Kal struck with his chainsaw sword toward Zolus. Zolus caught Kal's hand mid-swing, grinning. "You're still weak."
He pulled Kal toward him and kicked him in the chest.
[DAMAGE 21% – THORACIC IMPACT – DISORIENTATION DETECTED]
Kal was sent flying, crashing into a nearby wall. Dust and rubble exploded around him.
"Idiot," Zolus said, stepping forward. "I'm stronger than a Tier 6 Altered. You don't stand a chance."
Zolus rammed his hand into Kal's chest before he could recover, lifting him slightly off the ground—then hurled him aside like broken scrap.
Kal's body hit hard.
He lay still.
[CRITICAL STATE – LIFE FUNCTION IN DANGER]
Zolus looked down at Kal's limp body. "Tch… still not enough."
But suddenly—
[REVERSE PROTOCOL ENGAGED – CELLULAR REWIND INITIATED]
Kal's wounds began reversing. The crushed ribs reformed. Blood pulled back into the veins. Steam hissed from his body like a ticking machine resetting itself.
Zolus smirked. "You still need development, kid. You've got my best product in you… I'm you. But remember something."
He leaned close.
"They'll come for you. All of them. So don't die too easily. And never—ever—think about killing the Abyss leader. I don't want he kills you. I'll be the only one who kills you, my masterpiece."
Zolus vanished into shadow.
Kal, barely breathing, slumped forward.
Exhausted. Broken. But alive.
He collapsed.
A voice called out, faint but familiar.
"Brother... Brother, wake up."
Kal stirred. "Who are you?"
The voice echoed. "I'll tell you everything. The past. Your father. You want to know why Zolus knows him? Then look."
[FLASHBACK – 9 YEARS AGO]
The night was thick with darkness as four trucks rolled steadily toward District 108. Their headlights carved tunnels through the fog. Inside the front truck, a man in a black coat and white shirt tapped the steering wheel—Zolus.
At 8:24 PM, they reached the towering 60-foot-high gate of the district—District 108—surrounded by fortified walls. A fully armed Sentinel approached the lead truck.
"What's in the truck? Show me your permit."
Zolus smirked. "Just wheat. Here's the permit."
The guard eyed the card. A small mark in the
corner: Øđer.
"Your name?"
"Zolus."
The soldier's eyes twitched. "So... it's today."
Zolus gave a slow nod. The gate creaked open.
The trucks rolled into District 108. Soldier, them pass, removed his hat and mumbled, "For Øđer."
The second soldier frowned. "What's really in those trucks?"
The first guard's hands trembled. "Nothing. Just... wheat."
But inside the trucks—grotesque forms shifted in cages. Twisted humans. Creatures with jaws too wide, arms too long, flesh stretched and melted. The Altereds.
At 8:45 PM, the convoy stopped at the city center. A curious crowd began to form.
A guard shouted, "Move your trucks!"
But it was too late.
The trunks opened.
An Altered lunged from the shadows,piercing the guard through the chest.
Screams erupted. People ran. Blood painted the streets.
Elsewhere, a house overlooked the burning city. Tansheer played with his 11-year-old son—Kal.
Suddenly, he noticed the smoke.
"Vari, take Kal. I'm going to check the city."
Tansheer rushed outside, his chainsaw sword strapped to his side. On the way, he encountered a Warden Sentinel.
"Tansheer, sir! The city is under attack. Dozens of Altereds, and citizens are being infected by black serum."
"Where's Marshal Sentinel Rana?"
"Sir... he's turned. Tier 5 Altered."
Tansheer's eyes narrowed. "Evacuate the citizens to District 107. Take eight Warden Sentinels and forty Field Sentinels. I'll handle the rest."
He charged toward the chaos.
In the city center, Altereds rampaged. A girl hid under a desk. A mimic Altered wandered, whispering her name—"Reenu... Reenu..."
It flipped furniture violently, drawn to her sobs. It stopped, sensing something.
Tansheer.
