(Flashback Conclusion: 150 Years Ago)
Time had stopped.
It wasn't just the silence of the beasts or the stillness of the wind. It was a spiritual halt, as if the planet itself, there and then was holding its breath in fright. The crimson mist of the Red Zone curled around their boots like living tendrils, cold and invasive, smelling of dried and fresh blood.
The Iron-Fist Squad stood in the center of the open path, frightened stiff, but by the determination in their eyes was evident, they weren't planning on dying.
Captain Kaelen towered over the rest of the squad, and he was trembling. His knuckles were white around the leather-wrapped haft of his war hammer, his chest rising and falling in slow, measured breaths. His eyes burned a vivid red, locked onto the entity ahead. Zorr had never seen this level of intensity from him before. Kaelen's focus was so absolute it felt tangible, his aura pressing outward, brushing against Zorr's skin like heat from an unseen flame. He was prepared to fight at his limit from the very first heartbeat.
To Kaelen's left stood Vora, stripped of her usual grin. The silver bells woven into her hair lay eerily silent. Her bladed gauntlets hung at her sides, fists clenched tight, trembling faintly from exhaustion earned through endless combat. Yet her gaze never wavered from the entity. She could feel its hostility bearing down on her, sharpening her instincts, coiling her body for violence.
Torr, the shield of the group, had surged to the front the instant the entity's presence made itself known. His massive tower shield, scarred and dented from countless impacts, was braced forward, awash in his flaring red aura. Sweat streamed down his face, carving paths through dust and grime, but his breathing remained controlled, his focus absolute.
And Rix… the scout was already above them, perched on a jagged outcrop behind the squad, granting him a clear view of the battlefield. There were no exits. His dual axes were raised, blades angled toward the entity, his posture tense and ready.
Zorr stood at the center of them all, the heavy pack of cores weighing on him like a tombstone strapped to his spine. His heart battered his ribs like a trapped bird. He looked at his family, his invincible brothers and sister, and for the first time truly understood what was happening.
They weren't just on guard.
They were afraid of the beast before them.
Then, the focus shifted.
The pressure in the air coalesced, tightening around the cave mouth like a noose.
The Silhouette stood there, an abyss cut into the shape of a man. It was tall, skeletally thin, its limbs elongated and jointed in ways that mocked natural anatomy. Its skin was the color of the void between stars, obsidian, light-drinking, absolute.
It didn't breathe. It didn't twitch. It simply stood there, a stillness that made the violence of the world seem petty.
Then, two points of light ignited in the darkness of its face.
Glowing violet eyes.
They burned with an intense yet horrific intelligence. They swept over the squad, pressing on them, judging their very souls, before locking onto the Ironkong crests etched into their battered armor.
The voice didn't just break the silence; it violated it.
It didn't come from a throat. It vibrated inside their skulls, a sound like dark and ominous,wet whispers, bypassing their ears to scratch directly against their brains.
"You… carry… the… blood…"
The squad froze. The violet-eyed beasts surrounding them ceased their snarling, bowing their heads in terrified reverence.
"Did…" Vora whispered, the color draining from her face, leaving her intricate tattoos standing out like bruises. "Did that thing just speak?"
It was impossible. Beasts roared. They screeched. They did not speak. To hear language—intelligence—coming from the Silhouette was a shock that hit harder than any physical blow. It revealed how very little they really knew about their world.
The Entity tilted its head, its neck cracking with a sound like snapping dry wood.
"Weak…" the Entity hissed. "Too… Weak."
That was enough for Torr.
The crushing pressure of its presence. The insult of its voice. The way it looked down on them, as if judgment itself stood behind its eyes. And now it dared to call them weak.
"Unworthy?" Torr roared, stamping forward. He slammed his shield into the ground, the impact reverberating through the cavern like a thunderclap."Unworthy?" Torr roared. "Nah. You don't get to say that. A beast got no right passin' judgment on us. You a beast, same as the rest, so stop talkin' and start actin' like one."
He wrenched the shield back up, pouring more of his red aura into its scarred surface.
He charged.
It looked reckless. It wasn't.
Captain Kaelen and the others saw it instantly, snapping into formation, spreading out to provide support and hunt for any opening Torr might tear into the Entity's defense.
"Reverse Ironkong Blood Art: Omega Barricade!"
Torr's aura erupted, a blinding surge of crimson. He didn't swing. He drove forward, ramming the Entity with the intent to crush it against the cavern wall.
The Entity didn't move.
It simply raised one hand, palm open.
BOOM.
