The evening found Lucas and Conus tucked into the corner of a small eatery on one of Salaza County's busiest streets. The restaurant was modest, warm in its lighting, its walls covered in fading photographs of smiling patrons and forgotten celebrities.
Beyond the wide glass window, life in the city buzzed with restless energy. Pedestrians wove between cars, vendors shouted the prices of roasted meat and steaming noodles, and horns blared in chaotic rhythm.
Lucas leaned back in his chair, blonde hair catching the glow of the lamps, a grin playing across his face.
"So you're telling me you finally got the Dream? At seventeen?" He whistled low, shaking his head. "That's unheard of. You must be some kind of chosen one."
Conus smirked faintly, stirring his drink with a straw. "Or cursed, depending on how you look at it."
Lucas chuckled and leaned forward again. "Special, definitely."
They laughed together, the sound lost under the quiet murmur of conversations around them.
"So?" Lucas pressed, elbows resting on the table, eyes alive with curiosity. "What can you do? Come on, tell me."
Conus hesitated. For a moment, he considered keeping it vague. But Lucas was his brother in all but blood, the one person he trusted without question. He let out a slow breath.
"Shadow movement," he said. "I can slip into them, travel through them, even strike from them. I have a few other tricks, mostly combat related."
Lucas's eyes widened, his excitement unrestrained. "That's insane. You're serious? Moving through shadows? That's so cool."
"Yeah," Conus admitted with a small smile he tried to hide. "It's useful."
Their conversation paused as a waiter approached, a lean man with sleeves rolled neatly up his arms. They glanced over the menus quickly. Lucas ordered a steak sandwich with fries, while Conus asked for a grilled chicken wrap and a sparkling water. With a polite nod, the waiter scribbled their orders and drifted away, leaving them alone again.
Lucas lounged in his chair, still grinning. "When was the last time you talked to Deb?"
The name fell heavy between them. Conus's smile slipped, his gaze sliding to the glass where the blur of passing crowds offered him refuge. "It's been a while," he said quietly.
Lucas raised a brow. "That's not an answer. What really happened?"
Conus tapped his fingers against the table, searching for words. The truth burned on his tongue, bitter and sharp. "I pushed her away," he said at last, voice low. "I was sick, tired, and angry at myself. I didn't want her to see me broken anymore."
Lucas let out a long sigh, his lips tightening. "And in pushing her away, you cleared the way for Crowley."
Conus turned sharply, his jaw tightening. "That pompous prick?"
Lucas laughed without humor. "The very same. He became a Pugnator a few months ago. And guess what? His parents are sponsoring the class reunion a few days from now."
Conus scoffed, leaning back with a bitter edge. "Of course they are. They'll turn it into a circus just so he can prance around like he owns the place."
"Probably," Lucas admitted with a shrug. "But who cares? Free food and drinks. I'm going."
"I don't know if I will," Conus muttered.
Lucas's grin sharpened, his tone playful. "Don't even think about skipping. You're going. No excuses."
Conus stared at him for a long moment before exhaling in defeat. "Fine."
They settled into silence again, watching the life outside move at its relentless pace. For a few minutes, it almost felt normal.
Then Conus saw it.
At first, it was only a blur, a disturbance in the pattern of movement outside. But as he focused, his chest tightened. A shadow flickered unnaturally across the street, slipping between the passing cars. His eyes narrowed. Something was wrong.
Before he could fully process it, a streetlamp pole, ripped from the ground with impossible strength, hurtled through the air.
It crashed into the glass in a storm of shrieking metal and raining shards.
"Down!"
Conus moved on instinct, lunging across the table. He grabbed Lucas by the collar and dragged him to the ground as glass exploded around them, the sound deafening. Screams erupted from every corner of the diner. Chairs toppled, plates shattered, and the air filled with panic.
Conus shielded Lucas with his body until the storm of debris settled. His heart thundered in his chest. He pushed himself up, urgency in his voice. "You okay?"
Lucas nodded quickly, wide-eyed but unharmed.
Conus turned toward the street, and froze.
It stood there. A figure that mimicked the shape of a man but warped into something unholy. Its body loomed inhumanly tall, shoulders stretched, its smooth, expressionless face marred only by the faint suggestion of a smile. From its torso and back sprouted arms. Dozens of them. Long, pale, writhing limbs tipped with claws. They twitched and reached, dragging along the ground, curling toward the sky. It was like a nightmare pulled from the depths of imagination.
The creature stepped forward, crushing a car underfoot as though it were paper. Its many arms lashed out, tearing a man in half, while another hand ripped another lamppost free with ease. The street erupted in chaos, civilians scattering and screaming.
And it was walking toward them.
"Stay down!" Conus barked. His voice cut through the panic, steady despite the terror flooding his veins. He turned sharply to Lucas. "Don't move. Don't even think about coming out. That goes for all of you!"
The remaining diners scrambled to the floor, their whispers turning into frantic prayers. Lucas's blue eyes locked onto him. "Conus, don't—"
"Stay put," Conus snapped. "I mean it."
His boots crunched over broken glass as he stepped toward the shattered window.
The monster halted as its gaze, if such a thing could be called eyes, settled on him. The blank human-like face twitched, stretching into a grotesque smile.
Conus's throat tightened as he appraised te creature's level.
Level 57.
The number hit him like a blow to the gut. He was barely Level 10. There was no comparison.
How is it even here? There's no portal…
The thought had barely formed when the monster surged forward. Its limbs lashed out in a blur. Conus quickly unsheathe his sword and had barely raised it in time when the first blow sent him crashing into a parked car, metal groaning under the impact. Blood filled his mouth as he coughed.
The monster did not relent. Its arms struck again and again. He dodged one, another, but the third caught him in the ribs with bone-shattering force. Agony flared white in his vision. He swung his sword, but the creature swatted it aside as if he were nothing.
Pain consumed him. His body trembled, his breath ragged. He was no match for it.
I can't match its strength.
The monster grabbed his throat, lifting him effortlessly into the air. His feet kicked uselessly, lungs burning, vision fading.
Then, he remembered. His dagger.
Through the haze of pain, his will sharpened. His fingers twitched, summoning it into his palm. With a final grunt of defiance, he drove the blade into the creature's neck.
The thing shrieked, a sound so shrill it pierced bone. Black blood gushed, sizzling as it hit the ground. Furious, it slammed him into the pavement. The ground cracked beneath it.
"Death… rot," Conus gasped, forcing the words out.
The wound pulsed with dark threads that spread under the creature's skin. Veins of black rot bloomed like wildfire across its body. The monster roared, tearing at itself in desperation.
It staggered but still lunged. Conus lay broken, unable to move, watching death rush toward him.
Then, the ground shook.
A blur of force struck the monster in the chest with a single punch, the sound of concrete splitting. The beast flew backward, crashing into a building. Dust and stone rained down.
Conus' gaze shifted to the new visitor that had just arrived. It was Inspector Hoppins.
"You've made quite the mess," he said to the creature calmly.
The monster shrieked and charged again, but Hoppins only stepped forward and kicked. The creature sailed through another building, walls collapsing in its wake.
Before it could rise, it twitched violently, convulsing as the rot spread fully. With one final scream, it collapsed into stillness.
Conus's vision blurred, but he felt it. The essence poured into him, warm and heavy.
Level up. Level 10< A weak, broken laugh escaped his blood stained lips. His body screamed in agony, but he smiled.
Not just because he survived.
But because it was his skill that had killed the monster.