The hallways, the decoration, the golden spirals, archs, and staircases sped into a blur.

Feet pounded the glossy floors. Thundered in the halls.

Breaths fast. Clothes and hair whipped to and fro.

The first wave split in three, scouring the mansion. Dorms, rooms, halls. Everywhere.

Footsteps echoed ahead of Cibil's group. Opposing forces.

Cibil stumbled to a stop. A jet of light flew past her face.

Chaos broke out.

Enemies flooded the halls, seething and glaring. Some of them recognized the people in the Resistance. It only fueled their fury.

Evolveds lunged at each other like animals. Powers shot to and fro. Glass, fire, thorns.

Cibil pressed herself against the wall and closed her eyes tight. Her brows furrowed.

Wind picked up from thin air and swirled around her. Her hair whipped across her face.

"Get back!" she shouted.

The Resistance peeled away. Cibil opened her eyes, and the wind burst from her. The enemies blasted into the walls and hit the ground with thuds.

Cibil pointed at a Necromancer—an Evolved with white hair and dark eyes.

"Eris. Put them under," she said. "Just because they're with Antinstine doesn't mean we can kill them."

Eris nodded. Ze kneeled beside each body, palm pressing into them. Any fight in the enemies' faces relaxed, their bodies falling unconscious until Eris broke the spell.

Eris stood and nodded once ze were done.

Shouts and thuds echoed upstairs.

More footsteps thundered towards them.

Cibil gazed at the Resistance, and they nodded at her.

They rushed towards the chaos.

———

"KILL ANYONE WHO STANDS IN YOUR WAY," Antinstine roared.

He waved another group of Evolveds off, breathing hard. They fled down the steps.

Antinstine paced the halls, the sparks buzzing under his skin. His head twitched—then his hands—he cursed—and when his leg jerked, and he collided into the wall, he broke out into laughter, running a hand over his face.

"Look at me," he breathed, twitching. "Getting worked up over flies."

Electricity buzzed under him—balled up in his chest. The energy coiled so tight that it burned, and Antinstine seethed, clutching at his chest. He had to get the energy out—had to use it. Couldn't keep it in.

He huffed, eyes glowing.

"Oh, Dark..." he breathed. He stumbled to his feet, hands twitching—and staggered down a flight of stairs. "When I find you..." He took a ragged breath. "I'm going to kill you with my bare hands."

———

The first wave regrouped at the main entrance.

"Well?" Cibil panted. "Did any of you make contact?"

Emery shook his head, sweating. "Just his Evolveds," he said. "It's like he just disappeared."

Xilef stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "Or he's hiding," he said. He took a deep breath and huffed. "He must be conserving his energy. He knows he can't use too much."

Cibil nodded, gazing at their forces. They'd come out relatively unscathed: no major injuries—just a few scuffs and bloody wounds. Everyone was still catching their breath, hands on their knees—some even sitting down and slumping against the wall.

They may have been strong in numbers, but they could only go on for so long.

They were tiring fast.

Footsteps thundered upstairs, and they all stared at the ceiling. Cibil cursed under her breath.

"We need time to recover," said Cibil, gazing at Xilef and Emery. "We'll have to switch with the second wave."

"I'll go get them," said Emery.

Cibil nodded, waved him off, and Emery pushed open the large, ceiling-high doors. They creaked and groaned through the halls, and a cold gust of wind blew inside.

Emery disappeared outside and approached the other half of their forces. The doors shut behind him, shaking the walls.

Xilef gazed at Cibil.

"Antinstine will tire all of us out at this rate," he said to her, lowering his voice. "I can find him. Lure him out."

Cibil's brows furrowed as she considered the idea. She pursed her lips. "It's dangerous..." she said.

"Everything about today," said Xilef, "is dangerous." His eyes glinted. "We're all taking risks just being here."

Cibil sighed. "It would work," she said. She wavered. "But I've seen Antinstine before—when he's angry." Her eyes glittered with memories.

The footsteps upstairs grew louder. Closer.

"He gets violent," she breathed. "Out of... control."

The stairs on either side of the halls thundered with footsteps.

