The environment was alive sitting beside death. Green fire fell from the heavens
Arlong stood alone beneath that falling doom. The others had gone inside, their shouts drowned beneath the storm's furious roar.
He raised his right hand, palm open, the air trembled around it. "Quantum Field.... full expansion," he whispered.
The ground cracked beneath him. A dome of pure light erupted from his body, translucent and fluid like mercury, expanding outward until it blanketed the entire bunker.
Every raindrop that touched it exploded into mist. The barrier shimmered violently, colors shifting between blue, indigo, and pale white.
It worked until the rain grew heavier.
Each drop carried enough energy to melt through diamonds, and now thousands struck at once. The barrier flickered, humming like a dying star.
Arlong gritted his teeth. "You're not.… getting through."
He clenched his fists. The light of the Quantum barrier shone brighter, feeding off his life force. He could feel the poison trying to seep through, every drop felt like a needle piercing his skin from the inside.
His veins glowed faintly under his skin.
Lines of silver light.
The acid began to pool atop the barrier. Arlong realized he couldn't keep it up defensively forever. So, he shifted tactics.
"Then I'll take you with me," he growled.
He forced the barrier to invert, reversing it outward like a blooming flower. The protective dome became an expanding field of destructive vibration. It burst upward, vaporizing the acid in a single pulse, then surged higher devouring the very clouds that spawned it.
The sky lit in pure white.
For a brief blinding moment, the storm disappeared.
So did Arlong's strength.
His knees buckled. He fell to one knee, the barrier was now blurry and flickering.
His body was breaking down while flesh splitting in lines of light. His fingers shook, melting between sparks. Yet he smiled faintly through it all.
"Hehe.… guess I finally found…. something only I could do."
He looked toward the bunker, though he couldn't see them anymore.
Tom, Elior, Rosario, Vera, Grace.
He'd spent so long traveling alone. Fighting beasts, fixing broken machines, dreaming of purpose. Now, at the end, he realized he'd already found it.
"To protect them…. yeah…. that's a good way to go."
The rain's sound dimmed, muffled as though even nature held its breath.
Arlong straightened his back one last time, spreading his right arm wide.
"Quantum Collapse...." he coughed out blood. "....Re....lease."
Light poured from him like the dawn.
The barrier exploded upward, cleansing every drop of acid, turning the red sky clear again.
Where he stood, there was only glassed sand—smooth, still, and glimmering faintly with his last light.
The desert had no beginning and no end.
Only the wind and the hunger of it.
Arlong remembered the first day he woke up in this world. Bare, bruised, and stripped of everything. Not even his starter gear remained. A group of scavengers theft his starter gears and even clothes.
The system's light faded from his skin, leaving him with nothing but sand and sun. His mouth was dry, his body was very weak. For the first two days, he wandered aimlessly, talking to himself, chasing shadows that vanished before he reached them.
He hadn't eaten, hadn't slept, hadn't seen another living soul. On the third night, when the temperature dropped so low that his breath froze against his lips, he saw torches glowing far away.... Some living people. Mysterious robed figures walking across the dunes. Hope, foolish and fragile, pushed him forward hoping for a shelter.
He followed them quietly, crawling by the time he reached their camp. When they saw him, they didn't help. They laughed. He was dragged, caged like a stray dog behind their tents. Still, he was grateful to have water, even if it was tossed at him like feed.
There was a beautiful woman, Sect member. Beautiful, serene, her eyes were softer than anyone else's in that camp. She brought him real fresh foods secretly. She smiled at him. She didn't speak much at first, only asked his name and where he came from. But over time, she told jokes, stories about the sect, about the moonlight and the old gods. Her voice made the nights bearable more than he could. He considered her as his real big sister.
One morning, she brought him a book. "You should know the world you're in," she said, smiling faintly. He couldn't read the symbols, but she taught him slowly. When she left, he always waited for her to return. He began to laugh again.
Nights passed.
One day,
They gave him clothes, brought him out of the cage. The sect members were behaving kind all of a sudden. They taught him combat techniques, history, how to use spiritual energy. They even played games. It was the first time, Arlong thought maybe this was his home. These people were his new family. He smiled again, freely, with that woman always watching from afar.
He used to play different sports with those members and chatter with everyone. He was so meritorious that he was able to understand mystical scriptures with just a little help. He slowly turned into an extrovert but also a curious person for grasping knowledge.
Sorrowful it was that,
At a ceremony, One night,
He overheard her talking when he went to fetch water. "The experiment's going well," she said. "He's adapting faster than expected. The artifact should bond with his nervous system soon."
Her voice was cold and scientific.
Arlong was panicked behind the tent, heart pounding aimlessly. He realized that every kind word, every love, every smile, every care was just a part of this project. He never had any family. He was a project.
He tried to escape that night. He sprinted for the gate, but the Sect had already prepared. The gateway shut with a surge of energy. They surrounded him. He fought and broke a few ribs of his own, bruised, bled but still ran. He was almost free when she appeared before him, holding the dagger he once thought she used to make food for him.
"Let's run away together," she said softly. He believed her.
The dagger sliced through muscle and bone before he could notice. He screamed as his one arm fell and his both legs. Blood bathed across the sand. He tried to crawl away, dragging himself by one hand, gasping for air. She caught him by his hair, lifted his helpless body, and thrusted the blade through his throat in an angle by whom he won't die.
