Continuation...
INT. FORGE TOWER – LARGE HALL
JOHN
The moment Eric flies out of the building, something in me snaps.
It starts with heat—burning beneath my skin like molten fire. My heartbeat slams against my ribs, wild and violent. I gasp, stumble, then my spine jerks back with a loud crack.
Pain floods me. My bones twist. My arms stretch unnaturally, fingers splitting open as claws force their way out. My muscles bulk in seconds—skin turns green, tight and rippling with unnatural strength.
I fall to the floor as black fur erupts from my body, spreading fast like a living shadow. My face burns—cheeks pulling forward, jaw elongating, bones cracking. My scream turns into a roar. My teeth grow sharp and jagged, dripping with saliva. My ears stretch to points, twitching with inhuman awareness.
And then the eyes…
My vision glows red. The world slows. Every movement is sharp, every color too bright, too clear. I'm not John anymore. I'm something more. Something powerful.
I rise—My chest heaves, broader and stronger than steel. The air around me shudders. My claws twitch, craving motion. My shredded pants hang from my waist like the last tether to my old self.
The steel around us groans. Sparks rain from busted lights. Jabez floats in the center of the wrecked hall, arms stretched, surrounded by twisted rebar, broken beams, and shivering plates of iron orbiting him like blades.
I take a step forward, my claws clicking against the concrete. My chest rises and falls, hot breath flaring from my nostrils. I lock eyes with him.
And charge.
He flings a slab of steel at me—I smash through it like paper. Another follows—spinning like a buzzsaw. I duck, leap, crash down in front of him with a thunderous growl. My claws swipe—
He dodges, lifts a section of the floor and throws it up like a wave. It crashes over me. Dust erupts.
But I burst through the rubble, fangs bared. I tackle him mid-air—he yells as we crash to the ground, metal crunching beneath us.
He shoves both hands toward my chest. The pipes around us coil like serpents and launch at my back. They pierce my fur but barely dig into the muscle. I rip them out with a roar and slam my claws into the ground—cracking the floor open beneath him.
He flips backward, regains his stance, and lifts both arms high. The earth beneath my feet rises, lifting me like a pedestal—then shatters, trying to hurl me skyward. But I dig in, drop low, and leap straight at him.
He throws a wall of jagged metal.
I crash through it.
My fist lands clean in his ribs—he gasps, flies across the hall, slamming into a generator. It explodes behind him, fire and smoke curling through the air.
He coughs, lifts a single hand.
The floor trembles.
Pillars of iron and concrete erupt like spears beneath me—I dodge four, take one in the side, rip it out, and hurl it at his chest. It knocks him off his feet.
No more holding back.
I pounce.
He raises an arm to block me—bad move. I rake across his arm with my claws, sparks flying as they cut through his armor. He tries to rise—tries to summon more metal—
I grab him by the neck and slam him into the floor.
Once.
Twice.
A third time.
The floor cracks. Debris flies. His body twitches under my grip.
I roar so loud the Tower vibrates.
And then I drag him.
EXT. FORGE TOWER — EVENING
We explode through one of walls, bricks and steel bursting around us. We land hard. I slam down on top of him, fists crashing into his chest. He tries to lift the earth again—but I grab both his arms and snap them down, pinning him.
He gasps.
Bleeding.
Broken.
Still.
The evening goes quiet.
I rise slowly, my massive frame casting a shadow across the crater we made. Blood drips from my claws. My chest rises and falls like a war drum.
He's done.
I glance down at him—Jabez, the metal god, the earth shaper—brought low by force, fury, and claws sharper than steel.
Under the cold moonlight, I stand alone.
Victorious.
ERIC
The sky above the Oyo Empire burns red with dusk. The land stretches far and wide—Loud, like a festival brimming with life. My body still aches from the last fight. My back feels like someone ran it over with a tank, and my head pounds like a war drum.
Something's wrong.
There's a sound. Calm, deep… strange. I've never heard anything like it before. It doesn't belong here.
I try to rise. My arms shake. My legs feel like lead. But I force myself up. Slowly. One knee. Then the next.
And that's when I see it —
A deep red portal opening right in front of me.
It swirls like smoke and flame, pulsing with dark power.
Then he walks out.
The air tightens around me.
He's tall. Heavily built. Shoulders like boulders, arms carved in steel. His skin—a dark grey tone, like obsidian ash pulled from the heart of a dying star. His armor is deep red, trimmed with golden flames that flicker down his chest. The metal wraps tight around him, showing every brutal line of muscle beneath. Even his boots, armored to the knees, look like they were forged in some god-killing furnace.
A helmet hides his face, angular, sharp, visor stretched across where a mouth should be. Only his eyes glow through it—blood-red lights staring straight into my soul.
His arms hang calm. But I know power when I see it.