Cibil gazed up at Xilef and took his hands.

"You have to be careful," she breathed. "Stay out of his sight."

Enemies rushed into the halls on both sides. The doors burst open, and the second wave flooded in. The first wave rushed for cover outside.

Cibil pulled Xilef to the side, and they stumbled out of the chaos.

"Go," she said.

Xilef nodded, and he raced down the halls.

Cibil watched him go, dodged stray blows, and slid out the door.

———

Konray gasped for breath in an alleyway.

The cold bit into her—the stone floor merciless. Whenever footsteps clicked from afar, she would curl into the darkness, clutching at her stomach.

Blood spilled from a deep gash in her belly.

A door opened and closed, a group of men snickered from afar...

And then a glowing pill rolled into the dark alleyway.

It lit up the damp walls, kept rolling... rolling... and landed by her feet.

She scooted away from it, grimacing.

Footsteps clicked on the stone ground. Loud. Heavy. Strong.

Heading towards her.

Blood slid down her hands, and she winced, clutching her wound. The world around her felt lighter by the second. She didn't know how much longer she could last.

Footsteps. One... two... three...

She squeezed her eyes shut, her skin fluttering. The camouflage wrapped around her body—warm and soothing—but then it glitched. Her body phased in and out of sight.

A man walked into the alleyway, singing.

He spotted the pill, and his gaze lit up. He bent down, plucked the pill off the ground—but before he stood up, he inhaled the staggering scent of blood.

Konray put a hand over her mouth.

The man looked up, and met her eyes.

———

Mark watched the chaos unfold. Could hear it.

Shouts, footsteps, cries, blasts of power. The ground would shake, and Mark would stumble, grabbing onto anything in the room to keep himself steady.

Dark stood outside, directing healers towards wounded members of the first wave. Equinox and Lux lingered by his sides, helping tend to the mess.

Mark sat back down on the windowsill, grabbing onto the edge in case the ground shook again. He watched the Evolveds in the courtyard carefully. They stood around or sat down on the stone ground, shifting with energy and unease. Even now, they looked powerful despite being wounded—despite being under the pressure of the chaos.

The way they moved, the way they interacted—the way they even breathed... Any outsider could tell they weren't human.

Equinox broke away from Dark's side, then knelt beside a man on the ground, who clutched his stomach. Blood dripped down his hands. Fast. His face paled by the second.

Mark tipped his head out the window, trying to get a better view.

Equinox hovered her hands over the man's wounds, her face steady and calm. Mark's brows furrowed.

She wasn't a healer.

Equinox went oddly still. Mark squinted, then blinked in surprise.

The blood that spilled from the man's wound now stopped—as if frozen in time.

Equinox glanced over her shoulder and nodded Ether over. Ether knelt beside her and went to work, green wisps flowing from her hands. Color slowly returned to the man's face as his wound stitched itself back together.

The ground shook with the force of an earthquake, and Mark gripped onto the windowsill, steadying himself. The doors pounded, the shouts and cries grew louder—

The Evolveds in the courtyard stumbled to their feet, their hands lighting up with power. Equinox and Ether helped the wounded aside and out of the way.

Dark rounded up the crowd, eyes alight, an arm splayed out as if protecting them.

The doors burst open.

Enemies and Resistance flooded the courtyard, fighting to the death. They were a tousle of limbs and power. Blood and gore.

The room lurched, and Mark stumbled onto the floor. Paintings fell from the walls. The lights flickered.

Mark grabbed the windowsill. He stuck his head out, searching for the source of the chaos.

Lighting shot out from the main doors.

His eyes widened, and his stomach dropped.

Lightning.

A cry tore through the night.

Mark recognized Xilef's voice. His blood went cold.

The lightning lit up the sky and whipped at the courtyard like claws. Evolveds dodged the blows, running for cover.

Mark stared out the window, breathing hard.

"XILEF!" Dark yelled.

"No—" Mark breathed. "No, no... Dark—"

Dark rushed inside.

———

Xilef clutched at the ground, sparks zipping up and down his body. Color flared from his shoulders to try and negate the lightning, but it only made it worse, burning into his flesh.

