Lucian wiped sweat from his forehead, his muscles still tense from the rough nding. Around him, people scrambled to their feet, some groaning in pain, others frozen in shock. The eerie red mist slithered through the ruins, making everything feel suffocating.

  He didn’t have time to waste.

  A bloodcurdling scream echoed in the distance. Lucian turned just in time to see a man dragged into the darkness by something fast—too fast for him to make out. The man's shrieks were cut off abruptly, repced by an unsettling silence.

  Lucian’s stomach tightened. I need to move. Now.

  He ducked behind a fallen sb of concrete, forcing himself to assess the situation. Others had nded nearby, most in a dazed state. Some were smart, quickly getting to cover or searching for makeshift weapons. Others stood frozen, as if expecting someone to save them.

  No one was coming to save them.

  Lucian knew that.

  Before he could decide on his next move, a voice called out behind him.

  "Hey! You!"

  Lucian spun around, his muscles tensed, but the speaker wasn’t a threat—at least, not immediately.

  A boy, probably around Lucian’s age, stood with his hands raised in a non-threatening manner. He had sharp blue eyes and a wiry build, his stance loose but alert. Behind him, a girl with dark skin and braided hair clutched a metal pipe like she was prepared to bash in the skull of anything that moved.

  The boy was the first to speak. "We should team up."

  Lucian narrowed his eyes. "And why should I trust you?"

  The girl scoffed. "Unless you want to get eaten alone, yeah, trust us."

  Lucian smirked at her bluntness. He liked that. But trust was dangerous here.

  "Names?" he asked.

  The boy nodded. "Ronan." He jerked his thumb toward the girl. "That’s Ay."

  Ay gave a small nod, gripping her pipe even tighter.

  Lucian let out a breath. "Fine. We team up for now, but we need more people."

  Ronan grinned. "Already ahead of you."

  He turned and gestured behind him, where two more figures cautiously approached. One was a broad-shouldered young man with short dark hair and a bruised face, his posture defensive.

  "Daryl," he introduced himself simply.

  The st person was a girl with sharp features and a scar over her left eyebrow. "Iris."

  Lucian took a moment to study them. Daryl had a powerful build—he could probably take a few hits and keep going. Iris had an intense, calcuting gaze, the kind of person who was always thinking two steps ahead.

  Not a bad team.

  "Alright," Lucian said. "We need weapons first. Then we find shelter and figure out our next move."

  "Agreed," Ay said, gncing around. "Any ideas?"

  Lucian nodded toward the ruins. "Scavenging. There has to be something useful in these buildings. Move fast and stay quiet."

  No one argued.

  The five of them disappeared into the ruins, moving like shadows as the Beyond watched in silence.

  The ruins were eerily quiet, the air thick with tension. Every step Lucian took, he expected something to lunge at him from the darkness.

  The group had split into pairs to search more efficiently—Ay went with Daryl, while Ronan and Iris moved in another direction. Lucian scouted alone, keeping his eyes sharp for anything useful.

  Most of the buildings were half-destroyed, overtaken by twisting vines and strange glowing fungi. Some structures had colpsed entirely, creating makeshift tunnels.

  Lucian moved carefully through the debris, scanning for anything that could be used as a weapon.

  Then he saw it.

  A rusted metal rod, about the length of his forearm, stuck in a pile of rubble. It wasn’t a sword, but it was better than nothing. He yanked it free, shaking off bits of dust. The weight felt decent in his hand.

  Better than fighting barehanded.

  A sudden shuffle of movement caught his attention.

  Lucian froze, gripping his makeshift weapon tightly.

  Something was nearby.

  He turned slowly, his instincts screaming at him. The red mist in the air swirled unnaturally, shifting like it was alive.

  Then, from the shadows, it emerged.

  A creature, humanoid but wrong. Its limbs were too long, its skin stretched tight over its bones. Its eyes were hollow pits, and its mouth was filled with jagged, uneven teeth. Bck veins pulsed under its skin, twitching like they were alive.

  Lucian's grip tightened. Shit.

  The creature let out a low, rattling breath. Then, in a sudden burst of movement, it lunged.

  Lucian barely had time to react.

  He dodged to the side, feeling the wind of its swipe pass inches from his face. Before it could recover, he swung the metal rod, smashing it into the creature’s ribs.

  The impact barely fazed it.

  Lucian cursed and backed away. He needed to be faster. Stronger.

  The creature lunged again.

  Just before its cws could reach him, a metal pipe crashed into its head. The monster barely flinched.

  Ay stood beside him, her pipe raised, eyes burning with adrenaline.

  "That thing should’ve gone down," she muttered.

  Lucian didn’t argue.

  Daryl arrived next, swinging a broken piece of concrete straight into the creature’s side. This time, the hit made it stumble. But stumble wasn’t the same as die.

  The creature twisted its neck unnaturally and let out a gurgling snarl. Its body began repairing itself—the dents in its flesh pushing back into pce like metal returning to its original form.

  Lucian's heart pounded. "It's regenerating."

  "Great," Ronan muttered as he joined them, holding a jagged knife. "So, anyone got a pn other than hitting it harder?"

  The creature moved again—faster than before.

  It lunged at Daryl, cws slicing across his arm before he could react. He let out a pained grunt, stumbling back. The monster didn’t stop. It went for Ay next.

  Lucian didn’t think.

  He moved.

  His body reacted on its own, twisting at an impossible angle. His arm snapped forward—his metal rod smming into the creature’s leg. This time, something cracked.

  The monster staggered.

  Lucian grinned. It can break.

  "Go for the legs!" he shouted. "It’s fast, but if we cripple it—"

  Before he could finish, Iris struck.

  She darted forward like a snake, her sharpened rebar stabbing through the creature’s knee. The monster let out a gurgled shriek, stumbling as bck liquid oozed from the wound.

  Daryl, despite his injury, swung a sb of concrete into the creature’s head with all his strength. This time, the blow shattered something. The monster convulsed, its body twitching.

  Lucian didn’t let it recover.

  He drove his rod straight through its throat.

  The monster just stod there and smiled maniacally, taking out the rod he jumped back while the monster was healing.

  "This bastard heals really fast." Ay said while she activated something, her metal rod began vibrating before getting a bck and shiny tone.

  "Let's kill it." Daryl mumbled before throwing another block of concrete in the monster.

  Lucian and Iris darted in the direction of that thing, getting an idea Lucian screamed to the monster.

  "Hey your ugly bitch!! I thought you were stronger."

  Lucian immediately felt stronger and faster.

  'this things can understand so.' he swang his rod, using his newfound strength to strike it's knees.

  "Lucian get it." Ay screamed before throwing the bck weird rod in the air. Dodging the incoming kick of the monster, Lucian jumped and bowed his possible almost unnaturally.

  Using all his flexibility he grabbed the rod stabbing the monster's eye,

  At the same time Iris and Ronan broke the monster's both legs.

  [You killed an lesser aberration. Strind citizen.]

  [You earned a forgotten.]

  Lucian saw this before falling tired in the ground.