Ash pulled the handle of his sword, the blade nearly unsheathing before Wain's voice cut through the rain. "It's not real!" He shouted. Ash froze, turning a bewildered look toward Wain, who twisted in his seat to grab him. His grip was firm, his expression even firmer, calm but resolute. It was as if something within him had shifted entirely, leaving behind nothing but absolute conviction.
"What?" Ash asked, uncertainty flickering in his voice. Wain met his gaze, his eyes carrying an unspoken plea. "Just this once, trust me."
The storm raged around them, thick sheets of rain pelting their skin like shards of ice as the cheetah tore through the ruined city. Water blurred their vision, but the beast didn't falter. It moved with a predator's instinct, weaving through the debris, leaping over fallen buildings, dodging wrecked cars with ease. It saw clearer than the humans ever could, a hunter undeterred by the storm. Asura's eyes followed, easily tracking the path the cheetah followed.
Then, at an intersection, the cheetah made a sharp turn. The abrupt shift sent them lurching sideways. Wain tightened his grip on Ash, barely keeping him on the beast's back. But Kane wasn't as lucky. "Hahhh! Help!" His panicked cry was cut short as he tumbled off. Before he could hit the pavement, Asura lunged, snatching Kane's robes with two hands while clinging to the cheetah's fur with his two. A perk of being a four-armed being. Wain thought, a breath of relief escaping his lips. The ogre's grin was wild, his laughter booming through the storm.
"Hahaha! Almost died there, didn't ya?" Asura's eyes gleamed as he glanced into the storm, his face alight with the wild exhilaration of a beast enjoying its life. "Hold on tight. It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"
Kane barely had time to catch his breath before he saw it. A jagged shard of rebar jutted from the wreckage like a spear poised to strike. "Pull me up! Pull me up!" He shouted as the rod swiftly approached. The ogre yanked him up in one swift pull, watching as the metal flew by.
Kane sucked in a sharp breath, his heart hammering. The chilling image of his severed head pulsed behind his eyes. I almost died… Kane sat, watching the world that showed indifference to his brush with death. The world slowed, but no one noticed. Their eyes were all trained on the cheetah that raced onward.
The whipsing cheetah carried them forward, faster and faster, outrunning their pursuer and maybe even death. Kane's fingers dug into the beast's fur, feeling the smoke roll over his fingers, surprised by the warmth beneath his touch. The softness, the steady rhythm of a heartbeat, felt real. Too real. His mind reeled. "Wait… is this even an illusion?" He ran his hand along its body, searching, disbelieving. It was flesh.
"Pretty real, huh?" Asura's voice cut through his thoughts. He flashed a toothy grin. "I don't know how he does it, but it's damn near perfect. Not exactly alive, alive but close enough."
Kane's horror morphed into sheer disgust as Asura lifted both his upper arms into the air. "Please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times! If you lose a limb, the park is not responsible for any missing appendages. Sit back and enjoy the thrill of your life at the A Need To Speed Amusement Park!"
"What is wrong with you?" Kane shot him a horrified glare. "A lot of things," Asura said, patting Kane's shoulder.
As if mirroring their movement, a massive, mist-wrapped illusion slithered alongside them, engulfing the buildings it passed over with its ghostly form. Its body was forged from billowing black storm clouds that rolled across the ground, shifting and seething as it kept pace. Within the gathering tempest loomed a single, hateful eye. Thunder growled in response to its presence, a deep, bone-shaking sound that rattled through the air.
Inside the illusion, lightning crackled violently, piercing through the dark, swirling body. The vibrant purple bolts cut through the buildings effortlessly, tearing them apart as they surged through the storm's writhing form. The collapsing structures crumbled into the streets, debris raining down around them. Wain screamed, urging the animal to move faster. "Get down if you don't want to lose your head!" Wain bellowed. Ash's breath hitched. "What?"
His words were lost as another bolt struck above. The sheer force shattered a nearby structure, sending it crumbling onto the road ahead. None questioned him further. The three behind Wain swiftly shoved themselves against the cheetah's back. They darted through the debris, weaving between the chaos that rained down from above, the ominous thunks of heavy rubble striking the ground echoing in their ears.
A building gave way before them. Its entire structure crashed into the street in a thunderous avalanche of ruin. Asura glanced up briefly, his eyes following the cheetah as it tore through the shifting ruins. With each section of the building falling apart around them, the cat maneuvered with precision, slipping between narrow gaps as though it were scaling a mountain. When they burst out the other side, Asura's head shot up, eyes gleaming. "That. Was. AWESOME!" He exclaimed.
