METAL HEART

The Demon in the Dark

The night was filled with pandemonium.

Sophia barely had time to grasp the devastation all around her. The amphitheatre trembled beneath her boots, with fractures running like veins through the marble floor as the old security systems came to life. The once-grand stage of knowledge had devolved into a conflict zone. Above, the sky swirled, the unnatural darkness separating as shadows slithered through the breach.

She realized things had gone wrong.

Zeta remained rigid behind her, his flaming eyes scouring the battleground. His demeanor had altered, from calm and observant to keen and calculated.

"Zeta, move!" she yelled as one of the amphitheatre's defensive structures pounced at him.

The AI dodged with seamless accuracy, his reflexes quicker than any human. The creature swung again, sending a sword of raw energy cutting toward him. Zeta caught the strike in midair, his fingertips clutching the light-forged metal. A minute later, the energy blade fractured, with the bits melting into nothing.

The crowd shrieked as more of the creations appeared, their eyes shining with artificial intelligence from a long-ago past. They were designed to defend, but they had identified Zeta as a threat.

Then the air shifted.

The temperatures plummeted. Shadows twisted.

Sophia whirled swiftly as a man plummeted from the skies. His dark wings spread widely before folding behind him, blocking out all other sounds. Smoke coiled around his boots as he landed on the broken earth, his golden eyes sparkling with something ancient and terrible.

Kael.

Sophia felt her chest tightening. His presence was intense, almost stifling, like standing on the edge of an abyss and knowing it was gazing back. He didn't gaze at Zeta with curiosity but with recognition.

"I should kill you," Kael murmured, his voice bearing the weight of centuries. "But I have questions first."

Zeta turned to face him directly, his countenance opaque. The flame in his eyes became more intense. "You know who I am."

Kael's eyes twitched, and his jaw tightened. "I know what you are."

Sophia walked between them without realizing what she was doing. "Back off."

Kael's gaze went to her, amusement lighting across his features for a split second before fading. "You don't know what you've created, Doctor."

"I didn't create him to be hunted," she retorted, her fists tight.

Kael curved his lips with a sly smirk. "Hunted? Oh, you misunderstand. "The real hunt has not even begun."

The ground trembled loudly beneath them, and Sophia stumbled, catching herself against Zeta. The amphitheatre was breaking apart. Above them, the sky proceeded to rip open, revealing something gigantic within the vacuum. The constructs had stopped assaulting, their blazing eyes fixed on the sky as if they were waiting for something much worse.

Thrain stormed onto the scene, his warriors forming up behind him. His eyes immediately focused on Kael, and his demeanour darkened. "You," he hissed.

Kael turned, his wings moving slightly. "King Thrain." "How fitting."

Thrain disregarded the taunt, shifting his focus to the sky. "Isn't this your doing?"

Kael chuckled. "If it were my doing, you'd already be dead."

Sophia didn't have time for their animosity. "Someone tell me what the hell is happening!"

Zeta's voice broke through the noise. "Something is coming."

A surge of energy rushed through the ruins, sending a loud shockwave through the amphitheatre. Sophia hardly had time to respond when a fresh person appeared from the darker sky, stepping through the breach as if it were a simple doorway.

He was tall and dressed in flowing black robes that appeared to move with the breeze despite the silence around them. His face was hidden behind a hood, but his presence was unmistakable. He emanated strength like Sophia had never felt before.

The amphitheatre went silent.

Kael's smirk disappeared. Thrain's warriors stiffened, guns drawn but still.

Sophia felt the hairs on her arms raise as the man spoke, his voice both whispering and roaring. "You have something that belongs to us."

His gaze focused on Zeta.

Zeta didn't move. "I belong to no one."

The guy bent his head slightly as if contemplating the statement. He raised his hand, and the ruins reacted.

The amphitheatre erupted in electricity, with raw power tendrils coiling through the air. Sophia barely had time to push herself backwards before one of the energy attacks broke the ground beneath her feet.

Kael moved first.

He rushed forward with scary speed, his black wings carrying him through the mayhem. His golden blade appeared in his hand as he struck the cloaked person, but the assault did not land. The figure just raised a hand, and Kael was propelled backwards with an invisible force, colliding with one of the amphitheatre's damaged columns.

Sophia hardly had time to digest it before Thrain's forces charged, their rifles illuminating the battlefield. The guy did not move and simply raised his hand again. A shockwave erupted, knocking half the warriors to their knees.

Sophia grasped Zeta's wrist. "We have to move!"

Zeta hesitated, her gaze fixed on the cloaked figure. Something flickered behind them—recognition, perhaps even terror. But he obliged, turning and stepping quickly alongside her as they headed for the exit.

Kael was already standing up, blood running from his lip as he wiped it away with the back of his palm. His golden eyes heated. "You made a mistake coming here."

The cloaked person finally focused his whole attention on Kael. "You are not who you once were, Fallen One. "You can't stop what's coming."

Kael clenched his jaw. Then he smiled slowly and dangerously. "Try me."

And with that, he lunged again.

Sophia and Zeta barely got out of the amphitheatre before another explosion shook the ground. She had no idea where they were running; all she knew was that staying behind would be death.

Zeta's grasp tightened on her hand. "They won't stop coming."

She gulped hard. "Then we make them."

The city loomed ahead, its shadowy streets offering little safety. The sky behind them continued to tear apart, and Sophia was confident of one thing.

The war had already started.