"Run! Run, Kael! Please, run!" his mother shrieked, her voice trembling with terror.
"No! I can't leave you behind!" Kael cried, clutching her arm desperately. "Mom, please—let me save you! I can't lose you!"
Suddenly, the world seemed to shatter into silence. The only sounds Kael could hear were his mother's sobs and the crackling flames devouring the wooden walls around them. Time slowed.
A vast shadow swept across the burning village, blotting out the firelight for an instant. Then came a deafening sonic boom, the air itself tearing apart as the figure above broke the sound barrier.
BOOM!
Something crashed down upon their house. The fire died instantly, smothered beneath a suffocating darkness. In the smoke and dust stood a towering figure, far too large, far too monstrous to be human.
Kael's body froze. His legs felt like stone. His lungs refused to breathe. He could do nothing but stare, trembling.
Then the creature spoke—its voice like grinding metal and echoing thunder, its words unrecognizable, warped and inhuman:
"You... shall not escape..."
Its gaze shifted toward Kael's mother.
"No! No, please!" she screamed, pushing Kael back. "Kael, run! Don't look back!"
The monster's massive claws reached forward and seized her. She thrashed, striking and kicking, but it only seemed to amuse the beast. With a sickening rip, it tore her arm from her body. Her screams pierced the night, each one carving into Kael's heart.
"Kael!" she wailed, her voice breaking, "please... run!"
The creature dragged her closer. It sank jagged teeth into her flesh, tearing strips away while she was still alive. Her blood sprayed across the walls, the floor—onto Kael's face. She screamed until her voice was nothing but a wet, broken rasp. Then it pulled her apart, limb by limb, consuming her as though she were nothing but meat.
Kael couldn't move. He couldn't scream. He just stood there, forced to watch, his body betraying him. The warmth of his mother's blood dripped from his cheek to the floor.
Then... darkness swallowed him.
Kael awoke with a violent gasp, his body drenched in sweat and tears streaking his face. His chest heaved as if he had been drowning. He tried to sit up—only to be stabbed by pain. He looked down: thick bandages wrapped around his arms, chest, and legs. His whole body ached as if it had been crushed.
"Don't move."
A voice came from the shadows of the room. Calm. Heavy. Measured. "You'll reopen your wounds. Just lie still."
Kael turned his head weakly toward the voice. "Wh–where am I? Who are you?" His voice cracked from exhaustion.
"You're safe, for now," the figure replied, stepping closer until Kael could see an older man with a weathered face and deep-set eyes. "This is Kiljun Village, on the outskirts of the kingdom. I am its chief."
Kael's lips trembled. "My... my village... what happened?"
The man sighed, his expression grim. "Your village was attacked. Not by men, not by beasts... but by him—the Dragon of the End. He and his army descended on your home. No one knows why he struck, but the destruction was absolute. When my scouts saw the smoke, they went to investigate. They found you—standing amidst the ruins, unconscious. You were the only survivor."
Kael's body went numb. "The... only one?"
The chief's eyes darkened. "We found... the others. What was left of them. Half-eaten remains scattered across the streets. Blood soaking the ground. The dragon's creatures tore them apart, feasting as though they were cattle. There was nothing we could do for them."
The man reached into his robes and pulled something out—a small, bloodstained ring. He held it gently in his calloused palm, as if it were fragile glass.
"This was clutched in a severed hand. Even in her final moments, she held onto it tightly. I thought... you should have it."
Kael's breath caught. His eyes locked onto the ring, recognition striking him like a blade. It was his mother's.
He reached out with trembling fingers, clutching it to his chest. The dam within him broke. He sobbed violently, curling into himself, his voice muffled by grief. The memories—the screams, the blood, her last words—crushed him beneath their weight