THE_PUNISHER: THE DEVIL'S CHOICE
Chapter 2 — The Crosses and the Corpses
By Phoenix Kay
The next morning came like a lie.
Havelshade looked normal — gray rooftops glistening after the night's storm, children laughing on their way to school, smoke rising from chimneys. The world moved as if nothing had changed.
But Kael Riven knew everything had.
He woke up gasping, drenched in sweat though his room was cold. His mother's soft voice floated from the kitchen, humming as she cooked breakfast. The scent of fried eggs and bread filled the air. For a moment, Kael almost believed last night had been a nightmare.
Almost.
When he turned his hand over, the crimson sigil was still there — glowing faintly beneath his skin like a buried ember.
> "What are you…?" he whispered.
He remembered the shrine, the whisper, the fire. The voice that called him Punisher. It all felt too real to be a dream.
He splashed cold water on his face and looked into the mirror. His reflection looked… normal. Pale skin, messy dark hair, tired eyes. But when he blinked, for the briefest second, his pupils shimmered red, like embers in the dark.
He backed away, breath shaky. "No… no, this isn't happening."
---
Downstairs, his mother smiled when she saw him.
> "Morning, sleepyhead. You were out late last night. I was worried."
Kael tried to smile back. "Yeah… sorry, Mom. I just—needed some air."
She handed him a plate. "You're always running from something, Kael. You have to stop letting people make you feel small."
Her words hurt more than she knew.
> "I'll try," he muttered.
He sat and ate quietly, pretending the world was still the same. But deep inside, something was whispering — hungry, awake, waiting.
When he glanced at his mother again, he froze.
Above her head floated a faint white cross, glowing softly like a candle. It flickered, but it was there — clear, radiant, untouchable.
Kael blinked hard. "What the—"
The glow vanished.
> "Kael?" she asked. "Are you okay?"
He nodded quickly. "Yeah, just… didn't sleep much."
But inside, his heart was pounding. What was that light? Why above her?
---
At school, the day dragged like wet paper. His classmates whispered and pointed, same as always. Kael ignored them. But as he walked through the halls, something strange happened again.
Some students had faint white crosses above their heads — glowing like halos. Others… didn't. And then there were the few with dim red crosses, throbbing like open wounds.
His breath hitched. The more he looked, the more he saw — some bright, some dark. And the darker ones made his stomach twist with an odd heat, a pull.
> "Red means corruption," a voice whispered inside him. "Evil. Sin. Blood."
Kael spun around. "Who said that!?"
A few students looked at him like he was crazy. He shook his head, clutching his temples. The whisper was back — the same one from the forest.
> "You see them now, Kael Riven. The good and the damned. The Devil's sight — our sight."
He slammed his locker shut. "Get out of my head!"
> "We share the same head now."
The voice chuckled — smooth, amused, almost mocking.
---
By evening, Kael couldn't take it anymore. He left school early and wandered through the streets, eyes hidden under his hood. The crosses wouldn't stop. They hovered over everyone — flickering symbols of judgment.
Then he saw a man on the corner — red cross burning bright. The man shoved a smaller kid into the mud, yanking away his wallet. Kael's hands trembled.
> "You see it now," the voice said. "The rot beneath their skin. You can stop it."
Kael's pulse quickened. "I'm not a killer."
> "Not yet."
The words sank into him like poison.
He turned to leave, but then something — instinct — made him look again. The thief's red cross pulsed violently, almost exploding with crimson smoke. Kael's head throbbed. The man's outline flickered, revealing something beneath — a shadow with claws and fangs, crouched inside his body like a parasite.
Kael stumbled back, horrified. "What… what is that!?"
> "A demon. They hide in the corrupt. You see them because you are Punisher."
The voice wasn't wrong. The creature felt evil. Kael could sense it — hunger, rage, cruelty — bleeding through human skin.
His vision blurred. The sigil on his palm burned red-hot.
Then came the whisper — soft, commanding:
> "Punish him."
Kael's body moved before his mind could stop it. He reached out — and flames erupted from his hand.
The world slowed. The demon screamed, its shadow ripped from the man's body, twisting and burning in the fire. The man collapsed to the ground, unconscious — alive, but the thing inside him gone.
Kael fell to his knees, gasping. His hand still glowed, steam rising from his skin.
> "What… did I just do?"
> "You purified him," the voice purred. "We punish the wicked. We cleanse the rot."
Kael's stomach turned. "We? I didn't agree to this!"
> "You bled on the Mark. You belong to the flame."
He covered his ears, screaming. "Shut up!"
But no matter how loud he yelled, the voice stayed — calm, patient, eternal.
---
By the time Kael returned home, night had fallen. His mother was waiting, worry etched in her face.
> "Kael, what happened? You're pale. You've been crying—"
He froze when he saw her again. The white cross above her head shone even brighter now, pure and soft. Looking at it calmed him, reminded him who he was.
He hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, Mom. I just… I needed to see you."
> "You're scaring me, Kael," she whispered. "Please tell me what's going on."
He wanted to — but how could he? How could he tell her that he'd burned something evil out of a man today? That a voice whispered in his mind, calling him Punisher?
> "I'll explain someday," he said softly.
When he pulled away, the white cross flickered once — then dimmed slightly, almost fading. Kael frowned. "Mom, are you feeling okay?"
> "Just tired," she smiled. "Go get some rest, sweetheart."
He didn't notice the faint black smoke curling behind her reflection in the window — or the tiny shadow that moved beneath it.
---
That night, Kael lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the red crosses burning like stars in the dark. He saw the shrine. He heard the voice.
> "You cannot run from this, Kael Riven."
> "I don't want this," he whispered.
> "Wanting is irrelevant. You were chosen. And soon… you will lose more."
Kael's breath hitched. "What do you mean?"
But the voice was silent now — gone, leaving him in cold dread.
Outside, thunder rolled again, though no storm was coming.
The raven perched on his window, staring in. Its eyes glowed faintly red as it whispered to the night:
> "The first soul has been judged."
___TO BE CONTINUED