The truth is this: every monster you have met or will ever meet was once a human being with a soul as gentle and light as silk. Someone stole the silk from their soul and turned them into this. Monsters are not born into this world; they are made. Nikita gill
--
The dungeon was like a giant cave with gray stone walls. With only one tunnel to advance through, the misshapen black wolves came charging out from there. There were more than fifty of them rushing toward us.
Everyone immediately got into formation, as instructed by the professional Awakened who were at the front. The students were positioned behind, organized according to their skills.
The tanks and melee fighters were in the front line, the mages and those capable of ranged attacks were in the second line, the healers in the third line, and finally, there was me, with Arthur and Charles protecting me.
"On my signal!" (Gaby)
The wolves kept advancing, drool dripping from their gaping jaws. Until they were close enough to reach us.
"Fire!" (Gaby)
The student mages unleashed all the attacks and spells they could. They hit the wolves head-on, raising a cloud of smoke. A few microseconds later, the wolves emerged almost unscathed. The attacks, unfortunately, were too weak to seriously harm them.
Seeing the ineffectiveness of their attacks, the students grew fearful and began to tremble.
"Don't get discouraged! Keep going, even if you can't hurt them, you're weakening them. Fire again if you want to get out of here alive!" (Gaby)
Immediately, understanding the urgency of the situation, they resumed launching their attacks.
Finally, as the wolves drew closer, the professional Awakened were the first to clash with them. They slashed at the monsters with their swords, forming a solid block. The fact that the wolves had been weakened made their task slightly easier.
They slashed quickly and efficiently to ensure the exchange of blows lasted as little time as possible. However, they were quickly overwhelmed, which didn't take long to happen.
"Move forward!" Yac shouted to advance the students in the front line.
The students moved forward, but with little conviction. The monsters, on the other hand, attacked them mercilessly. Despite the monsters being weakened, they struggled to kill them. Some even fell backward, taking hits from claws and fangs that tore through their skin. You could hear their panicked cries of pain clearly, despite the battle's chaos.
Immediately, the comrades who could tried to take down the monsters attacking them, aiming to save them but also to prevent the formation from breaking. If it broke, it would be a massacre.
The mages cast their spells as much as they could, while the healers provided whatever healing they could. Unfortunately, they were still far from done, as more wolves emerged from the tunnel over a hundred this time.
Some groaned and cursed, but they couldn't afford to lose focus or get discouraged, or death would come knocking at their door.
The ordeal continued for thirty whole minutes, with the wolves swarming like an anthill, while the students began to tire, and their spells and healing lost strength.
POV Kévin:
I was there, paralyzed at the back, watching my comrades fight for their lives while I was protected by Arthur and Charles. There hadn't been any casualties, but fatigue and injuries were starting to pile up. The cries of pain at every bite or claw strike echoed in my ears. I couldn't bear to hear them anymore. Moreover, I was limiting my movements by leaning on Charles, who was a healer specializing in combat. I couldn't watch the situation deteriorate any further, so I asked:
"Mr. Charles, go help them, they need you more!"
He hesitated for a moment, but in the end, decided to go help. Arthur was now my only bodyguard.
At that moment, a piercing scream rang out, shaking the entire cave. A giant monster appeared—it was a Manticore. A blood-red lion's body, goat horns, four rows of sharp teeth stretching from one ear to the other, a purple scorpion tail, and bat wings.
The dungeon boss had left its chamber, overwhelming us with its power. At first glance, this should have been bad news, but it was quite the opposite, as it meant we wouldn't have to venture further into the dungeon when we hadn't even moved from the entrance. It saved us from facing even stronger beasts—who knows what we might have encountered. Nevertheless, while this was fortunate, it was also unfortunate. The Manticore was a large, powerful, and imposing monster.
The wolves immediately fled upon its appearance, retreating the way they had come. The boss let them go, its attention focused solely on us.
"It's the boss. If we defeat it, we can go home!" shouted Professor Henry.
Everyone was galvanized by the possibility of returning. However, to dampen their spirits, the Manticore fired an energy beam from its mouth.
"Damn it, dodge!" (Gaby)
The beam tore through the formation, which had tried to flee. It caused an explosion, instantly breaking the formation. I was thrown at full speed against one of the dungeon walls by the blast. My body slammed into it with force, and a searing pain immediately shot through me.
