"How the hell did she manage to get those tiny things everywhere?" Kikaru muttered, her gaze flicking to the small tallic legs barely visible beneath the flickering flas.
It didn’t matter.
"We can break through. Colby, just use your wind to force an opening. Hell, it’s thin enough—we could probably run straight through it."
Before she could act, sothing caught her eye.
Silas and Rirana stepped through the fire without hesitation.
For a brief mont, the flas flashed purple, their hue shifting unnaturally before settling back into their chaotic motion. A makeshift leather gas mask now covered Silas’ face, but Rirana didn’t wear one.
"You know, running straight through might have worked," Silas began.
Paul rushed in before he could finish.
Silas barely had ti to exhale before Paul swung for his head, stepping into the strike with full force.
"Bold," Silas muttered.
Paul’s fist connected—or should have.
A thick, viscous purple liquid clung to Silas’ form, coating his skin like a second layer. The mont Paul’s knuckles t it, his strike slid off, the surface rejecting the impact completely. His balance shattered, his stance crumbling forward.
Silas didn’t hesitate.
A dagger flashed.
The thin blade plunged into Paul’s side, slipping between muscle and bone with practiced ease. The force sent Paul staggering back, his hand imdiately gripping his ribs as he dropped to a knee.
Silas chuckled. "Imagine if I’d laced that with poison. You’d really be in trouble."
Paul’s head swayed slightly as he forced himself upright, blinking against the dizzying sensation overtaking his vision.
"No way... You did sothing to the blade..." His voice was uneven, his breath heavier than it should have been.
Before he could process it further, Colby moved.
Using Paul’s back as a springboard, Colby launched into the air, twisting mid-motion as the air around him compressed. His heel ca down, cutting through the wind like a blade, aiming straight for Silas’ head.
Silas didn’t dodge.
Colby’s strike missed.
Or rather, it landed where Silas had been—before the world shifted.
A flicker of sothing unnatural distorted Colby’s sight for half a second, and the montary lapse was enough.
His air blade sliced deep into the dirt, inches from Silas, who remained untouched.
As he began digging in his side pouch he pulled out a massive dical tool for extracting parts of the body.
I hope you don’t mind; This will be the first ti removing a shard.
Kikaru slid in and brought her hands together and pointed her finger into the shape of a gun as a single shard of golden light appeared and she just stated "I don’t think so!"
Bang! She stated throwing her hand back as the particle ripped through the air and slamd into the fleshed creature as her vision began to spin and she broke down to a knee with a cough.
Rirana wiped the sweat from her brow, exhaling as she straightened. "That almost caught off guard. Sorry about that."
Colby, still dazed, forced himself into motion, twisting mid-step to launch a powerful air current toward Silas.
Silas ducked effortlessly, the compressed gust slicing cleanly through the mound of flesh beside him. The creature split apart into three pieces, its grotesque form scattering across the ground.
In the sa instant, Silas retaliated.
His foot slamd into Colby’s chest, forcing him down as Silas’ palm opened, revealing a flicker of purple light.
A small, spectral butterfly erged, fluttering briefly before piercing directly into Colby’s chest.
The shift was imdiate.
Colby’s eyes glowed faintly purple, his limbs stiffening as his breath hitched. His movents slowed, his arms dropping limply to his sides.
"Perfect," Silas muttered, rolling his shoulders.
He reached for his tool, lifting it over his shoulder before pressing the sharp tal tip against Colby’s skin.
"Now, lay still while I get this extraction out of the way."
The instrunt sank in, the tal biting deep. Blood beaded along the puncture site, then seeped freely as the tool dug deeper, its tip nearing the shard embedded within Colby’s body.
Inside Colby’s Mind
The world wasn’t real.
Colby knew this. Sowhere in the back of his mind, he understood. But at that mont, he couldn’t escape it.
"Brother... please, what do I do?"
A small voice, trembling and uncertain.
Colby turned to see a little girl standing beside him, barely two feet tall, long blonde hair draped over her shoulders. She clutched the fabric of his shirt, staring at him with wide, frightened eyes.
"Mom and Dad left for the restaurant and never ca back! The streets are on fire!"
Colby’s breath hitched. He knew this mont. He rembered this mont.
"Do—don’t worry. Things will be fine. I’m sure they will—"
The door burst open.
A deep, guttural growl filled the space.
Colby spun toward the noise, his gut twisting as a monstrous figure lunged forward.
Its twisted green eyes locked onto them, its gnarled fangs bared. It moved fast, too fast—barreling toward his sister.
NO—
Colby threw himself forward, grabbing the creature by its jaws mid-lunge. The force of the impact sent him crashing into the wall, knocking a television from its stand as they both went tumbling beneath it.
His sister scread.
Pain exploded through his ribs as the creature clamped down on his side, its fangs piercing deep.
Colby gritted his teeth, his fingers scrambling for anything—anything he could use. His hand brushed against sothing sharp.
A shattered picture fra.
He grabbed a jagged shard of glass and, with a desperate swing, drove it straight into the creature’s skull.
The blade sank deep.
The monster shuddered, its body convulsing. Then, in a single, violent twist, Colby dragged the glass sideways, slicing clean through the beast’s face.
It collapsed.
Colby heaved, his breathing ragged. But sothing was wrong.
This wasn’t how it happened.
His mind wavered, clarity slipping through his fingers.
"Wh—this mory... this isn’t—"
A tear in the air split open before him.
From it, a small, fox-like creature burst through, wings flaring wide.
"SNAP OUT OF IT, COLBY!"
Spock’s voice thundered through his mind.
"THIS ISN’T REAL—I’M ABOUT TO BE RIPPED OUT!"
Back to Reality
Colby’s eyes snapped open.
His body reacted before his mind could catch up.
His hand shot forward, gripping Silas’ wrist just as the extraction tool threatened to tear the shard free.
The air around him shifted violently, invisible currents lashing out, cutting through the exposed flesh of Silas’ arm. Thin red lines etched across his skin, bleeding in shallow streaks.
Silas smirked, unfazed.
"Well, well... now this is interesting... breaking free."
Spock perched himself on Colby’s shoulder, his fur bristling. "It’s because he has !"
The fox-like creature opened its mouth wide, unleashing a powerful vortex of air.
The force ripped forward, a concentrated burst aid directly at Silas.
For the first ti, Silas’ Ikona moved.
A void-like force countered the blast, swallowing Spock’s attack in an instant.
The black butterfly with four segnted wings chuckled, its form shifting slightly.
"Such a weak little thing."
Without hesitation, it returned fire.
A vortex of black energy surged outward, slamming into Spock’s small fra.
The fox was thrown from Colby’s shoulder, hitting the ground hard.
Colby roared in defiance, his fist surging forward.
His knuckles slamd into Silas’ face with full force.
For a brief mont, it looked like the hit connected.
Then—the strike slipped off.
The sa sickening sensation Paul had felt before.
Colby’s montum was useless.
Silas planted his foot against Colby’s chest and kicked forward.
The force ripped Colby backward.
At the sa ti—
Silas’ tool pierced through the last layer of flesh, tearing the shard free from Colby’s body.
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