Tucker let out a screech so high-pitched it could've cracked glass. Every head in the room turned toward him.
"Well, tell my visitor I'm busy!" he blurted, eyes wide. "I can't fight him! He'll shred me to pieces! And I made fun of him, He's gonna kill me!"
The woman standing nearby just sucked her teeth, arms crossed. "Ain't got nobody to blame but yourself. You better hide or somethin' before you end up dead."
Tucker flopped back against the bed, groaning. "I can barely feel my legs, let alone walk. And why does this bed keep poking me?" He pressed a hand down and realized it wasn't a mattress at all, but a bundle of sticks and leaves. The moment he leaned on it, it collapsed, dumping him halfway through.
"Boy," the woman said with a smirk, "you better get your act together before you get your face rearranged."
Tucker just stared at her, utterly betrayed by both gravity and her complete lack of sympathy. His body was wrecked, his nerves shot, and now this random woman had made his day even worse.
SHIRLEY'S POV
Cael unleashed a sudden wave of Commanding Presence so violent it tore through the city like a storm. Windows exploded into glittering shrapnel, car frames crumpled inward, and the ground itself groaned under the weight of his power.
Shirley gritted his teeth, forcing himself through the crushing pressure. His cleavers twitched in his grip as he pushed forward, darting in low toward Cael's wrist. But before he could strike, Cael's great wings unfurled, each beat hurling dust and debris outward.
With a single motion, Cael lifted off, rising above the wreckage. His golden eyes locked on Shirley, sharp, and tinged with something like disgust.
Then, without a word, he climbed higher.
"Hey! Get down here, coward! Fight me!" Shirley shouted, his voice echoing off the ruined buildings. Deep down, he hoped Cael wouldn't listen, that maybe he'd just keep going and end this here, but his pride would never let him admit it.
Cael kept ascending, shrinking against the sky until he was little more than a flicker of gold.
Shirley squinted, tracking him, but a sick twist coiled in his gut. Something was off. Something was wrong.
And he couldn't look away.
VAN #1 – UPPER RIGHT OF THE LAND OF PARADISE
Sage sat in the passenger seat, his arms resting on his knees as the van rolled slowly through cracked streets. Outside, the Resistance hauled civilians from beneath rubble, patched up wounds, and guided the lost back toward safety. Each rescue only stoked the fire burning in Sage's chest, the same fire that whispered, We can beat CORE. We will.
He looked up absently, but froze.
A lone figure pierced the clouds in a steep, unwavering climb. Even from here, the shimmer of those majestic wings was unmistakable. Cael.
The men in the van went quiet, their movements faltering. Sage narrowed his eyes, tracking the ascent. Something in the air shifted, subtle but undeniable. The hairs on his arms rose.
"…You feel that?" one of the Resistance fighters muttered, though no one could name what "that" was. The unease was wordless, and struck hard.
VAN #3 – LOWER EDGE OF THE LAND OF PARADISE
Farther south, another rescue team spotted the same speck of wings slicing upward. Their chatter died mid-sentence. Nobody spoke, but eyes followed the figure until it vanished from sight. A few tried to shake it off, convincing themselves it was nothing, yet their hands gripped their rifles tighter.
LAND OF FLAMES – EDGE OF THE PRISON CAMP
Tucker sat slouched on a crude bench, still aching, his makeshift shoes biting into his feet. The woman from earlier yelled orders at other captives, but her voice faded into background noise.
Then it hit him, a strange thrum deep in his chest. He sat up straighter, blinking at the horizon.
What was that? He asked himself
He couldn't see anything past the haze and heat shimmer of the Land of Flames, but a prickling crawled up his spine.
A shape, a faint presence. So faint he thought maybe he imagined it, but his gut twisted anyway.
"It's probably Asura, I'm a dead man," he muttered under his breath.
He didn't know why, but every instinct told him something was coming. Something bad.
LAND OF SNOW
Deep within the ice-bound fortress, CORE floated in a cylinder of viscous, bubbling liquid. Thick tubes snaked into his back and chest, pumping strange fluids through him. His eyes were closed, his body still, until the faint ripple of unease reached even here.
Lids lifted slowly, revealing those cold, calculating eyes. He said nothing. Just a quiet inhale before exhaling into a smirk. Then, as if the moment had been nothing but an itch, CORE let his eyelids fall again. The world could burn or break outside; in here, he was untouchable.
VAN #4 – NEAR THE DESTROYED UNDERPASS
The van bounced over broken asphalt, its tires crunching glass. Inside, Madison sat across from Doug, her knee bouncing impatiently.
"I've been thinking," she said.
Doug glanced up from his map. "That's dangerous."
She rolled her eyes. "No, seriously. I've got a new ability I haven't used yet. It's called Chains of Hope."
Doug blinked. "Chains? You? You don't wear necklaces."
"They're invisible, genius," she said. "Basically, I can link myself to someone, and as long as I stay focused, they'll heal from whatever's thrown at them. Plus, I can pump them full of power."
Doug frowned. "Sounds… actually useful."
"It is," Madison grinned. "Imagine Shirley but with more durability—"
"—and a bigger ego," Doug cut in.
"Exactly." She smirked. "And Tucker with actual stamina—"
Doug barked out a laugh. "So, like… Tucker without the idiocy?"
"I can't perform miracles," Madison deadpanned.
She held out her hands dramatically, as if weaving something only she could see. "Once I link them, they'll be unstoppable… assuming I don't sneeze or suddenly get distracted."
"Wait, if you sneeze—"
"They lose everything instantly."
Doug stared. "…So basically, it's useless."
Madison rolled her eyebrows in annoyance.