Ash tapped Wain's shoulder, but there was no response. Wain remained motionless, slumped against the cheetah's back. "Wain! Are you okay?!" Ash called out, urgently grabbing at the man's shoulders. Asura's earlier excitement faded in an instant. He leaned forward, his face tightening with concern. Wain didn't stir. He lay limp against the beast, unresponsive.
"Wain?!" Asura called out. The ogre reached around those before him. "I'm alright!" Wain's voice was strained, his breath ragged. "I need to light this!" Beneath them, the cheetah was beginning to wane, its form growing thinner, more translucent. The smoke was fading. "Shit," Asura muttered.
Wain fumbled with his lighter, but the relentless downpour snuffed out every attempt before the flame could even catch. His fingers trembled as he flicked the metal again. And again. And again. "Fuck!" He cursed, his hands trembling. Then, Asura did the unthinkable. He reached into his mouth and pulled out a flickering white flame. Without hesitation, he flicked it against Wain's back. The pain was instant. Wain gasped as the holy fire seared into his skin. "HSSS! Mmmgh… That burns."
"Sorry!" Wain ignored the pain. He grabbed the flame, his fingers sizzling as the fire ate away at his flesh. With no other choice, he pressed the soaked herb into the fire. It ignited.
He cupped the burning herb, shielding it from the storm, and inhaled deeply. The moment the smoke entered his lungs, agony tore through him. The mana burned him from the inside out, carving its rejection into his very being. Dark veins spiderwebbed across his skin, deep and unnatural. But he didn't stop. With one final breath, Wain exhaled. The cheetah surged back to life.
"Wain! Look up!!" Ash cried out. Wain jolted, his body jerking upright as his eyes snapped toward the new storm bearing down on them. The behemoth head of the new illusion lunged toward the group, its enormous maw gaping wide. Inside the dark void of its throat, within the heart of the storm, Ash could see the lightning swirling, crackling with violent energy.
"Shit! He's trapping us!" Ash shouted, panic rising in his chest. "It's trying to block our escape!" To their right and left, the two storms loomed, winding through the buildings to converge and block their path. Their malevolent eyes glinted, watching hungrily as they closed in on their prey.
"I know!" Wain's exclaimed. His voice was tight. The cheetah darted toward an intersection ahead, and Ash's heart clenched. On the other side of the crossroads lay the wreckage of a once-proud skyscraper, its massive form reduced to rubble, blocking their path forward. The debris sprawled into the intersection, creating another wall between them and their escape. They were left with a choice, left or right.
Ash's gaze flicked back and forth between the two options, his body tense. Kane's form trembled beside him, and Ash's uncertainty mirrored his. "We're not fast enough to go right," Ash shouted. "The storm will catch us!" He called out, grabbing hold of Wain. "Wain—"
Yet, Wain never glanced back. The cheetah veered right into the intersection. Asura's eyes widened in shock. The group was left with no choice but to follow, yet Ash could feel the dread swelling in his chest as they tore toward the storm. When they turned, the serpent's massive head came into full view. Its gaping mouth opened wide, revealing the dark void within. Its jaws, and the lightning with, were inescapable.
"Hold on!" Wain yelled, his voice a roar against the oncoming thunder. Asura threw himself over Kane, shielding him with his body. Kane flinched, but even if he'd wanted to refuse the protection, Asura wouldn't have let him. He knew the storm's wrath was something they couldn't face alone. "Don't let the bolts touch you!" Asura shouted. His voice firm. "They'll tear you apart!"
Asura's fists clenched. He bit down on to his lip. Before he lowered his head, his eyes locked with Wain's, and at that moment, time seemed to slow. Guilt flickered in Wain's gaze. The pain was coming, and they both knew it."It's fine," Wain mouthed silently, just before the storm descended.
The serpent's maw crashed through the intersection, snapping at them like a tidal wave of a storm's primal force. Ash's heart raced as he barely avoided the strike, watching as the snake crashed through the street behind him. But Kane and Asura weren't so lucky. The storm didn't cleave through the cheetah, but instead, it wrapped around half of its body, enveloping its back within its black clouds. Though the clouds didn't touch those within, the lightning inside roared to life, lashing out and seeking anything in its path.
Asura's body was a blur against the blackness of the storm, his dark skin merging with the swirling chaos around them. But that illusion shattered when the first bolt struck. The sound of it was deafening, the electric crackling filling the air. Asura's body convulsed, his flesh scorched by the ethereal purple bolts, each one striking as if attracted to a rod. Ash could feel the weight of it, the air thick with the aftermath of each strike, his lungs burning from the mana hanging in the air. The strikes are purposeful... Ash thought, the demonic mana seethed with the dragon's rage.