The commander kicked the mimic across the room. "Hey girl, close your eyes."
The mimic screeched and lunged.
Tansheer's blade spun—glowing red with heat.
He sliced the mimic clean in half. The pieces fell with a splatter.
"I hate mimics—they take the voice of the dead."
"You're safe now," he told her, handing her to a Sentinel. "Take her to safety."
Then he turned to the fort—the Sentinel headquarters of District 108.
A massive sandstone structure, the fort stood proud, rich in soul. Flames in the distance cast flickering light against its spiked crescents and tall towers.
Inside, warbeasts roared in their stables, and smoke drifted along the temple corridors. At the center of the compound lay Marshal Rana's chamber.
Tansheer entered.
Rana lay there, body swollen, veins blackened and bulging.
"You alive, bastard?" Tansheer asked coldly.
Suddenly Rana stood, slamming Tansheer back with inhuman strength.
[DAMAGE 17% – INTERNAL BRUISING – SHOCK ABSORBED]
Tansheer gritted his teeth, steam rising from his shoulders.
"You let Øđer's trucks in, didn't you?"
"Yes," Rana growled, his eyes glowing red. "And I don't regret it. I'm perfect now. Abyss will make me a king."
Tansheer cracked his neck.
"Then you're no longer human."
Rana lunged. Fists like sledgehammers.
Tansheer ducked, slashing low. Sparks danced where steel met flesh.
Rana countered, swinging a mutated claw—Tansheer flew across the chamber.
[DAMAGE 26% – RIGHT ARM FRACTURE DETECTED]
Tansheer roared, blood dripping, steam gushing from his skin like fury incarnate.
He rushed in again, blade spinning.
Rana screamed, charging. They clashed—shockwaves cracked the stone beneath their feet.
Tansheer weaved past a claw, stabbing Rana in the side. But the beast didn't slow.
"Is this all?!" Rana bellowed.
"No," Tansheer whispered.
His sword ignited—its edge burned red.
With one final dash, Tansheer slid low and leapt.
His blade sang through the air—
—and sliced through Rana's head from the eyes upward.
Rana's body twitched.
[TARGET NEUTRALIZED – MARSHAL RANA CONFIRMED DECEASED]
Tansheer fell to his knees, breath heavy, smoke pouring off him.
Kal's inner voice broke through: "I know my father handed me to my uncle and went back to District‑108. He died, right?"
"Yes," the voice replied. "He died fighting Altereds."
"So how did you end up inside my body?" Kal asked.
"I will show you. Listen…."
Tansheer runs back toward his home. He searches every room. Then he sees you, Kal, unconscious, bleeding in a corner. Kal's mother is gone.
Tansheer panicked. "No, no, no— you must stop bleeding!" He rips a strip of cloth, ties it tight around the wound, and cradles young Kal.
A cold voice echoes behind him. "Tansheer, Tansheer, boy… it's fun to watch you suffer."
Zolus steps from the shadows, smiling. "You killed Rana too easily. What a disappointment."
"So you're the one who gave him those powers," Tansheer spits.
Zolus nods. "Ah yes. And now I have something special for you. My masterpiece—K2 serum. It rewinds time in the host's body to an unharmed state."
"Shut up!" Tansheer said calmly. "You've ended lives—stories of joy and sorrow—children who never got to know this world. You deserve to suffer."
He ties Kal to himself with cloth, sword in his free hand. Zolus frowns. "What a pain. I'll just force you to take it."
Zolus snaps his fingers. A side‑wall explodes as a gigantic hand made of fused corpses smashes Tansheer.
[DAMAGE 22% – LEFT RIB FRACTURE – MOBILITY TEMPORARILY REDUCED]
Zolus laughs. "I took K2 myself—the same I gave Rana. But I'm Rank 6—I can command the dead." He yanks a half‑living man forward
"hm? you alive?well."
Crushes his skull against the bricks, and forges a sword of bone and flesh in an instant.
Tansheer staggers upright. Steam pours off him like white fire, the ground sizzling beneath his boots. He grips his chainsaw sword.
