Kade stumbled through the fog, his feet sinking into the cracked earth with each step. The ground was jagged, like the shattered pieces of his former life, sharp and unforgiving.
His body felt heavier with every step, the weight of betrayal sinking deeper into his bones. There was no warmth here, no light, just the eerie silence that pressed down on him like a suffocating blanket. His breathing came in shallow bursts, and the air tasted like rust and decay.
The fog swallowed everything. The distant sounds of the city were gone, replaced only by the faint whispers of the wind, a wind that carried the stench of rot and the echo of things long dead.
Creakkkk~~~
He stepped on something, but he didn't have the energy to look. Whatever it was, it didn't matter anymore.
Splashhh~~~
His foot hit something wet, the cold water seeping through his skin, but it barely registered. He didn't even flinch.
"Where the hell am I?" His voice cracked, barely a whisper, swallowed by the fog. He could barely see his own hands in front of him. Was it morning? Afternoon? He couldn't tell. The darkness was complete, eternal, like time had just… stopped.
His fingers tightened around the little pouch of coins they'd thrown at him. The clink of them rattling against each other felt deafening in the quiet. He snorted bitterly. 'What's a coin to a ghost?' he thought. The coins jingled in his palm, like some cruel mockery.
Thud~~~
His foot hit something soft but hard at the same time. He stumbled, falling forward and catching himself with his palms. Mud, dark and thick, squelched under his hands.
He pushed himself up, eyes stinging from the damp and the tears that were threatening to escape, but he wouldn't let them fall.
A twisted shape lay ahead of him, unmoving, its form a grotesque silhouette against the fog. Kade approached cautiously, almost not wanting to look at the thing in front of him, but he couldn't help it.
A body. A creature. It was hard to tell what it had once been. Skin mottled, twisted, some part of it still vaguely human. The stench of decay rolled over him like a wave, but he was too numb to care.
"Just... keep moving," he muttered to himself, though his voice held no conviction. Keep moving.
His father's words echoed in his mind. "You are no longer my son. You are nothing."
Each step he took, each time his foot hit the cracked earth, it felt like an anchor dragging him further down, deeper into the hell he'd been cast into.
His stomach growled, an uncomfortable reminder that even though he'd been cast out from everything, his body still needed sustenance. He reached into his pocket, fingering the coins that were barely worth the weight they added to his chest. Useless, he thought. Absolutely useless.
And then there was the laugh. "Ahh!" It came out, raw and jagged, like shards of glass scraping the inside of his throat. The sound was hollow, empty, like it didn't belong to him anymore.
A sound in the distance. The scraping of metal against stone. He tensed, frozen for a moment, listening. A low growl, distant but unmistakable. Kade's heart skipped a beat, then raced.
Mutated beasts?
He couldn't think about it. Not now.
He laughed again, a broken chuckle that barely escaped his lips.
The fog grew denser, swirling around him like a living thing, obscuring his vision. The cold seemed to creep into his skin, gnawing at his bones, sinking into his very soul.
'No one cares', he thought. 'No one ever will'.
-------------------
Later, Kade found shelter behind a shattered boulder. The remnants of some forgotten ruin. It was broken, jagged, sharp edges sticking out of the ground like the ribs of some giant carcass.
He crouched down behind it, shielding himself from the cold wind that howled across the wasteland. His breath was shallow, like he wasn't even sure if he should keep breathing.
He pulled the small bag of supplies from his pocket, his fingers numb as they fumbled with the strings. Inside, there was a water bottle, half-empty and stained from travel, a few small snacks, crushed and stale and a blanket, torn but still usable.
The blanket felt like nothing against the biting cold that crawled under his skin, but it was something. It was the only thing he had left.
Alden's voice echoed in his memory, clear as day despite the fog that had long since clouded everything else.
"Don't let Father know. Just... make sure you survive."
Kade's chest tightened, a lump forming in his throat. He shut his eyes against the sudden sting in his eyes, but he didn't cry. He wouldn't.
Instead, he wrapped the blanket around his shoulders, feeling its thin warmth against the chill of his skin.
It wasn't enough.
It'll never be enough.
But he was alive. That was something. For now. And Alden had given him that. That small kindness amidst everything.
He let out a shaky breath and sat against the boulder, his back pressed into the jagged rock. His hands clutched the water bottle, fingers trembling as he unscrewed the cap and took a long drink. The water was lukewarm and tasted faintly of plastic, but it was all he had. He closed his eyes for a moment, the bitter taste lingering on his tongue.
But even with the water, even with the food, it didn't feel like survival anymore. It felt like a slow death.
He leaned back against the cold rock and stared out at the void ahead.
There was no sun here, no stars. Just endless, crushing darkness.
He had nothing.
He was nothing.
And the wasteland would be his grave.
He didn't sleep.
He waited.
Waited for the dark to end, for some spark of light to push through the suffocating shadows.
Then, like a cruel joke, a faint light flickered in the distance.
