Preston pulled back abruptly, his breath shaky as he realized the full weight of what had just happened. His heart was pounding so loudly he thought it might drown out the deafening silence that had fallen over the room. He looked down at Jay, whose cheeks were flushed, his expression a mix of surprise and something else Preston couldn't quite place.
"What… what are we doing?" Preston finally whispered, his voice barely audible.
Jay blinked, still catching his breath. "I don't know," he admitted softly. His hands rested lightly on Preston's arms, hesitant, as if he wasn't sure whether to push him away or pull him closer.
Preston sat up, shifting off of Jay and onto the cold tile floor. He ran a hand through his hair, avoiding eye contact. "I—I'm sorry," he stammered. "I didn't mean to—"
Jay cut him off gently. "Preston, stop. You don't have to apologize." He sat up too, brushing himself off as he tried to steady his voice. "But… what was that? I thought you didn't feel the same way."
"I don't know," Preston admitted, finally meeting Jay's gaze. "I thought I didn't. I thought I was sure about everything, but then… I don't know. I guess I wanted to know what it would feel like. I didn't think it through."
Jay nodded slowly, processing Preston's words. "And?" he asked cautiously.
Preston exhaled deeply, leaning back against the band room wall. "And now I'm more confused than ever."
Jay gave a small, sad smile. "That makes two of us."
They sat there in silence for what felt like forever, the hum of the fluorescent lights above filling the empty space between them.
"Jay," Preston started hesitantly, breaking the silence. "I didn't mean to mess things up. I just—" He paused, struggling to find the right words. "I care about you. A lot. And maybe part of me wanted to feel what it's like to be cared for like that, to be wanted like that. But I don't want to hurt you."
Jay looked at him, his eyes soft but filled with uncertainty. "Preston, I get it. I do. But you can't kiss me just because you're curious or because you're confused. That's not fair to either of us."
Preston nodded, shame washing over him. "You're right. It's not fair. I shouldn't have done that."
Jay gave a small shrug, his voice quiet but firm. "We can figure this out, Preston. But only if you're honest with yourself and with me."
Preston looked at him, his chest tight with emotion. "I will be. I promise."
Jay nodded, standing up and dusting off his pants. "Alright. Let's take it one step at a time. No pressure, no expectations. Just… friends."
"Friends," Preston echoed, standing up as well. Suddenly They felt the earth shake
"What's that" Preston asks
There was an intercom saying "Attention this an evacuation we are under attack by the demon race
Preston froze, his heart still racing from the conversation with Jay and now pounding for an entirely different reason. "The demon race?" he repeated, barely able to comprehend the words echoing through the school's intercom.
Jay's face paled, his earlier emotions pushed aside by fear and confusion. "Is this some kind of drill?" he asked, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer.
Before Preston could respond, the ground shook again, this time harder. The sound of distant crashes and screams filtered through the school walls. Students ran past the band room, their faces etched with panic, while others shouted frantically for their friends or made calls that wouldn't connect.
"We need to go," Jay said, his voice urgent. He grabbed Preston's arm, pulling him toward the door.
Preston nodded, his brain struggling to process everything happening at once. As they stepped into the hallway, chaos unfolded around them. Locker doors hung open, their contents spilling onto the floor. A faint, acrid smell—something like sulfur—filled the air.
"What the hell is going on?" Preston muttered as he stumbled over a fallen music stand.
Jay didn't answer. His focus was on weaving through the panicked crowd toward the nearest exit. But as they turned a corner, they skidded to a halt. A massive, shadowy figure loomed at the far end of the hallway, its eyes glowing a sinister red. It stood over seven feet tall, its skin dark and cracked like scorched earth, with horns curling from its head.
The demon let out a guttural growl, its eyes locking onto Preston and Jay. Time seemed to slow.
"Run!" Jay shouted, his voice breaking Preston out of his daze. They bolted in the opposite direction, their footsteps echoing through the trembling halls.
"What are we supposed to do?" Preston yelled, his voice tinged with desperation. "We can't outrun that thing forever!"
Jay hesitated before replying. "The gym! It's the safest place—reinforced walls, no windows. If we can get there, we can barricade ourselves in!"
Preston nodded, trusting Jay's judgment. They turned another corner, narrowly avoiding a group of students sprinting in the opposite direction. The demon's growls grew louder behind them, its footsteps thunderous.
As they reached the gym doors, Preston and Jay threw their weight against them, bursting into the large, echoing space. Other students and a few teachers had already gathered there, some frantically stacking tables and chairs to block the entrance.
"What's happening out there?" someone shouted as Preston and Jay joined the group.
"No idea," Preston replied, his breath labored. "But we saw one. A demon. It's real."
The room fell silent, the weight of his words sinking in.
