The silence didn't last.
From the smoke, more Krythar soldiers marched in. Their armor glowed faint green in the firelight, their eyes like knives cutting through the darkness.
Each step was measured, unshaken by the ruins around them.
The fire-woman swore under her breath.
"They're regrouping."
The rubble-man tightened his fists, knuckles cracking.
"Then we hold the line."
Eren's stomach flipped. Hold the line? He wasn't sure he even knew where the line was. His heart drummed like a war drum, his hands trembling from that strange pressure inside him.
The Krythar raised their blades in unison. A sound like steel shrieking against steel filled the air. Then—they charged.
The battle hit fast.
The woman swung her burning pipe, carving arcs of fire that forced two aliens back.
The man lifted slabs of broken concrete and hurled them with impossible strength, smashing another soldier into a wall.
The teen slashed his arm, sending wind blades that screeched through the air, cutting into alien armor.
Eren's head spun. He had no training, no plan—just panic and raw instinct.
A Krythar lunged at him. Its blade shimmered green, slicing toward his chest.
Eren flinched, throwing up his hands. Pressure exploded out of him, an invisible force cracking the pavement. The alien was shoved back, stumbling as if a giant hand had shoved it.
Eren blinked, chest heaving.
"…Okay. That worked."
Another soldier closed in, faster this time. Eren tried again, thrusting his hand forward.
The power sputtered, weaker than before. The alien barely staggered.
"Move, rookie!" the rubble-man shouted. A slab of stone slammed into the Krythar, knocking it off balance long enough for the fire-woman to drive her flaming weapon into its chest.
Eren stumbled back, sweat dripping down his face. His powers weren't consistent. One moment strong, the next, barely there.
Get it together, Vale. Or you're dead.
The wind-teen shouted, "Behind you!"
Eren spun. Too slow. A Krythar's blade arced toward his neck.
But his body reacted on its own. He ducked, swung his arm wide—and the invisible pressure lashed out like a whip, smacking the alien into the wreck of a car. Metal screeched as the vehicle crumpled around it.
Eren stood there, chest heaving, adrenaline burning through his veins. He almost laughed, half-crazed.
"…Guess I'm full of surprises."
The fire-woman shot him a quick grin, teeth flashing in the firelight.
"Then keep surprising them."
The battle raged on, the four of them moving in desperate, messy coordination. Not perfect, not trained—but survival made them a team.
And as Eren fought, for the first time he realized—he wasn't alone in this nightmare.