I leapt across the gap, soaring to the next rooftop, landing in a crouch near the edge. The city lay under me, alive with sounds I could hardly comprehend—footsteps, muffled voices, orders barked in clipped tones. My senses had begun to sharpen, though it was hard to tell whether this change was a blessing or a curse. I could hear them now, the guards combing through the alleyways below. I could hear the metallic scrape of their weapons, and worst of all, I could hear Albert’s voice nearby as well. Just the sound of his voice set my nerves off like fireworks.

  I began to focus on their voices, slowing muting out everyone but Albert. It slithered into my ears like poison, precise and unhurried, laced with quiet authority. Through the murmur of guards and shouts of citizens, I caught his words clearly.

  "I believe this to be the gate he plans to use," he said smoothly. "I leave the rest of my commands in your hands."

  I found him easily, standing outside a dimly lit building across the way, surveying the area like a man who had already won. His posture was composed, a figure of absolute control, as if this was nothing more than another calculated move in a game he never doubted he would win.

  I crouched lower, gripping the ledge. My heart pounded like a war drum.

  No more running.

  If they wanted a fight, l'd give them one.

  One way or another, I was getting past that wall.

  Tonight, this city would remember me in blood.

  I dropped soundlessly from the rooftop, landing in the long shadows cast by a rusting chain-link fence. Ahead, the gate loomed-tall. Five guards patrolled the entrance, their silhouettes shifting under the pale glow of overhead floodlights. More waited inside.

  No easy way through.

  My best bet is just a frontal assault. Doesn’t look like anyone uses the gate enough to sneak through.

  One of the guards drifted closer, footsteps crunching over loose gravel. I let out a soft whistle-just enough to pull him in.

  The reaction was instant.

  "Who's there?" The guard-Troy, judging by his vest-halted, his fingers twitching toward his gun. His voice carried just enough uncertainty to tell me he wasn't expecting trouble.

  Good.

  I pressed my back to the wall as he stepped forward, scanning the dark. He moved cautiously, checking corners, sweeping his gaze over the fence line. His radio crackled, but he hesitated before responding.

  I could hear his breathing now, the slight hitch of unease. He exhaled through his nose, about to report back when I struck.

  Before he could radio anyone, I closed the distance, ghosting behind him. My fist connected with his ribs, cutting off his breath in a single, sharp exhale. He buckled, the radio slipping from his grip. I caught him before he hit the ground, lowering him silently into the shadows.

  One down.

  I melted into the shadow of the building, pressing against the cold, uneven wall. The night pulsed around me-muffled voices, the distant hum of engines, the slow, methodical pacing of boots on pavement. My senses stretched outward, sharpening in ways I still didn't fully understand.

  Two guards were approaching the area where I was hidden. I crouched, coiling my muscles like a spring, feeling the raw power building inside me. Then— release.

  I shot upward, higher than l'd intended, the wind howling past my ears. A miscalculation. The kind that could get me killed. I was still learning, still figuring out the limits of this body, this power. And right now, I was operating on nothing but instinct.

  Which was why, instead of landing on my intended target, I came crashing down on another guard entirely.

  2nd one down.

  The air left his lungs in a choked gasp as he buckled beneath me. No time to apologize. I used the momentum to launch forward, my body twisting midair as I swiped at the second guard.

  He dodged.

  Not just a reflexive flinch—a calculated movement. His feet shifted into a stance I didn't recognize, but his posture told me everything I needed to know. He was trained. A fighter. Someone who knew exactly what he was doing.

  He smiled. Too smugly.

  "So you're Edwin?" His voice was calm, measured. "Nice to meet you. My name is—"

  "Doesn't matter," | cut him off, already moving. "I don't plan on learning names for people l'll never see again."

  I feinted, thrusting a fist at his face. He moved, dodging right-predictable. I pulled back at the last second, pivoted, and drove my foot into his abdomen with a full swing.

  The impact sent him flying back two feet. More than I expected. I straightened, rolling my shoulders as he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

  3rd one down.

  "Told you it didn't matter," I muttered, knowing full well he couldn't hear me. But there was no time to gloat.

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  Bang! Bang!

  I staggered.

  A familiar warmth spread across my torso, thick and wet. Blood. I sucked in a breath, but the pain barely registered. Instead, something else took its place-anger.

  A thin line in my mind became razor-sharp, dividing me from something I couldn't quite name. On the other side, everything was calm, peaceful, weightless. A quiet oblivion that called to me, whispered promises of release.

  I took a step forward.

  But something unseen stopped me from fully planting my foot over the line. Instead my foot just hovered past the line.

  “We have Edwin in custody! Repeat, we got him in custody! All guards are to return to their stations.” One of the guards who shot me screamed into his radio, his tone sharp with relief.

  Bzzzzt!

  “What the hell!?” He cried out.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Something wasn’t right. Why were they shooting?

  Who were they shooting?

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  What happened?

  Bang! Bang!

  A shift. A ripple of something inside me— something old, something angry. My skin burned. My muscles coiled like they weren't my own.

  "He's-he's turning into a fucking monster!

  Forget our orders! Kill that thing!" The guard's voice cracked in terror.

  My transformation was still incomplete. A guttural roar tore from my throat, not entirely human, not entirely beast-a raw, feral roar that shook the ground beneath us. The guards hesitated, their hands trembling over their triggers.

  Why do they look so small?

  I rose, my body towering over them, limbs heavy with power I barely recognized. The world blurred at the edges, distorted. My vision pulsed red.