Torr hit the hand with enough force to topple a mountain. The ground cratered beneath him. But the Entity didn't slide back an inch. It stood rooted, the earth shattered beneath both their feet and they fell some feet down into a hole that formed, holding back thousands of pounds of force with a casual, nonchalant posture.
Torr's eyes bulged. "Impossible…"
The Entity curled its fingers around the edge of the Tower Shield.
"Weak."
It ripped the shield from Torr's grip and, in a fluid motion, backhanded him with it.
Torr was launched through the air, blasting out of the cavern mouth, tearing through trees before slamming into the canyon wall with bone-shaking force. He crumpled, coughing blood.
"Impossible… how the f—"
The words drowned in another violent cough, dark blood spilling from his lips.
"TORR!" Zorr screamed, dropping his pack and sprinting to his side.
"Formation!" Kaelen barked, forcing the dread from his voice. "Torr ain't dyin' from that! Drink up. We goin' all out from here!"
The squad moved at once, driven by resolve and the desperation of cornered predators. Flasks of human blood were ripped from belts and drained in seconds. Wounds sealed. Muscles surged with renewed strength. Stamina roared back into their veins. Zorr knelt beside Torr, forcing a flask to his lips. Their eyes flared, glowing with frantic, feral energy.
"Vora, Rix, flank it!" Kaelen commanded. "Zorr, behind me! We hit it till it breaks!"
"Torr, stand by for incoming!"
Torr rose to his feet, new strength flooding his limbs, wounds gone as if they had never existed. He set his stance once more, shield lifting, ready to face the Entity again.
The Entity watched them.
These small vampires. Still standing. Still defiant.
A memory surfaced unbidden. Its body impaled on a massive tree trunk. A towering silhouette looming above it, laughter echoing like thunder. Pain flared, sharp and sudden.
For the first time since their encounter, the Entity lifted a hand to its head.
Kaelen saw it.
He didn't hesitate.
"Charge!"
He surged forward, Zorr close behind. Kaelen's speed blurred the world, even Zorr struggling to keep pace.
"Reverse Ironkong Blood Art: Slam of the Supreme Thunder God!"
The war hammer came down on the Entity's skull with cataclysmic force.
BOOM!!!
The others stood frozen, bracing for the outcome of Kaelen's strike.
Then they saw the Entity.
Its head was tilted slightly to the side. There was no bruise. No fracture. The trace of pain that had flickered across its face moments earlier was gone, replaced by the same flat, unbothered expression.
Then it moved.
With speed no eye could follow, the Entity caught Captain Kaelen's hammer mid-withdrawal.
Kaelen felt the danger instantly. He released the weapon without hesitation, letting it fall into the Entity's grasp. In the same breath, he drove a sharp punch into its forearm, knocking the limb just off line, loosening its grip by a fraction.
That was all he needed.
Kaelen snatched the hammer back and leapt away in a single, fluid motion.
The Entity stared down at its empty hand, fingers curling around nothing. For a moment, it seemed… impressed.
Its gaze shifted to the crests etched into their uniforms and armor. It studied them. Then its lips curled into a slow grin.
"Interesting…" it murmured.
"Maybe… not… weak."
Rix dropped from above, spinning like a living buzzsaw, his twin axes blazing with compressed kinetic force.
"Reverse Ironkong Blood Art: Crimson Guillotine!"
He aimed straight for the Entity's neck.
At the same time, Vora slid in low, sparks screaming from her gauntlets as they scraped the stone.
"Reverse Ironkong Blood Art: Thousand Needle Storm!"
Her arms became a blur, unleashing a vicious flurry of rapid stabs aimed at the Entity's knees and thighs, each strike precise and merciless.
The Entity moved.
It became a streak of obsidian shadow.
It slipped past Rix's descending axes by a hair's breadth, the blades missing its neck by a single, unforgiving millimeter. Rix crashed into the ground behind it as the Entity lifted one leg effortlessly, Vora's storm of strikes tearing through empty space beneath it.
In the same motion, it kicked outward, power surging through the strike, aiming to send both Rix and Vora flying in one devastating blow.
Just as impact seemed inevitable—
Torr was there.
His shield slammed into place, catching the kick head-on. The force detonated outward, hurling the Torr back through the air, skidding until he returned to his original position, this time landing on both feet.
Rix and Vora pulled back instantly, retreating in perfect sync, breathing hard, alive only because Torr had been faster.
"What the hell kind of beast is this?!" Vora screamed.
"It's fast. Intelligent. It speaks," Kaelen roared back. "It's stronger than every one of us combined! And worse of all, it's merely toying with us, holding back its actual strength."