Somewhere in the distance, a faint thrum rolled through the air. Neither of them could see Cael soaring into the heavens from the Land of Paradise, but the ripple of his Presence reached them nonetheless. Madison's smile faltered slightly, her gaze drifting toward the window.
"Yeah," Doug muttered, gripping the seat tighter. "We better hope those chains work."
Madison closed her eyes, exhaling slowly as the rumble of the van's engine faded from her focus.
Doug watched her with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. "You're doing it now?"
"No better time," she murmured. Her hands rose, fingers curling as if gripping something heavy. Invisible links began to form in her mind, bright and unbreakable chains that only she could see. They shot out like threads of light, weaving through the air, bending and twisting until they found their targets.
Far away, one chain latched onto Shirley. The moment it did, he felt a sudden warmth pulse through his body. His cleavers felt lighter in his hands, his muscles springier, like he could leap higher without even trying. He grinned despite himself, thinking, Hah… maybe I'm just built different today.
Another chain whipped through the air toward Tucker. It hit him mid-sip of water, and he staggered, and choked, but from an odd buzzing under his skin. His arms suddenly felt stronger, his legs more stable. The ache from earlier bruises vanished in seconds. He blinked, confused. Weird. Why do I feel so light..?
Back in the van, Madison opened her eyes slowly. A faint sheen of sweat had already formed on her forehead. "Chains are set."
Doug leaned back, impressed despite himself. "And they don't even know you're the reason."
Madison smirked. "Good. Let them think they're just having a good day. Makes for better drama."
HIGH ABOVE THE LAND OF PARADISE
As Cael continued to soar into the sky, he suddenly came to an abrupt stop.
Cael hovered in the air, wings spread like a dark archangel, the wind screaming around him. He lowered his gaze to the Land of Paradise far below, his expression unreadable. Slowly, he lifted his blade toward the sky.
The moment its tip pierced the clouds, the world shifted.
The bright blue sky bled into a swirling, suffocating darkness. A spiraling void, its edges writhing. Thunder snarled deep inside it before a jagged bolt of black lightning speared down, striking Cael's blade. The carvings in its hilt ignited in molten gold, spilling radiant light over the entire Land of Paradise.
That light touched everything. And everyone saw it.
VAN #1 – UPPER RIGHT OF LAND OF PARADISE
Sage froze mid-motion, a trembling civilian still in his arms. His eyes locked on the sky, the golden glow reflecting in his pupils. "…Cael." His voice was low and tight, just his name carried so much weight. The other men in the van stared wide-eyed, instinct clawing at their spines. One muttered, "That's… how… God how… He's a monster."
VAN #4 – NEAR THE DESTROYED UNDERPASS
Madison's mouth fell open. "What the hell—" Her chains trembled faintly as if reacting to the overwhelming surge. Doug leaned halfway out the door, shielding his eyes from the gold glare. "That ain't just a flashy move, is it?" Madison shook her head slowly, pulse quickening. "No. That's execution-level."
LAND OF FLAMES
Tucker stopped mid-step, eyes darting to the sky even though he shouldn't have been able to see anything from this far away. He couldn't see the blade, couldn't see Cael, but something cold and heavy settled in his chest. His gut twisted. Asura? No… this feels worse. His fingers flexed unconsciously, gripping for a weapon he didn't have.
LAND OF SNOW – CORE'S CHAMBER
Inside his glass tube, CORE's eyelids slid open. The light from Cael's attack was so blinding it pierced even the snowy gloom. He tilted his head slightly, lips curving into a slow smile. "Ah… so the bird finally spreads his wings." Then, as if savoring the moment, he closed his eyes again, the faint hum of amusement in his throat.
RUINS – LOWER RIGHT OF THE LAND OF PARADISE
Micheal stumbled as the blast of Fear Presence rolled over him like a shockwave. The gold light reflected in his eyes, and for a split second, his breathing stopped. "Shirley…" he whispered. "Hold on. Shirley's there isn't he..?"
ABOVE THE LAND OF PARADISE
Cael pointed his glowing blade downward, directly at the destroyed underpass where Shirley stood. Fear Presence erupted across the land in violent waves, rattling structures, warping the air. Shirley's body locked up instantly; it was like every muscle had been unplugged from his will. He couldn't even twitch a finger.
Cael's voice cut through the roaring sky.
"If you survive this… you shall be forgiven for your sin. And given another chance. You must atone for your wrongdoing."
Black lightning coiled around the blade like serpents, feeding its glow until it burned white-hot. The sky screamed as he roared the words:
"HEAVEN'S JUDGEMENT!"
A colossal beam of pure, blinding energy ripped from the sword, trailed by streaks of black lightning. It hurt to look at, so bright it burned itself into the eyes. Even CORE could see it from across lands.
The beam tore through the air toward Shirley, and when it struck, the world erupted.
The detonation was deafening, a dome of light and pressure swallowing the area in a blinding flash—its shockwave rolling out like an atomic blast, rattling bones, shaking the very ground, and leaving the air ringing with silence.
And for a moment, Choreees was nothing except white.
A choking dust cloud rolled outward from the underpass, swallowing the streets in a gray haze. The air was thick with the smell of scorched stone and iron. Cracks spiderwebbed through the nearby buildings, glass trembling in the few windows still intact before shattering under the pressure.
Chunks of asphalt and twisted metal rained down in slow, uneven thuds. Somewhere in the distance, a car alarm wailed weakly, only to sputter out as if the city itself had lost the strength to protest.
Shirley's silhouette was gone. In its place, a smoking crater carved deep into the earth pulsed faintly with the afterglow of Cael's attack.