As I finally make it back home, the familiar silhouette of the house looms in the fading twilight, and I can hear voices drifting from inside, muted yet unmistakable. It's my parents' voices, warm and comforting as always, but there's another, unexpected presence among them—a voice I never thought I'd hear again. With my heart pounding in my chest, I sprint towards the front door, wrenching it open with a burst of desperate energy. Bursting into the living room, I am confronted with the surreal sight of my parents seated comfortably, engaged in conversation with the last person I ever expected to see.
"Claire… How are you here?" I ask, my voice laced with disbelief, knowing full well she's dead and gone, a memory buried deep. She turns to face me, her lips curling into a smile that chills the room—a sickly, unsettling grin. "Oh hello, Kamen. I was just having a lovely chat with your parents. They were incredibly kind and shared so much more about you, things I never knew," she says, her voice dripping with a twisted sweetness.
I turn my attention to my parents, noticing their eyes looking empty and lifeless, as though their minds have been drained. The sight stirs a deep anger within me, like a brewing storm. "What did you do to them, Claire? Tell me!" I yell, my voice breaking under the weight of my emotions, my rage nearly overwhelming me. Claire meets my gaze, frowning with clear indifference. "I didn't do much, just a bit of brainwashing to extract some information. They'll revert to normal. But beyond that, who knows? They might survive, or they might not."
Hearing this, I feel a surge of energy as I launch myself forward, driving my fist into her face and knocking her to the ground, just like before. The fury within me fuels my strength. "Undo it now! Fix this!" I shout, striking her in the stomach as she lies there. She gasps as my fist connects with her gut, causing her to retch slightly. Wiping her face, she turns to me with a snarl. "You'll have to kill me before I do that."
My anger blazes fiercely, like a wildfire consuming everything in its path, as I watch the gauge on my gauntlet steadily climb to 80%. The heat of my fury intensifies with every passing second. I shift my gaze back to her, the target of my wrath, and with a swift, powerful kick, I connect with her chin, sending her to the ground, unconscious. "You're going to pay for this, Claire. I swear it," I mutter through gritted teeth, turning to my parents, who stand frozen, confused and unaware. I wave my hand in front of their faces, desperation gnawing at me. "Damn it! What the hell am I supposed to do now? Maybe Caleif will have some answers." Frustration spills over as I fumble for my phone, fingers trembling, and dial her number, the only lifeline I can think of.
Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Caleif is in a whirlwind of motion, hastily getting dressed as urgency propels her through the house. Her voice, a commanding echo, calls out for Mira, her trusted right-hand woman. Mira appears with a furrowed brow, the concern evident in her eyes despite the calm she projects. "What's happening, Caleif? Why the haste?" she inquires, her voice unwavering even as the tension in the room thickens like a storm on the horizon.
"I can't really explain much, but it seems that Claire is back somehow; she's at Kamen's house and did something to his parents. We need to hurry over there. Get Eden, Celli, and Madi and head to Kamen's house. I'll meet you there," Caleif urges, her voice tinged with urgency and a hint of fear. She dashes through the library, her footsteps echoing on the polished wooden floor, and grabs two ancient tomes with leather-bound covers, their pages yellowed with age. Without pausing, she bursts out the front door into the crisp, open air. Spreading her wings wide, their feathers glistening in the sunlight, she takes flight with powerful, graceful strokes, soaring over the rooftops and trees, her destination clear in her mind: Kamen's house.
I slam my boot into Claire's stomach, the crack of bone—or was it ribs?—echoing in the cramped living room. She gags, retching out the foul mess I forced up. I lean down, eyes ablaze. "You should've stayed dead, Claire," I growl. "Why come back and fuck with my parents?"
Claire hoots through a wince, clutching her gut. "If you'd never taken the gauntlet, Kamen, none of this would've happened. I can't let you live—you're a threat to me and everyone else." She swings her blade in a flash, but I snatch it, wrenching it free. With a savage twist I drive it into her thigh. The blade tears through flesh and hits the artery, blood spouting like a crimson fountain, splattering my shirt and face. Claire's scream—a piercing wail—rattles my skull.
"You bastard," she spits between clenched teeth, one hand clawing at the wound. "If I pull this out, I'll kill you and your whole family!"
I seize her shirt, yanking her upright so our faces hover inches apart. Her blood beads on my chin. "Don't you dare threaten my family," I hiss. "You're already dying again, and I'll make sure you stay dead. One more word and I'll cut your head off—stick it on a pike like Vlad the Impaler."
Claire laughs, hoarse and bitter. "You don't have the balls for that, Kamen. You'd piss yourself before you—"
I press my boot down on her midsection, pinning her as the blade slices deeper. Her eyes widen, terror and fury mingling as the wound blooms. "Shut up. Don't make it worse."
She looks up at me, hatred burning in her gaze, then spits blood onto my cheek. I sigh, sliding my foot over her mouth. "Estingoth," I call, voice trembling with exhaustion and rage. "What do you think?"
The demon grunts beside me. "Torture her for answers," he rumbles. "Though I doubt you're that kind of monster—"
"I'll torture her," I cut in, malice coiling tight in my chest. "If it means saving my parents." I stare down at Claire, triumphant.