He stepped forward with Zorr at his side, both of them bracing themselves for another exchange.
"Reverse Ironkong Blood Art: Avalanche Breaker!"
Kaelen swung his hammer in a massive, earth-rending uppercut, the ground beneath his feet fracturing from the force.
"Reverse Ironkong Blood Art: Meteor Barrage!"
Zorr followed instantly, unleashing a rapid flurry of punches, each blow glowing red-hot as they thundered toward the Entity's chest.
The Entity met them head-on.
It blocked Kaelen's hammer with its forearm and caught Zorr's first punch in its palm.
But Zorr didn't stop.
He twisted his hips, driving in an elbow. Then a knee. Then a savage headbutt.
Thud.
Thud.
Crack.
One strike landed clean against the Entity's shoulder. The obsidian skin didn't fracture, but the force pushed the creature back a single step.
The Entity turned its gaze to Zorr. Its eyes narrowed.
"Annoying."
A black, shadowy tendril lashed out from its spine, snapping toward Zorr. Kaelen caught it barehanded, skidding backward as he yanked with his full weight. The beast shifted slightly—
Then another tendril whipped out.
SLASH.
Zorr was hurled backward, blood spraying as he slammed into the ground, gasping for air.
"ZORR!" Kaelen shouted.
The momentary lapse was all the Entity needed. A brutal kick sent Kaelen crashing into a tree. He rebounded almost instantly, staggering back to his feet, blood dripping from his mouth, his glare burning hotter than before.
The Entity grinned.
It picked up Kaelen's fallen hammer and hurled it back with murderous force, a throw meant to pulverize him.
Torr stepped in without hesitation.
"Reverse Ironkong Blood Art: Unbreakable!"
The hammer collided with his shield in a deafening impact. Torr stopped the blow—but the cost was brutal. The shield shattered, fragments scattering across the ground as Torr collapsed, coughing blood in ragged bursts. His eyes faded to a dull, lifeless white.
He was at his limit.
Kaelen dropped to one knee beside him. "Thanks, man. But you look wrecked. Why don't you sit this one out and let me and the others handle it?"
"Hell no, Cap." Torr forced himself upright, teeth clenched against the pain. "I'm the shield. I gotta be here protectin' y'all. Don't worry. I'm fine."
Kaelen felt the resolve radiating off him. Solid. Unyielding.
"…Alright," he said finally. "But catch your breath. That's an order."
Torr cracked a tired smile and sank back down.
"Aye aye, Cap."
The fight dragged on. Minutes turned to hours of high-speed violence. The squad drank second flasks, then third. They fought with broken ribs, with concussions, with muscles tearing from the strain.
Rix managed to hook his axes into the Entity's back. "Got you!"
The Entity reached back, grabbed Rix by the head, and threw him. Rix smashed into a boulder, his arm snapping with a wet crunch. He lay there, wheezing, unable to stand.
Vora tried to capitalize, aiming a stab at the creature's eye. The Entity caught her wrist. It twisted.
SNAP.
Vora screamed as her radius bone shattered. The Entity backhanded her, sending her tumbling across the jagged rocks. Her face scraped against the stone, leaving a trail of blood.
"No…" Zorr dragged himself up. His chest was a ruin of slashed meat. He spat blood and charged again. "GET AWAY FROM THEM!"
He tackled the Entity's waist. It was like tackling a mountain. The Entity looked down at him. It didn't strike him. It grabbed him by the back of the neck and dragged him.
It ran Zorr along the rough canyon wall, grinding his face and body against the sharp obsidian shards embedded in the rock.
Zorr screamed, thrashing, as his charcoal skin was flayed from his back and arms. White scars were carved deep into his flesh in seconds, wounds that would never fully heal.
The Entity threw him onto the pile of his broken teammates.
Torr had managed to crawl back. He stood up, shielding the others with his own body, though he had no shield left.
"I am… the shield…" Torr wheezed.
The Entity walked up to him. "Broken."
It punched through Torr's chest. This time, it didn't stop. It ripped outward. Torr collapsed.
"TORR!" Rix screamed from the ground. He threw his remaining axe with his good arm.
The Entity caught it. It flicked it back.
The axe buried itself in Rix's skull, his eyes went blank.
"Zorr…" Vora whispered. She was trying to crawl toward him, her broken arm dragging.
The Entity stepped on her legs. CRUNCH.
Vora shrieked.
"We… are… too… weak. Captain!."
Vora cried out as the Entity reached down, gripping Vora by the head.
