Chapter 3
The Fallen gradually quickened its pace as its body gradually became covered in dirty fur, its spine bending and the glow around it thickening, the Flux surrounding it merging and threatening to burst.
"This is going to be complicated."
Aside from the Center, every human whose eyes were closed would eventually turn into a Fallen, hideous creatures with no trace of their former humanity. Although this one seemed to be the weakest possible tier, this last obstacle before the boat could very well be his doom.
Finn took a deep breath, glancing behind him. A small barricade was all that separated them from the sea. He touched the ground lightly with his hand, then picked up his sword again, adjusting his stance as he prepared for the monster's charge.
The Fallen lunged at him, trying to skewer him with its newly formed fangs. Finn raised both hands to cover his face, bracing for the impact, but the instant the fangs collided with his hand, he heard a crack from his left arm, and suddenly he was on the ground, rolling across the gravel.
He had expected a gradual boost over time as the Dome took shape, but the creature's leap in strength was disproportionate.
Barely back on his feet, Finn jumped backward as the Fallen assaulted him again. He tried to move his left arm, but it barely responded.
"One arm less… as if this wasn't hard enough already."
He took the same stance again, except this time one of his limbs hung uselessly at his side.
As soon as the monster got close enough, a crimson incandescent light flared from Finn's hand. Crouching low, he dodged its fangs and counterattacked immediately by pressing his glowing hand against the creature's chest, where a small explosion blasted them both backward and exposed the creature's flank. Screams of pain tore from its throat.
"One down."
With his remaining Flux, he could maybe manage two more.
For the first time since the fight had begun, he had enough space to go on the offensive. A translucent light enveloped his hand as he poured all his strength into piercing the monster's side, where its flesh was already regenerating at a frightening speed.
More cracks echoed as he shattered its ribs, but nothing more. The beast's core remained untouchable.
Before he could pull his hand free, the creature's ribs reformed around his arm, trapping it completely and preventing any retreat.
"Damn it."
Finn met the beast's black eyes again, a surge of alarm shooting through his entire body. Even stripped of fear, the thought of dying still froze his blood. Unable to use his arm, he endured a rain of blows, each one more devastating than the last.
His whole body was bruised, his consciousness slipping. In a final struggle, he pushed power into his trapped hand, trying to blow the monster apart from the inside. But before the detonation, the creature suddenly released him and jumped back, causing Finn to fall backward under the force of his own explosion.
His vision blurred as the dark side of his mask vanished, and with it, his fear returned in full force. Naturally, all arrows soaring in the sky had to learn how to descend once their ascent was complete.
Finn tentatively raised his hand toward his face, ready to intensify the ritual's power, even though whether it would ensure his survival remained a mystery. But the choice between a potential death and a certain one was fairly obvious.
Halfway through, his arm stopped when he noticed someone slipping past the creature, taking advantage of his diversion to head toward the port, while a second person plunged a sword between the monster's eyes.
Finn turned to see a young boy near him, pale-skinned with brown eyes. There seemed to be no Flux emanating from him, so he was most likely mundane.
After stabbing the creature, they instantly jumped backward, each landing on opposite sides.
The beast screamed in pain as it felt the sword lodged in its skull, but it didn't remove it and immediately resumed its advance. Its target was the one who had already turned away, far ahead. But in seconds, it caught up, lunging with a single leap and impaling his chest.
"What a stupid way to die," Finn muttered.
He really thought I'd just stand there and face it for the show, Finn thought.
It was noble of him to use them to flee, but in his escape he forgot that those who stayed valued their lives just as dearly.
"Welcome, I guess," Finn said, eyes fixed on the Fallen.
"Yeah," he stiffened. "Delighted to join the corpses' ranks."
With the sword still buried in its head, the beast leapt at the newcomer, who was also heading toward the cliff. Unarmed, he dove to the right, barely avoiding the creature's fangs.
"Over here!" Finn shouted from above. Taking advantage of the monster's distraction, he gathered strength in his legs and kicked the sword, driving it straight through the Fallen's skull and out the other side before withdrawing immediately.
He now stood at the very edge, with the sea at his back.
The Fallen roared again, an ear-splitting scream, then charged at Finn, who froze for a heartbeat.
"How do you kill this thing?"
Even a sword through its brain wasn't enough to stop it.
Finn glanced back at the sea, then at the creature. As soon as the beast got close enough, he stepped slightly aside. The Fallen could no longer stop its momentum and sprinted straight toward the drop, but recovered at the last second, burying its fangs into the ground to halt its fall.
Before it could lift its head, a sword materialized at its feet, cleaving its fangs in one clean strike before vanishing on the spot.
The Fallen regained its balance and turned toward Finn, who could barely remain standing.
But before it could move, a crimson incandescent light bloomed beneath its feet.
"Bingo," Finn said with a triumphant grin.
A massive explosion, louder than any before, blasted the Fallen into the air before flinging it into the sea.
Without wasting a second, the two boys exchanged a look and bolted toward the harbor gate, running past scattered corpses. A final creak echoed from the ship as the entrance slowly closed.
The ship drifted away, unstoppable. Yet it wasn't enough to deter them, they sprinted toward it with everything they had, driven by despair. But it was already too late; the ship had cast off.
The two boys finally stopped, breath ragged, hands on their knees as they struggled to recover.
"Damn it…" a bitter voice said beside them.
They raised their heads. A young girl stood there, crimson hair, sharp features, wearing an immaculate white dress she had lifted to run. She observed them for a moment before turning her desperate gaze back toward the ship.
The three of them stood silently, taking in the faces of those they would have to cross this hell with.
Finn, however, looked up at the sky, where a strange boat had earlier formed from rising debris. Explosions thundered everywhere; the sky was covered in flames as airborne machines crashed one after another.
One of them smashed into the sea right beside them, sending a deafening shockwave followed by a blinding flash. They blinked as darkness instantly swallowed everything, growing gradually more oppressive.
Under the weight of his efforts, Finn's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the sand. Spread out on the shore, a defeated smile curled on his lips despite himself.
"I really have to stop making promises."
The sun had set over the Land of the Rising Sun.)