Ethan limped into the science building with Lena supporting his right side and Ash flickering nervously overhead. Every step sent a pulse of pain through his burned hand, but compared to the Hellhound's molten jaws, this felt almost gentle.
Almost.
The hallway fell silent as the survivors saw him—bloodied, scorched, looking like he'd crawled out of an explosion.
Someone whispered, "He killed it… he killed another one…"
Another voice: "Is he even human?"
Ethan hated that question most of all.
Lena shot the crowd a sharp glare. "Back up—give him space. He needs medical attention, not a staring contest."
People parted quickly.
Ethan sank onto a table someone had cleared for him, exhaling shakily. Sweat rolled down his temples. His vision flickered at the edges.
Lena crouched in front of him, examining his injuries with trembling hands. "Your hand is—Ethan, this is severe. These blisters, the burns—why didn't you pull away sooner?!"
"Hellhound jaw," Ethan rasped. "Not the ideal spa environment."
"Ethan!"
He sighed. "Look, I didn't exactly have a choice."
She bit her lip, frustration and worry battling behind her eyes.
Someone approached—Professor Richards, from the university biology department. His white coat was torn, his glasses cracked, but he carried a box of first-aid supplies.
"Let me help," he said gently.
Ethan nodded.
Richards began cleaning the burns with steady hands. It stung like shards of glass pressed into his skin, but Ethan clenched his jaw and stayed still.
Lena didn't look away.
She didn't flinch.
Not until Richards began applying a salve made from lidocaine and some plant extract Ethan didn't recognize—probably experimental, something pulled from a lab fridge.
Ethan groaned through his teeth. "Hurts like hell…"
"Burns always do," Richards murmured. "But you'll live."
Ash pulsed above them.
[CLARIFICATION: HE 'WILL LIVE' IS ACCURATE WITH 82% CERTAINTY.]
Lena snapped, "Ash, shut up!"
Ash dimmed obediently.
Ethan gave a faint laugh that hurt his ribs. "Thanks, Lena… Ash means well. I think."
She didn't smile. She just kept watching him with eyes that felt too full of fear for his sake.
Ten minutes later, the first aid was finished. Ethan's hand was wrapped in tight, cooling bandages. The burns still throbbed, but the pain dulled enough for him to breathe normally.
Richards stepped back. "You need rest. A few hours. Your body's in shock."
Ethan shook his head. "Can't. I've got—"
"Ethan, listen to him," Lena interrupted. "You can't keep going like this."
Ethan opened his mouth to argue—
But the room suddenly jolted.
Papers fluttered. Equipment rattled. A jar fell off a desk and shattered.
Everyone froze.
Ethan shot to his feet. "Earthquake?"
Ash rotated violently.
[NEGATIVE.]
[THIS IS A SYSTEM-WIDE ENERGY SURGE.]
[SOMETHING LARGE JUST ENTERED EARTH'S ATMOSPHERIC LAYER.]
Lena went pale. "Administrator?"
[NO.] Ash responded. [SOMETHING… DIFFERENT.]
The building shook again—lighter this time, like an echo.
Outside, a deep hum rolled across the sky.
Someone screamed in the hallway. "The sky! Look at the sky!"
Ethan moved to the nearest window.
His breath caught.
The fractures in the sky—those jagged cracks of light—were subtly shifting, rippling like something was pressing against them from the other side.
Lena whispered, "What does that mean?"
Ash responded with unsettling calm.
[THE STRESS ON EARTH'S DIMENSIONAL BARRIER IS INCREASING.]
Ethan frowned. "Is that bad?"
[YES.]
"How bad?"
[CATASTROPHIC.]
Lena grabbed Ethan's arm. "Ethan… we have to leave. This building isn't safe. Nowhere on campus is safe."
"But we don't know what's out there," Ethan argued.
"That's why we need to move," she insisted, voice trembling. "We need a place we can defend. Higher ground. Somewhere, we can see threats coming."