Zorr watched, paralyzed by horror and blood loss, as the Entity twisted.
The sound ended Vora's scream.
"ENOUGH!"
The roar ripped through the canyon, raw and guttural.
Zorr looked up. Captain Kaelen stood alone. His armor was gone, shredded. His hammer was bent and useless, tossed aside. He stood with his fists clenched, his entire body trembling with an overload of kinetic energy.
"REVERSE IRONKONG BLOOD ART: TITAN'S IMPACT — MAX OUTPUT!"
Kaelen vanished in a blur.
The Entity's red eyes widened slightly. For the first time, it was caught off guard. Kaelen appeared instantly in its personal space, launching a ferocious barrage of hand-to-hand combat.
Left. Right. Elbow. Knee.
It was a blur of violence, intense, desperate hand-to-hand. The Entity blocked, its forearms moving like pistons, but Kaelen was relentless. He wasn't stopping for breath. He wasn't stopping for pain.
As the exchange intensified, the air around Kaelen began to distort, get hotter. The Entity felt it first, a subtle rise in pressure. The vampire's strikes were getting heavier. Faster.
Kaelen threw a straight right. The Entity raised its arm to block, a lazy defense that had worked a hundred times before.
CRACK.
Kaelen's fist smashed through the guard, knocking the Entity's arm wide. The blow connected with the Entity's shoulder, cracking the obsidian skin.
The Entity stumbled back. It stared at Kaelen, genuinely stunned, then the same memory flashed in its mind again. The entity was caught off guard, an opening Kaelen has been waiting for all this time.
Kaelen didn't let up. He roared, and the sound was distorted, layered with power. His eyes were no longer just glowing; they were burning an intense, blinding crimson. His muscles bulged, tearing through the remnants of his uniform, veins popping like ropes under his skin.
He wasn't using Reverse Art anymore. Unconsciously, in his desperate need to protect the last of his family after witnessing such a brutal massacre of the others, he no longer cared what happened to him, he had broken the seal. The Original Ironkong Blood Art flooded his system, 100% output.
The Entity was forced on the defensive. It weaved and dodged, no longer mocking, no longer flat. It was fighting to keep its distance.
Kaelen was a demon of kinetic force. He landed a knee to the Entity's gut that doubled it over. He followed with an uppercut that snapped its head back.
Zorr watched, with shock and almost a flicker of hope "Cap..."
Kaelen screamed, pulling his fist back "I am the captain! I was supposed to lead them, guide them, and protect them! This is all my fault". The energy around his arm condensed, turning the air solid. It was a punch meant to end the entity, or at least he hoped it would. A punch meant to shatter its whole being.
The Entity saw it. It planted its feet, crossing its arms in a desperate 'X' block. Its red eyes narrowed in alarm. It braced for impact. It knew this punch was different from the rest.
Kaelen's fist flew forward. It tore through the air, aimed squarely at the Entity's chest.
It was inches away.
And then…
The fire went out.
Mid-swing, Kaelen's momentum died. The blinding aura vanished instantly, like a candle snuffed in a storm.
Kaelen froze. His fist hovered an inch from the Entity's guard.
He coughed. A massive wave of black, thick blood spilled from his mouth. His eyes, moments ago burning with the power of the First, rolled back, dull and glassy. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
His heart had burst. The toll of the Original Art had claimed him before the blow could land.
The Entity lowered its guard slowly. It looked at the fist hovering near its chest, then up at Kaelen's dead face.
It let out a breath, a sound almost like relief.
It went on and smashed his fist into Kaelen's standing body, leaving a massive hole in his chest .
The captain's body fell, already dead before the entity's punch even landed, he toppled forward into the dust with a heavy thud.
Zorr was the only one left. He lay in the dirt, a map of lacerations, surrounded by the corpses of his family.
The Entity stood over him.
It crouched. It brought its face close to Zorr's.
It reached out a clawed finger.
"You… saw…"
The claw moved to Zorr's left eye.
"Remember."
It pushed.
Zorr screamed. A sound that tore his vocal cords. The obsidian tip pierced the eye, burrowing deep.
"Go," the voice whispered. "Tell them… the King… wakes."
The Entity stood up and walked away, back into the red mist of the red zone.
The other creatures who had stayed out of the fight all this time retreated back into mist following their king.
Zorr lay there for a long time. Eventually, the pain became dull. He opened his remaining eye.
He dragged himself upright. He fell. He crawled. He clawed his way over the rocks, leaving a trail of blood that marked his path back to the living world.
He didn't look back. He couldn't.
He just crawled.