Kael’Dros didn’t shift a muscle.
There was no tension in his body.
No weight shifting forward.
Just stillness. The kind that said he wasn’t waiting. He was watching.
His tongue moved across his teeth, slow and even.
He was still savoring the remains of his last kill.

The pressure near him wasn’t from movement.
It came from something worse.
The certainty that whatever he was about to do, it wouldn’t take effort.

“I’ll give you a head start. Meals always taste better after the chase,” Kael’Dros said.

Jaden’s feet wouldn’t move.
His chest locked up.
He couldn’t even find the courage to say a word.

Kael’Dros launched forward. The pavement cracked beneath him, chunks of asphalt flying in every direction.

Kenneth didn’t think.
He saw Jaden frozen in place and instinctively knew if he didn’t move, he’d lose him too.
And Jaden was all he had left.
He shoved Jaden with everything he had, then dove sideways before the blow hit.

The wall exploded where they’d been.
If Kenneth had moved a second later, both of them would’ve been gone.

Jaden hit the ground hard.
His lungs emptied on impact.
Dust filled his mouth before he could catch his breath.
It burned going down.
Tasted like metal, smoke, and something worse.
He coughed, pushed himself upright.

His eyes flicked across the debris.
Beside the crushed brick, burned concrete, and shattered steel, he spotted pieces from his apartment.

Among them:
Figures. Melted plastic. A controller.
His GameCube.
Next to it, the broken wing of a Gundam model.
A spine of manga, soaked and blackened.

Jaden knew he had to help his brother and then he remembered.
It had to be here somewhere.

Jaden dropped to his knees and started digging.
He ignored the pain. The cuts. The burning in his chest.

Meanwhile, Kenneth ran—cutting across the street and diving into the collapsed skeleton of a nearby building.
The floor crunched beneath his boots, dust rising with every step.
The sound of Kael’Dros’s footsteps filled the ruin behind him.

Kenneth didn’t need to look back to know they were getting closer.
Kael’Dros was dragging it out.
He wanted to see how long the human boy would run before his will wavered.

“If you get on your knees and beg, I’ll make your death quick. Maybe even painless.”

Kenneth cut left under a support beam, vaulted the counter, slid behind shattered brickwork.

Kael’Dros stalked through it all.
Claws dragging.
Tail knocking through walls as if they were made out of cardboard.

Back in the rubble, Jaden found it.
A scorched leather case. Lighter than he remembered.
He unzipped it.

Inside was the old katana. It had belonged to Kenneth, from that brief samurai obsession.
They used to cut fruit with it.
Mostly watermelons.

Now, it was all he had.

Jaden had never held a real sword before.
But he’d read enough manga to know how it should feel.
His hands shook as he gripped the hilt.
He stood.
Eyes locked on the rising smoke from the ruins across the street.

“I’m not letting you die,” he muttered.

Then he ran.

Kenneth was cornered.
Hiding in the remains of what used to be an old locker room.

There was a wide gap in the foundation behind him.
Rubble at his back.
Kael’Dros in front.

The creature loomed in the doorway.
Tail flicking.
Claws flexing slow, like he was warming up.

“Fun while it lasted,” Kael’Dros said.
“You think you can hide? I can smell the fear oozing off you, boy.”

Kael’Dros’s claws tore through the locker door.

Kenneth braced.

Behind Kael’Dros, Jaden’s scream followed.

Jaden swung the katana down with everything he had.
The blade struck Kael’Dros’s back.

There were sparks.
But the blade bounced off.
The skin wasn’t cut.
Wasn’t even dented.
It was like hitting stone with a kitchen knife.
The sword might as well have been plastic.

Kael’Dros turned.
Just a slow, deliberate look over his shoulder.

“How courageous,” he said.

He reached out and lifted Jaden with what could only be called his fingertips—
except they were claws.
Jaden rose off the ground like he weighed nothing.

Kael’Dros’s jaws parted.
Wide. Ready.

Then—

A voice.
Clear. Calm. Female.

“You always did like bullying the weak.”

Floating above the ruins, a shadow was visible through the smoke.
Long crimson hair framed sharp, focused eyes.
One horn curled smooth and back like polished obsidian.
The other jutted forward at an angle more violent than graceful.

Black wings stretched behind her.
One jagged and leathery like a bat or a demon’s.
The other curved and scaled like a dragon’s.

Her boots landed on broken concrete without hesitation.
She wore a corset-laced dress fitted in dark leather, drawn tight by a wide belt.
At first it looked decorative.
But nothing about her was just for show.

She was beautiful.
Confident. Balanced. Every movement under control.

From a distance, she could’ve passed as human.
But her horns, her wings, her presence—none of it belonged to this world.

Kael’Dros narrowed his eyes.

“…Who are you?”

The young woman smiled.
“The future queen of all dragons,” she said.
“Name’s Nova.”

Kael’Dros tilted his head, eyes narrowing again.
“You look strange. What is this form?”

Nova shrugged.
“Guess that’s what happens when you cross a gate.”

Kael’Dros sneered.
“Good. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down.”

He stepped forward, eyes glowing hotter with each word.
“Now I can kill the blemish where she stands.”

His voice dropped.
“You were always a mistake, Nova.”
A half-breed like you was never meant to stand against me.”

That line must’ve hit a nerve—because Nova didn’t wait.
The moment Kael’Dros stepped forward, she dropped from the air.
Wings snapped wide.
The impact cracked the sky.

A sonic boom ripped across the ruins.
Kael’Dros shielded his face with one clawed arm.

When he looked up—
She was already gone.

A sharp crack split the air.
Then—bam.
Nova uppercut Kael’Dros clean across the jaw, breaking one of his fangs.

Before he could even steady himself, she was gone again.

The next hit came from above.
She dropped like a meteor, heel slamming between his shoulder blades with enough force to crater the street beneath them.

Kael’Dros stumbled.
The weight and pressure were too much.
His footing gave.
The floor cracked beneath him—
and Kael’Dros dropped straight into the sewers.

The impact kicked up a thick cloud of ash and shattered stone.
Jaden and Kenneth shielded their faces, holding their breath as dust filled the street.

They didn’t wait.
They ran, feet pounding broken pavement, turning away from the crater.

Behind them, a deep massive roar tore through the ruins.
It shook the street beneath their feet.

Nova didn’t hesitate.
She knew those hits were not enough to finish him.

She shot back into the sky, spun mid-air, and opened her mouth.
A burst of flame erupted—black fire tinged with purple, slicing through the smoke like a blade.

Kael’Dros crossed his arms just before the fire hit.
The flame washed over him.

It ignited a gas pipe beneath the street.
The explosion that followed leveled the entire city block.

When the smoke cleared, Kael’Dros was still standing.
His obsidian scales glowed faint red where the fire had touched him.

He bared his teeth.
“Still playing with fire, Nova?” he said.
“It won’t save you. Let me show you—

”His voice deepened.

“This is what true power looks like.”