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Chapter 8 - Chapter 08: The Graveyard of Iron

The moonlit night washed silver over the ruined freight yard. Two figures faced each other in the dust and silence.

"So, Azura—" Calder began.

He never finished. Azura blurred forward, her crimson hand blazing as it struck for his face.

Calder twisted, his leg snapping out like a whip. The kick slammed into her back, sending her skidding across the gravel.

She rose slowly, crimson light flickering around her fists. [You've grown stronger in these years.]

Calder's mask tilted. "And you've grown weaker."

He vanished like smoke, reappearing at her side. Before she could turn, his glowing green hand drove into her ribs. The impact cracked the air. Azura spat blood, her body folding, knees buckling.

Calder caught her by the hair, crimson strands coiling in his fist. He lifted her head, tilting it toward him. "If he were still here, he'd be ashamed of you."

Azura's mouth bled, but her eyes burned hotter, red light searing through the night. She twisted her arm, energy gathering in her palm. With a snarl, she hurled a sphere of crimson fire into his stomach. The blast detonated, smoke and sparks erupting across the yard.

From the shadows, Jack shielded with the unconscious mother. His ruined eye throbbed, blood dripping down his cheek.

What's happening? I can't see. 

The smoke thinned, curling away into the moonlight.

Jack squinted through his ruined eye. Calder still stood there, unshaken, Azura dangling from his fist by her crimson hair.

"That was cute," Calder said, voice low, almost amused. "Now it's my turn."

His other hand blurred, striking her face again and again. Each blow cracked like iron on stone. Azura's head snapped back, her crimson glow sputtering, her mouth spilling blood until her face was slick and red.

Jack's stomach twisted. I can't sit here. I can't just watch. But what can I do against this monster?

The compass pulsed in his gut, hotter, faster, as if it were alive. A word surfaced in his mind, unbidden, burning: Night Reaper.

Calder's voice cut through the haze, mocking. "Look at you. A weak, feeble corpse."

A scream tore the night, Calder turned his head, red eyes locking on him.

"Your master is here to save you, azura."

Jack staggered forward, fists trembling. "Let her go."

Calder tilted his head, then casually flung Azura aside like a broken doll. She hit the gravel with a dull thud, crimson light flickering faintly.

He spread his arms wide, cloak shifting like smoke. "Alright then. What are you going to do, blindie? Show me. Show me your Powers."

The compass seared in Jack's gut, the heat crawling up his veins. His breath came ragged, his body trembling on the edge of something vast and terrible.

If I speak it… there's no going back, Jack's lips parted, the word tearing itself from his throat like a curse.

"Night Reaper."

The compass in his gut ignited, molten heat flooding his veins. His vision blurred, the ruined eye burning until it felt like fire spilling down his cheek.

The air around him warped. Shadows bled from the gravel, twisting upward, coiling around his body like serpents. His breath came ragged, each inhale dragging smoke into his lungs, each exhale spilling black mist.

His skin split with glowing cracks, crimson light searing through as if his flesh could no longer contain what lived inside. His marked hand stretched, bones creaking, claws of shadow unfurling from his fingertips.

The cloak of darkness wrapped him, heavy and alive, its edges whispering like blades drawn across stone. A hood formed over his head, swallowing his face in blackness.

Calder's laughter faltered. His red eyes narrowed, the mask tilting. "So… the stories were true."

Azura, bloodied and broken on the gravel, lifted her head weakly. [Jack… what have you done?]

The Night Reaper stood where Jack had been, cloak billowing, the air around him trembling with hunger.

"Wow," Calder sneered, his voice dripping with mockery. "Look at you—you look like a man now, not a boy. What happened to your face? Is that a mask?"

In a blur, Calder vanished, reappearing in front of the Reaper. His arm shot forward, green light blazing with speed and force.

The Reaper's blackened hand snapped up, catching Calder's wrist mid‑strike.

Calder froze, shock flashing in his burning eyes. I didn't even see it.

The Reaper's other hand moved like a guillotine, slamming into Calder's jaw. The crack echoed through the yard. Calder's body flew backward, smashing into the side of an old train. Steel shrieked, sparks bursting.

"What are you?" Calder gasped.

The Reaper advanced slowly, each step deliberate, shadows trailing from his cloak. His voice was low, inhuman.

"What are you?"

Calder's mask split, fragments falling away to reveal his burned face, his jaw hanging grotesquely out of place.

The Reaper loomed over him, then struck—again and again. His fists blurred, stabbing into Calder's face until blood slicked the gravel. Calder's muffled voice gurgled through the blows. "What… is this?"

His body sagged, dizzy, consciousness slipping.

The Reaper stopped. Silence fell heavy.

Then he seized Calder by the leg and dragged him across the yard, gravel scraping beneath his body.

The Reaper dropped Calder's body in the center of the yard, then turned toward Azura. She stirred weakly, crimson light flickering.

He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her across the gravel, laying her beside Calder.

Then he mounted Calder's chest, pressing a blackened hand against it.

Calder's eyes widened, fear breaking through his arrogance. "What are you doing? Stop—please. I'll stop hunting. I'll change my ways."

The Reaper's hand glowed hotter, searing green light bleeding through Calder's chest.

Calder screamed as his body ignited, consumed in emerald fire. His voice broke into a howl, then dissolved into ash and flame.

The Reaper staggered, collapsing to the side.

The yard was silent, save for the hiss of Calder's body collapsing into ash. Green fire licked the night sky, then guttered out, leaving only the stench of charred flesh and iron.

Jack lay on his side, chest heaving, the compass still pulsing faintly in his gut. His hands trembled, blackened at the edges where the Reaper's claws had been. He stared at them, unable to tell where he ended and the thing inside him began.

Azura groaned, rolling weakly onto her back. Her crimson glow flickered like a dying ember. [Jack…] Her voice was faint, almost human. [You called him. You let it out.]

"Yes" Jack pressed his palms into the gravel, forcing himself upright. His ruined eye burned, vision swimming. I didn't just fight Calder. I burned him alive. I feel like I'm on my last breath. I'm so tired. She said when I burned a soul, I'd gain its energy… so why am I weaker than ever?

Azura tried to rise, her body trembling, but she collapsed again. [Hey, Jack… I can't get up. Come—re‑summon me.]

Jack staggered to her side. He placed his hand against her chest, the crimson light beneath her skin flickering faintly. He whispered the word.

Her body dissolved into flame and shadow, rushing into his palm. The mark on his hand burned, sealing her essence back inside.

The yard was empty now—only Jack, the unconscious mother, and the ashes of Calder. The silence pressed in, heavy and absolute.

Jack lowered his head, his breath ragged. His body gave out. His knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the gravel, the world spinning into black.

The compass pulsed once—hard—before settling into a slow, steady throb. His breath rattled in his chest, shallow and uneven.

Inside the darkness, a scream tore through him.

[Jack! Jack, wake up! You can't leave me here!]

Azura's voice, raw and panicked, echoed inside his skull. No longer outside him, no longer a figure of flame and crimson light—she was trapped within, clawing at the walls of his mind.

[You fool! You let it out—you let him out! Do you even know what you've done?]

Jack twitched, unconscious, his fingers curling weakly in the dirt. His ruined eye flickered beneath its lid, as if even in sleep he was fighting something.

The yard was silent, save for the whisper of ash drifting on the wind. Calder was gone, burned to nothing. The mother lay still, breathing faintly. And in the center of it all, Jack's body lay motionless—while inside, Azura screamed and screamed, her voice echoing like fire in a sealed chamber.

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