With terror reflected in their eyes, Kairo and his two companions began to run.They were far from the platform and hadn't yet contacted Sasha's group.
In a matter of seconds, the shadow caught up to Xavier and slashed deep into his ribs."Agh!" Xavier screamed, falling to his knees as blood gushed violently from the wound.
Kairo and Chack, still running, came to a sudden stop when they heard the cry. They turned immediately, alarmed."Don't you dare stop! Keep going!" Xavier growled, his face twisted in pain as blood soaked his armor.
"I'm not leaving you behind! We've been through too much… you're my brother!" Chack shouted, rushing toward him with his sword drawn.
The shadow lunged again at Xavier, fast as lightning.But before it could reach him, Kairo fired his weapon. The projectile struck the creature square in the chest.It showed no sign of pain. Yet, its focus shifted instantly.
Instead of finishing its attack on Xavier, it turned abruptly and launched itself toward Kairo like a starving predator.
The young hero froze. Fear gripped his muscles.He couldn't move.He couldn't breathe.
Am I... going to die? This soon...? he thought, as the world seemed to shrink around him.
"Kairo! Run, go! It'll kill you!" Chack screamed in desperation, trying to stop Xavier's bleeding with both hands.
But Kairo couldn't move. His body felt like lead. The creature advanced, and he was powerless to stop it.Death loomed over him. Unavoidable. Unrelenting.That monster had taken down an A-Rank hero like he was an insect…What could he do, a mere Rank F?
For the first time, Kairo felt true despair.Fear seeped into his bones, freezing his blood.Time seemed to stop…
…And then, it came.
The shadow pierced through his chest with a claw as black as the abyss.The impact was brutal.Flesh tore.Bones cracked.Blood poured in torrents, splattering the ground and his face.
Kairo could hear shouting in the distance.Chack? Xavier?It didn't matter anymore.The pain was immense—and yet, it was already fading.Everything was beginning to dissolve.
First the sounds…Then the shapes…And finally, consciousness.
When his body hit the ground, an absolute cold enveloped him.A crushing silence.There was no more pain.No more fear.No more hope.Only emptiness.
Silence.Darkness.Cold.
Until a voice filled everything.
"Are you done, Kairo?"
The voice came from nowhere, yet echoed through his entire being.It was deep. Ancient. Almost… divine.
"Who…?" he whispered, barely aware.
"You may call me the Creator. Or, if you prefer, the One Who Watches."
A figure appeared before him.It was made of both light… and shadow.Its human shape defied description, as if the universe itself had taken form just to speak to him.
"Your death was… premature," the tone was neutral, like speaking of a leaf falling from a tree. "But interesting."
Kairo tried to speak, but he had no mouth. No body. Only a floating consciousness.
"You're not here by chance.I'm going to give you an opportunity. A deal I've never offered another hero."
The figure stepped closer. Space trembled with each stride.
"You will return to life.And every time you die, you will awaken stronger.Your body will evolve.Your abilities will increase.Your mind will sharpen."
"A power beyond anything you can imagine… in exchange for a price."
The voice grew grave. More solemn. Almost sepulchral.
"Each time you die, you will lose one percent of your soul."
A pause.The echo of that sentence stretched like a sentence from the gods.
"And when you reach one hundred percent… whatever remains of you will be mine. Forever."
Kairo wanted to step back… but there was nowhere to go.The void was infinite.
"Why… are you offering me this?" he managed to ask.
"Because I want to know… if your ambition is stronger than your fear."
The Creator leaned in, and its eyes—if they were eyes—shone like dying stars.
"Do you want to be the strongest?Do you want to be that savior you always claimed to be, deep in your mind?"
The world trembled around him.Everything slowed.Time stopped flowing.
"You will not get a second chance.Take the pact… or vanish like countless others."
Kairo closed his eyes… and remembered.He remembered the helplessness.The shame of being weak.The fear of dying without leaving a mark.The desire to protect. To make a difference.
He opened his eyes.
"I don't care how many times I have to die.I don't care how little of my soul remains.I will return. I will rise.And I will protect this universe… even if it costs me everything."
The Creator smiled—or so it seemed.
"So be it."