I sprinted down the ruined streets that belonged to my neighborhood, the same streets I had walked down to get to school and the roads my mother had driven down to get to work.
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Houses lay in ruins, their walls destroyed, roofs caved in, and a few completely off their foundations.
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"Where the hell is everyone?" I asked myself, finding it strange that I didn't hear the screams of my neighbors or see any bodies amidst the destruction. Heck, even the streets themselves were empty. None of this made sense, not even a little. But as the ground rumbled beneath my feet and a purple light shone brightly in the distance, I knew I didn't have time to search for my missing neighbors.
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The further I went, the harder it became to advance. The wind pushed against my body, and the familiar foul stench of poison filled my nostrils. I quickly covered my nose with my right arm as I navigated through the maze of massive boulders and broken walls that blocked my path.
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I was soon forced to halt my advance as the ground began to shake with extreme force.
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"What the?" I exclaimed, clinging onto a small boulder beside me for support.
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I looked ahead and with a scream – definitely not girlish at all – I dove to the ground, narrowly avoiding a rampaging purple energy that raced through the ground, splitting it in two and destroying everything in its path as it raced past me into the distance.
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I slowly stood up from the ground and looked down at the deep trench carved into the earth. Turning my head towards my destination, I could just barely hear the clashing of what sounded like steel.
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"Ah, dammit!" I yelled as what sounded like a loud explosion echoed in the distance, accompanied by a blast of air that threatened to knock me off my feet. All I wanted was to go to sleep and pretend all of this was just a bad dream, but who was I kidding? I was never that lucky, and Lady Luck certainly wasn't favoring me today.
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It took me a few moments to reach what used to be my house – or should I say, the place that once was my house.
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I swear, I forgot how to breathe as I looked at the crater that now enveloped the area where my home once stood.
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From right to left, broken parts of my house lay strewn about – wooden chunks that once formed the roof, ripped furniture, and worst of all, the TV blown into small chunks. Damn it, I had so many recorded shows that I hadn't even gotten to watch yet. This guy really was a monster.
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Speaking of monsters, I saw the bastard who had completely wrecked my home standing at the very end of the crater, holding his sword.
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Blood was dripping from his face and body, and his suit was torn and ripped. He was breathing hard as he looked forward at a pile of rubble.
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"Dammit, am I too late?" I muttered to myself, scanning the area for any sign of Madelyn but finding none.
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"Enough..." Zoganoth's voice cut through the air as he pointed his blade towards the rubble. "Don't think that you can fool me, child," he smirked, lowering his sword. "I know that you're still alive, so hurry up and come out," he demanded, never turning his back from the pile of rubble a few feet away from him.
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As time passed with no response, I began to believe that the bastard was just talking to himself. But soon, the rubble exploded, and large rocks went flying in different directions as Madelyn emerged, standing tall with her sword in her right hand.
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"Madelyn," I said with a relieved smile, but it quickly faded as I noticed her injuries. Her body was covered in scratches, her clothes torn, and her blond hair a mess. Blood streamed down her left cheek, yet she still looked ready to take down this guy.
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"I knew you were alive," Zoganoth said, stepping forward, dragging the tip of his blade on the ground. "You're too stubborn to die so easily."
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Madelyn said nothing, her glare piercing through the air like daggers aimed at the demon.
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"This body..." Zoganoth continued, bringing up his left hand to his face, which twitched ever so slightly. "It is still not ready."
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Madelyn crouched down, getting into a fighting stance, her blade extended, her knees bent as she prepared to lunge forward.
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"But it's okay," Zoganoth said, holding his sword outward, the blade pointed towards the ground. "I'll finish this soon and become even stronger."
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From above, I watched as Madelyn disappeared from where she stood, rushing forward with her blade ready to cleave the demon in two. To my surprise, the demon let go of his sword, and it fell towards the ground. As the tip was about to touch the earth, it began to disappear, leaving behind ripples as if it had fallen into a deep lake.
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"Rise," I could just barely hear Zoganoth say as he extended his right hand forward.
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Once again, the ground began to rumble, and I couldn't help but wonder if we were on some sort of fault line.
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Madelyn abruptly stopped moving forward and glanced towards the ground. I followed her gaze, puzzled, until I realized what she was looking at. The rock I had been hiding behind began to distort and burn.
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Pain shot through my hand as I saw it covered in a familiar purple liquid.
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"Shit! Poison!" I yelled, watching in horror as the flesh on my hand began to turn red. I hastily wiped the poison onto my clothes, which turned out to be a terrible idea as my garments began to burn away.
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Tearing my eyes from my burning hand and disintegrating clothes, I looked ahead at the rock and everything else that seemed to be melting away into purple poison.
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Backing away quickly, I watched as the poison spread, transforming from small puddles into a lake.
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Before my eyes, a new environment emerged – one of poison, spreading rapidly and ominously, surrounding us with its toxic embrace.
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"Madelyn!" I yelled out, immediately regretting drawing attention to myself as both Madelyn and Zoganoth turned their gaze towards me.
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"Uh, hi," I stammered, offering a small wave in a feeble attempt to defuse the tension.
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"Ethan!" Madelyn's voice cut through the chaos, her anger palpable. "Why did you come back?" she demanded, her expression a mixture of frustration and concern.
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"I-I couldn't just leave you!" I yelled back, my voice trembling with emotion.
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For a moment, Madelyn looked taken aback, but her eyes quickly hardened again as she turned away. "Idiot," she muttered under her breath.
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"Oh, how cute," Zoganoth interjected from amidst the rising poison that surrounded him. "Could it be love?" he mocked with a laugh. "How sickening!"
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The liquid poison, as if responding to his words, began to rise up, forming into a small wave of toxic energy.
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Madelyn, ever on guard, leaped back with incredible agility, evading the wave of poison that slammed into the ground where she had just stood.
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"You're not getting away!" Zoganoth roared, his voice echoing with malice as the poison around him surged forward like a raging torrent of power.
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Madelyn continued to dart around at high speed, dodging the cannons of poison that blasted away everything in their path.
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Madelyn's movements were a blur, but even I could see that she was slowing down. As the attacks stopped, I could finally see how tired she looked, her body covered in sweat as she struggled to catch her breath.
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"Do you like my technique?" the demon laughed, looking down at Madelyn with a sinister grin. "My Bahr Al-Samm."
***
Author notes: Please support my work on Patreon for early access to new chapters. https://patreon.com/DarkMatteromniverse
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