---
The beasts came like a flood—feral, mindless, relentless.
Peter met them first. His hammer sang, smashing skulls without hesitation. Jack moved beside him, carving gaps in the tide with precise, deadly strikes. Ciara was faster than both—her daggers sliced through necks before the creatures even knew she had moved.
And Alex?
He walked.
Sword dragging behind him, leaving no cuts in the earth—only silence. He didn't swing. He didn't charge. Yet wherever he passed, the beasts veered away.
They didn't snarl.
They didn't attack.
They simply… avoided him.
Every instinct screamed:
Do not touch that one.
Even the so-called God of War waded into the fray. Beasts lunged—then hesitated, slowed, and turned elsewhere. Not fear. Not submission. Something deeper. Recognition.
They were killers by instinct. Humans were their prey—only.
---
Inside the walls, the command post bristled with soldiers. Bloodied, scattered, holding the line.
Then—he arrived.
Tall. Cloaked. His armor swallowed light. His presence dimmed the room.
General Arvek, commander of the inner forces. Unknown to most outside the capital, but whispered about among his men: The one who takes without striking.
"Leave the walls," he said. Voice cold, calm, like winter. "Fall back. Seal the gate."
A murmur of protest.
One soldier stepped forward. "But the commanders—their people—they're still fighting!"
Arvek looked at him. Just looked.
The soldier collapsed.
No blood. No cry. Just… emptied. Flesh gray, eyes hollow. A dried husk on the stone floor.
"Vorrsink," Arvek said softly. "Your energy is mine the moment you defy."
Silence. Absolute.
The soldiers obeyed.
---
Then—impact.
A deafening crash.
A massive armored body dropped from above like a meteor, slamming into the compound. Stone shattered. Fuel lines burst. Fire erupted. The central command tower crumpled.
When the dust cleared, all eyes turned to the crater.
A figure stood atop the ruin—still burning, cloak torn.
Unmoving. Watching.
And from behind the smoke, a calm voice echoed:
"Leaving so soon?"
---