Srllllkk—
KRrAAsHHhRggrrr—
.
The sound of the pole getting taken out of the Darkin and screaming cuts off the moment. Straight after it runs, accelerating in Luka's direction. Like the same one he's been struggling with, having hatred toward him.
Luka says nothing. He stands there.
The girl shrieks. And braces.
Half way—
Fiuuuu-szzZZDUMMPPPTTT—
A huge crash erupts onto the Darkin from above. Dust and crumbles fill the air. Both the Darkins and Luka unable to see.
As the dust settles, Luka under his tired eyelids, his head still unable to fully straighten, he notices first.
A man.
Only the head and his shoulders. Short hair, broad build.
The dust slowly descending now revealing more.
The man's back now visible, his legs slowly coming into view.
Next the legs. One leg standing on a massive hammer he was holding, the other on the Darkin. And beneath him the creature completely crushed. The ground, cracked, stopping right before Luka.
Luka's mind all over with questions—
"○A man? A hammer? What just happened? Who is this?"
The dust now completely gone.
The mysterious man moves. Lowering his foot from the hammer and picking it up.
Uttering a single word—
"Run."
Luka has so many questions. But he doesn't think. He acts.
As the mystery man starts to walk toward the other 2 Darkins Luka grabs the girl—
"Le..let's..go."
The girl saddened by his state looks with admiration. Pushing forward with him.
Luka unable to run in the slightest, begins to stagger holding his limping arm, head still low. The girl follows.
The girl suddenly stops.
But Luka doesn't notice. His senses dulled.
She couldn't see what it was. But with dust and debris on it, the movement was now visible to the girls naked eye. Headed straight to them. Something was coming. Sensing danger.
She opens her mouth—
"WAIT! MISTER WATCH OU-" trying to warn him. But it was too late.
The camera now getting closer to Luka from his side, shaking like riding on a horse.
As Luka turns to the camera, a scream—
ARGGGKKSSS—
Followed by the camera chasing into him.
Breaking a fence and hitting a house.
The girl calling out again—
"NO MISTER!!" through tears.
As they hit the house and make a slight dent on the brick wall.
The Darkin ended up on top of Luka.
Not good.
Shing, shing—
As Luka looks up, the Darkin starts to crawl at him scraping him, throwing its limbs as hard as it can and trying to take a bite, but misses. Luka defends with his hands and evading whenever he can.
He frantically struggles, his body barely with any energy. But the electric surge was here. A last-ditch effort.
He punched back and brawled with it. Holding it tight and trying to overpower it and get an advantage. But was unsuccessful.
The Darkin was far less exhausted and was on top of him. One of its limbs managed to grab Luka's arm, claws digging deep, and pin it to the ground.
Luka screamed—
"ARGHHH." his voice tired, raspy. Blood gushing.
Then the Darkin opened its mouth to try and eat him.
Luka with no other option. Under the Darkin one of his legs cut loose. He adjusted it and put the bottom of his foot on the Darkin's stomach trying to push it back.
Not enough.
Then with his limping arm as his only option to survive, forced to pick it up.
Pain. Agony. Throbbing. Luka pushed through. He had to.
His arm shaking. But there was nothing else he could do.
Darkin still mouth wide open, its breath heavy, the smell horrid, the air around smelling like old copper, its sharp teeth sprawled from all sides. Saliva dripping on Luka. It keeps pushing.
Luka pushes back holding it with will and the hope to live—
"GET–OFF–..MEEEE!!!" mouth full of blood.
Both sides don't budge.
But, the Darkin was visibly pushing back. And fast.
Slowly but surely its teeth were creeping closer.
Luka on his last breath screams for one final push—
"AAAAHHRGHHH."
The creature's mouth opened wider—splitting unnaturally, stretching closer than ever, saliva still dripping. Rows of jagged teeth glistened in the dim light. It's about to bite Luka's head off.
Too close.
This was it.
.
Krckk-VVODUMMMM—
KKSKRRKKK—
Krsk-crskk, crackkk—
A sound. An impact.
The Darkin's head snapped sideways. Violently.
Its entire body followed a split second later as something crushed into it with overwhelming force.
The wall behind it shattered on impact, a deep fracture running from top to bottom, spreading across the surface like a spiderweb. Pieces of concrete broke loose, dust bursting into the air.
Blood splashed outward. Warm. Thick. It hit Luka's face. His clothes. Dripping down slowly.
The Darkin's body hung there for a second… stuck. Lifeless.
Something was lodged into it.
Luka blinked. Slowly.
His hand moved up, wiping the blood from his eyes. Smearing it across his face as his vision cleared—
And that's when he saw it.
A massive hammer. Jagged. Embedded deep into what remained of the creature's head.
