NEVER ALONE

Awakening

Chapter 2: The Awakening

The creature lunged forward with terrifying speed.

Ethan barely had time to react before Raven shoved him backward.

“Stay behind me!” she shouted.

The monster slammed into the ground where Ethan had been standing just seconds earlier. The impact cracked the pavement, sending pieces of concrete flying across the alley.

Ethan stumbled and fell against the wall, his heart pounding wildly.

“This… this isn’t real,” he whispered to himself.

But the monster standing only a few meters away proved otherwise.

Up close, it looked even worse.

Its body was massive and twisted, muscles stretching unnaturally beneath dark skin. Long claws scraped the pavement, leaving deep marks in the concrete.

And its glowing red eyes were locked directly on Ethan.

The creature growled low in its throat.

Like it recognized him.

Like it had been hunting him.

Ethan’s hands trembled.

“Raven,” he said weakly, “please tell me that thing can’t climb walls.”

Raven didn’t answer.

She stepped forward instead.

Her glowing blue eyes burned brighter as she faced the monster.

“You shouldn’t have brought a Hunter into the city,” she said coldly.

From the street behind them, one of the armed men stepped forward.

The same man who had spoken earlier.

His voice was calm and emotionless.

“We needed something strong enough to confirm the target.”

Ethan looked between them in confusion.

“Target?” he said. “Can someone please explain what’s going on?!”

No one answered.

The Hunter suddenly moved.

Faster than Ethan could follow.

It lunged straight toward him.

“ETHAN!” Raven shouted.

Before the creature could reach him, Raven leaped forward and slammed her foot into its side with incredible force.

The impact knocked the monster several feet across the alley.

Ethan stared in shock.

“How did you—”

The Hunter quickly recovered, shaking its massive head.

Raven landed lightly on the pavement.

“You’re stronger than I expected,” she muttered.

The monster growled again.

Then it charged.

This time Raven met it head-on.

The alley filled with the sound of claws scraping metal and concrete as Raven dodged the creature’s attacks with incredible speed.

She ducked beneath its claws.

Spun behind it.

Then struck its back with a glowing blue blade that suddenly appeared in her hand.

The Hunter roared in pain.

Ethan’s brain struggled to process everything he was seeing.

“A glowing sword?” he whispered.

The men in tactical gear watched the fight calmly from the street.

One of them spoke into a headset.

“Subject appears protected by Guardian-class operative.”

The leader nodded slightly.

“Release the second Hunter.”

Ethan’s stomach dropped.

Second?

A loud metallic click echoed from the back of the SUV.

Then something slammed violently against the inside of a steel cage.

Once.

Twice.

Then the door burst open.

Another creature stepped out.

Even larger than the first.

“Oh no,” Ethan whispered.

The second Hunter sniffed the air.

Then its glowing eyes turned toward Ethan.

It began walking toward him slowly.

Like a predator approaching helpless prey.

Ethan backed away.

“Okay,” he muttered nervously, “this is really bad.”

The creature crouched slightly.

Preparing to leap.

Across the alley, Raven saw it.

Her eyes widened.

“No!”

But she was still fighting the first monster.

She couldn’t reach Ethan in time.

The second Hunter sprang forward.

Ethan’s mind went blank.

There was nowhere to run.

Nowhere to hide.

This was it.

The monster’s claws stretched toward him.

And in that moment—

Something inside Ethan changed.

A strange heat exploded through his chest.

His vision blurred.

The sound of the world around him suddenly faded.

All he could hear was a powerful heartbeat.

His heartbeat.

And something else.

A voice.

Deep.

Ancient.

Awaken.

Ethan’s eyes snapped open.

They were glowing.

Bright silver.

The Hunter froze in mid-air.

Its body trembled violently before it crashed to the ground in front of Ethan.

But it didn’t attack.

Instead…

It bowed its head.

The entire alley went silent.

Raven stared in disbelief.

“That’s impossible,” she whispered.

The men near the SUV stepped forward in shock.

The Hunter remained completely still in front of Ethan.

Like a loyal animal waiting for its master’s command.

Ethan looked down at it, confused and terrified.

“I… I didn’t do anything.”

The creature slowly lifted its head.

Its red eyes had faded.

Now they glowed a soft silver.

The same color as Ethan’s.

The leader of the hunters narrowed his eyes.

“So it’s true,” he said quietly.

Raven slowly walked toward Ethan.

Her voice was filled with awe.

“You controlled it.”

Ethan shook his head quickly.

“I didn’t control anything!”

The first Hunter suddenly stopped fighting.

It turned toward Ethan as well.

Then it knelt beside the second creature.

Both monsters now faced him.

Completely obedient.

Ethan’s heart raced.

“What is happening?!”

Raven looked at him with a mixture of fear and amazement.

“You really don’t know.”

The hunter leader stepped forward.

His voice was filled with excitement now.

“After all these years… we finally found him.”

Ethan looked at him.

“Found who?”

The man smiled slowly.

“The heir of the Primordial Bloodline.”

Raven grabbed Ethan’s arm.

“We need to leave. Now.”

But the man raised his hand.

Several more black vehicles suddenly appeared at both ends of the street.

Armed soldiers stepped out.

Dozens of weapons pointed toward them.

Ethan’s stomach dropped.

“We’re surrounded,” he said quietly.

Raven’s expression darkened.

“Yes.”

The hunter leader smiled.

“And this time… you’re not escaping.”

Ethan looked down at the two kneeling monsters.

Then back at the armed men surrounding them.

His glowing silver eyes flickered slightly.

For the first time in his life…

He didn’t feel helpless.

The ancient voice inside him whispered again.

Command them.

Ethan slowly raised his hand.

The two Hunters stood instantly.

The ground trembled beneath their massive weight.

Every soldier stepped back in shock.

Ethan’s voice was quiet.

But steady.

“Raven…”

She looked at him.

“What?”

Ethan stared at the army surrounding them.

“I think I just made two new friends.”

The Hunter leader’s smile disappeared.

And for the first time that night…

He looked afraid.