Then, as I fell to the ground, I was seized by terror as I saw the decapitated head of one of my comrades, their eyes still wide with terror and pain. I immediately recoiled in fear and realized I also had burns from the explosion. Some of my ribs were also broken, a burning sensation radiating through my chest.
I was barely getting up from the shock when I saw the professor take a claw strike that sent him crashing into a wall as well. Charles rushed over to heal him so he could fight again.
I saw other comrades frozen in fear, while corpses could be seen. Some comrades tried to heal them, but they were already dead. Five—that was the number of victims from the previous attack.
"Get up! We'll mourn your comrades later! Right now, if we want to get out of here alive, we must defeat that thing!" Yac shouted.
Arthur came over to me as I lay against the wall.
"Are you okay?" (Arthur)
"Yes, I'm fine. You don't need to protect me here anymore, go help them over there!" (Kévin)
He nodded before immediately rejoining the fight. A fierce battle ensued, with everyone giving their all. As the battle dragged on, the Manticore gradually weakened, overwhelmed by sheer numbers. It was assaulted by both close and long-range attacks. However, in the process, three more of our comrades lost their lives. We were now only 22 students.
After a long and terrible fight, the Manticore was finally defeated. Its body riddled with wounds, it was Arthur and I who delivered the final blow, piercing its head with his sword.
The rift then opened, but there were many gravely injured among us. It was a miracle there hadn't been more deaths. Exhausted and having used up all their mana, everyone now struggled towards the exit. But to our horror, we suddenly heard shrill cries.
It was the beasts that had fled during the Manticore's appearance, and now they were chasing after us. Everyone began to run at full speed toward the exit.
Arthur glanced back at me, making eye contact. I nodded to tell him to go, and he understood, helping the other wounded to escape.
I struggled to my feet, my ribs aching in pain. I started running as fast as I could. I was about to reach the rift, finally seeing the end of this hell when I was suddenly yanked back. I was thrown several meters, rolling across the ground. I barely managed to get up, only to see several of my comrades standing before me.
"What are you doing!" (Kévin)
"Make yourself useful for once, zombie, and distract the monsters while we escape," demanded a boy named Adam, accompanied by two others.
They were the ones who had bullied me in middle and high school.
"You're asking me to die!" (Kévin)
"Exactly, you should have stopped being a burden, zombie!" (Adam)
"Aargh!" I cried as he delivered a blow that sent me even farther away.
Already injured, I watched as my three comrades fled without looking back. But the worst part was seeing the others avert their eyes and pass by me as they escaped. I spotted Professor Henry, and I looked at him with hope, but he turned away.
"No!" (Kévin)
I was left there alone, the beasts now heading toward me with hunger in their eyes.
"Is this the end? No, not like this!" I said, refusing to give in to despair.
I got up, my ribs shattered, running to escape the monsters. Unfortunately, I couldn't reach the door, but something caught my eye a small hole in one of the walls.
I ran towards it with all the strength I had left, aiming to hide where the beasts couldn't reach me. I jumped in as quickly as I could, but an unbearable burning sensation shot through me.
Where my left arm should have been, there was nothing but a piece of bone and dangling flesh. As I turned my head, I saw one of the monsters devouring my arm. The burning sensation turned into unbearable pain, driving me mad.
"My arm! Why did it tear off my arm! I have to escape!" (Kévin)
I began to crawl as best I could to find shelter in that small cavity. But as I crawled in, my legs were still vulnerable. Then, just as I feared, I could no longer feel my right leg. I knew exactly what had happened to it, too, but I had to keep crawling despite the excruciating pain to reach safety. The monsters tried to follow, but the cavity was just the size of a human, so they couldn't get through.
After dragging myself for a while, I stopped, unable to bear the unbearable pain of my missing limbs any longer.
"I can't take this pain anymore..." (Kévin)
My body was on fire, and my consciousness wanted everything to end. Anyway, I was bleeding out; death was inevitable.
"Ah, I want to die... Just let me die..." (Kévin)
Suffering and pain had been the unshakable pillars of my short existence. Every breath was laced with pain, every moment marked by agony. Like an unbearable burden, pain wrapped around every fiber of my being. Pain, sorrow, betrayal, cruelty, torture, death they had been my companions. With every step, they rooted deeper into my being, building a monument of torment. In the end, they were the only certainties, marking each day with an indelible scar.