Dark dropped to his knees beside him.

"Don't," Xilef heaved. His jaw locked, and the sparks grew brighter. "You'll get—fuck!" He bared his teeth. "—shocked."

Footsteps thundered around them.

Dark looked up, and the world slowed around him. The chaos and the noise and the terror swirled into an echo, and the enemies spilling from the halls faded out of focus.

Dark caught Antinstine's eyes.

He stood there, arms glowing with sparks, teeth bared and chest heaving. Dark's blood ran cold, and then it bled with fury.

"You..." he seethed.

The noise exploded. Enemies flooded the hall with war cries. Powers lit up and thrummed. They surrounded Dark.

Dark looked around—at furious faces and gnashing teeth—and stood up in a flourish.

Antinstine dipped out of sight.

"Coward!" Dark yelled.

The enemies closed in on him. He spun around, glaring at them—bared his teeth—and shot his hands out.

The Evolveds staggered back with cries. Clutched their eyes.

Dark's eyes glowed red. He clenched his fists. No mercy.

The enemies screamed. Fell to the floor like dominoes. Bodies writhing—clawing at their eyes—

Dark squeezed his fists tighter, and the screams grew like a symphony.

No mercy.

Blood slicked the floor. Bodies trembled. Cried in pain.

An Evolved passed out. Then another—and another—until all of them did. Their eyes bled, smearing across their faces and the floor.

It was horrifying.

Dark took a deep breath and dropped his hands. The charge in the air fell.

"Don't worry, Xilef," he panted, gazing at him. He still writhed under electricity. "We'll get you healed."

Dark pulled on the doors—once, twice. Three times. But it wouldn't budge.

His brows furrowed.

He tugged again—banged on the doors. Banged harder.

"Equinox!" he yelled. "Emery!" His adrenaline kicked in. "Ether, Lux! Cibil!" He beat on the door with both fists. "SOMEONE!"

The doors were too thick. His cries fell on deaf ears.

Dark whirled around, searching, breaths fast. No windows. No other doors.

Xilef heaved for breath on the floor, suffering.

They were locked inside.

———

Konray's camouflage flickered.

The man stared at her, the pill casting shadows across his face. Then he stood up and walked away. Konray gasped in relief.

The man stopped.

He leaned out the edge of the alleyway and waved at someone.

"Maddox!" he called. "Come see what I found!"

Konray's heart shot into her throat, and she looked down the other side of the alleyway. Pitch black. She couldn't tell if it was a dead end.

"Man," she huffed, breaths quivering. "F... fuck this shit."

She dragged herself down the alleyway, heart racing. A new set of footsteps clicked, and then that blue glow illuminated the walls.

They were approaching her. Fast.

Or maybe she was too slow.

"What is it, Blade?" asked Maddox.

Konray tried moving faster, clutching her stomach. She winced—heart raced—breaths shallow—

Blade grabbed a fistful of Konray's hair and pulled her off the ground. She cried out, clawing at his hands. Her wound gushed at the loss of pressure.

"This," said the man.

Maddox's brows rose, and he grinned. "Well, look at you," he crooned. He grabbed Konray's face with thick fingers. "You're quite the pretty little thing. Lost, are you?"

Konray thrashed, her scalp burning. Something wet dripped down her brow. Blood.

Maddox eyed her. He spotted her gaping wound and smirked, then drove his thumb inside. Twisted.

Konray wailed, and she kicked out. Her feet collided into Maddox's gut, and he hunched over with a groan.

"Shit," said Maddox. He glared at Blade. "You gonna take that pill or what?" He met eyes with Konray, his smirk looking like a snarl. "Let's test it on this little bitch."

———

"I can't just leave you here," Dark spat.

Xilef pressed his head into the floor, trying to keep his head clear. The sparks were merciless, zipping up and down his body. His skin began to burn and smoke from the heat.

"If you stay here and protect me," Xilef heaved, "then you'll lose Antinstine."

Dark knelt by him, hands hovering over his frame. Footsteps thundered upstairs—towards them—loud, overbearing. Like a bad omen.

