Shit. She must've been following from above the whole time.
Maybe I can explain. Big Nose isn't here now. Maybe she'll listen—maybe she'll help.
"He—" I start, but before the word leaves my mouth, something clamps over it. A hand.
"Shhhh… it'll be over soon," Haze whispers.
Cold metal pierces my back. It's not the pain that shocks me—it's the freezing touch of the blade sliding in, the slicing sound ringing in my ears. My strength drains away. My knees hit the ground before I even realize I've fallen.
The edges of my vision start to darken.
I can barely hear Red Ember speaking with Haze over the ringing in my ears.
"Thank you for your help, Ms. Red Ember. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to catch him," Haze says, his voice calm and polite — hiding his true nature.
"Did you need to kill him, Haze? He's just a powerless kid. We could've handed him over to the authorities," Ember replies, her tone sharp and cold.
"He was a danger to society," Haze says smoothly. "He was wandering around at night with a knife, looking for victims. We were lucky he targeted me without knowing I was a hero. We couldn't let him go — who knows what he might've done later?"
"I understand," Ember answers, though there's anger behind her words. "But he was still just a child — barely younger than me. I could've stopped him without taking his life."
Their voices blur together as my body weakens. I can barely make out their shapes now — just shadows above me. The only things clear is the sharp ringing and the pain behind my eyes gradually getting worse
"We can't save everyone, Ms. Red Ember," Haze continues, adding false sympathy to his tone. "After all, I'm just a D-Class hero. Limited in what I can do to stop a deranged psychopath. And I suspect he's tied to the Covenant — he mentioned rituals, sacrifices…"
I hear Ember take a sharp breath.
"I have his wallet and phone," Haze continues. "I'll pay his family a visit — see if his parents have any connections with the Covenant. It's best to be thorough. I might just be a D-Class hero, but I've handled cases like this before."
A chill spreads through my body, my strength fading fast. But even as darkness pulls at me, one thought screams louder than the pain: I can't let Haze near my mother.
"P–ple…" I cough, choking on blood.
"Looks like our little traitor's still alive," Ember says. "He's connected to the Covenant, you say? Let me talk to him — I'll get his secrets." She pauses. "If he survives."
Her footsteps approach. Through the blur, I see her boots stop beside me. She kneels down, her hot hand wrapping around my throat as she lifts me off the ground.
"I can make you talk," she says quietly. "Or you can tell me everything about the Covenant." Her green eyes lock onto mine, burning with cold fury. "Between us, I really hope you make this difficult."
"I–I'm not—" I try to speak, but her grip tightens.
"Good," she says flatly. "You're choosing the hard way."
The air heats up around us. The ground falls away beneath my dangling feet as she lifts us into the air. My throat burns under her hand.
"I'll ask you one more time," she says, her voice like fire. "The longer you take to answer, the higher we go."
We're already above the rooftops. My stomach twists.
"P–please… save my mother," I manage to whisper.
"Oh?" she says mockingly. "Is your mother part of this too? Maybe she's the one I should be interrogating."
Her words drip with sarcasm.
"We're about eighty stories up now. No one can hear you scream here," she adds, and the knife still lodged in my back begins to glow red-hot. We're still floating higher
"AGHHH!" I scream as my blood and flesh sizzle.
She Grabs the knife and pulls it out
"AGHHHHHHHHH" My whole body twitches
"Are you going to answer me," she says coolly, "or should I let you go?"
"I'm not part of the Covenant!" I cry. "I don't even know what that is! Please — I was just defending myself! It's all a lie, please—please!"
She studies me in silence, disgust clear in her eyes.
"It's always the same," she says at last. "First you beg. Then you pretend you don't know." Her grip tightens again, choking the air from my lungs.
My vision flickers. I can't hold on much longer. The pain behind my eyes sharp now, I can barely think
"Fine," she sighs. "Don't talk. You probably don't have any useful information anyway. Whatever your reason for joining the Covenant — power, protection — it doesn't matter. Evil should be eradicated."
Her righteousness makes me sick.
"Right now, we're above a river," she continues softly. "The current will take what's left of you. No one will find your body. No one will even remember your name."
She takes a breath. "Any last words?"
The last of my strength drains away. I can't fight anymore.
"Promise me you'll protect my mother," I whisper. "She's innocent… she's all I have."
She hesitates — a flicker of pity crossing her eyes. Then she bites her lip and says, "I promise."
She gives me the most sad yet beautiful smile I've ever seen.
"Thank you," I breathe. No fear now. Just peace. Maybe this was how it was meant to end — at least I put her first. At least she'll be safe.
"I'm sorry," Red Ember whispers.
And then she lets me go.
The wind whips against my face as I stare at Red Ember. For a moment, the world slows—my first few seconds of weightlessness. Then gravity takes hold, and I plummet. I catch the reflection of pity in Ember's eyes before the roaring wind drowns out everything else.
I've always wanted to fly. Not as a main ability, just to feel it—to control my body in the air, to be weightless, to soar.
But not like this.