Kade's heart skipped a beat. It wasn't warm. It wasn't salvation. It was cold... wrong. But it was all he had. His mind scrambled, desperate for some reason to hope.
"Maybe it's a way out," he thought, but even the thought felt foreign, hollow.
He didn't care. He had nothing left to lose.
He pushed forward. His legs felt like lead as he dragged them through the muck, but the light grew brighter... closer and he stumbled toward it, even as dread coiled around his gut.
Out of the mist, a hulking figure emerged, massive and grotesque. It was like something straight out of a fever dream. Its skin was mottled and decayed, veins of molten lava twisting beneath it, glowing with an unnatural, sickly light.
Its eyes were pools of burning fire, no pupils, just a void, endless and consuming. The creature's mouth opened, and the sound that came from it wasn't a growl... it was a roar that shook the ground beneath Kade's feet, reverberating in his chest like thunder.
Kade's blood ran cold.
This was it.
This was the end.
It stepped forward, the ground cracking beneath its weight. He froze, unable to move, paralyzed by fear. And then, without warning, it lunged.
Slash!!!
The beast's claws tore through his back like a hot knife through butter. His scream tore out of him, raw and primal, as pain shot through his body. The world spun, and for a moment, he thought he might collapse right there.
Blood sprayed across the ground, his body jerking from the force of the impact. His legs buckled, but he didn't stop. He couldn't stop.
He forced himself upright, gasping for air, blood dripping from his wounds. His entire back was shredded, the skin hanging in tatters. He couldn't feel his left arm anymore, it was numb, almost lifeless.
"Run!" His mind screamed at him, but his body barely responded. He pushed forward, stumbling as fast as he could, but the ground beneath him seemed to tilt, to shift. The air grew thick with the stench of decay, the sound of something heavy behind him growing louder.
The beast was still there. It was still coming.
Kade's feet pounded the earth, every step a battle, every breath a war. The creature's roar echoed behind him, its claws scraping against the earth like the screech of metal on stone. He glanced back, his heart in his throat, but it was too late.
Boom!!!
A second creature, larger and even more horrifying than the first, crashed into him from the side. The force of the impact sent him sprawling, his body hitting the ground with a sickening crack.
His ribs screamed in agony as they broke beneath the pressure. He gasped for air, but it was like his chest had been caved in.
His vision blurred, the edges of his sight flickering in and out as his head slammed into the ground. He could taste the dirt, the blood in his mouth, but he didn't have time to focus on that. He had to move. He had to keep moving.
A clawed hand shot out and grabbed his leg, dragging him back. His body scraped against the jagged rocks, his skin tearing open as he screamed again.
"No! Please! Please, no!" His voice was hoarse, desperate. But the monsters didn't care. They didn't understand.
One of them snarled, a deafening, guttural noise that ripped through the air like thunder. Kade's body was jerked forward, his face slamming into the ground once more. His cheek scraped along the rough terrain, blood pouring from the new cuts.
They were circling him now.
They knew he was broken.
The first beast's jaws snapped shut just inches from his neck, saliva dripping from its fangs. Kade could feel the heat of its breath on his face, the foul stench of rot making his stomach turn.
"Please, just end it," Kade whispered, his voice cracking with the weight of defeat.
But the monsters didn't care. They didn't listen.
A massive claw swiped across his side, raking through his skin, tearing flesh from bone. Blood poured from the wound, soaking into the earth beneath him. He howled in pain, the scream coming out in ragged gasps, his voice hoarse and broken.
"No! No, no, no!" he screamed, trying to push himself up, but his arms were no longer strong enough. His body trembled as the monsters tore into him, their claws digging deeper, their jaws snapping at his limbs.
One of the creatures pulled his arm out, twisting it until it snapped with a sickening crack. Kade's scream was raw, jagged, his voice nothing but a desperate plea that went unheard.
His body was giving out, the pain too much to bear. Blood spilled from the gashes in his arms, his legs, his back. His mind screamed for mercy, but there was none to be found.
The beasts tore into his other arm, sinking their claws deep into his flesh, ripping it free with another sickening crack. He gasped, his breath shallow, his vision blurring at the edges.
"Please, stop!" he cried, but it was a useless plea. The monsters didn't understand him. They didn't care.
With one final, terrifying roar, the largest of the beasts sank its teeth into his leg, tearing through muscle and bone with terrifying ease. Kade's body jerked violently as he screamed in agony, but his strength was gone. He couldn't move anymore. He couldn't escape.
Blood pooled beneath him, staining the earth as the creatures circled him, their claws digging deeper into his flesh, their jaws tearing away at his limbs. He felt everything... his bones breaking, his skin shredding, the raw, searing agony coursing through his body but he couldn't fight it. He couldn't fight them.
He was nothing but prey.
The ground beneath Kade's broken body trembled with each step the beasts took, their claws scraping against the earth like knives dragged across stone. His blood, hot, crimson, and pouring from the deep gashes on his skin, stained the gray ash floor beneath him. It spread outward in slow, pulsing waves, seeping into the cracks in the earth.