"Xilef—"

"Think about Mark," Xilef managed out. He screwed his eyes shut. "Think about him, Dark."

Dark swallowed, and he shook his head, eyes alight. "You need a healer," he said.

Xilef chuckled under his breath—a pathetic sound—and when the sparks flared, he spasmed and grimaced.

"Doors are... locked," Xilef said. "Aren't they?"

Both ends of the halls thundered.

Xilef forced his eyes open and glanced at Dark. The air went cold and heavy, and something in Dark's chest tightened.

This felt like a goodbye.

Xilef planted a hand beside Dark's knee, his body shaking.

"Remember," he said, "the day after your exile?"

Dark's throat tightened, and he shook his head furiously. He remembered—he remembered it like it was yesterday—but he couldn't bear to hear Xilef talk like this. Couldn't bear him acting like he was going to die.

"We stood on the rooftop," said Xilef. He shook under another electric shock. "And you asked me..."

Dark breathed hard.

"If I would die for you," Xilef said.

He stared at Dark, trying to keep still despite the shocks. Enemies rushed into the halls, sprinting towards them. Xilef's face fell, and the fight in his eyes dulled. He'd accepted whatever was to come.

"Go," he said.

Dark's limbs shook, and he forced himself to his feet. The enemies closed in on them.

They were circled again.

Dark shot his hands out, stunning the Evolveds around them. They clawed at their eyes. Stumbled back.

Xilef pushed at the floor. Staggered to his feet. Fell back down.

More enemies rushed down either side. They flooded the halls.

There were too many to fend off.

"Go, Dark," Xilef yelled. Dark hesitated. "GO!"

Dark sent one last glance at Xilef, swallowed, and fled down the only empty hallway.

———

Ethan's heart pounded in his ears like a feral drum.

Trees whipped past him. Branches cut into his skin.

It was dark. So dark.

Twigs and leaves snapped under his feet. Dust kicked up in his wake.

Lights shimmered ahead.

Ethan burst out of the forest and skidded on stone.

Evolveds stared at him.

A cry rang in the air. Konray.

Ethan sprinted, the tracker's red dot flashing against his face. He shoved people aside, stumbled over carts, barged through streets.

The red dot was closer.

Another cry.

Ethan threw the tracker aside. He ran faster, lungs burning, vision closing in.

He saw a glow of blue.

He tripped and skidded to his knees in front of an alleyway. He grimaced. Looked up.

His eyes widened.

A man held Konray like a ragdoll. The other was on the floor, clutching his bleeding eye.

Konray writhed and kicked. Her mouth was open, and she clutched a blue pill.

"Konray!" Ethan cried, stumbling forward.

She swallowed the pill.

Her eyes glowed, and her veins pulsed with a glow, lighting up the skeleton of the alleyway. She grabbed onto Blade's hand, and his skin hissed under her touch.

He reeled back and dropped her. Konray crumpled to the ground.

"Shit—fuck—what did you do to me!" Blade screamed. His hand faded out of sight like Konray's camouflage. Then his arm, his shoulder. The camo spread over his body like an infection. He fell to the floor, but he didn't catch himself.

Ethan realized his body was disintegrating out of thin air.

Blade became nothing in a matter of minutes.

Konray clutched at her wound, ebbing in and out of consciousness. Blood slicked the floor.

The other man, Maddox, stirred, growling.

"You bitch—"

Maddox grabbed Konray's skull.

"Kon—"

Ethan clutched his hair, panic racing through him. Maddox dragged Konray by the hair, growling.

Shit, thought Ethan. What do I do—what do I do—what do I—

His fangs pricked his tongue, and dread washed over him.

He'd have to use his abilities.

Maddox staggered, about to beat Konray's head into the wall.

Ethan ran forward and lunged.

His eyes went black, and he jumped on Maddox's shoulders. He bit him—hard—venom flooding his bloodstream.

Maddox staggered back—his back collided into the wall with Ethan on it—trying to sling him off, fighting hard—he refused to let go—and then with a twitch, and a gasp, Maddox sank to the floor, dead.

