The hacksaw came down.
A wet sound tore through the room, louder than even the horrors' shrieks. Blood sprayed across Argon's face, hot and metallic, mixing with his own.
For one breathless second, silence reigned.
Then the newborn horrors screamed in delight. Their shrill cries shook the room, echoing like applause for the Game's cruel spectacle.
Argon's chest heaved. His hand trembled on the handle of the blade, slick with gore. He couldn't even look at what he'd done—not yet.
The voice came again. Cold. Satisfied.
"Well done, Argon. The Game is pleased. You live… for now."
The horrors stirred, twitching eagerly. Their hunger intensified, their half-formed jaws snapping as they crept closer once more. The dare was fulfilled, but survival was still far from guaranteed.
Vanessa's Dark Delight
A laugh broke the silence. Low. Wicked.
"Oh, darling…" Vanessa purred, her voice dripping with pleasure. "That sound. That blood. You have no idea how good it looks on you."
Argon's jaw clenched. His vision blurred with rage and guilt. "Shut up."
"Mmm, so cruel," she teased, dragging her tongue slowly across her bloodied finger. "But cruelty… suits you. More than you realize."
Her eyes glittered with twisted delight, but there was something else there too. A flicker of satisfaction—as though this was the choice she had wanted all along.
Selene's Fury
Selene, however, was silent.
The shadows around her flared wildly, coiling like snakes ready to strike. Her pale face was unreadable, but her eyes—cold, piercing—burned with a storm Argon had never seen before.
"Argon," she said finally, voice low and trembling with restrained fury. "Do you understand what you've done?"
He couldn't answer. His throat was tight, his body shaking. His grip on the hacksaw faltered.
"Don't bother," she hissed, turning away. But the tremor in her voice betrayed her mask. She was cracking.
The Horrors Swarm
The newborn horrors shrieked again, their gnashing teeth clattering as they crawled across the blood-slick floor. Dozens of them, twitching, malformed, moving like a grotesque tide.
Argon staggered back, raising his hacksaw. His arms shook violently, blood dripping from his wounds. He could barely hold the weapon.
The first horror lunged. Argon swung weakly, slicing into its chest. Black ichor splattered across his face as it shrieked and collapsed.
Another leapt at him. He kicked it away, stumbling, ribs screaming in agony.
"Damn it—!" His voice broke. He could barely breathe.
Vanessa only leaned against the wall, watching with an amused smirk, as though this bloodbath were nothing more than a play put on for her pleasure.
Selene's shadows lashed outward suddenly, slamming into the swarm. Her body trembled violently, sweat dripping from her chin, but the shadows carved through several horrors at once, shredding them into twitching heaps.
But Argon saw the cost—her hands were shaking uncontrollably, her eyes bloodshot, her body on the verge of collapse.
Forbidden Power Breaking
The shadows surged again, darker this time, more violent, twisting unnaturally as though they had a will of their own. They didn't just strike the horrors—they devoured them, pulling the creatures into writhing tendrils and tearing them apart from within.
Selene gasped, her body convulsing. "No… not yet… I can't…"
Argon turned to her, panic rising. "Selene, stop! You'll—"
"Shut up!" she snapped, her voice cracking under the strain. "Don't you dare speak to me—not after—"
Her words cut off, swallowed by the roar of the shadows consuming another horror.
Argon flinched. Guilt twisted deeper into his gut. He had done this—forced her into this.
Vanessa's Whisper
Amid the chaos, Vanessa slid behind him, her breath warm against his ear.
"Darling," she whispered, low and sultry, "you're trembling. Are you afraid? Or… excited?"
Her hand slipped across his bloodied chest, fingers dragging down his sternum. Even now, her touch sent a shiver through him.
"Shut the hell up," he growled, voice breaking.
She chuckled softly. "No, no, don't push me away. You need me, more than you realize. And one day, you'll beg for me."
Her words cut through his rage and despair like a poisoned knife.
Blood and Madness
The horrors surged again. Argon roared, swinging wildly. His hacksaw carved through flesh and bone, but each kill left him weaker, slower. His wounds reopened, blood gushing freely down his arms and back.
The floor was a sea of gore. His boots slipped with every step. His lungs burned. His heart hammered.
Still, he fought. Because if he stopped—he was dead.
Selene's shadows flared one last time, obliterating a cluster of horrors before fading abruptly. She dropped to her knees, gasping, her body shaking violently. The forbidden power had drained her to the brink.
Vanessa clapped softly, her smile sharp as a blade. "Lovely. Truly lovely. What a show."
"F*ck you," Argon spat, chest heaving.
"Later," she whispered back, eyes glittering.
Cliffhanger: The Reveal
The swarm slowed. The newborn horrors, what few remained, skittered back toward the corpse they had crawled from. The room fell into uneasy silence once more.
Argon's hacksaw slipped from his bloody hand, clattering to the floor. His knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed.
Selene's eyes met his—cold, furious, and broken all at once.
Vanessa only licked her lips, smirking.
And then, finally, Argon forced himself to look down at the blood he had spilled earlier.
His heart dropped.
It was her blood.
The one he had cut. The one he had wounded. The one the Game had forced him to sacrifice.
The truth hit him like a blade to the gut.
And there was no undoing it.
Next Chapter Preview
The Game rewards Argon, but the cost of his choice tears the group apart. The wound he inflicted festers—physically and emotionally—and the Fatal Game reveals its next stage. But Argon may not live long enough to face it.