His body barely responded. He could feel the wetness of his blood against his skin, hear the gurgle of his breath as it came in short, desperate gasps. But it was all a haze, his mind swirling with confusion, his body failing him completely.
Kade couldn't move. Every part of him felt heavy, as though his very soul was anchored in place by the weight of pain and defeat. His chest was tight, and each breath rattled in his lungs, the agony from his shattered bones intensifying with each strained movement.
His body was a broken mess, torn, bruised, and mangled. His limbs were useless. He couldn't feel his left hand. His right leg was bent at a sickening angle, the bone broken and mangled, jutting out of his skin in a grotesque display.
There was nothing left. Nothing but the beasts that circled him, snarling, their hungry eyes glinting in the dim light. Their growls echoed in his ears, a constant reminder that death was closing in, ready to rip him apart.
His body trembled, but it wasn't from fear. It was from the overwhelming flood of emotions that had surged within him. Sorrow. Rage. Hopelessness.
A twisted smile pulled at the corner of his lips despite the blood that dripped down his chin.
"So this is it…" he whispered, the words barely escaping his lips. His voice was hoarse, raw from screaming, from the pain that coursed through him like a poison.
He let out a bitter laugh, but it was weak, hollow. "Let it end. Let it all end now. This cruel, twisted joke… I'm done."
The world around him seemed to spin, and as he lay there, broken, staring up at the towering, monstrous creature that loomed over him, something inside him snapped.
He couldn't understand why fate had chosen this path for him. His life had always been a twisted web of suffering, and now, as he faced death once again, he found himself questioning the very nature of existence.
Why was I reborn into this?
His thoughts spiraled, drifting back to the life he had left behind. The life where betrayal was the only constant. His wife. The woman he had loved, the woman he thought was his salvation. How she had held the gun to his head with a look of indifference in her eyes, the cold steel pressing against his skin, and pulled the trigger.
The memories were seared into his mind, flashes of the blood that had pooled beneath him as he lay there, feeling his life slip away, his vision growing darker. He had died once, and yet here he was, reborn only to die again, only this time, it was by the hands of his family.
He had thought this new life might offer him a chance at redemption. But no. Fate had a different plan.
"Fate is cruel." Kade's voice was barely a whisper now, his words lost in the growls of the creatures circling him. He let out a bitter chuckle, though it was edged with grief.
"First, my wife…" His breath hitched, tears mingling with the dirt on his face. "And now... my family."
His heart was breaking all over again. Every breath he took was a reminder of the pain he had carried with him from his previous life, the betrayal, the coldness, the hollow silence of those who were supposed to love him. His family.
The people who had given him life, but now sought to take it away again. His father's cold, indifferent gaze haunted him, like the specter of death itself. The same father who had never cared for him. The same father who had abandoned him to rot.
They're all the same, Kade thought, his mind slipping into madness. None of them ever cared about me. No one ever did. They just used me. They used me to fix their mistakes, their failures. And now... I'm nothing. Just a discarded tool, thrown away when I was no longer needed.
The beast above him snarled, snapping its jaws with a hunger that made Kade's heart lurch in terror, but even the terror felt distant. His mind was too clouded with rage, too muddled by the weight of his sorrow.
What's the point of this?
What was the point of being reborn if it only led to another painful death? If the people he had loved, the people who were supposed to protect him, were the ones to tear him apart in the end? Kade's lips trembled as he whispered another curse, his heart heavy with all the bitterness he had accumulated in his short life.
"You won't even understand… none of you will," he muttered through clenched teeth. His eyes, bloodshot and filled with tears, locked onto the creature above him. "I never asked for this... never wanted to die like this. But maybe… maybe it's better this way."
He closed his eyes, the weight of the world pressing down on him. Maybe death is all there is. Maybe this is the end. For real this time. The thought was oddly peaceful, in a way. After everything, after the betrayals, the pain, the endless suffering, perhaps this was the only way out.
Maybe it'll be a relief.
The final claw came down. The beast's jaws opened wide, ready to tear him apart. He felt the rush of air as the beast drew closer, felt the heat of its breath, the sharpness of its claws.
Kade's smile never left his lips. It was broken, twisted, and full of sorrow.
Then everything blurred. The world turned dark as the claw descended.
Just before the final strike, a flash of light, so sudden, so bright that it nearly burned his retinas cut through the darkness. Kade's heart raced in his chest, his pulse thundering in his ears. He barely had time to comprehend it before the world plunged into silence, the growls and roars of the creatures vanishing as though they never existed.
The light, not from the beasts, but something else, something far beyond his understanding, appeared for a fraction of a second. It was too much to take in, too blinding, too fast.
And then, just like that, the pain stopped. The screams stopped. The world stopped.
Kade's body went limp. His vision blurred. His breath halted.
The only sound that remained was the soft rush of the wind through the mist. And then, nothing.