Prologue
1039 Words
“Until death, no one will give up!”
I opened my eyes and found myself standing in the middle of a ruined street. The air smelled of smoke and blood. Fires burned in the distance, and black ash drifted through the air like falling snow.
At first, I thought it was only a nightmare. But everything felt too sharp, too real. The smoke stung my throat. The ground under my bare feet was hot, rough, and shaking as if the earth itself was alive.
And then I heard it, screams.
Ahead of me was a battlefield.
Humans stood in ragged lines, shouting orders, raising rifles, blades, even torches. Their faces were twisted with fear and anger. Their voices were rough, filled with desperation.
Across from them stood creatures that weren’t fully human. Hybrids. Their glowing eyes shone like predators. Some had fur creeping over their arms, claws ready to strike, teeth bared.
The two sides faced each other, holding still. The silence stretched so tight it could snap.
And I was standing right between them.
Then, a gun fired.
The silence broke.
Chaos exploded. The humans charged, screaming and firing. The hybrids leapt forward, claws ripping through flesh, jaws snapping on throats. The c***k of gunfire filled the air. The smell of blood grew thick.
I stumbled back, hands over my ears, but the noise came from every side, roars, cries, the clash of steel against claws.
A body dropped in front of me, blood spreading over the dirt. I screamed. I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn’t move. I was frozen, like the dream itself was holding me here.
The ground was red.
I tried to back away, but the battle surrounded me. A hybrid lunged past, tearing into a soldier who fell with a scream. Another hybrid, taller than the rest, swung his claws and cut down three men at once. His eyes glowed golden, bright like fire.
The humans fought back with everything they had. One soldier stabbed a hybrid with a silver blade, and the creature collapsed, howling. Gunshots ripped through fur and flesh. Blood sprayed across the ground.
I wanted to scream again, but no sound came out.
Then I saw someone.
He stood among the hybrids, taller and stronger than anyone else. His very presence pulled the others to him. Even the hybrids slowed, waiting for his command. His eyes glowed with fury. His voice was like thunder as he shouted orders.
I froze.
I didn’t know him. Not really. And yet, something inside me whispered otherwise. His face was both strange and familiar, like a shadow from a memory I couldn’t reach. My chest tightened as if I had always known him.
And opposite him, leading the humans, was a woman with fire in her eyes. Her face was streaked with dirt and blood, but her stance was strong. She held a rifle in one hand, a silver blade in the other. She lifted her weapon and shouted, “Don’t stop! Push forward! For freedom!”
The soldiers echoed her cry.
“For freedom!”
My knees almost gave out when I realized who she was.
It was me.
My own face. My own voice.
I couldn’t understand it. Was I looking at myself? Or was this some cruel trick of a dream?
The ground shook.
The hybrids attacked harder, faster, like a storm. Soldiers screamed and fell. The humans answered with more fire and steel. The smell of smoke and death wrapped around me.
And then, my other self, the woman, locked eyes with the man, the hybrid leader.
And he looked back at her.
For a second, the world stilled. The sounds of battle faded. The firelight dimmed. Only the two of them remained, rage against rage, power against power.
She raised her blade. He bared his claws.
They attacked each other.
The clash shook the earth. Sparks burst as steel hit claw. They moved too fast for me to follow, striking again and again, neither backing down. His roar echoed through me like thunder. Her scream was sharp, filled with fire.
“You think you can defy me?” he roared.
“Yes!” the other me shouted, her voice raw. “I will never bow to you!”
Steel and claw crashed again. Each blow sent shivers through the ground. She fought with desperate strength. He fought with burning anger. Neither would stop.
Around them, the war kept raging. Hybrids ripped through soldiers. Guns fired. Bodies fell until the earth was covered in red.
And still I stood there. Helpless.
“Stop…” I whispered, my voice shaking. No one heard me.
“Please stop!” I tried louder, but my words were swallowed by screams.
Tears filled my eyes. I didn’t even know who I wanted to win. I didn’t know which side was right. All I knew was that everything was breaking, and I couldn’t save anyone.
The man’s voice tore through the battlefield. “You’re a mistake, Cosette! You should never have been here!”
The words cut through me like a knife. My knees buckled. A mistake.
The other me’s face twisted with rage. “Then I’ll die fighting you!” she shouted, swinging her blade. It cut across his arm, blood spraying.
He staggered but didn’t fall. His eyes glowed hotter. His claws struck her side. She gasped but lunged again, her blade aimed at his throat.
“Die, then!” he roared.
Their weapons smashed together, the sound like thunder. Sparks exploded. The battlefield blurred, screams, blood, hybrids, humans, all faded until only the two of them remained. His fury.
I couldn’t breathe. His words pounded in my head. A mistake. You don’t belong. You should never have been here.
And then, he looked at me.
Not her. Me. The real me.
His eyes locked onto mine through the chaos. For a moment, everything else disappeared.
“You,” he growled, his voice low and merciless. “You’re the reason for this. You’re the beginning of the end.”
My chest cracked open. “No…”
The other me slashed her blade across his chest, blood spilling, but his gaze never left me.
“You will destroy us all!”
- Writer
