Kai drifted between consciousness and the void.

His world had ended in a blaze of heat and noise… and now there was only silence.

When he finally stirred, the first thing he felt was the weight pressing down on him - cracked stone, splintered wood, mangled metal. He groaned softly, barely able to move, buried under what remained of the town. His body screamed with every twitch, skin stretched tight and raw.

The only reason he was still alive was because of the blood barrier he'd instinctively formed before the explosion.

Without it… he didn't even want to imagine what would've been left of him.

With effort, he pushed himself up, a bloody hand breaking through the rubble. The heat still lingered in the air, and his vision wobbled as he staggered upright. He was still shirtless, the remnants of his trousers now scorched to tatters - barely hanging on. Most of his underwear had somehow survived, which was probably the only stroke of luck he'd had all day.

His skin was red, blistered, and raw. Burn scars ran up his arms and across his chest. They were slowly healing, but the regeneration was sluggish and incomparable to how it usually was. He needed rest and food to replenish his blood, which would, in turn, aid his recovery over time.

For a normal person, this level of damage would've been a death sentence. If they did survive, they'd spend weeks or months in unbearable agony.

But Kai wasn't normal.

He bit down on the pain, forced his breathing to slow, and looked around with an unreadable expression.

What was once a town was now a wasteland. Flattened. Gone.

If it hadn't been bad enough already, the giant monster exploding made it unrecognisable. It looked like a bomb had gone off, an actual atomic bomb. Ash and dust hung in the air like a curtain. Chunks of broken buildings lay scattered, warped, and melted by the force of the explosion.

Nothing moved.

No sound.

Just that lingering, suffocating silence.

Kai limped over to a broken chunk of concrete and sat down with a heavy sigh, every movement sending fire through his nerves. His face remained calm, almost blank, despite the unbearable stinging of every inch of his skin.

'They'll come find me eventually… I'll just relax for now.'

He tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

And eventually… they did.

The survivors trickled in from the edges of the ruin like ghosts in a graveyard. Hollow-eyed, shaking, barely able to stand. Those few townsfolk who had made it were unrecognisable from who they'd been before. They looked like they'd aged a year for every minute that had passed.

Most were silent. Some cried. Some just stared at nothing.

Everything they had was gone.

Isaac was there too, though he looked about ready to pass out. His face was pale, drenched in sweat, and his hands trembled. He'd already vomited several times behind a half-standing wall, his guts twisting from overuse of his ability.

But despite it all, there was a look of tired pride on his face.

He'd saved them. He'd done something.

Takeshi stood not far behind, leaning heavily on his sheathed katana. His usual stoic mask was still there, but even he looked drained - his breathing was shallow, and blood dripped from a cut at his brow. That was the first time any of them had seen him in such a state.

Nadya was slumped on the ground, arms wrapped around her knees. Her face was unreadable, but her eyes were red-rimmed. She didn't say a word. She just stared at the dust swirling in the air.

Sven lingered nearby, glancing at Nadya now and then. He looked like he wanted to say something, to console her, but eventually he just turned away. Words weren't his thing. And right now… nothing he could say would help.

Kai studied them all.

None of them looked particularly injured.

Not from the explosion, at least.

Albeit, they were all drained to the point that even standing felt difficult, as Kai began collecting his thoughts.

'Isaac must have used his ability again - at the very last second. Phased through the blast and got everyone out of range, shielding the townsfolk, Amina, and Nadya, who rushed over to them.'

'Takeshi and Sven had probably made it far enough on foot.'

'That just left me - the fool who'd tried to tank the blast with nothing but blood and grit.'

Kai chuckled weakly, the sound more like a croak, and doubled over slightly from the sharp ache in his ribs.

Seeing his scorched figure slumped on the rubble, the others could only imagine what kind of hell he'd been through.

Amina stepped forward shakily, her hands glowing faintly, the golden hue flickering with each step. But Kai raised a hand with a half-smile and shook his head.

"I'll be all good in no time," he said quietly. "Save your energy."

It was a lie. A huge lie.

He wanted her to heal him. Desperately. Every nerve in his body was screaming for relief. But she looked like she could barely stand, and he wasn't about to push her into another breakdown like before.

Amina hesitated, then nodded. She stepped back slowly, still looking uneasy - partly because of Kai's glowing red eyes, and partly because… well, he looked like a demon. Burnt, shirtless, steam still rising from his skin.

But at least she made eye contact with him - that was something.

Then there was silence.

A long one.

No one spoke.

They mourned in their own quiet ways, letting the dust settle. Letting the weight of it all finally sink in.

Until a voice suddenly rang out.

Clear. Cruel. All-too-familiar.

"Congratulations, you have won the game! Well done, all!"

The words echoed across the ruins, cold and taunting, adding salt to their wounds.

Everyone froze.

Kai's expression darkened.

The voice came from everywhere, as if the town itself had spoken. There was no source. Just omnipresent mockery.

Nyx.

The last voice they ever wanted to hear...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.