Seconds stretched into eternity as bolt after bolt lashed out, striking and tormenting the living beings caught within. Then, the pain stopped. The two broke through. For a moment, the world seemed to breathe. They were all alive. But that fragile peace shattered with Kane's scream.
"My arm!" Kane cried. His voice was raw with agony, tearing at his cords. Blood poured from his wound, his right arm gone from the shoulder. Ash grabbed him, trying to assess the damage, but his eyes widened when he saw the exposed ribcage beneath Kane's shredded flesh. One of the bolts had torn through him. Asura roared, his body shaking.
The ogre's body spasmed with the electric aftershocks, his muscles fighting to hold on. His grip on Kane tightened, but his pain was too much to bear. "Fuck!" Asura screamed, his fury raw and wild. He punched the air in frustration, the pain boiling over. Then, without a second thought, he grabbed Kane by the shoulder and shoved his hand into the priest's mouth.
"Bite!" Asura ordered, his voice hard as steel. Kane's eyes met his, wide with confusion and shock, but there was no time for hesitation. Asura's eyes glowed fiercely in the storm's dark light. "Heal him!" Asura roared, his voice carrying the weight of command.
Kane bit down, his teeth clenched on the ogre's skin. Then, Kane let out a piercing scream, biting down with all his strength as Asura ignited his other hand. "AHHHHHHGHHH!" The acrid stench of burnt flesh filled the air, making their stomachs turn. Kane pounded the back of the cheetah with his free hand, his body wracked with agony. Ash pressed his hands firmly against Kane's back, summoning every ounce of mana he could muster.
Ash endured but felt the strain deep within himself, the mana reopening the painful purity burn inside him. Asura could only watch helplessly as Ash began to cough up blood. There was no escaping the truth, if they didn't heal Kane, he could die. This was their only chance to save the young man.
Wain didn't look back. He knew their injuries were the result of his choices and accepted the consequences that followed. They had one chance, one shot at this, and he was willing to risk everything to take it.
Kane gasped as Asura pulled his hands away from the wound, and for a moment, Asura tried to lean back and catch his breath. But Wain's shout cut through the air, jolting him from his brief respite. "He's here!" Wain said. His tone was so sharp, it left no doubt. He was here.
Asura's head snapped around. The Apocalypse emerged from the illusion's body behind, its massive head slamming through the buildings as it pursued them with relentless fury. The serpent's body whipped side to side, tearing a brutal path forward. The face of the beast was unmarred, and its presence sent chills through the air.
"Why do you run from me?" the serpent's voice boomed, deep and mocking. It pounded into their skull. "Would Judex Divinum not be ashamed of your actions? Stand before me, proclaim your faith. To fear me above the Lord is blasphemy. Face me, boast your God, so I may show you who is truly to be feared."
The serpent's form surged forward, a monstrous wave consuming the street. Its gaping maw, lined with a thousand teeth, gnashed and tore through anything foolish enough to stand in its path.
"Wain," Asura called, his voice sharp. "When's this plan supposed to kick in? Right about now? Im thinking now's the time. Just a little birdy told me that it should be now."
"Shut up!" Wain scanned the streets, eyes darting left and right, searching for the building he had in mind. They raced through the city, with Jormungandr drawing closer. The buildings around them roared and crumbled as the serpent's massive form slammed into their walls, sending debris flying. With each collapse, the ground trembled beneath them.
"So... I don't want to say it, but I think we're dead," Asura said. His eyes fixed on the lashing snake. Kane opened his mouth to protest, but Wain's voice cut through the air. "DO NOT SPEAK, KANE! NOTHING!" He shot a frenzied glare at the cowering boy.
A sign loomed ahead, jutting out from a storefront, Black Cat Coffee. Wain sighed inwardly at the sight, counting under his breath. "1... 2... 3... 4..." For a brief moment, Lydia's voice rang out from a building's third story on their left. Asura glanced up, seeing a fierce warrior's smile. In her hands, she gripped the massive black rock.
As they rushed past, Asura's eyes locked onto the portal piece. The once-vibrant mana that had pulsed from it was gone. His heart plummeted. Ash sensed it too, the eerie absence of power, and his voice rang out in alarm, "It's not going to work!" He called to Wain.
"It has an illusion to disguise the presence." Wain roared. "Lydia's not dumb!" Jormungandr shot past Lydia's location, the beast pursuing them with relentless speed. The momentum carried it forward, but Ash noticed it was slowing down. "Why is he slowing?!"
"Cause he can hear us you fucking idiots! Shut the fuck up!" Wain's furious outburst struck like a whip, leaving Ash stunned into silence. His voice dripped with frustration and urgency. Ash's gaze flickered to the serpent, realization dawning too late. He opened his mouth to speak, but Wain shook his head, his expression grim. "It's too late anyway."