Richards stepped forward. "There's the engineering tower. It has reinforced structure and backup generators."
"It's also half glass," Ethan said.
"Yes," Richards admitted, "but structurally, it's our best bet."
Students were gathering around, listening anxiously.
Ethan looked at the frightened crowd.
He couldn't fight everything alone.
He couldn't protect them if they stayed scattered and panicked.
He felt the weight of their expectation settle heavily on his shoulders.
Lena touched his wrist, voice soft. "Ethan… they need direction. You know that."
He exhaled slowly.
"Alright," he said. "We move."
A wave of relief washed through the room.
Ethan raised his voice. "Grab anything useful—food, water, first aid, tools. We head to the engineering tower together. No one goes alone. Stay close."
People scrambled into motion.
Lena gave him a small, approving nod. "Good."
Ethan didn't feel good.
He felt like he was pretending to be something he wasn't.
But pretending was enough right now.
They moved in groups across the ruined courtyard, Ethan leading at the front with Lena beside him. Ash floated overhead, scanning constantly.
[NO IMMEDIATE HOSTILE DETECTED.]
[BUT MOVEMENT IS INCREASING IN MULTIPLE DIRECTIONS.]
"Monsters?" Ethan asked.
[LIKELY.]
They reached the engineering tower—a tall, steel-framed building that somehow avoided the worst of the devastation. The front doors were cracked but still intact.
Inside, the lobby was a mess—fallen ceiling tiles, scattered engineering tools, a toppled vending machine—but it felt sturdy.
Students began barricading entrances and securing supplies.
Ethan leaned against a column, finally letting exhaustion creep in.
Lena approached, crossing her arms. "Sit. Before you fall over."
He laughed weakly. "That obvious?"
"You look like you're one shockwave from collapsing."
He slid down the column until he was sitting on the floor.
Lena sat beside him.
Silence settled, heavy but not uncomfortable.
For a moment, they were just two people trying to survive the end of the world.
Then Lena spoke softly.
"Ethan… when you ran out there alone against that Hellhound… I thought you wouldn't come back."
He stared at the floor. "I almost didn't."
"I know," she whispered. "That's why—please—don't try to take everything on yourself."
He looked at her.
Her eyes glimmered with something raw.
Fear.
Concern.
Something more.
"I can't stand the thought of losing you," she said quietly.
Ethan's heart skipped.
Before he could reply—
Ash interrupted, pulsing urgently.
[ALERT.]
Ethan stood quickly despite the pain. "What now?"
Ash's voice dropped to a rare, tense tone.
[SOMETHING IS DESCENDING FROM ABOVE. FAST.]
"What something?"
[UNKNOWN.]
[BUT IT IS NOT A MONSTER.]
Ethan stiffened. "Not a monster…?"
The tower vibrated.
A deep, metallic BOOM echoed from outside—loud enough to rattle windows and silence the entire lobby.
Everyone froze.
Lena whispered, "What was that?"
Ash rotated toward the entrance.
[SOMEONE IS APPROACHING.]
Ethan grabbed a metal pipe from the debris, wincing as his burned hand protested.
"Get behind me," he told Lena.
The tower's main doors creaked.
A silhouette appeared in the doorway—tall, armored, and carrying something that glowed faintly.
Ethan raised the pipe, heart racing.
The figure stepped into the light.
A woman.
Human.
But her armor was unlike anything on Earth—sleek, black, with pulsating blue lines. A visor covered her eyes, and a spear made of hard-light hummed at her side.
She looked straight at Ethan.
And spoke a single sentence:
"You. Are you the one who killed the Administrator?"
The room went dead silent.
Lena's breath hitched.
Ethan tensed, pipe raised.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
The woman removed her visor—
revealing silver eyes.
Eyes that were not human.
She smiled faintly.
"My name is Kai'Alar.
I'm here to assess the anomaly."
Ethan swallowed.
"Me," he whispered.
Kai nodded.
"Yes. You."