"This must be their master…" Menace's voice slides into my right ear through the comms.
I clench my jaw and reach down, gripping the handle of my sword and slipping the shield over my arm.
"If he is," I mutter, "then I need Golden Prince and Zetacode by my side."
"I thought you preserved Lycon for this battle," Menace says.
"Yes, I did. But only if we fail."
I step forward, dragging my shield into the battlefield.
The stranger watches me without moving.
"You must be Captain Jack," he says. "The brave soldier."
"And you are?" I ask, closing the distance with steady steps.
Suddenly, wind explodes to my right—BOOM—the Golden Prince crashes down beside me, energy crackling off his fists. Then a streak of green lightning flashes to my left. Zetacode screeches to a stop, his suit glowing with static and speed.
We're locked in—the three of us standing in perfect line, shoulder to shoulder.
"Emperor Erebus," the stranger replies. His voice is deep, heavy. "I'm still surprised my people failed to carry out a simple command."
"To kill for no reason and take what doesn't belong to you?" I ask.
"No, Captain. I kill for a reason… and take what belongs to my master."
"I believe your master knows that taking what doesn't belong to him or her — without permission — is called stealing."
He chuckles.
"Really?" he says, walking slowly forward. "So tell me… where do you think your President got that shield and sword you're using right now?"
I tighten my grip. "He hired a blacksmith to make them. He never stole them."
"Lies," Erebus answers. "That's what he wants to believe. Your boss hired expert thieves to steal those weapons from a museum in this part of Earth… and handed them to you like gifts."
"Wow," I say, eyebrows raised. "Do you know if those thieves killed anyone during their mission?"
"There wasn't bloodshed," he says. "They stole peacefully."
"Then they've got better hearts than you. A heartless being… and a slave."
He stops. Dead in his tracks.
"Slave?" he repeats slowly. "I was never a slave, Captain. I was—and still am—a loyal friend… to my master."
I lift my shield and sword into my battle stance.
"Let's get this over with, shall we?"
Without warning — BOOM! — Erebus charges.
The ground shakes beneath his feet. His entire arm glows with purple energy. I barely raise my shield in time.
KRAAANG! — His fist slams into it like a meteor. I slide backward in the dirt, but I hold.
Golden Prince rushes in from the side. His fists glow gold, burning with energy. CRACK! — He uppercuts Erebus under the chin. Erebus barely flinches.
Zetacode zips behind him, punching rapid strikes with green lightning dancing off his gloves. Every hit lands, sparks flying—but Erebus just growls and stomps the ground.
The air bends. Reality twists.
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, the ground beneath Zetacode liquifies. It turns to black tar. He slips, falls to a knee—
And Erebus grabs him by the neck and slams him down like a ragdoll.
"Gahh—!" Zetacode screams.
I hurl my shield.
CLANG! — It bounces off Erebus's helmet. He turns his head slightly.
BOOM! — Golden Prince blasts Erebus with an aerial strike, cosmic energy flaring. It pushes Erebus back a few steps.
He snarls — raises both arms.
The ground erupts.
From the earth crawl six obsidian wolves, red-eyed, their jaws dripping with molten shadow.
"Take the animals!" I shout. "Erebus is mine!"
One of the wolves lunges. I duck and slice its throat with my sword. Golden Prince vaporizes two with a golden wave. Zetacode zips in and electrocutes the last with a high-speed jab.
I charge Erebus head-on. He swings. I duck, roll, slam the flat of my sword into his ribs. Ribs crack beneath the blow. He lets out a guttural groan, stumbling back and punches back—I lift my shield just in time. The impact throws me ten feet.
"Prince, now!" Zetacode shouts.
"Leo, uppercut!" I yell back.
Golden Prince flies low and hits Erebus with a cosmic blast to the gut.
Zetacode runs up Erebus's back, charges a full-speed uppercut.
BOOM!! — The hit lands to Erebus's head.
He staggers. I leap, twist in the air, and drive my sword into his right shoulder with both hands. Blood spurts out in violent bursts.
KRAKAAAM!!
A massive shockwave rips through the battlefield.
Dust clouds explode around us.
When it clears, Erebus is on one knee, gasping, blood gushing from his shoulder.
His eyes flicker.
"You… dare…?" he growls.
"You're not stepping into that Forge Tower," I say, chest heaving.
"We'll die first," Zetacode says, stepping beside me.
"Or you will," Golden Prince adds, floating just behind.
Erebus roars, both hands crackling with a massive cosmic blast.
All three of us strike —
My shield pierces through the energy.
Golden Prince slams both fists into Erebus's chest.
Zetacode fires vigorous lightning bolt directly into Erebus's head.
BOOOOOOM!!!
He's blasted backward, body skipping across the field like a boulder until he smashes into a ridge of rock and buries into it with a loud CRACK!
Silence
To be continued....