The crash of waves echoed louder than before, carried by the sea breeze. He stumbled down the last slope and hit the shore, sand kicking up beneath his boots.

Panting, he scanned left, then right. Nothing.

The ocean glittered the same as before. The beach stretched empty, 

just rocks, boulders, and the shifting tide.

No monsters. No people. Nothing.

He crouched, hands on his knees, forcing air into his lungs. The ache in his ribs throbbed in time with his heartbeat. And then—

"AAAAAAH!"

Screaming. Distant, muffled, but real enough. 

A girl's voice. Zorn spun, scanning the beach. Nothing. His pulse raced. Movement near the far rocks caught his eye. He scrambled up a massive boulder, scraping his hands against its rough surface. 

His boots slipped once, nearly throwing him back, but he climbed high enough to see, then he spotted it.

There was a young woman, her long white hair tangled with seawater, arms thrashing as a man shoved her beneath the waves.

"Someone! Please help me!" she screamed, before he forced her head under again.

Her legs kicked desperately, white spray flying into the air.

Zorn's blood froze.

Was he trying to drown her!?

The man was massive, with shoulders like iron, towering at least seven feet tall. Dark armor covered him from head to toe, jagged spikes jutting from his pauldrons. A spiked helmet hid his face, only the faintest glow of crimson eyes visible beneath the slit.

A demon torn from a nightmare. 

Zorn was nothing beside him, just a thin figure in a red jacket, dwarfed by the man's presence.

His hands quivered, but his feet moved anyway.

He leaped from the boulder and sprinted toward them.

Run! Faster!

The girl's screams cut through his fear.

"Get off her!" He shouted.

The iron-clad monster turned, calm, and unsurprised. He lifted one hand casually. Darkness swirled into a sphere of black and violet energy. The orb pulsed once and exploded into a strong wind.

The wind howled across the beach. Sand whipped into Zorn's face, stinging his skin. The man's tattered black-and-purple cape flared behind him like the wings of some towering beast. 

Zorn threw his arms over his face, teeth gritted, forcing himself forward into the gale. Fine purple dust clung to his hair and jacket. His boots stomped into the sand with each step. 

The armored foot crashed down against the earth, sand splitting beneath it. "You have no idea what you are interfering with, boy." The man rumbled. His voice was cold and ancient. It was as heavy as the wind itself.

Zorn lowered his arms, shouting through clenched teeth. "I don't care!" He pushed forward, legs straining as if sheer will could shatter the gale. He wouldn't run. Not when someone needed him.

A pulse shot through his arm. Red and black light cracked across his skin like molten lightning, crawling toward his fingertips. His glyph flared, sensing his willpower.

The air shifted. The wind faltered, just for a moment. The iron monster didn't move. Calm. Expectant. 

Why wasn't he worried? What was wrong with this freak?

Zorn raised his glowing hand. Rage and desperation poured through him. Sand trembled beneath his feet. The sea pulled back, receding unnaturally fast, as if the world itself feared the power surging from him.

***

The girl sat paralyzed in the shallows, trembling as the wind whipped her hair across her face. Curled on her knees, she watched the battle unfold, wide-eyed. “Incredible,” she breathed.

Her heart slammed against her ribs, each beat stealing her breath. Saltwater trickled from her bangs, stinging her eyes, blurring the world into a smear of light and shadow.

She scrambled backward, hands scraping wet stone, feet slipping. Every nerve screamed: run, run, run! But her body obeyed too slowly, heavy and clumsy from fear.

Then she froze. She saw that the water was pulling away. It hissed as it receded, leaving shallow pools that mirrored the sky. Grains of sand clung to her drenched legs. Her hair hung in heavy ropes, dragging at her shoulders.

A roar split the air. The clash echoed across the waves, the sound of water breaking against power far beyond her understanding.

"That boy...his fury... that strength... is he—?"

Her chest tightened. She shook the thought from her mind.

"No. Survival first!"

She sprinted, taking advantage of the distraction. Bare feet dragged through the wet sand, white dress clinging to her, hair slapping her face. Every step was a fight against panic, fear, and the pull of the receding tide. She ran toward the forest, praying she wouldn't look back.

***

Zorn lunged, fist glowing red and black. The monster caught it in his palm.

CLANG!

The impact cracked like thunder. 

Wind exploded outward between them. Sand collapsed into pits beneath their feet. But the man didn't budge. Not an inch. 

"You are unsteady. Impulsive!" he rumbled, tightening his grip on Zorn's fist. "You cannot win like this."

Before Zorn could react, he was yanked forward, and a fist drove into his stomach. Air tore from his lungs. The world tilted. His knees hit the sand, then he collapsed, wheezing. 

The monster released him without care. Zorn crumpled at his feet. "You try to fight a man, yet still react like a mere boy," the man said, voice like grinding earth. He stepped forward, slowly pointing at Zorn. "You'd save one life at the cost of countless others? You nearly summoned a tsunami. Then what, child?"

Zorn coughed, clutching his stomach. The man's stare was cold, unyielding, and his tone was heavy with frustration. "If I hadn't stopped you, your recklessness would've drowned everyone, for the sake of one useless girl."

"How... how did you stop me? That was my strongest ability," Zorn gasped.

"Lunaclast..."

"L-Luna, what?"

"Lunaclast. A Cancri spell. Breaker of hidden, destructive tides. I seeded a fragment of it into my sphere before you struck. You are inferior to it... knowing what you are."

Inferior to it?

What I am? Does he know me? Stalking? Or... too much insight?

"You're teaching me this, why?"

"You're not my target. The girl is." 

The waves calmed. The place where she had been thrashed was empty. The monster tilted his head. A growl rumbled deep in his chest. "She escaped..." His spiked gauntlet clenched into a fist. Then he pointed at Zorn.

"You foolish boy. You may be a child of the Mars Mage... but you lack his intellect. His intuition. May whatever falls upon you wake you to your mistakes."

The words struck deeper than any fist could.

His body broke apart into black and purple dust, swirling like ash in the breeze before vanishing into the sea. Zorn lay there, breath shallow, sand sticking to sweat-soaked skin. 

His eyes dropped to his wrist. The glyph glowed faintly, dark light pulsing before fading. His hand trembled. 

What had just happened? Who was that monster? And what did he mean by 'Child of the Mars Mage'?

The waves rolled gently, mocking him.

Zorn clenched his fist, gripping the sand until the grains slipped through his fingers, carried off by the tide. Like his strength. The ache in his stomach reminded him: he wasn't strong enough yet.

Not even close.