Zolus lunged.
Tansheer charged to meet him, sparks showering where blades met bone sword.
[DAMAGE 08% – SURFACE LACERATIONS]
The bone blade screeched across Tansheer's sword, chiseling the wall behind them.
Zolus spun, corpse‑arm lashing out. Tansheer ducked, but the mass clipped his shoulder.
[DAMAGE 12% – SHOULDER CONTUSION]
Tansheer counter‑slashed, clipping Zolus's ribs; black serum hissed.
Zolus laughed—distorted, manic. "Feel that pressure building inside you? That's fear."
Tansheer didn't said anything. Steam blasted from every pore. The stone floor cracked under his stance; window panes blew out from sheer heat.
He swung. Zolus blocked—barely—bone sword shattering on impact. Fragments embedded in the ceiling.
Zolus back‑stepped, conjured corpse tendrils, flinging them like spears. Tansheer whirled; his chainsaw blade left red arcs, severing each projectile mid‑air.
[DAMAGE 04% – MINOR ABRASIONS]
Then Tansheer sprinted, Kal still strapped to his chest. Each footfall gouged the marble. Steam condensed into misty trails behind him.
"Stop protecting dead weight!" Zolus snarled. He hurled a slab of masonry.
Tansheer pivoted, letting it smash past. He vaulted off the slab, sword overhead.
Steam detonated around him like a pressure bomb—
—and he brought the blade down in a single, blazing arc.
Walls, pillars, even distant courtyard trees split apart in the sword's wake.
Zolus screamed . His right arm, from shoulder to fingertips, severed. The glowing vial of K2 spun away, it falls on ground.
[TARGET PARTIAL NEUTRALIZATION – ZOLUS RIGHT ARM SEVERED]
Zolus stumbled back, clutching the stump, eyes wide—then his grin returned, crazier than before. "Magnificent! Guess my time in District‑108 is over… for now."
He melted into the shadows, leaving a trail of black mist.
Tansheer stood amid the wreckage, sword still humming, steam rolling from his skin. He exhaled—a single, shaky breath—and tightened his grip on Kal.
[BATTLE END – SURVIVOR: TANSHEER – STATUS: CRITICAL BUT STANDING]
He felt Kal's breathing getting slow.
[BATTLE END – SURVIVOR: TANSHEER – STATUS: CRITICAL BUT STANDING]
He felt Kal's breathing slowing.
"Kal… no. Don't die."
Tansheer's eyes darted to the fallen vial of K2 serum. He hesitated, his hand trembling.
"I'm sorry, boy. I don't want to lose you too. I know you'll choose the right path… forgive me."
He injected Kal with the serum.
A slow warmth spread across Kal's body. The bleeding stopped. Steam curled off his skin. His pulse stabilized.
Tansheer held him close, then carried Kal through the burning ruins and delivered him to Kal's uncle—in District 107. Then, in his broken state, Tansheer returned alone to defend what remained of District 108.
"So… that's how you come inside me?" Kal asked.
The voice replied, "Yes."
"Why didn't you ever take control? You're strong." Kal asked.
Voice replied, "It's against my protocol, brother. I can't control your body without your permission. My purpose is to assist, not possess."
Kal looked up at the sterile ceiling. "So what should I call you? K2?"
"No. You can name me. Wait… does that mean you accept me as part of you?"
Kal exhaled. "Yeah. I guess I don't have much of a choice. I'll call you… Yepi."
"Yepi? That's… weird. Any reason for it?"
"No."
"Alright then. From now on… I'm Yepi. You should wake up now, brother."
Kal's eyes slowly opened.
The hospital room was drenched in white—stark and cold, as if untouched by life. Fluorescent lights buzzed above, flickering slightly, casting pale blue shadows on the tiled floor. A dull antiseptic scent filled his lungs, sterile and bitter. Thin, translucent curtains hung by the window, gently swaying with the soft hum of filtered air. Machines beeped steadily, each one monitoring a different rhythm of his returning life.
