Manya had successfully given birth to Akshat's son. The baby's name was still undecided, a small detail that felt almost sacred in its normalcy. Gunjan Aether walked down the hospital corridor with a bright, genuine smile, happiness radiating through her exhausted body. For the first time in months, something felt right.
The baby was in one room for his first bath, while Manya rested in another, chatting quietly with Vanya. Their voices carried soft laughter and gentle plans for the future.
Gunjan grabbed a water bottle from a nearby station and headed toward Manya's room. But a bad feeling twisted in her gut. She paused, staring out the corridor window. The weather had been off for hours—light rain under black clouds. Now those clouds were fading unnaturally fast. Something was wrong.
The sky turned dark purple. Solid cracks spiderwebbed across it like broken glass, glowing with otherworldly light. It looked like portals tearing open between Vaelion and something far worse.
Gunjan's breath caught in fear. A loud, deafening noise erupted from outside, vibrating through the windows. She pressed closer and saw buildings in the distance engulfed in flames. People screamed and ran in chaotic evacuation.
Then sunlight pierced through the cracks.
The moment it touched Gunjan's skin, it burned like acid. She gasped, jerking back just in time, flesh searing where the light had grazed her. Heart pounding, she sprinted toward Manya and Vanya's room.
The two girls were still talking normally inside, unaware. Vanya laughed softly at something Manya said. Then the hospital lights flickered and died completely. Darkness swallowed the hallway.
Vanya stood up, stepping back instinctively. "What's happening?"
The wall exploded inward.
A giant flying creature burst through the debris—leathery wings, jagged fangs, eyes glowing with alien hunger. It lunged straight at Manya.
The room splashed with blood in an instant. Gunjan burst through the door just as the creature tore into Manya's torso, ripping and devouring with savage efficiency. Warm blood sprayed across Gunjan's face. Manya's scream cut off in a wet gurgle.
Vanya stood frozen, eyes wide, her soul seeming to leave her body. She didn't flinch as the creature turned toward her next.
Gunjan moved on pure instinct. Metal chains wrapped around her torso whipped forward. She captured one of the monster's wings, yanking hard to stop it from reaching Vanya. The creature roared, thrashing. Up close, its stench and power were overwhelming.
Vanya remained paralyzed, traumatized by the brutal death of her love right in front of her.
Gunjan spun the chains with deadly precision, wrapping them tighter around the beast. With a fierce cry, she ripped its head clean off. The body still twitched. She kicked the headless monster through the broken wall, sending it crashing outside.
Now only the lower half of Manya's body remained, a horrific sight. Gunjan wanted to scream, to cry, but there was no time. Vanya finally snapped back to reality, voice hoarse. "The baby!"
Gunjan stared at the remains for a split second longer, heart shattering, then turned. Vanya was already running toward the next room.
A high-magnitude earthquake struck without warning. The entire floor shattered beneath them. Gunjan reacted instantly, wrapping her chain around her left hand and grabbing Vanya with her right. They swung through the collapsing structure, debris raining around them.
They landed hard on the ground floor just as the rest of the hospital building crumbled completely.
Vanya kept repeating the same words in shock, voice breaking. "Wtf… wtf wtf wtf wtf wtf wtf…"
Gunjan didn't stop. She ran toward the broken concrete pieces, desperately turning over slabs, searching for the baby's room. Her hands bled as she lifted rubble. All she found was blood—streaks and pools mixed with concrete, the remains of people who had been trapped inside.
The sky continued cracking overhead. Purple light poured through the portals. The catastrophe had begun.
Vanya's eyes rolled back. The shock of watching Manya die so brutally finally broke her. She fainted on the spot, body going limp amid the rubble.
Gunjan caught her just in time, arms trembling as she lowered Vanya gently. Her heart was shattering—fragile, raw, barely holding together. She had just witnessed the death of thousands. The hospital collapse, the screams from nearby streets, the blood-soaked concrete… it was too much. Tears stung her eyes, but she forced them down. *Not now. Not yet.*
The creatures weren't stopping. More winged horrors descended through the purple cracks in the sky, screeching as they hunted. Gunjan's training kicked in—she had been forged for dangerous situations—but this was pure insanity. The world was ending in real time.
She scooped Vanya onto her back, securing her with one arm while the other freed her metal chains. "Stay with me," she whispered, voice cracking. Then she ran.
Chains whipped through the air as she sprinted through the ruined streets. A beast lunged from above—she spun, lashing out. The chain wrapped around its neck and tore through flesh with a sickening snap. Another creature charged from the side. Gunjan dodged, swinging low to slice its legs, then finished it with a brutal overhead strike. Blood sprayed across her clothes, but she didn't slow.
She hid briefly between two collapsed buildings, breathing hard, Vanya still unconscious against her. Her hands shook as she pulled out her phone, trying desperately to call Ritik. No signal. The cellular network was already dead. "Damn it…" she muttered, shoving the phone away.
Everywhere she looked, people were dying. A mother screamed as a monster dragged her child into the sky. An old man was torn apart trying to shield his wife. Gunjan wanted to help them all, but she couldn't. She had Vanya to protect, and the baby—Akshat's son—might still be alive somewhere in the ruins. The guilt burned like fire in her chest. *I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.*
A massive holographic screen suddenly flickered across the entire sky, visible for miles. It wasn't like any system notification they had seen before. Blood-red letters burned brightly against the purple void:
**THE PURGE. SUBSIST IT.**
The message pulsed once, then faded, leaving the cracked sky even more ominous. Gunjan stared upward, chains dripping with blood, heart pounding with a mix of terror and grim resolve. This wasn't random chaos. This was something deliberate. Something ancient and hungry.
She adjusted Vanya on her back and kept moving, deeper into the collapsing city. The creatures kept coming. Her chains kept singing through the air killing, defending, surviving. But inside, Gunjan's fragile heart cracked a little more with every scream she couldn't answer.
The purge had begun. And Vaelion was learning, far too late, what it truly meant to subsist through it.