Footsteps crash on the porch. I glance toward the window: Caleif bursting in with a woman I've never seen—her dark hair cascading like silk, eyes wide with alarm.
They storm into the living room. Caleif skids to a halt at the sight of Claire pinned to the floor in a pool of her own blood. Relief and horror war on her face. "Kamen!" she cries, then darts to my parents' side. Their eyelids flutter, eyes vacant. She curses, yanks a battered tome from her satchel, flipping pages in frantic motion.
"Here—Claire used a brain-eating worm," Caleif gasps. "It controls the host, keeps them alive but helpless. After too long it burrows deep—consumes the brain. They'll be vegetables, and then…" Her voice cracks.
I sprint back to Claire and drive my boot into her gut. She gulps air, spine arching. "How long have those worms been in their heads? ANSWER ME!" I bellow, vision red. Claire laughs through blood-slicked lips.
"Too late, Kamen," she wheezes. "They've been infected for days. They'll die soon—and there's nothing you can do."
My heart twists as I reel from her words. "Caleif—please, there has to be a cure!" I claw at her arm.
She meets my gaze, grief etched deep. "Only a true healer could save them. Mira and I—neither of us can reverse this."
Panic and fury clash inside me, igniting the gauntlet on my fist. Its runes flare red, conversion of anger into raw power. I lash out, hammering Claire in the side. The blow lifts her off the floor; the blade rips free from her leg with a wet rip. She shrieks, crashing through the low ceiling, beams splintering overhead. Seconds later she thuds back down, crumpled and groaning.
I tower above her, fists coiling like steel traps. She tries to beg. "Kamen, I'm—"
I let loose a barrage of punches to her face, each impact sending shock-waves through the room. Bone cracks beneath my fists; blood sprays. Seconds stretch into an eternity as I pummel her until her skull is nothing but a pasty ruin.
Breathing ragged, I step away and drop to my knees beside my parents. Their faces—so familiar—are pale and still. I cup my mother's cheek, tasting salt on my fingers. "Mom, Dad…I'm so sorry. I should've been here. Please stay with me. You raised me, loved me—I can't lose you."
Caleif and the stranger—Mira—stand behind me, solemn. Caleif shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Kamen. There was no way. The worms…they did this."
I press my forehead to my mother's limp hand. "I love you," I whisper, voice breaking. "Please wake up."
My father's lips quiver. "K-Kamen…we—we tried to hide it, the best we could. We didn't want you to worry." He smiles weakly through labored breath. "Don't blame yourself. We…we will always love you no matter what. One..One day we'll meet again, I prom-."
His words falter. Their eyes glaze over; their breathing stutters and stops. Silence crashes around me like thunder.
"No! Don't leave me!" I roar, tears burning hot. "Why them? Why not me?" The gauntlet pulses, its glow intensifying with my grief. The floor trembles, walls fracture. I gasp, rage and sorrow fueling its power.
"Kamen, stop!" Caleif shouts, but the quake grows. Cracks spiderweb across the ceiling. Beams groan.
With a final, deafening roar that seemed to echo through the very marrow of my bones, the house splits in two as though it were made of paper. Caleif lunges with the strength of desperation, seizing my arm with a grip that promises safety, yanking me through the front doorway just as the roof collapses in a thunderous cacophony behind us. The air is thick with dust, choking the already fractured night, as debris rains down like a merciless storm. I stumble into the open, my chest heaving with the weight of loss, surrounded by the ruins of everything I had ever held dear. "FUCK, FUCK," I scream, my voice reaching an octave that shatters the silence of the night. With a surge of futile hope, I punch the ground, my fists trembling as if trying to shake the earth itself. Desperation propels me towards the wreckage, my mind consumed with the singular thought of rescuing my parents. Panic and dread intertwine as I begin tearing at the debris, my hands moving with frenzied urgency. Caleif's hand rests gently on my shoulder, an anchor in my storm of emotions.
"They're not gone, they're not gone," I insist, my voice a frantic whisper of denial as I continue my frantic efforts. "They can't be, they're still in there. I know it. I need to help them, I have to get them out. Someone help me get them out!" My words tumble out in a torrent of panic, my mind too clouded to grasp the futility of my actions. Caleif turns me around, her eyes meeting mine with a look of sorrow before she slaps me across the face. "Kamen, please. It's too late," she says, her voice a solemn balm against the raw edges of my despair. "I'm sorry, but we can't do anything for them anymore."
The realization crashes over me like a relentless wave, and I fall to my knees, a wail of grief and anger tearing from my throat, echoing into the darkness that now envelops me. Caleif winces at the sound, but her resolve remains unshaken. "Damn it, Kamen, I'm sorry," she murmurs as I collapse to the ground, the weight of loss rendering me unconscious. "Mira, help me pick him up. We need to get him out of here before anyone comes asking questions," Caleif orders, her voice steady as she and Mira lift me from the ground, pulling me away from the devastation.
Hours later, I awake in the room I had occupied before, the shadows of earlier events still clinging to the corners of my mind. I sit up abruptly, my heart pounding as I rip the sheets from my body and leap out of bed. "Mom, Dad," I mutter, the words a bitter lamentation. "Damn it. Why couldn't I be there sooner?" My fist connects with the wall beside the bed, a futile attempt to dispel the unyielding grief that clings to me like a second skin.