I watch Red Ember shrink into a dot above me until she's gone. The wind tears at me as I twist, trying to face the world rushing up to meet me. I want to see it before I hit. The city spreads below—streets, rooftops, my tiny apartment building off in the distance. The river below looks like a black portal, wide open and waiting to swallow me whole.
I close my eyes, bracing for impact—
—and pain explodes behind them. A sharp, piercing shock tears through my skull. I yell out, caught off guard, as if my own brain's trying to claw its way out of my head. Then it hits again, harder. I squeeze my eyes shut and scream—louder, rawer.
My head's been aching since my fight with Haze—a dull throb behind my eyes, constant ringing in my ears. I thought it was from one of his punches. But this… this is something else. I can barely think. Something inside me is trying to escape.
The pain drills through my forehead, white-hot and blinding. My eyes snap open as I feel something tear inside my skull. Hot blood pours from my eyes, my nose, my ears. The agony's so consuming I barely register the dark river racing toward me.
And then—like a dam breaking—something bursts out. A force, raw and desperate, explodes from my mind and slams into the water below. The backlash throws me upward, spinning me violently through the air.
If someone were watching, I'd look like the most human-looking yo-yo ever made. The river below ripples from the impact, waves crashing outward. I'm spinning so fast I can't tell which way's up—the dark sky and black water keep switching places.
Before I can make peace with my new existence as the universe's yo-yo—
Splash.
The cold water hits like a slap. My body stops spinning, the shock forcing my mouth open as I gasp—and inhale a mouthful of filthy river water. I choke and thrash, trying to find the surface, but the current doesn't care. It slams me into rocks and drags me under again. I hit something hard—one final impact—and everything goes dark.
No dreams. No thoughts. Just emptiness and darkness. My mind doesn't even register that it's conscious.
Am I dead? I think for a moment—before a sharp pain pierces my skull. The memories of the past few hours rush back in a flood.
I struggle to roll onto my side and open my eyes for the first time. Everything's blurry. I blink hard, trying to clear my vision. Shapes start to form around me—trees, bushes, the murky edge of a riverbank. I'm covered in cold, sticky mud. Somehow, the current pushed me to the edge. I actually made it to shore.
I roll over again, lying flat on my back. The mud is freezing, but it helps soothe the burning pain on my back from Ember's heat blast. I take a shaky breath, trying to process how I'm still alive. My head throbs. My eyes sting just from being open. My thoughts move like sludge.
How did I survive?
I close my eyes and focus on my heartbeat.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
It's still there. I try to follow its calm rhythm. Thinking in full sentences hurts. I just need to wait out the pain.
God, I can't remember life without this headache, I mutter inwardly—and, as if the universe is mocking me, another sharp spike of pain stabs behind my eyes.
"AGH!" I groan, my body twitching in response.
Forcing yourself not to think is almost impossible. The moment you think don't think, you're thinking. And when you think, you get pain. And then you think about the pain you just got because you were thinking. It's an endless, stupid cycle.
Luckily, I've mastered the art of not thinking. I stare into space, mouth slightly open—no thoughts, just vibes.
I don't know how long I lay there like that. Eventually, the corner of my vision catches a faint glow above the treeline. The sun's rising.
The dull ache behind my eyes returns, but it's bearable this time. I'll take it over the sharp pains any day.
I push myself into a sitting position. The mud makes it harder—slippery, resistant. Even the small movement sends sparks of pain through my body. I pant heavily, every breath rough, but—I'm alive.
I'm alive.
A crooked smirk spreads across my face. No matter what was thrown at me, no matter what happened—I survived. Pure, stupid joy fills my chest.
A small chuckle slips out. Then another. It builds—louder, freer. Soon I'm laughing so hard my sides ache and tears blur my vision. Anyone who heard me right now would think I'd lost it completely. Maybe I have. But after everything I just went through? You don't survive that and stay quiet. I'm not crazy—I'm grateful.
Despite everything, I survived.
It takes a few minutes for me to calm down. When I finally catch my breath, I replay the fall in my head—the burst of power that escaped me, the raw force that pushed against the world itself. I can still feel something behind my eyes, like a stretched rubber band waiting to snap.
I need to get home. Now.
Haze's voice echoes in my head—his threat about my family. I did ask Ember for help, but after how she looked at me… I doubt she'll lift a finger to protect anyone. I can't bet on her.
I push myself to my feet. The mud lets go with a long, wet slurp. I'm unsteady, weak—but standing.
Step by step, I start trudging up the riverbank. The mud grabs at my feet, dragging me down with every step. It's exhausting, unnecessary punishment. But I push forward. I have to.
I need to warn my mother. I need to make it home before Haze does.
Each step feels heavier than the last. My body screams for rest, but I grit my teeth and push harder. Up ahead, I see a road—solid, flat, merciful.
When I finally step onto the asphalt, the cold surface stings my bare feet. That's when I realize.
No shoes. Ripped shirt. Mud-caked jeans. Hair hanging over my face like a mop.
I look down at myself and groan.
I look like I just crawled out of a zombie movie.