The metal was rough, uneven, almost brutal in design—like it wasn't made to strike, but to destroy.
A figure stood beside it.
From the side, a hand reached out. Calm. Unrushed.
Gripping the handle—and pulling.
The sound was sickening. It was wet but heavy at the same time.
The hammer tore free. The body dropped fully to the ground with a dull thud.
Clink—
The head of the hammer briefly tapped the pavement as it was lowered. Then—lifted again.
The man rested it over his shoulder with one arm, balancing its weight like it was nothing.
Luka stared. Trying to focus on the man.
Pain and agony throbbed through his body. Blood mixed with dust and debris clung to his skin. His vision still struggled to stabilize.
But slowly, the figure became clear.
He could make out the man's features. Tall. At least 190 cm. Broad shoulders. A strong build that wasn't just for show—every movement carried weight, control. The hammer rested effortlessly against him.
His hair, short. A clean buzzcut.
Then Luka focused on his face and paused...
"○He's… he's..young..?"
Around his age, maybe a bit older. But not by much.
Before Luka could say anything, the man moved.
He walked toward him without hesitation, stopping right in front of him. Without a word, he reached down, grabbing Luka's arm and pulling it over his shoulder.
Supporting him and holding him up—
"Easy." the man said calmly.
Luka winced slightly as he was lifted, his body protesting every movement.
They started walking. Step by step. Out of the broken garden.
"Who.. are you?" Luka asked almost whispering.
But the man didn't answer. He was looking straight ahead. Thinking.
Going through the crack that was made toward the road.
The girl waiting at the side of the road closely, still shaken, still trying to process what had just happened.
Luka glanced at the man, still trying to piece things together—
"H..hey, tell me..who… are you…?" he asked, voice weak but persistent. "What was that thing…? And how did you—"
The man didn't answer immediately. His expression remained neutral. He was thinking. Calculating.
They reached the sidewalk on the road outside the fence of the house.
He slowly lowered Luka down, letting him sit.
"Stay put." he said simply, his tone firm but not harsh. "That goes for both of you. Help's on the way."
Luka frowned slightly, still trying to understand.
"Wait—"
But the man had already turned away.
He brought two fingers up to his ear, tilting his head slightly as if listening to something unseen.
Then he spoke.
"Yeah. I'm here."
A pause.
"Got sidetracked, but it's handled."
Another pause.
He glanced briefly toward Luka and the girl.
"Nothing serious. It's been handled smoothly."
"..." the man listening on the other end.
"…Yeah. 2 victims, one male the other a little girl. Both are alive."
Silence again.
"Yes. The main mission was a success as well, no casualties."
"..."
"Understood."
He lowered his hand. And turned back toward them. Coming closer to Luka, stopping before him.
"You saw them right." said the man with a firm tone.
"I know you did. You were ready to fight for the girl i saw it." the man added. "That only means you can see them."
Luka confused for a second.
But a flashback. His mind reminded him of the man from the window that shouted. The way he ignored Luka's story and the hand poking from the rubble.
"Ye.." stopped mid sentence by a cough.
"..yea, bu..but what are they." his conscience getting held by a light feather.
The mystery man didn't answer him. His expression even more serious now. But not mad, or scary; more so committed.
He stood up, turning his back to Luka, walking away.
Putting his 2 fingers to his ear again—
"Code black. I repeat code black." the man says but Luka didn't catch it.
Luka understood that the man won't reply to him but he didn't stop—
"Listen.. atle.." coughing up blood and in and out of conscience. "Atleast... tell me your name."
The man paused still with his back turned.
Finally acknowledging Luka. His head only barely turning.
He felt no need to reveal his identity.
To him, Luka was just a kid—injured, confused, and far too deep in something he didn't yet understand. There was no reason to explain. No obligation.
He turned, putting his hammer on his back, locking it up. And started walking back in Luka's direction.
He wasn't sure what would come next. Whether this moment would fade into nothing, or spiral into something interesting.
Perhaps it was boredom.
Perhaps it was a mistake.
Or maybe—
it was something else entirely.
A quiet instinct for what's to come in the near future, he couldn't quite put into words. The kind that didn't come often… but when it did, it was rarely wrong.
He stopped right in front of Luka. Dropped one knee and then the other, crouching. Putting one hand on his supporting leg and his left hand on his lower knee.
His gaze lingered on Luka for a brief moment longer.
.
Luka still blacking in and out. Looked at the man before him stopping for a second as well.
.
Whatever the reason—
he decided to answer him.
.
.
Luka's eyes slowly closing, the voice fading.
.
"Call me..."
.
.
.
.
"Darjan."
Luka's eyes black out.