Then, as if on cue, another tremor shook the building. Dust fell from the rafters, and a deafening roar reverberated through the gym, sending chills down everyone's spine.
Preston exchanged a glance with Jay, fear and determination warring in his expression. "Whatever's going on, we need to survive this," he said firmly.
Jay nodded, gripping Preston's shoulder. "We will. Together."
The gym doors rattled violently, and the barricade creaked under the pressure of something slamming against it from the other side. The air grew heavy with tension as everyone braced themselves for the battle they hadn't seen coming.
The barricade didn't hold for long. The doors to the gym burst open with a thunderous crash, splinters of wood flying through the air as a massive figure strode into the room. Its presence was overwhelming—its towering form seemed to absorb the light, its eyes glowing with an intensity that sent shivers down Preston's spine.
The demon king, RaZeer, had arrived.
The room erupted into chaos. Teachers and students screamed, some attempting to flee, others frozen in terror. RaZeer raised an armored hand, and with a guttural incantation, the air seemed to ripple and crack. A wave of dark energy surged outward, slamming into everyone in its path. Preston felt the force like a freight train, hurling him across the gym floor.
When he opened his eyes, the world was eerily quiet. The screams had stopped. The gym was in ruins, bodies strewn across the floor. Smoke and the acrid scent of sulfur filled the air. Preston's head throbbed, his ears ringing as he staggered to his feet. His heart dropped as he looked around.
They were all gone. Jay, Chris, even the teachers all of them.
A low chuckle drew Preston's attention. RaZeer stood at the center of the destruction, his massive frame seeming to pulse with power. His horned head tilted as he surveyed the room, his voice a deep, mocking growl. "Pathetic. Is this the best humanity has to offer?"
Preston's legs felt like jelly, but he clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. Rage bubbled in his chest, overtaking his fear. He grabbed a broken metal rod from the wreckage anything that could serve as a weapon.
"You… you bastard!" Preston roared, charging at the demon king with reckless abandon. He swung the rod with all his might, aiming for RaZeer's head.
The demon king didn't flinch. With almost lazy precision, he caught the rod mid-swing, the metal crumpling in his grip like paper. He flicked his wrist, sending Preston flying backward again, crashing into the gym wall.
Preston groaned, pain radiating through his body as he tried to push himself up. Blood dripped from a gash on his forehead, blurring his vision. But he refused to stay down. He grabbed a nearby shard of glass, his hand trembling, and lunged at RaZeer again.
This time, the demon king didn't even bother to block. He stepped aside, sweeping Preston's legs out from under him. Preston hit the ground hard, the shard clattering from his grasp.
RaZeer loomed over him, his shadow engulfing Preston completely. "You're persistent, I'll give you that," he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "But you're out of your depth, boy."
Preston gasped for air, his body refusing to obey him. He looked up at RaZeer, tears mixing with the blood on his face. "Please…" he choked out. "Don't kill me."
RaZeer paused, his fiery gaze narrowing as he regarded Preston. For a long moment, he said nothing, the silence suffocating. Then, a deep rumble of amusement escaped him.
"Begging for your life?" he said, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "Interesting. Most humans die screaming or defiant. But you… you have spirit. And perhaps… potential."
Preston's heart pounded as RaZeer crouched down, his face inches from Preston's. "Tell me, boy," the demon king said softly, his voice carrying an edge of menace. "If I spared you, what would you do to repay me?"
"I… I'll serve you," Preston stammered, desperation lacing his words. "I'll do whatever you want. Just… just let me live."
RaZeer's smile widened, his sharp teeth glinting in the dim light. "Bold words for a mortal. But I see something in you, a fire that refuses to be snuffed out." He extended a clawed hand, dark energy crackling around it. "Very well. I will spare you. But you will not leave here as you are."
Preston hesitated, fear and uncertainty warring within him. But as he looked around at the devastation, at the bodies of his friends, he realized he had no choice. Slowly, he reached out and took RaZeer's hand.
The transformation was immediate and excruciating. Dark energy surged through Preston's body, burning away his humanity and replacing it with something far more sinister. His eyes turned a glowing crimson, and jagged horns sprouted from his head. Pain wracked his body, but when it subsided, he felt stronger, faster, more alive than ever before.
RaZeer stood, towering over him. "You are mine now, Preston," he declared. "One of my knights, bound to me for eternity. Serve me well, and you will know power beyond your wildest dreams."
Preston knelt before the demon king, his mind a whirlwind of fear, regret, and newfound purpose. "Yes, my king," he said, his voice steady despite the chaos in his heart.
The gym fell silent once more, save for the faint hum of dark energy that now pulsed through Preston's veins.