Ethan panted, fangs dripping, and he wiped his mouth.

"Konray—" he gasped.

She was laying on the floor, nodding off, her face pale. Too pale.

Ethan knelt beside her, and he propped her up, sliding his arm under hers and hoisting her up.

"Come on," he panted, helping her walk. "We'll go back to the mansion and patch you up, okay?" Her legs shook, and they took a couple steps together, but then her knees buckled, and she sagged in Ethan's grip.

They were right by the edge of the alleway. Trapped between dark and light.

"Come on, Kon," he said, panic crawling up his throat. "The fight's almost over... T.S, he's—he's gonna win. And then we'll have Mark back, and—and this'll all be over. And things are gonna... they're gonna be back to normal."

Konray clutched onto Ethan's shirt, panting. Her veins glowed blue, and her grip grew cold as ice. Ethan's skin erupted with goosebumps, and his teeth began to chatter.

"Kon, c-come on—" he stuttered. He shivered, but there was no wind—not in the alleyway.

"Kon...?"

Konray wearily opened her eyes, and she stared at Ethan's chest. Except there wasn't one.

Her eyes widened, and her face paled.

"E-Ethan—"

They managed another step together, and they staggered out of the alleyway. Streetlights glittered over them.

Konray tried clutching at Ethan's shirt, but her hand phased through him.

"Ethan—" Konray gasped, breaths shallow. "Ethan—"

They stumbled to the floor, and Ethan clutched at Konray's shoulders. He looked down at himself, and he put a hand over his mouth.

His hand faded.

"O-oh my fuck—" Ethan cried. "O-oh my f-fucking—"

Tears poured from Konray's eyes. Evolveds began to notice them.

"No," sobbed Konray. "Noooo, no, no. Nononono, no."

She reached for Ethan, but her hands grabbed air.

"Ethan—ETHAN!"

Ethan stared at her, eyes wide. Tears fell down his face.

"I—I—" Ethan gasped for breath, still trying to find out what was happening. He glanced at his arm, and when it faded before his eyes, dread consumed every fiber of his being.

He couldn't stop this. Couldn't stop it—

His heart lurched, and his body went ice cold.

He had to accept this.

"I-I love you, Kon," he cried. "Y-you're—the best friend I-I could've—"

He swayed, gasping like he was drowning.

"K—Kon—" He reached for her. His fingers brushed her arm, then faded, the touch like a ghost. "Konray, t-tell Mark—tell Mark that I—"

The camo swallowed his body, his face, his words—until he was nothing.

He faded before Konray's eyes, and she stared at the street where Ethan once lay, eyes wide and mouth agape. She stared down at her hands, shaking violently. Her heart gave a lurch—throat closed in—and she keeled over, sobbing.

The world crumbled around her.

"Ethan—" she cried, pressing her forehead against the stone floor. She clutched at herself, tried clutching onto him—but he was gone—he was—he was gone.

"ETHAN!" she screamed.

He was gone.

"ETHAN!" she wailed. "My God—Ethan—Ethan..."

Gone.

Evolveds grabbed at her shoulders, making sure she was alright. She pushed them away, and they staggered back. Faded into nothing with cries of shock.

She couldn't get him back.

Konray's hands fumbled on the ground, desperate, trying to find a trace of Ethan—anything. She could—she could undo what she did. If—if she could remove, then—then she could remake—

Her wound gushed with blood, and the world lurched.

Konray gasped for air—the edges of her vision closed in on her—not enough air—not enough—

The village spun around her in a dazzle of lights.

The world floated, and all the pain washed away, numb. Konray clutched her stomach, fingers slipping on blood, but she couldn't feel anything anymore.

She swayed, her head light, light as a feather—hanging on a thread of bliss—blurs of faces hovered over her, crowding around her—and then everything shut off like a light.

Anyone wanna join me in a cry pile? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I'm still learning to write action so I know this chapter was really choppy and I apologize 😭 If you're confused on something, comment here or DM me!! I'll help clear up anything as long as it won't spoil haha

Thank you so much for reading, omggg, and have a wonderful dayyy!

Love, Kass xoxo