"You're not just anything," Malakai interrupted, his tone low and insistent. His silver eyes gleamed in the dim light of the subway.
"Those visions weren't random. You were seeing the dungeons awakening, the creatures escaping from their prisons. You were seeing the end of the world, Devyn. And you've been seeing it because you have a role to play in what comes next."
Devyn's mouth went dry. His heart pounded, fear swirling in his stomach. He shook his head, trying to process what Malakai was telling him.
Malakai was serious. Deadly serious. And the weight of it all settled on Devyn's chest, making it hard to breathe. A role to play? Him? He could barely hold his life together on a normal day. How was he supposed to be important in the middle of an apocalypse?
His thoughts raced. And then something clicked.
"Wait," Devyn said, his voice trembling. "How… how do you know my name? I never told you my name."
Malakai didn't flinch. "I know a lot about things," he said, his tone calm but layered with meaning. "You have a gift to see the future, and let's just say, I have a gift to know things, almost anything."
Devyn's heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran through him.
The air felt thicker, more suffocating. His mind scrambled for something to hold onto, some way to rationalize what Malakai had just said. But nothing made sense. His hands clenched into fists, and he took a step back, shaking his head.
"No… no, this doesn't make any sense. I'm not… I'm not special. I'm just a guy with some crazy dreams. This, this can't be happening."
The ground shook above them, faint vibrations that reminded him the world was crumbling.
"There's no time for doubt," Malakai said, his voice cutting through the rising ppanic
"The rifts are opening faster than we anticipated. The creatures are pouring out, and this city won't last much longer. If we don't move now, we won't survive."
Devyn swallowed hard, his thoughts a tangled mess of disbelief, fear, and confusion.
He had seen the rifts, the creatures, the chaos. His dreams, no, visions, had shown him all of it. But seeing it unfold in real life was something else entirely.
The apocalypse was here. And Malakai was telling him he had a role to play in stopping it.
But how?
"I don't know what you think I can do," Devyn said, his voice shaking.
"I'm not a fighter, or a leader. I'm just…" His words trailed off, his heart pounding in his chest. "How can I stop any of this?"
Malakai's gaze softened, but his urgency remained.
"You've seen what's coming," he said, his tone quieter now but no less intense. "That gives you an edge. You've been preparing for this, even if you didn't realize it. And right now, you're the one person who can help me find a way to stop it."
Devyn stared at him, the words sinking in. His mind raced back to the long nights he spent mapping out escape routes, stockpiling supplies, trying to prepare for a disaster no one believed would happen. He had thought he was just trying to survive. But Malakai was saying it was more than that.
"Okay," Devyn finally said, his voice low and unsteady. "Okay. What do we do?"
Malakai nodded once, approval flashing in his eyes. "We get out of the city," he said. "The rifts are spreading, but there are safe zones. Places where the creatures haven't reached yet and wouldn't be able to."
Devyn nodded, his mind still spinning. His hand tightened around the strap of his bag, the weight of his supplies grounding him. He had spent months gathering everything he could think of to survive, but now, standing in the middle of a collapsing world, it didn't feel like enough.
As they moved through the subway, the sound of destruction faded into the distance, replaced by an eerie silence that made Devyn's skin crawl. The station was dark and abandoned, debris scattered across the floor. Every step echoed, a reminder of how alone they were in the midst of this chaos.
"Why is this happening?" Devyn asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Why now?"
Malakai didn't answer immediately.
He moved through the tunnels with purpose, as though he had been there before.
His movements were confident, unhurried, despite the urgency of their situation.
Finally, he spoke, his voice grim. "The dungeons were sealed centuries ago. Long before humanity knew they existed.
They were meant to contain the creatures, beings from another dimension, things that feed on destruction. But the seals are weakening. And now the dungeons are breaking open."
Devyn's stomach twisted as he tried to make sense of it. Dungeons? Creatures from another dimension? It sounded impossible. But after what he had seen, after the creatures that had clawed their way out of the earth, he couldn't deny it.
"The creatures…" Devyn hesitated. "Why are they attacking us?
Malakai glanced at him, his expression unreadable.
"They're drawn to power," he said. "The energy from the dungeons fuels them, but it also attracts them to places where people gather. Cities, towns. Anywhere there's life, they'll come."
Devyn's breath hitched. "And you…? How do you know all this? How do you know about me?"
Malakai's eyes darkened, and for a moment, he said nothing.
Then he spoke, his voice low and deliberate. "I told you. I have a gift. A gift that lets me know things. Things most people can't even begin to comprehend."
The subway felt colder, the air more oppressive. Devyn stared at Malakai, trying to understand the man standing in front of him. But he couldn't. Malakai was a mystery, a puzzle with pieces that didn't fit.
"Then how do we stop them? Since you know everything." Devyn voice was desperate.
Malakai glanced at him, his expression unreadable. "That's what you're going to help me out with."
For a moment, silence hung between them. The world above continued to crumble, but down here, in the dimly lit subway tunnels, it felt as though time had stopped.
Devyn didn't understand or know how he was supposed to help stop what's happening.
"First, we get to your secret location," Malakai said suddenly, breaking the silence, like he can read mind as well. "We'll need your supplies."
Devyn froze. His heart skipped a beat. "How do you…?" He started to ask, his voice shaky, but then he stopped himself. He already knew the answer.
"Oh yeah," he said quietly, the realization settling in. "Your gift."
"Right," Malakai said, with a faint smirk.