  “Roaaaaarrrr!”

  The guards flinched, wide-eyed.

  That’s weird, what happened to me? Why can’t I see straight?

  “I’m calling it in! Hold him off!”

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  “Ahhhh!”

  "This is Sanchez! The kid's awake! He played us-"

  I swung.

  My grotesque, shifting arm cleaved through the air and slammed into the guard holding the radio. His body hurtled backward, crashing against the metal gate with a sickening crunch.

  4th one down. One left.

  The last remaining guard stumbled, his hands fumbling to reload his weapon. Too slow.

  A grin cracked across my face, something deep inside me reveling in his terror. Dark, smoky tendrils of black flames slithered from my lips, flickering with unnatural life.

  Boom! Boom!

  My steps shook the earth as l advanced.

  The guards inside the gate snapped to attention, falling into formation. A line of rifles trained on the entrance.

  And at the center of it all, Albert stood, composed, calculating, one hand raised in command.

  "Don't shoot all at once," he instructed, his tone almost casual. "I need him alive. But if he does anything funny.." He gestured with a flick of his fingers. "Feel free to take him out."

  With a hard kick, the steel gates flung open.

  A heavy silence pursued as they all took in the scene before them. I was almost completely fused with a monstrous beast. Only my torso and the right side of my face recognizable. The rest? A grotesque nightmare.

  Albert’s voice rang out, demanding attention from all the guards. His expression was unreadable.

  “Edwin!”

  His voice rang with the authority of a man who believed he still held control.

  I stepped forward, the ground trembling beneath me. My hands clenched into fists, claws scraping against my palm.

  “Albert!” I roared back, stepping towards him.

  “You’re not stopping me here. I’m getting out of this hell.” My voice shook the air itself.

  He tilted his head slightly, as if studying me.

  For a fleeting second, something flashed in his eyes. Pity?—or worse, satisfaction—curling his lips. "Edwin," he sighed. "You should know you can't escape. You're outnumbered. Give up this foolishness and return with me at once."

  I smirked. A deep, primal thing uncoiled in my chest, filling my veins with something unstoppable.

  "Maybe I am outnumbered." My voice dropped, thick with defiance. "But you're all outmatched."

  The challenge I directed at them hit with force. Albert pulled his gun and fired, however it seemed slow, as if I was faster than before, quicker than I even knew. I dodged the first shot, almost grinning—until the second and third found their mark. The bullets tore through the soft not fully formed flesh of the beast. Albert aimed and accurately shot my joints. A sharp, searing agony exploded through my joints. My leg buckled causing me to stumble, pain crackling through my nerves with a hiss of frustration.

  I was brought down and forced to kneel before my father.

  Albert stepped forward, his gun still smoking, his expression cold. "You got faster," he mused. "Impressive, Edwin." His voice was almost... amused. "But I still have twenty men here, all of them trained on you. Do you really believe you can get past us?"

  I lifted my head, my breath ragged, my monstrous limbs twitching as they struggled to reform.

  And I grinned.

  Albert had just made a mistake. He assumed this fight was his to control. He assumed I still played by his rules.

  But he had no idea what I had become.

  I pushed myself up, ignoring the pain that ripped through my leg like fire. Every breath felt like shards of glass in my lungs, but I couldn't stop now. Not when the gate to my freedom stood just beyond the line of guns aimed at my heart.

  "I have to believe there's something better than this miserable life you've forced me into." My voice came out hoarse but steady, a final declaration against the man who had stolen everything from me.

  Albert's expression darkened, his jaw tightening as if he were trying to swallow some bitter truth.

  Then, a slow, measured breath. Cold resolve. “Sorry to disappoint you, Edwin. Beyond these walls, there’s nothing but hell waiting. Losing you would be the final blow to humanity, to our survival.” He raised his hand— His fingers twitched. The guards tensed, bodies coiled like springs, waiting for the command they feared as much as they anticipated. “That’s why I’ll do anything—anything—to keep you here. Guards… Fire!”

  In that instant, I could see their fingers closing around triggers, the flicker of hesitation in some and ruthless resolve in others. Every muscle in my body screamed to move.

  I saw the moment their grips tightened, the way their fingers curled around cold metal. Some hesitated-just for a second-but others didn't.

  The barrels gleamed under the gentle light of the sun, each one aimed to end me.

  I bent low, ignoring my muscles that screamed and protested. Much to their surprise, I launched myself high into the sky. The ground shattered beneath me as I came crashing down, the sheer force sending a shockwave through the formation. Guards toppled like dominos, some thrown back, others dropping their weapons in fear. The air was thick with dust, with panic-with my chance.

  This was it—the last chance to prove I could break free, even if it cost me everything. I hurled myself forward, every ounce of my strength driving me toward it.

  I need them all in one place.

  It's time to end this!

  BANG!

  The world slowed.

  No one was near me. But I heard the shot.

  A crack split through the air.

  And then—

  White-hot pain.

  Despite no one being near me, I heard it clearly in my face at point blank range. A gun fired and immediately a bullet, precise and deliberate, found the gap between the shifting plates of bone-like armor shielding my face. It tore through my forehead.

  For an instant, everything was silent.

  Then—

  The world turned red.

  I was falling.

  Somewhere, through the roaring in my head, something else screamed.

  The beast.

  Not in pain—

  In fury.

  A monstrous sound ripped through the air, deeper, darker than before.

  And as my consciousness faded, swallowed by the abyss—

  I felt it rise and I embraced it.