"Now it's your turn, Fallen."
Fallen blinked. His ears still rang with screams. The scent of blood was thick in the air.
"...Huh?" he muttered.
But there was no time to think.
The sky above cracked open again—more figures descending like shadows wrapped in flesh. Demons. Dozens of them. No… hundreds. Their snarls tore through the silence, shaking the very stones beneath his feet.
The world exploded into chaos.
Claws slashed through the air.
Teeth sank into flesh.
Screams tore from his throat—raw, panicked, human.
Fallen tried to run, but they were everywhere. His arm was slashed open—his leg bitten—his chest pierced by jagged talons. Blood poured out of him like a broken dam.
His scream started loud, but it didn't last.
His voice cracked, then faded into a soft gurgle. His knees hit the stone floor with a dull thud.
Pain blinded him. Fear drowned him. He curled inward, chest heaving.
Was this how it ended?
"Ha!" a cruel laugh rang out.
The unknown man stepped forward from the shadows, a twisted smirk on his face. He spat on the ground near Fallen's broken body.
"Kid of No.1? This is all you are? Pathetic."
Fallen didn't respond. He couldn't. Blood pooled beneath him, and his vision began to fade into darkness.
But then—
Something inside him snapped.
Not a bone. Not a muscle.
Something else.
A pressure pulsed through his chest—hot, violent, alive. His body jerked. His back arched. His eyes flew open, glowing faintly red.
His wounds sizzled. The torn flesh slowly stitched itself back together. Bones cracked, then healed. His hands clenched the blood-soaked ground.
His heart thundered like a war drum.
He stood.
Slowly. Unsteadily. But he stood.
"…Heh… Heh heh heh…"
A twisted grin spread across his face. His breathing grew heavier—ragged, but filled with energy.
"HAHAHAHAHA! DEMONS!" he roared, voice no longer the same. It was deeper. Wild. Unhinged.
"COME AT ME AGAIN! I'LL KILL YOU ALL! GIVE ME BLOOD—GIVE ME MORE!"
The demons froze for half a second, sensing the change. But they lunged again.
Too late.
Fallen exploded into motion.
He tore through them like a beast unleashed. Claws met fists of steel. Fangs shattered on hardened skin. One demon's head was crushed under his foot. Another was ripped in half midair.
His hands were soaked in blood. His eyes blazed with a crimson glow.
He laughed. Loudly. Madly.
He was no longer screaming in fear.
He was screaming for blood.
From the sidelines, the strange man watched, his face lit with fascination.
"Interesting…" he whispered to himself. "So that's what's inside you."
He stepped closer, watching Fallen slaughter like an unchained monster.
"Regeneration from angels… rage from demons… How poetic."
Then, he threw his head back and laughed.
"HAHAHA! You're a mutant! The true child of No.1! The legacy of chaos and creation—this feels so good to witness!"
He pointed at Fallen, who now stood surrounded by heaps of mangled corpses.
"Look at yourself!" the man cackled. "You're covered in blood! Everything is red! BRIGHT RED! That's not paint, boy—that's your truth!"
Fallen stood in the middle of the massacre. His chest rose and fell rapidly. His muscles twitched with energy. Blood dripped from his fingers, mixing with the puddles at his feet.
He stared down at his hands.
What… what am I?
He couldn't feel the wounds anymore.
He couldn't even feel his heartbeat.
No fear. No pain.
Just… power.
What is this...?
I can't feel anything... Not even pain...
Am I dead...?
His fingers flexed.
No.
He was very much alive.
Then why… why does this feel so good?
A cold breeze passed through the broken stone walls, carrying the stench of blood and iron.
Fallen raised his head slowly, a wild smile still playing on his lips.
The man grinned back at him, eyes gleaming.
"You've awakened now," he said. "But this… this is only the beginning."
---
To be continued...