RaZeer halted mid-step, sensing something peculiar in Preston. Turning back, his piercing, icy gaze locked onto the boy. A crooked smile formed on the demon king's lips, his curiosity piqued.
"Interesting," RaZeer muttered, his voice like a glacier cracking. "Your soul carries an anomaly. Not ice, not fire, but... a void. A power that consumes rather than creates."
Preston shivered under the weight of RaZeer's gaze, but the frost that had previously numbed him began to recede. In its place, a strange warmth—dark and all-encompassing—ignited within him. It wasn't comforting or kind; it was a smoldering abyss that seemed to pull everything into it.
The demon king extended his hand, dark tendrils spiraling from his fingers toward Preston. They wrapped around him, not to harm, but to awaken something dormant. Preston gasped as an intense, black flame erupted from his chest, flickering with shades of violet and crimson. The air around him distorted, the ground beneath him cracking as if reality itself recoiled from the sheer magnitude of his emerging power.
"Voidfire," RaZeer murmured, his smirk widening. "A flame born of nothingness, fueled by despair and destruction. How... exquisite."
Preston fell to his knees, gripping his chest as the dark flame consumed him. Yet, he felt no pain only an overwhelming hunger, a desire to devour and obliterate. The world around him dimmed, as though his very presence snuffed out the light.
"Stand," RaZeer commanded, his tone sharper now.
Preston forced himself to rise, his eyes now glowing a haunting blend of black and violet. Shadows clung to his body like armor, and dark flames licked at his fingertips. He clenched his fists, feeling an unfathomable power coursing through him a power that terrified and exhilarated him in equal measure.
RaZeer strode closer, placing a clawed hand on Preston's shoulder. "You are no mere servant. You are a harbinger. With your voidfire, you will erase my enemies from existence itself."
Preston looked at the demon king, his voice steadier than before. "Why me? Why give me this power?"
RaZeer's icy smile returned. "Because your soul was broken, ripe for reshaping. And because I see potential in you—a darkness that even you do not fully understand. You will learn to harness it, to become the weapon I need."
Preston nodded, the voidfire swirling around him in response. His doubts were swallowed by the emptiness within him, replaced by a singular purpose. "I will not fail you, my king."
"Good," RaZeer said, stepping back. "Now, let us test your strength."
The demon king raised his hand, summoning a swirling vortex of ice and shadow. From it emerged a massive, grotesque beast with glowing blue eyes and jagged claws. It roared, shaking the ground as it charged toward Preston.
Instinctively, Preston raised his hands, the voidfire exploding outward in a torrent of consuming flames. The beast howled as the dark fire engulfed it, its form disintegrating into ash and shadow within moments.
RaZeer laughed, a low, chilling sound that echoed through the ruins of the school. "Yes... you will do nicely."
Preston stood amidst the destruction, the voidfire still dancing around him. He turned to RaZeer, his eyes reflecting the endless abyss within. "What's next?"
The demon king's smirk deepened. "Everything."
10 years later
King Razeer sat, his hands clasped in front of him, staring at the two knights kneeling before him. Their armor glinted in the flickering candlelight, and they bowed their heads in respect. Razeer's gaze never wavered from the pair.
"You know why you're here," Razeer's voice was deep, low, and cold, like a glacier cracking beneath a winter storm.
The first knight, Reginald, a tall figure with a scar running down his left cheek, nodded. "Yes, my lord. We are here to receive our orders regarding the young master."
Razeer's lips curled into a slight, cruel smile. "The time has come for my son to answer for his actions." He paused, his eyes narrowing. "Alex has broken the sacred laws of our kind. The rules are clear only those of the highest bloodlines can create new demons. His ability to do so is an affront to everything we have worked to build."
The second knight, Preston, a younger man with sharp, calculating eyes, hesitated before speaking. "But, my lord... Alex is your son. Shouldn't we... handle this with discretion?"
Razeer's golden eyes flashed dangerously, the temperature in the room dropping. "Discretion? My son has defied me. He is no longer a part of my legacy. He is a threat to the very foundation of our rule, and he will be treated as such. His actions could unravel everything we've built over the centuries."
Reginald bowed his head. "We understand, my lord. What do you wish us to do?"
Razeer leaned forward, his voice icy but filled with a quiet, terrifying resolve. "I want you to find Alex. I want you to bring him to me alive, if possible. But if not… make sure there are no traces left of him. He is an abomination in the eyes of the demon world, and it is time we erased that mistake."
Preston flinched slightly but quickly nodded. "It will be done, my lord. We will not fail you."
Razeer waved his hand, dismissing them. "See that you don't. Do not underestimate him he is my son, after all, and I am certain he has learned how to survive. But you know what must be done."
The knights exchanged a brief glance before nodding in unison. "Understood, my lord.