The two of them stepped outside into the cool night air,

As Elias and Dante walked through the quiet streets, the cool night air did little to ease Elias' restless thoughts. Dante, sensing his mood, nudged him.

"So, what's the plan, oh great awakened one? Gonna burn down the school with your tiny fire trick?"

Elias scoffed. "Yeah, if the fire even lasts long enough to light a candle."

Dante chuckled. "Hey, at least you got something. I'm still just a regular guy."

Elias glanced at him. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

They continued walking, their casual banter filling the silence of the deserted street. Streetlights flickered dimly above them, casting long shadows as the night deepened.

Then, suddenly, the air changed.

The temperature dropped sharply, and an unnatural heaviness pressed down on them. A deep, suffocating weight settled in their chests, like the very fabric of reality had shifted.

Dante stopped mid-step. "Do you feel that?"

Elias' breath hitched as a low, guttural hum reverberated through the air. The ground beneath them cracked slightly. Then, without warning—
SHRRRRRK!

A jagged tear split open the space before them, dark energy crackling along its edges. A portal, swirling with shadows and pulsating with an eerie glow, widened before their eyes.
And then it stepped out.

A towering skeletal figure, easily over ten feet tall, emerged. Its bones were blackened and worn, held together by sinewy strands of dark energy. Its hollow eye sockets glowed with a sickly green fire, and in its bony grip, it held a massive, rusted cleaver that dripped with some unearthly substance.

A low, bone-chilling groan rumbled from its hollow chest as it turned its gaze toward them.
Dante took an instinctive step back. "Nope. Nope. I don't like that."

Elias' stomach twisted. He had never felt anything like this before—like the very essence of death was staring him down.

The skeleton creature let out a hollow roar that sent a shockwave through the air, cracks splintering the pavement beneath it.

Then it took a step forward.
Elias clenched his fists. What the hell do we do now?

Darkness swirling within, and from its depths, an enormous skeletal figure emerged. Its body was wrapped in tattered, ancient cloth, runes glowing faintly across its cracked bones. Hollow eye sockets burned with an eerie green fire as it fixed its gaze on Elias.

With a slow, deliberate motion, the monster lifted one bony hand and pointed directly at him.
Then it moved.

The ground quaked beneath its weight as it lunged forward, raising a massive fist. Elias barely had time to react before the blow struck him like a sledgehammer. Pain exploded in his ribs as he was flung backward, skidding across the pavement. His vision blurred, his ears ringing.
"Elias!"

Dante was already moving, stepping between his fallen friend and the towering monster. Without hesitation, he clenched his fists, standing his ground.

"Come on, you ugly bastard!" he growled.

The skeleton responded with terrifying speed. Its arm lashed out like a battering ram, hitting Dante square in the chest. A sickening crack echoed through the air as he was launched like a ragdoll, slamming into a streetlight. He crumpled to the ground, coughing violently, blood speckling his lips.

The creature wasted no time. It loomed over Dante, raising a skeletal foot to stomp him into the pavement.

Elias watched, frozen. He wanted to move. He needed to move. But his body refused to listen. A deep, crushing helplessness wrapped around him like iron chains.
Move!

His fists clenched, his teeth grit—
A blazing fireball roared through the air.
The explosion knocked the skeleton off balance, flames licking at its bones. A figure slid across the pavement, coming to a stop between Dante and the monster.
It was Logan.

He cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders as embers danced around his fingertips. A cocky smirk pulled at his lips.

"No one lays a hand on these idiots except me," he said, his voice laced with amusement. "And you? You don't have that privilege."

The skeleton screeched—a sound that curdled blood—before charging at Logan with unnatural speed.

The fight began.

Logan ducked as a bony fist cut through the air where his head had been a second ago. With a swift motion, he conjured a whip of fire, lashing it across the creature's ribs. Bone splintered, cracks forming under the searing heat. But the monster was unfazed. It retaliated, claws raking forward. Logan barely managed to twist away, but not fast enough—
A deep gash tore across his side. Blood spattered onto the ground.

"Shit—" Logan hissed, stumbling back.

The skeleton capitalized, slamming its knee into his stomach. Logan choked, his vision flashing white as he was thrown across the street. He rolled, struggling to push himself up, coughing blood.

The monster didn't stop. It turned back toward Dante, still lying motionless.
Elias's breath hitched.

Something snapped inside him.
A voice, deep and echoing, whispered in his mind.
Unleash it.