I didn't want to come back to life again if it meant living a life marked by suffering. I had been too close to it for too long, so I decided to close my eyes, to withdraw from this reality, waiting for death to embrace me. I chose instead to lose myself in the dark abyss where the echoes of suffering would finally fade. So the veils of existence slowly closed, inviting me to plunge into oblivion, where the darkness might finally soothe my unbearable pain. For in the end, I preferred those shadows I had become accustomed to them as if they were a part of my being.
They had woven their dark threads around me, wrapping around my shattered soul, trying to heal it, infiltrating every fiber of my being. The darkness had become my shelter, my secret refuge where I felt strangely safe. In their enveloping darkness, I found a strange familiarity, as if they understood my deepest torments and wounds. They had become my silent companion, accomplice to my darkest thoughts. In this intimate dance with the shadow, I discovered a strange harmony, a fragile balance between my inner pain and the darkness that cradled me.
As I accepted this sweet, silent lullaby, a voice reached me, a voice I knew so well. A voice as gentle as a fire in winter, warming every part of me frozen by the cold. This voice it was that of my dear mother:
"My angel, my little angel."
"Mom, mom!" I sobbed in the darkness.
I recalled her gentle and comforting beauty, a face marked by tenderness and maternal love. Every feature was a caress for my soul in the surrounding darkness. Then, my sister's face appeared, her voice and smile like water in a barren desert. Then, the face of my brother, who would continue to grow and would soon be 12 years old. All of this reminded me that I was cherished, that I was precious in their eyes. My mind was then torn between these two conflicting thoughts.
"I don't want to die... I want to die... I don't want to die... Let me die now... I don't want to die now..." (Kévin)
"Kévin." said Marie's gentle voice.
"I no longer have the will to live... Let me die... No, I want to live... Don't let me die." (Kévin)
The more I thought of my family, the stronger the desire to return to them grew in my mind.
"No! In truth, I don't want to die. But I'm also terrified of living! How much longer will I have to endure this pain?" (Kévin)
I recalled those horrible pains, those people who had made me and my family suffer in every imaginable way. Those I cherished more than my own life. It was then that a change occurred in me, something I had accumulated and hidden beneath a fake mask called a smile!
Without realizing it, a dark and terrifying voice accompanied me in each of my deepest and darkest thoughts.
"And so, the pain has turned into hatred." (???)
"What should I do! I've been hurt too many times!" (Kévin)
"Be strong enough to be someone even demons fear." (???)
The relentless burns of my suffering gave way to a burning anger, fueled by bitterness and resentment. Hatred seeped into me, feeding on my distress and sorrows. It blackened my heart, clouding my vision. In this state of perpetual torment, I was consumed by vengeance and the desire to make those who had caused me so much pain suffer. Hatred, like an insidious venom, enveloped my being, turning my mind into a dark abyss of rage and the desire for revenge. As the abyss into which I fell grew even darker.
"Pain is a great source of power." (???)
"I'm done! I've shed enough tears, enough cries! If I can't stay in the light, I'll sit in the darkness. My decision is made! I want to go home! Yes, I want to go home! My mother, my brother, and my sister are waiting for me—I must return!" (Kévin)
"Live to return! No matter who your enemies are, kill them!" (???)
"I will kill them without any compassion or pity!" (Kévin)
"Make them suffer as much as you have suffered!" (???)
"They will suffer!" (Kévin)
"Oh, wretched little shadow trapped in darkness, soul drowned in filthy karma, do you want to taste power?" (???)
"I want it!" (Kévin)
"And so, the dark work is completed, and you awaken and rise again in the dark and infinite shadows of the abyss. Unveiling an endless landscape devoid of any light, where only eternal darkness reigns. The bottomless abyss stretches before you, filled with a devouring coldness, where the insidious whispers of the darkness seep into your being, erasing the last traces of light that might remain in you. Stop trembling and walk this earth again with your head held high, for now, the darkness of the abyss accompanies you!" (???)
"My angel," my mother's voice echoed again.
"Mom, if I'm an angel, paint me with black wings!" (Kévin)
---
They will insult you, hurt you, defeat you, betray you, burn you, and watch you burn. But they will never be able to destroy you. Because just as Rome was built on ashes, you, like a phoenix, will rise from your ashes to soar. Nikita Gill