Into the desolate, fiery destruction of city, blocks away from the buried wreckage, the ruins of the leveled bank lay in a massive crater of scorched rubble.
Rex lay amidst the smoking wreckage, completely naked, his body sprawled in the massive crater created by the Kinetic Release. His skin was unnaturally clean, no blood, no burns, no external signs of the trauma that had just shattered three city blocks.
With a sudden, violent cough and a ragged groan, Rex's eyes snapped open. He rolled onto his side, his muscles stiff, the immense pain replaced by a deep, confusing ache. He stared at the utter, flat destruction surrounding him, realizing he had leveled the entire area.
Rex: Tch… I did it... (He chuckled, the sound dry and ragged in his raw throat.)
A small and bitter victory. He was alive. His faint, pained smile died instantly. The smoking air was suddenly heavy and still. A low, rolling thunder shook the scorched earth, and he looked up at the ceiling of dark, bruised, purple-grey clouds.
Rex: Tch?
A cold, single drop of rain struck his forehead, quickly followed by another, and then the slow drumbeat accelerated into a stinging downpour. Rex didn't move, just laying there, letting the rain wash over his unnaturally clean skin. He was naked and exhausted, and the universe had immediately sent a fresh reminder of its contempt.
With a monumental effort, he rolled onto his stomach, pushing his trembling arms against the gritty rubble. His muscles screamed in protest. He managed to stagger to his feet, his vision swimming, his bare feet cutting on glass and pulverized concrete.
Rex: Arthur, Zane, (he rasped, his voice barely audible over the growing sound of the rain,) the hell are you two?
He started walking, stumbling, making his way through the leveled ruins, following the broken street back toward the collapsed storefront.
Amidst the fractured walls and skeletal remains of buildings, he saw them: silhouettes. They were huge, gaunt, and at first seemed still, watching him with a horrifying, patient stillness. They weren't shambling; they were lurking.
Rex continued his ragged, uneven shuffle, but his eyes were locked on the spots where they vanished. "Does it ever end?" he thought, the rain plastering his hair to his skull.
A series of shortened roars, more like frustrated, guttural coughs than hungry bellows, echoed from the darkness of a nearby alley. They were in hiding, waiting for the moment of his greatest weakness. This behavior wasn't like before. It was calculated. It was patient.
Rex: Yeah. Yeah... I see you, you bastards... (He spoke, the words a weary challenge.)
He clenched his left fist, nails dug deep into his palm. He tried to call on his core energy, and a faint, useless purple spark sputtered around his knuckles for a split second before vanishing completely. The kinetic fuel was gone.
Rex: Huh... well that's not good... (he breathed heavily. He stopped, straightening his spine against the crippling fatigue, and turned toward the hidden sounds, his teeth gritted.) This won't stop me. You heard me! THIS WON'T ME!
A sudden, sharp roar ripped from his right. A Runner-type zombie; a gaunt, frenzied blur, lunged at him from behind a pile of twisted rebar, arms forward, teeth ready to bite.
Rex: !?!. (He stumbled forward, avoiding the lunge, his back turned to the creature.)
The Runner skidded on the wet concrete, instantly preparing for another charge. Rex turned his head aside, raising his right leg. With a desperate, powerful rotation, he swung back in a perfect spinning kick, his whole body rotating as his left leg bore the immense weight. The kick connected with a wet CRACK, sending the creature flying through a mountain of loose rubble. Rex gasped, the strain too much, and his balance failed, sending him stumbling backward onto his back in a splash of cold rain and mud.
Suddenly, a soft, deliberate clap echoed from just in front of him. Rex looked up, startled, his eyes widening as he saw the figure crouched before him: the man in the white suit.
"Bravo, bravo!" Junn King repeated, his white eyes fixed on Rex with delighted intensity. "You didn't disappoint me. You just might be my new favorite."
Rex's pupils brightened slightly, flickering with little energy. He was silent, remembered the voice and, more importantly, wondered where Zane and Arthur are.
Rex: Finally decided to show your face, huh? (He spoke, his voice a raw rasp.)
"Yes, figured it was time." The man said, rising to his full height.
Rex: Where are they?
"Dead."
Rex: What? (He froze, a cold shock seizing his chest.)
"You got them killed." The man continued with a casual smile. "Leveled the city. A whole caving was dropped ontop of them, ofcourse, Zane provided a temporary forcefield but that was it. They were still buried under rubble and ran out of air. A slow and sad way to go. And not only them, a few other survivors in the city, too." He then gestured dramatically at the destruction around them. "All wiped out clean."
Rex: Who.... are you?
"Junn... Junn King."