His pupils dilated. His irises darkened, bleeding into pure black voids. The air around him grew cold, shadows twisting unnaturally at his feet. His body moved without thought, driven by an instinct older than time itself.

One second, he was standing still.
The next—
A blur of motion.

In a single blink, Elias reappeared in front of the skeleton. His hand gripped something—a blade of obsidian, its edges wreathed in violet energy. Before the monster could react, Elias swung.
A shockwave tore through the street.

The skeleton's entire torso was bisected in a single strike. Its upper half hit the pavement with a deafening crash, the runes on its bones flickering before dying out completely. The lower half collapsed right after, disintegrating into dust.
Silence.

Logan and Dante stared, wide-eyed.
Elias stood there, panting, his blade still humming with unnatural energy. His hands trembled, his breath ragged.

Dante was the first to speak.
"...Well, holy shit," he muttered, wiping the blood from his mouth. He let out a breathless chuckle. "Okay, new rule: remind me to never piss you off."

Logan was still shocked by thinking what just happened.
Elias turned toward him, his eyes still dark. But as quickly as it had come, the energy in him faded. The blade vanished into black smoke. His vision blurred.

Then, everything went black.

lias groaned as his eyes flickered open, his body sore and aching. His mind was a haze, flashes of last night's fight bleeding into the edges of his consciousness. The skeleton, the fight, the surge of power—his hand instinctively clenched, but there was no trace of whatever the hell had taken over him.

"What the fuck happened to me...?" he muttered under his breath, staring at the ceiling. He barely remembered how the fight ended—just the feeling of something raw, violent, and overwhelming spilling out of him.

Pushing himself up, he winced. His body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder. That damn skeleton had tossed him around like a ragdoll before... before it happened.
A knock on the door.

Dante stood at the entrance, arms crossed, his own bruises visible. "You're finally awake, dumbass."

Elias raised a brow. "No 'good morning'? No 'hey buddy, glad you're alive'?"

Dante scoffed. "I dragged your unconscious ass home with Logan. You're welcome, by the way."

Elias rubbed his temple. "Shit... so I blacked out?"

Dante nodded. "Yeah. You went all feral, turned into some untouchable demon of death for a second, cut that skeleton to pieces, then collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. We thought you were dead, man."

Elias exhaled sharply. "Yeah, well, I feel like I should be."

AT SCHOOL

Whispers followed Elias the second he stepped through the school gates. The entire goddamn place was buzzing with murmurs, eyes darting toward him. He knew exactly why.

"That's the guy the Arcane Council took yesterday..."

"Did you see the bruises? What the hell did they do to him?"

"Maybe he's some kind of criminal. Why else would the Council drag him off like that?"

Elias gritted his teeth and kept walking, pretending he didn't hear any of it.

Then, a familiar voice. "Oi, monster boy!"

He turned to see Logan approaching with his usual cocky grin. "Mind explaining what the fuck that was yesterday?"

Elias sighed. "No idea."

Logan scoffed. "Bullshit. One second, you're getting your ass kicked, the next, you're some goddamn reaper slicing through that thing like it's nothing. That wasn't normal."

Elias exhaled, rubbing his temple. "Yeah, no shit."
Just then, another voice interrupted.

"Elias!"
Faith.

She looked worried, glancing at his bruises, then back at his eyes. "Are you okay? What happened yesterday? Why did the Arcane Council take you?"

Elias forced a smirk, waving her off. "Nothing major. Just a misunderstanding."
Faith frowned. "That doesn't sound like 'nothing'."

Before she could press further, Dante leaned in with a smirk. "Damn, Carter, you getting special treatment now? Must be nice having pretty girls so worried about you."

Elias shot him a glare. "Shut up, Dante."

Dante grinned. "I'm just saying, man, she's looking at you like you're about to die in a war and she doesn't want to regret not saying something."

Faith's cheeks turned red. "I—That's not—"

Elias sighed. "Dante, shut your mouth before I shut it for you."

Dante laughed, clapping him on the back. "Alright, alright, fine. Speaking of which... Logan."

Logan turned to him with a raised brow.

Dante's expression grew serious. "Thanks for stepping up last night. I mean it. You didn't have to, but you did. And that... means something."

Logan clicked his tongue. "Yeah, well, don't get the wrong idea. No one gets to beat the shit out of you two losers except me."

Logan shrugged. "Take it or leave it."

Dante smirked. "Either way... I owe you."

Logan gave a half-smile but didn't say anything.

END OF CHAPTER 3.

END OF CHAPTER 3.