Wires were plunged into his arms, monitoring vitals. His breathing echoed faintly in his ears—sharp, unnatural. He blinked, the light stabbing his dry eyes.
A nurse saw him move and gasped. "Oh thank God! You're awake! You scared us!"
She rushed to his side, embracing him tightly—too tightly.
"H-Hey! Can't… breathe!"
"Ah! Sorry, sorry! I'll call the others."
Moments later, the Sentinel Commander of District 107 entered the room.
Kal sat up slightly and saluted weakly.
"Field Sentinel Kal, congratulations on your recovery. By killing the Altereds, you protected people."
Kal forced a nod as other Sentinels entered, clapping.
"Give him the Medal of Honor," the Commander ordered.
Kal accepted it with hollow eyes. Applause rang in his ears like noise he didn't want.
Inside, he thought: Why are they cheering? I killed my friends…
He turned his head toward the window.
Outside, grey clouds drifted slowly above the city skyline. From this high floor, he could see distant outposts blinking with red light. Yet none of it brought comfort.
The ceiling seemed to close in, the buzzing of machines becoming unbearable.
Two days later, Kal walked out of the hospital.
The outside air hit his face like a splash of cold water. The wind was brisk, brushing against his cheeks and tugging at his coat. The district was alive with footsteps and chatter, but to Kal it felt far away.
"Yo, brother," Yepi spoke. "Where you going? And why aren't you wearing that medal?"
"I got that medal for killing my friends?. It's not worth anything. And I'm going to ask their parents for forgiveness."
"You don't have to do this. Just move on."
"I will… but not before I face them."
First, he went to Jacop's home.
He rang the bell.
Jacop's mother opened the door. Her expression changed instantly when she saw him. Her eyes filled with tears… then rage.
"You're Kal, right?"
"Yes, ma'am."
SLAP!
"Why didn't you save him?!"
"I… I tried. I swear. I was too late. He'd already turned. Please… forgive me."
She broke down crying.
"He was my son… Altered or not!"
Jacop's father came and held her close.
"It's okay, son. She's grieving. We forgive you. Just… go now."
Kal bowed deeply. Then turned away, heart heavier.
"You really went there?" Yepi muttered. "Brother, are you an idiot?"
"Shut up. Asking for forgiveness doesn't make a man smaller."
He walked to Ema's house.
He stood outside, hand hovering over the bell.
He pressed it.
Ema's mother opened the door. "Kal… come in, boy."
He sat on the couch.
"I'll bring tea."
"No, ma'am… I'm not here for tea. I came to ask… for your forgiveness."
She sat beside him, smiling gently. "Ema told me about you. I knew you'd come."
"I'm sorry… I couldn't save her. I… I had to end it."
His voice cracked. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
She pulled him close.
"Thank you. Thank you for ending her pain. You saved her soul, Kal."
Kal cried harder in her arms.
She held back her own tears.
"It's okay, Kal. It's okay."
At 5:46 PM, Kal entered his room—one provided by the military.
He collapsed on the bed.
The room was small. A metal bed, a desk with a dull lamp, and a single window that barely opened. The walls were grey, stripped of any personality. The air was cool, with a faint hum of electricity pulsing through the light above. This room felt more like a container than a home.
"I do feel lighter," Yepi said.
"You feel lighter? How?"
"We share consciousness, idiot."
Kal chuckled softly. "Right. I'll move on now. I can't live in the past forever."
His eyes caught something on the desk. A letter.
He picked it up. It had the Sentinel seal.
He opened it.
Dear Field Sentinel Kal,
We have reviewed your record and hereby promote you to the rank of Warden Sentinel. Please report to District 107 Sentinel Headquarters to claim your rank and receive further orders.
Kal blinked.
"Wait… what no why?"
"Yo! You're getting promoted to Warden Sentinel?!" Yepi exclaimed. "How the hell?!"
Kal didn't respond. He just stared at the
letter.
His journey was far from over.