Peace?

Ariel’s eyes blinked open slowly, the haze of pain and illusion fading like smoke. He was back.

A cramped, dark room. Rusted pipes, cracked cement, faint light filtering through torn curtains. The air reeked of poverty and neglect—but to Ariel, it was home. His fingers twitched, reaching for warmth that wasn’t there.

Ilya.

She wasn’t in the room. Panic brushed his chest for a moment, until reason whispered—school. Of course.

He stood and checked the battered mobile phone, cracked screen glowing faintly.

Only two days had passed.

Two days in this world. Decades in the trial.

He staggered, mind buckling under the sheer disparity of time. But no matter. He had survived it. He had passed the first seal.

A smile tugged at his lips. He would find Ilya, take her in his arms, and give her the good news. The one promise he could finally keep.

He stepped outside and shut the door behind him.

But the world didn’t wait.

Reality Bends Again

Time stopped. Quite literally.

A cold stillness swept the alleyway. The air froze mid-motion, like a paused movie reel. Shadows twisted unnaturally.

A fissure tore itself open in the middle of the street, screaming with the sound of reality protesting. From it stepped a familiar figure—massive, draped in darkness, wreathed in the aura of the Void.

The Void Creature.

Its form was shifting, terrible. But this time, it spoke.

“I just arrived, my Lord,” it said, voice strained. “But… your Highness is in danger. I can sense it. Please… forgive me. I will teach that mongrel what suffering is.”

Ariel blinked. It was talking. In human language.

But that wasn’t what mattered. The word “danger” rang louder in his mind.

‘Highness?Ilya!’

Before another thought could form, the Void Creature had vanished again through a rip in space. Ariel clenched his jaw, the darkness already blooming behind his eyes.

He tore the air with his hand—space cracked and bled as he followed the Creature.

A Scene of Horror,

Blood.

So much blood.

Six corpses lay mangled in a side alley—heads obliterated, bodies twisted into grotesque shapes. The stench was unbearable.

And amidst it all—Ilya.

Her tiny body was limp. Blood streamed down her temple, her uniform torn, her pale skin bruised.

“Ilya!!!” Ariel dropped to his knees, lifting her gently. “What happened?! Wake up! Please—wake up!”

He turned to the Void Creature, his voice sharp. “What are you waiting for? Do something!”

The creature did not flinch. “Where can she be healed, my Lord?”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Without hesitation, Ariel tore space again. But a terrible memory froze him in place.

The last time he had done this… it had killed her.

“She’ll die in that space…” he muttered.

But the Void Creature, already stepping through, answered without turning, “That was because you didn’t control it, my Lord. This time, I will.”

Ariel nodded once, focusing, guiding the fissure near the hospital. The creature expanded it. Together, they stepped through.

The gate opened right in front of the city’s largest hospital.

People screamed. Reality wasn’t supposed to behave like this. There wasn’t even a warning of a gate outbreak.

From it emerged a pale boy with long white hair, tattered clothes, and despair carved into his face. In his arms—a girl soaked in blood.

“Out of the way!” Ariel bellowed, his voice enough to part the sea of terrified humans.

He reached the hospital door. Doctors, nurses, patients—everyone turned to stare.

One man stepped forward—an young man.

“What happened?!”

Ariel froze. That voice, that face…

Dr. John.

From the illusion.

But now was not the time.

Dr. John rushed forward. “Steven! Ventilator, now!” A man in scrubs sprinted off.

Ilya was carefully lifted from Ariel’s arms. John turned to Ariel. “Wait here. Let us do what we can.” Then shouted, “Bring Sir Walter, fast!”

Another name. Another echo from the illusion.

Coincidence? Or fate?

Ariel followed them into the emergency ward, blood staining his hands.

Soon, Walter entered—rushing straight to Ilya, his hands glowing with a golden light. Holy energy cascaded over her body.

A nurse shouted to Ariel, “She’s lost too much blood! Come—your blood type doesn’t matter, Sir Walter can purify it.”

Ariel obeyed instantly. Blood flowed. Ilya’s life hung in a delicate balance.

Walter worked silently. After several long minutes, the light faded. Her wounds had closed.

“She’ll be fine,” Walter said quietly. “But now, explain.”

Ariel told everything. The trial. The attack. The dead attackers.

Walter listened, frowned, then sighed.

“You’re from the streets?”

A nod.

“I’ll pay,” he said softly.

Dr. John placed a hand on his shoulder. “No. We all will.”

Walter turned back to Ariel with a tired smile. “You can take her home tomorrow. Just in case. Stay strong.”

Ariel didn’t blink.

All night, he watched through the glass, waiting for Ilya to open her eyes. Not even a breath passed unnoticed.

She didn’t stir.

The next morning, a doctor entered and checked the machines. “She’s stable. Brain damage is about 5% unhealed. Monitor her closely.”

Ariel entered the ward and lifted Ilya carefully into his arms.

Then, in a dark alley, a fissure opened once more.

The Void Creature stepped out and bowed deeply. “I’ve erased their memories of today. Forgive me, my Lord. I will not fail again.”

It hadn’t been the creature’s fault. It took time to cross from one realm to another. But Ariel’s face was cold.

“If even a hair on her head is harmed again…” he whispered, “I’ll unmake you. Slowly. Mercilessly.”

The creature shivered, bowing deeper. “Thank you for your grace, your Lordship.”

A new fissure opened. Together, they walked into it, and returned to their tiny, shabby home.

Ariel walked into the house, silent. Ilya hung limply in his arms, her tiny body a bloodied mess of bruises, torn cloth, and barely-tied bandages. Her face was swollen, cheekbone cracked. Even unconscious, her breath came in short, painful gasps.

He didn't look at the void creature following behind him—just said, in a voice that cut the air:

“Bring her mattress.”

The creature obeyed at once, opening a tear in space with a hiss and dragging the mattress into the room. Ariel gently laid Ilya on it, brushing her blood-soaked hair back with trembling fingers. The way she flinched even in sleep made something inside him shatter.

He turned.

“Explain.”

The void creature fell to one knee, head lowered, its inky form quivering. “My lord… I’m sorry. I—I sensed your blood… and hers. I knew something was wrong. So I informed you and then I tore through the city and followed the scent until I found her.”

It hesitated. Then It spoke through clenched, trembling words.

“They… were beating her. Mocking her. And… they were going to—”

Ariel’s hand twitched. The air grew still.

“I—I didn’t wait, my lord. I tore their arms off before they could lay another finger on her. I broke their spines. Ripped out their tongues. One tried to beg. I crushed his skull.”

Its voice grew colder. “I made sure they died in fear. Slowly. I made them see me.”

Silence.

Then, quieter, almost pleading:

“But I was too late. She was already—”

It couldn’t finish the sentence.

Ariel said nothing.

His back was to the creature. His hand rested on Ilya’s shoulder, as if anchoring her to this world. His eyes were hidden beneath his hair.

Then—

“Who were they?”

The void creature swallowed.

“They wore military jackets… not from our side. A small rogue squad, maybe. Criminals who found shelter in the ruins. But I’ll find out more. I swear it, my lord.”

Ariel stood up. His breath shook. His voice didn’t.

“I don’t want names. I don’t want reasons.”

He turned to face the creature.

“I want ashes.”

The creature bowed lower. “Yes… my lord.”

Ariel sat beside Ilya, his eyes never leaving her face. The world outside could collapse for all he cared. All he could hear was her breathing. All he could see was the broken, bleeding child who had already lost too much.

“I wasn’t fast enough,” he whispered.

He clenched his fists.

“…Never again.”