Jormungandr's exposed body loomed before Lydia. She raised the portal piece high, pouring everything into her throw. Her blessing raged within her, the fury of countless lost lives fueling her anger. Her golden lightning crackled, arcing across her body with the fury of God's wrath. Every fiber of her being screamed justice for the innocent!
Lydia ignited the portal, a surge of mana flooding the surface. The rock vibrated in her hands as golden cracks began to form. A low hum reverberated through the air. Not yet… one more second… Lydia thought, waiting for the perfect moment. Then, with a final roar of defiance, she hurled the rock toward Jormungandr. "Eat this, bastard!" Every muscle in her body strained, aching as they sent the rock hurtling at a speed that defied its weight.
The three on the cheeta's back looked back at the Apocalypse, desperately trying to slow its charge. Even Kane strained to look, eager for the moment of reckoning, hoping to witness the Apocalypse's end. As the bomb flew through the air, it split apart, revealing a brilliant golden glow. Shards of the rock separated, and lightning began arcing between them. Pure mana poured out, waves of energy rippling through the streets. "Holy shit..." Asura gasped, amazed.
Jormungandr tried to pull the earth up in a desperate attempt to shield itself, but it was too late. The core detonated on impact, expanding outward like an explosion of light. Asura watched, wide-eyed, as the golden flames tore through everything in its path, burning flesh, muscle, and organs in a matter of seconds.
The explosion blasted out, expanding rapidly. The heat surged, and the four of them shielded their faces from the blinding light. A light so bright it was as if the sun had descended. For a moment, Asura thought the explosion might stabilize like a sun, pulling at the buildings that hadn't been touched. The rubble collapsed into the center of the blast, drawn in by the mana. It was the beginning of an implosion.
Then, with a deafening crack, the surface broke, and the full force of the blast erupted outward. The heat slammed into them, and they were thrown back by the shockwave. Kane gasped as he hit the concrete. Asura tried to grab onto him, but the force was too much, and they were both sent flying far from where they once sat.
A high-pitched shriek, an ear-splitting whine, slammed into them, driving spikes of agony through their skulls. The world dissolved into a blinding, white noise, threatening to plunge them into oblivion. For a heart-stopping eternity, they teetered on the brink of unconsciousness. Then, slowly, agonizingly, the ringing began to subside. Their blurred vision sharpened, and their surroundings swam back into focus. Wain's voice, raspy and strained, cut through the lingering haze. "Ge-Get up!" He groaned as he staggered to his feet.
Ash tried to shake off the ringing in his ears. His head swayed until Wain dropped to his knees beside him. "Get up!" The words felt alien to Ash. "Get up!" Wain grabbed Ash by the arm, yanking him upright. "Is-isn't he dead?" Ash asked. Wain's voice was frantic. "No! The Apocalypse is alive."
Ash's bleary eyes flicked toward Jormungandr. The serpent reeled in agony. The extent of the damage wasn't clear as his mind tried to define its shape. "Ho-" Ash tried to speak, but Wain shouted again. "Get up!"
Asura gritted his teeth and pushed himself off the ground. Without missing a beat, he scooped Kane up, slinging him over his shoulder despite the young man's protests. "It hurts!" Kane groaned. "Better than being dead." With no time to waste, Asura sprinted down the street, past Wain. The ogre turned, waiting for Wain to follow.
"Ash! We need to go!" Wain urged. "Leave him! If he can't fucking listen, let's go!" Asura shouted, motioning for Wain to move. Wain hesitated, glancing at Ash and then back at Asura. The priest reached into his jacket and pulled out the cigar. "Fire—"
"Shit." The ogre flung the white flame from his tongue. His flames licked against Wain's side, a scorching warning that Asura was prepared. He winced at the heat but brought the tip of his cigar to the fire.
After a long drag, Wain exhaled. The smoke swirled, billowing, out into a massive figure that took shape. To Asura's surprise, a golem emerged, towering and humanoid. Its body was forged from smoke-created rock and debris orbiting a glowing core. The creature extended its long, three-fingered hand, effortlessly scooping Ash up like a mere figurine.
Wain followed Asura, running down the street like his life depended on it. "Why didn't you make a creature to carry all of us?!" Asura asked, waiting for Wain to catch up to his pace. "Right place, right time!" Wain answered. "What?!" Asura asked. His face twisted in disbelief.
Asura raced alongside Wain, the golem stomping behind them. "Need to be on foot! Up ahead is Rose! One bomb down!" The ogre kept pace with Wain, trusting his life to his human companion. "Fuck me, dude... This is one hell of a fight!"
"Don't worry. It's nearing the end." Wain insisted, his eyes fixed ahead.