Jōki

The screams had stopped.

The only sounds left were the crackling of fire, the distant roar of something inhuman, and the heavy, uneven breaths of a little boy hiding among the corpses.

Luka pressed his small hands against his ears, but the noise wouldn't go away. The thick scent of blood and smoke burned his nose. The street, once familiar and full of life, was unrecognizable—bodies sprawled across the cobblestone, homes reduced to smoldering ruins, and shadowy figures moved through the destruction like death itself.

The Onix had come.

Luka didn't know why. He didn't understand why these monsters had torn through his peaceful island, why they had ripped people apart like they were nothing, why everything was burning, why his mother had told him to run.

But he had run.

And now, he was alone.

Something warm dripped onto his cheek.

He looked up.

Sasha.

His sister crouched over him, her face pale beneath the soot and sweat, her body trembling as she clutched his shoulders. She was speaking—her lips moved, forming words—but Luka couldn't hear her. The world was muffled, distant, like he wasn't really there.

Her grip tightened. Her nails dug into his skin.

"Luka," she whispered, her voice finally breaking through. "We have to move."

His mind struggled to process what she meant. Move? Go where? There was nowhere left. The village was gone. Their house was gone. Mama and Papa were—

A deafening screech split the air.

Luka's body tensed before he saw it.

A figure emerged from the smoke—a towering, slender creature with an expressionless white mask and twisted black limbs. Its fingers, sharp and unnaturally long, twitched as if savoring the hunt.

An Onix.

It turned its hollow eyes toward them.

Luka couldn't move.

It was too fast. Even though it was just standing there, staring, he knew it could reach them in seconds.

Sasha grabbed his wrist and yanked him backward.

"Run—RUN!"

She didn't wait for him to react. She dragged him with her, feet pounding against the broken ground as they weaved through the ruins, stumbling over debris and fallen bodies.

Behind them, the Onix let out a guttural shriek and dropped onto all fours.

It charged.

Luka couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. His legs moved on instinct, his mind blank except for the cold, suffocating realization that they couldn't escape this.

It was too fast.

It would catch them.

It would—

A shockwave of air and dust exploded around them.

Luka fell forward as the ground cracked beneath a sudden impact. He landed hard, knees scraping against the stone.

Then a shadow passed over him.

Chains.

Silver chains, glowing with unnatural energy, lashed through the smoke like serpents and slammed into the Onix, sending it skidding backward.

A figure stood between them and the monster.

Tall. Fierce. Familiar.

"Mom—"

Agata's silver chains coiled around her, her stance unwavering despite the blood dripping from her temple. Her gaze flickered to her children, assessing them in an instant. Then she turned back to the Onix, her voice cold and sharp.

"You picked the wrong children."

The Onix screeched and lunged.

Agata moved like a storm.

Her chains shot forward, wrapping around the creature's limbs, tightening like steel vices. The Onix struggled, its unnatural body twisting and convulsing, but Agata didn't let up. She clenched her fist, and the chains crushed inward.

A sickening crack echoed.

The Onix writhed in agony, but it wasn't dead—not yet.

Agata turned her head slightly. "Sasha, Luka—go home. Now."

Sasha swallowed hard. "But Mama—"

"GO!"

Luka had never heard that tone from her before. It wasn't just an order. It was desperation.

Sasha grabbed Luka's hand and ran.

He looked back only once.

Their mother stood there, alone, holding back a monster that could kill her in seconds.

The last thing he saw before Sasha dragged him around the corner was the glint of her chains tightening again, and the glow of her Jōki flaring brighter than he'd ever seen.

Then, a second Onix dropped from the rooftops.

And Luka realized—

She wouldn't survive.

They kept running.

Even as the air boomed with the impact of battle.

Even as screams echoed.

Even as something inside him whispered, *you won't see her again.*

They ran.

But when they reached home, they weren't safe because the Onix were already there, and there was nowhere left to run.

The Onix shouldn't have been here.

Sasha stood in front of Luka, her breath coming out in ragged gasps. Her hands shook, her legs felt like they were about to give out, but she didn't move.

The creature was twice her size. Its long, blackened limbs twitched as it stalked toward them, its hollow white eyes locked onto Luka.

Sasha gritted her teeth.

"Stay behind me," she whispered, her voice trembling but firm.

Luka didn't respond. He just stared, his face blank, his small hands clutching the hem of her shirt.

The Onix lunged.

Sasha moved.

She shoved Luka to the side, throwing herself between him and the monster. The second its claws came down—

Something exploded inside her.

A burning, twisting heat surged through her veins, like fire erupting from her chest. Her vision blurred for a second, the world turning blue.

No, not blue—

Jōki.

For the first time in her life—

She could see it.

Feel it.

It rushed through her, raw and untamed, too much power all at once. The moment she felt it, the Onix hesitated.

Then—it screamed.

Sasha barely registered her own body moving.

One second, she was standing. The next—she was tearing through the Onix.

Her hands dug into its flesh, raw energy surging through her arms. It was like instinct, like something inside her had been waiting for this moment.

The Onix shrieked. She didn't stop.

She slammed her fist into its face—once, twice, a third time—until the mask cracked.

Its limbs twitched.

Then—she crushed its skull in her hands.

Sasha stood there, panting, her hands covered in black blood. The Onix's body collapsed in front of her, its twitching movements slowing until it stopped.

She had killed it.

She had won.

But she wasn't happy.

Her body felt wrong.

The power inside her didn't settle. It wanted more.

It wanted to keep going.

Then—

"Sasha."

Luka's voice snapped her out of it.

She turned.

Luka was still on the ground, staring at her. Not in awe. Not in fear. Just… staring.

His face was blank.

Like he didn't understand what had just happened.

Like he didn't feel anything at all.

Sasha clenched her fists.

"Luka… I—"

Then she felt it.

A shift in the air.

Something was wrong.

She snapped her head toward the direction of the village—

And her stomach dropped.

"Mama."

Luka and Sasha ran.

The village was burning.

They could see her.

Agata stood in the center of the destruction, her silver chains wrapped around four Onix at once. Sasha had never seen her like this.

Mama had always been strong. But this—

She was fighting like she was ready to die.

Luka didn't understand it.

Why was she smiling?

She should be angry, she should be scared, but instead, she looked relieved, like she had been waiting for this.

Then she saw them.

"Sasha! Luka!"

Her eyes widened.

The second her focus slipped, one of the Onix broke free.

It ripped through her chains.

Agata barely had time to turn around before its claws tore through her chest.

"NOO!"

Sasha screamed.

Luka didn't. He just watched.

Agata's body jerked.

Her Jōki flickered. Her silver chains snapped like they were made of thread.

Blood dripped from her lips.

And still, she smiled at them.

"Run."

Her body broke apart.

Not like a normal person.

Not like someone dying.

Her entire body turned to glowing ash.

Scattering into the wind.