She whispered, "You're doing so well, Arlong."
He couldn't even cry. He shook like a dying fish, choking on his blood. She slammed his helpless soul on the floor. Dragged him in back by his remaining hand. The last thing he saw before fainting was her face—smiling, proudly
When he awoke, he was inside a capsule filled with glowing liquid. His body was no longer his. Artificial limbs replaced what he had lost. His nerves burned constantly. Around him, sect members wrote symbols into the space. They called it "Project Quantum Arrow B-007." A cursed bow, a relic so powerful it rejected everyone who tried to wield it.
He screamed when they forced it into his hand. It branded itself to him. His chest burned as if something invisible was crushing his heart. The experiment failed for them but succeeded in one way; the curse bound itself to his soul.
It was probably a curse stamped by a God, it might wanted him. Although, The Sect wasn't aware about the curse.
Whenever Arlong smiled and laughed, the curse reminded him the pain, of his heart getting crushed each time barehanded.
He woke up hours later, again naked, lying outside the sect's walls, alone. The bow thought to be useless was beside him. The desert was for him waiting again.
He made himself clothes from the beast he killed with that same bow. A creature of fangs and scales. Each time he smiled at the small victories, pain tore through his chest.
Next ninety nights, he wandered like that.
Then, he met THEM. They laughed without any reason. They shared food. They saw him not as a weapon, not as a curse, but as a friend.
He smiled again. It hurt him like hell, he never shut though.
It's funny, isn't it? How a handful of faces can turn a cursed life into something worth holding on to. I wasn't supposed to feel it again. Of course, not after what they did to me. Then I saw a star speaking out my name, the teasing, the quiet talks under a broken moon surrounded by chaos. I felt seen…. felt, I don't know what to call it. And now, as the rain falls like acid fire, I realize how short that warmth was. I knew, I was never meant to stay long. I was meant to live only to give "useless" a sentience. Biggest thing, to make sure they keep smiling where I couldn't. If loneliness is my punishment, then so be it, at least it was traded for their tomorrow.
Tom, Rosario, Elior, and Vera stepped out of the bunker, their hearts already knowing what their eyes refused to see.
Arlong stood far ahead, a figure against the retreating red sky. His outline wavered in the thin sunlight that fought through the clouds. His half body and face was burned, smoke rose from his shoulders. Yet…. he was standing straight, like a soldier waiting for the dawn of a war hoping to reunite with his friends, companions, family.
"Arlong!" Tom loudly called his name out.
Rosario took a step forward, whispering, "He is alive.… he has to be."
Elior's expression hardened. He began, but his voice was shaky. "Don't move, stay still!."
The crimson clouds that had hung heavy above began to fade, melting into gray, and the first ray of sunlight touched Arlong's chest. The glow wrapped around him gently, like the world itself was trying to comfort him before letting him go.
Arlong's head turned slowly, just halfway enough for them to see the marvellous smile tugging at the corner of his lips. His eyes glimmered, soft, tired but peaceful.
"Hey.…" his voice was hoarse, but steady, carried by the wind.
"Looks like.… it's finally morning...."
Tom's legs moved on their own.
"Wait! Don't you dare, don't you dare do this, Arlong!" he yelled, stumbling forward to carry him.
Elior reached out a hand. "Arlong! Hold on, we can fix this! You're not done with us!"
Rosario was already running, shouting his name over and over.
But Arlong only smiled wider, closing his eyes against the sunlight.
"You guys…." he whispered, his voice barely audible now, "don't stop walking, right? Don't.… stop. My death doesn't matter, I just saved couple of people.... the entire Legion is counting on you guys.... I am not used to be the hero, you all do."
He took one deep breath then said, with a trembling laugh,
"Thank you…. for letting me be a part of your journey.... thank you.... I have nothing to return this favour...."
A flood of water waved down from his sight, as he was shaking in the weight of the emotion.
He laughed, he went mad, it hurt him inside, however, he still laughed as much louder he could.
Before they could reach him, before another word could escape his lips, his body formed.
Light spilled from his skin, glowing brighter and brighter until "his" world went white.
Then, it broke his form scattering into countless translucent bubbles that floated into the air.
Only his artificial organs, right arm and two legs and clothes, half melted chest-plate were remaining.
One drifted past Tom's cheek, warm as a tear. Rosario stunned mid-step. Elior's hand dropped.
The bubbles rose higher, glinting in the sunlight then burst, one by one, vanishing into nothing.
Tom fell to his knees, fists buried in the dirt, staring at the empty space where Arlong had stood.
Rosario's voice fell off like a branch which denied to break for a century. "He.... he...."
Elior said nothing, just stood there bowing his head down, feeling useless again, he remained a failure....
Vera was the only one who didn't move. He stood a few paces back where he was. His trident resting in the sand. When he turned away, his voice was calmer as always but carried some emotions.
"….Good boy, don't forget us wherever you go, neither we will."
The clouds rolled back in, swallowing the sunlight.
The red sky faded back into pale gray.
The wind carried away the last trace of warmth, leaving only the sound of his laughter in the air and four hearts left helpless heavy for words.
The Night Hunt.... continues.