Rai then said to him, "Did you not go to school?"
Kai shook his head, a bitter edge creeping into his voice. "No, I did not. Always wanted to, but it's not a luxury I could afford." The words hung heavy, laced with the resentment of missed opportunities, a life spent scrambling for survival instead of learning.
Rai frowned, pressing gently. "Did your parents not have jobs?"
Kai let out a hollow laugh, his gaze dropping to the ground as memories—or the lack of them—stirred a familiar ache in his chest. "What parents? Never ever met them. Sometimes I wonder if they even exist. I have no idea if they are dead or they just abandoned me." The admission felt raw, exposing the void that had shaped him, leaving him adrift in a world that demanded self-reliance from the cradle.
Rai looked at him, a flicker of pity softening his perfect features, making Kai's jealousy twist a little tighter. "Are you from the slums?"
Kai nodded curtly. "Yes." Then, as if a switch flipped in his mind, pulling him back to the immediate and mundane, Kai immediately remembered. "My potatoes—where are they?"
Rai blinked, confusion etching his brow as he thought to himself, *Has this kid lost his mind?* He said aloud, "What potatoes?"
Kai's eyes widened with urgency, the loss hitting him like a fresh wound. "I need to find my potatoes—the sack. I need to get them to the mansion soon."
Rai tilted his head, trying to make sense of it. "If you want food, we can get you some."
But Kai shook his head frantically. "No, I need to find my potatoes, the sack. I need to get them to the mansion soon."
Rai sighed, piecing it together. "What sack? Where did you leave it last?"
Kai explained, the words tumbling out in a rush. "It was when the shaking started, and I dropped it to go save the baby."
Rai's expression turned grave, the weight of time pressing down. "There is no way we can find it now. It's been days since the rumbling happened."
Kai stared at him in shock, his world tilting further off-axis, the disorientation from the pit returning in full force. "What do you mean days? I was just down there for a few hours, not days."
As Rai was about to say something, his mouth opening to explain, the car beside them exploded in a deafening blast, flames licking the air and debris scattering like shrapnel. From the heart of the explosion emerged a massive ant-like creature with the grotesque face of a human baby, its eyes wide and innocent yet twisted in malice, mandibles clicking hungrily.
Kai, seeing this abomination, felt fear like never before—a bone-deep terror that froze his blood and made his stomach churn. As he remembered what Rai had said earlier, *this is hell,* the words echoed in his mind like a prophecy fulfilled. He tried to walk backward, his legs unsteady, but he tripped over his own feet and fell down hard, the impact jarring him as he screamed, "We are going to die!"
Rai glanced at him, his stance shifting to readiness, muscles coiling like a predator. "Get ready. We have to fight this—the rest of the team isn't here."
Kai looked at him in disbelief, his voice rising in panic. "What the hell do you mean by fight this thing? Have you lost your mind? Are you insane? We need to run for our lives!"
Rai's eyes stayed locked on the creature, unyielding. "We can't outrun this. We either fight or die." He turned briefly to Kai. "What is your power, young man?"
Kai, utterly confused, his mind reeling from the absurdity, said, "What the hell do you mean powers?"
Rai pressed, urgency sharpening his tone. "The powers you were given by the voice."
Kai screamed, frustration and fear boiling over. "I didn't get any powers or voice! I have no idea what you are saying!"
Rai's brow furrowed. "You have a curse, so you must have a power too."
Kai shook his head wildly, feeling more helpless than ever. "I have nothing at all. The only thing I had was my name, and even that seems to be gone too."
Rai sighed deeply, realizing Kai was useless right now, a liability in the chaos unfolding. "You need to run while I hold it off. Run south, and if you find anyone, ask them to get help here."
Kai protested, loyalty flickering amid the terror. "No, let's run together. You just saved me—I can't leave you here."
While saying this, the creature charged toward Rai with unnatural speed, its legs thundering against the ground. Rai ran toward it without hesitation, leaping higher than Kai had ever seen anyone jump, his fist clashing with one of its armored arms in a resounding impact that echoed like thunder. The clash was loud, vibrations rippling through the air, but it didn't even seem to have done any damage, the creature's exoskeleton unyielding.
Rai realized its body armor was insanely strong, reminding him how resilient ants were in nature, amplified to monstrous proportions, but this one had a vulnerable human head. He decided to change his target to its face, dodging and weaving with practiced grace.
Kai watched in complete fear, shock, and amazement, baffled by what he was witnessing—Rai moving like something out of a fever dream, superhuman and fierce. As Rai dodged one of its attacks, the creature's leg slamming into the concrete and getting stuck in the shattered pavement, Rai used the opportunity to jump and punch its face as hard as he could. The blow landed with a sickening crack, making it bleed from its human eyes, nose, and ears, green goo oozing out in viscous streams.
Kai looked at it in disgust, the sight turning his stomach, the unnatural fluid glistening under the dim light. Rai didn't stop; he immediately sent in another devastating punch, and continued to hit the same area until he blew a hole in its head, the creature's skull caving in with a wet crunch. It sent the beast falling down in a heap, twitching once before going still.
Kai screamed, awe overriding his fear for a moment. "I can't believe it! You actually did it!"
Rai, breathing heavily, shot him a stern look. "I told you to run."
Kai grinned shakily. "But it's okay—you beat it. You killed it."
Rai shook his head, exasperation cutting through. "You fool, they always come in a group. Now run!"
As he said that, another two of those creatures burst out from the shadows, screeching toward Rai with piercing cries that grated on the nerves. Kai, seeing this, realized how foolish he had been, his brief triumph shattering into panic as he turned around and started running, his legs pumping desperately.
Rai screamed after him, "Not that way! Go toward south!"
Kai hesitated, disoriented. "Where is south?"
Rai pointed toward his left, his arm outstretched amid the chaos. Kai started running in that direction, hoping he could find help to save Rai, his heart pounding with a mix of guilt and survival instinct.
As he ran, he suddenly heard a scream from far away. He turned instinctively, his blood turning to ice. A much larger creature, its face an iron mask of human features twisted in rage, had grabbed Rai in its massive claws. It ripped out one of his arms with a gruesome tear, the sound of flesh and bone snapping echoing horrifically, and started munching on it, blood spraying in arcs.
This put the fear of everything in Kai's body, a primal horror that made his vision tunnel and his breath come in gasps. As Rai screamed in agony, the creature shoved his head into its maw and munched, the crunching final and merciless.
Seeing this, Kai started running even faster than before, terror fueling his strides. He kept running, not even looking back in fear he would be next, the image of Rai's demise burned into his mind like a nightmare he couldn't escape.