Adam slowly crawled out of the bushes, his breathing ragged. His eyes fixed on Ash, who stood there—silent, dripping blood, his face unreadable. Blood pooled at his feet, half his and half the Rad-beast.

  “Ash? … you okay?” Adam’s voice trembled, caught between caution and concern. He reached out, hesitantly placing a hand on Ash’s shoulder.

  The moment he touched him, Ash collapsed like a felled tree. Adam stumbled back.

  “(Oh shit, is he dead?!) ” Adam’s mind screamed as he looked down at Ash’s broken body.

  “(Of course he’d die after breaking his body to that extent… crazy bastard!!)”

  Then Ash coughed a mouthful of green blood that conveniently splattered all over Adam, almost giving him another heart attack.

  “AAAAAAH IT’S EVERYWHERE?!” Adam cried out in horror and disgust as he fumbled back while aggressively wiping away the blood and puking at the same time.

  As Adam whizzed, he faintly heard Ash breathing. Adam gazed back—Ash, as though he didn’t just fight to the death, lay there peacefully resting.

  Time and time again, Ash did the impossible and undid what Adam believed was the best course of survival.

  But what chilled him wasn’t the blood—it was the memory of just moments ago.

  “(That… killing intent. I’ve never felt something like that. Not from awakened, not from monsters… and he’s supposed to be a null?!)”

  Before Adam could catch his breath, a sharp snap of a branch made his rat instincts flare. He spun around—eyes wide—as figures emerged from the treeline one after another.

  “Damn,” a dreadlocked man muttered, a spiked club slung lazily over his shoulder. “Crazy bastard actually did it.”

  “Are we even sure he’s a null?” another sneered, puffing smoke from a half-burnt cigarette. “He fought like a Homo-balloter.”

  Within seconds, a dozen men surrounded Adam and Ash.

  Adam froze. “The Goliath-clan… and the Hyena-clan?!!.” His stomach dropped.

  “What do you want with us?!” he demanded.

  The dreadlocked man grinned, teeth flashing like a predator. “Come on, rat. You’ve been here long enough. You know how things go around here!!.”

  The bald man exhaled smoke through his nose. “Stand aside. Our mission is clear. That null bastard belongs to Boss Goliath.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  The dreadlock man smirked. “Fine by me. We’ll just take the Rad-beast’s marrow instead.”

  ‘’W..WAIT!!’’ Adam shouted halting the advancing group,

  ‘’What?..don’t tell me you wanna start begging as usual?…sorry no can do…unfortunately you pissed off a lot of people yesterday..’’ the dreadlocks guy shrugged his shoulders, seemingly sealing the fate of both Adam and ash,

  ‘’No..that’s not it!!’’ Adam objected,

  ‘’I already knew my fate was sealed the moment I stood with ash…so tell me one thing…’’ Adam pleaded,

  ‘’I’ll Consider this as your final words…’’ the bald guy grumbled.

  ‘’it…It..it was you guys…wasn’t it?!!’’ Adam spoke through gritted teeth, more terrified than angry.

  ‘’It was you guys who lured the rad-beast to us wasn’t it?!…and you were hired as well weren’t you?!’’ Adam confronted not only them but his instincts to bow and beg for his life, just like he always did in these types of situations,

  The entire forest went quite for a moment—before all the men surrendering the two bursted into laughter,

  all except the two leaders of the two groups,

  Their face unreadable, then a shout—

  ‘’WELL AIN’T THAT A FIRST?! THE RAT IS ACTUALLY SPEAKING UP FOR HIMSELF FOR THE FIRST TIME?!’’ One yelled.

  The bold guy glared at Adam, his bloodlust bursting out like a wave, silencing the entire forest,

  ‘’So you realised?…’’ the bold guy asked, still glaring Adam to his soul,

  ‘’As I thought…the rumours were true after all…for a chimera rat bastard to live this long on this god forsaken island…’’ the dreadlocks guy said, amusement in his voice,

  ‘’Hahaha!! that brain is really something else huh?…no wonder you survived this long!!…!!’’ The dreadlock’s guy said with a chuckle,

  ‘’Almost making me want to spare your life~…’’ the dreadlock guy continued but was cut off by a sword to his throat.

  ‘’Watch it…that’s not for you to decide…’’ the bald guy threatened, the auras clashing violently.

  This one sentence broke everyone in a cold sweat, as a wave of pressure forced him to his knees.

  As both clans pointed their weapons at each other as well, ready to tear each other apart.

  ‘’But your fate is not in my hands now is it?!…’’ the dreadlocks guy chuckled to himself,

  As though cold water was poured on him, that spark of hope deemed once more, as Adam felt betrayed and hopeless once more!!

  ‘’Enough of this…I’ve decided I’ll take that Null-born named ash to the boss, and as for you…’’ the bald guy glared at Adam,

  ‘’I’ll just kill you where you stand!!’’ The bald guy declared as he drew out his sword,

  But before either side could move, two canisters dropped into the dirt. With a sharp pop, thick smoke swallowed the clearing.

  “THE HELL IS THIS?!” the dreadlocked man roared, waving his club wildly.

  This sudden action also left Adam confused, but before he could dwell on it more, he was yanked into the growing mist!!

  By the time the haze cleared, both Ash and Adam were gone.

  “THEY VANISHED?!” someone from the bald man’s crew screamed.

  “THEY COULDN’T HAVE GONE FAR! SPREAD OUT AND FIND THEM!” the bald man bellowed.

  Meanwhile, on the other side, chaos brewed.

  “WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE’S NO BLOOD OR MARROW LEFT?!” the dreadlocked man snapped at his lackey.

  The subordinate swallowed hard. “S-Sir… the Radbeast—it’s completely drained dry!!.”

  The men’s roar shook the trees as they spread out to hunt.

  ?

  A few minutes later…

  Peace hung over a grassy clearing where buffalo-like creatures grazed quietly. But that peace shattered as a body came hurling from the forest, landing face-first in the grass with a pained groan.

  “Ughhh… that hurt…” Adam wheezed, rubbing his skull. Before he could move, another body crashed onto him—Ash, limp and bloodied.

  “OOOOHH!!!” Adam gasped, pinned under the dead weight.

  Then, before he could even inhale, a third figure barreled out of the trees. Cloaked in ragged black, they slammed into both boys, sending the three tumbling over the cliffside.

  “AAAAAH?!” Adam shrieked as they plummeted into the lake below.

  Water swallowed them whole. Adam thrashed, choking, until a hand grabbed him and yanked him upward. He broke the surface with a sputtering cough, vomiting everything he’d eaten that morning.

  He clung to the rocky edge, gasping for air. Then he turned—his eyes narrowing at the cloaked figure who had saved him as he instinctively took a step back,

  “W… who are you?!”

  The figure said nothing at first. Then, with a fluid motion, they pulled back the cloak.

  A woman’s face was revealed—striking, with sharp eyes and a smile that carried secrets.

  “The name’s Luna,” she said with a calm certainty. “I’m a Phantom!!.”

  ?

  Narration

  And just like that—in a world without faith, fates intertwined. And in a world without hope, Destinies were woven together, threads pulling tighter with each choice, each encounter.

  A storm was coming. A storm that would shake the world to its core.

  And at the center of it stood three figures—born of different purposes, yet bound for a single path.

  ?

  End of Chapter 17.

  (Is this good enough?..)