he'd been kneeling, sending shards of wood and dust flying. He coughed, gripping the broken spear with shaking hands.
The monster turned its head toward him, eyes glowing like coals. It moved on all fours, the scent of ash and rot rolling off its hide. Lucien's pulse pounded. His mind screamed to run, but his body didn't listen.
"Come on," he muttered through clenched teeth. "You want me? Then come."
It lunged. Lucien dodged left, rolling again as another swipe tore through the air. The movement was rough, but his body remembered the hours of training — the nights he'd spent swinging wooden swords at shadows, pushing his muscles long after they burned. Practicing for a fight he never knew would be so soon.
He had no Aether to rely on, only what his body could do. And he was going to survive using this same body he had trained.
He struck back when he could, aiming at its legs or joints. The spear glanced off thick hide, leaving faint cuts but no real damage. Still, he kept moving, each breath sharp in his throat. The monster roared again, frustrated. It wasn't used to such weak prey that dared fight back.
Lucien's jaw tightened. "You're not the only one that's hungry."
He ducked another swipe, the claw grazing his shoulder as blood ran warm down his arm, but he didn't stop. He couldn't afford to.
The fight wasn't skill — it was survival.
The spear, rather what was left of it, cracked with every hit. His boots slid across the broken floor, dust filling his lungs.
He was still standing. Barely.
Then a low growl echoed from behind. Lucien turned catching a glance of another Rift beast that had appeared, it was smaller, but faster, its body flickering like heat haze.
The second one wasn't interested in him. As it headed straight for Elara's body.
"No," he breathed. "No, no, no—!"
He sprinted, heart hammering. The first beast blocked his path, slamming its claw down but Lucien dove under it, scraping his side against the floor. The pain barely registered as he twisted his grip on the spear, using the momentum to jab at its neck. The wood splintered, but the hit pushed it back a step. And that was enough.
He dashed past it, lungs screaming. The second monster was already bending over Elara's still form, its jaw unhinging as if ready to devour.
Lucien's voice tore out, raw. "Stay away from her!".
A/N:
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