Inside the darkened cave, the air was thick with the metallic scent of blood. Kaelros, Rin, Lia, Arden, and Lysander had just finished slaughtering the monstrous entities that had emerged from the womb's eerie liquid. Their breaths were heavy, their bodies battered, but for a fleeting moment, they felt victorious.
Then—the temperature dropped.
A suffocating, ominous aura seeped into the cavern, pressing down on them like the weight of an entire world.
Their instincts screamed—RUN.
They turned—and there he was.
Laplace.
His twisted form, larger than before, loomed in the dim light. His luminous crimson eyes held no emotion, only a hunger that transcended mortality. A predator looking down upon insects.
Before they could react—
ROOOOOOOOAR!!!
A shockwave burst from his throat, a deafening sound that sent them crashing to their knees.
Their bodies wouldn't move. Their bones felt like they were being crushed under gravity itself.
Arden clenched his teeth, summoning every ounce of strength left in his body. He forced himself up.
Then—Laplace disappeared.
A sudden chill crawled up Arden's spine.
Before he could turn—
CRACK!
His skull shattered.
Laplace materialized behind him, his claw embedded deep into Arden's head. Blood splattered across the cavern walls.
Arden's lifeless body crumbled to the ground, his eyes still open—a frozen look of horror on his face.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then—
"RUN!"
Lysander's voice rang out in sheer desperation.
The others barely had time to process what happened. They turned to flee—
But Laplace moved faster.
SHNK!
A sickening slice cut through the air. Lysander gasped—his stomach torn open. His intestines spilled onto the ground as he collapsed, his blood pooling beneath him.
Kaelros, Rin, and Lia ran.
They didn't look back.
The three sprinted through the dark tunnels. The walls blurred, the only sound their ragged breathing and the echoes of their pounding footsteps.
Then—Kaelros stopped.
Lia turned.
"Kaelros, what are you doing?! We have to keep running!"
Kaelros slowly removed his coat, tossing it aside. He turned back towards the approaching shadow.
"You two go. I'll hold him off."
Rin clenched her fists.
"No! We fight together—"
Kaelros smiled. A soft, tired smile.
"Not this time."
His golden eyes glowed in the darkness as he turned to face them one last time.
"Life isn't about always winning. It's about fighting even when you know you'll lose. It's about standing up, knowing your story might end here, but the people you love will carry it forward."
His words hung in the air, heavy and final.
"Protect each other. Live. And tell Jin—tell him I believe in him."
Lia was trembling, her breath uneven.
Rin grabbed her arm.
"We have to go."
Kaelros turned back, standing firm as Laplace stepped forward.
The last thing he saw before the darkness took him was his family—his wife holding their newborn child, their two older children smiling beside her. A life he once had.
His vision blurred.
"Goodbye, everyone."
Then—blackness.
His body hit the ground.
Lia and Rin ran, their vision distorted by tears, fear, and exhaustion.
Then—pain.
A sharp agony exploded through Rin's skull.
Something snatched her left eye.
She screamed.
Blood poured down her face, but she didn't stop.
She gathered all of her remaining power, summoning a Pyro Blast—
A sphere of devastating fire erupted from her hands, blasting Laplace directly.
Smoke and flames swallowed the cave.
Silence.
Had she done it?
She panted, her body trembling, her vision blurry.
Then—a shadow moved.
Laplace stood there. Unharmed.
He tilted his head slightly, as if bored.
Then, without a word—
He grabbed Rin.
And tore her apart.
Lia screamed. As Rin's body was ripped apart, the cavern fell into a suffocating silence.
The only thing Lia could hear was her own heartbeat—
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Her legs gave out.
Her hands trembled violently.
She couldn't breathe.
She wanted to run—but her body wouldn't move.
Laplace turned to her.
His crimson eyes, devoid of mercy, locked onto her trembling form.
A cold, suffocating aura wrapped around her throat.
Her vision blurred. Her body felt numb.
Then, she felt it.
A warm liquid ran down her leg.
The sheer, unbearable fear had broken her completely.
Laplace stepped forward.
Lia sobbed.
"P-please..."
Her voice was a weak whisper.
Laplace smirked.
His massive claw slowly reached toward her—
At the bottom of the ocean, Jin's eyes snapped open.
His body—fully healed.
His mind—burning with rage.
He emerged from the water, looking towards the cave.
And then—he felt it.
Silence.
His team.
Their presence was gone.
His heart pounded violently in his chest.
" No. No. No. It can't be possible. Am I too late ?"
He ran.
Faster than ever before.
But he was already too late.