Darkness Surrounds
The night pressed down heavily.
Black clouds blanketed the sky, and the moon only occasionally broke through the gaps, casting crooked, menacing shadows.
The air was thick and damp, saturated with the scent of wet stone and dust. This was a place long abandoned by people.
Ruins.
Crumbled walls covered in cracks. Stones half-sunken into the earth. Fragments of buildings that once had meaning but were now nothing more than useless piles of rubble.
These ruins were not far from the city, yet people never ventured here. It was too quiet.
A silence so profound it made your ears ring.
And in that silence, among the shattered columns and crumbling walls, lay Nait.
Pinned to the ground by an invisible force.
The dull crunch of footsteps on stone.
Not hurried. Not frantic.
Slow. Deliberate.
Someone was walking through the ruins, as if on a leisurely stroll, as though they knew there was no need to rush. Behind them followed shadows—silent figures with weapons, maintaining a respectful distance.
Nait couldn't move.
But he could hear.
The footsteps grew closer.
And then they stopped.
A voice spoke.
"Awake at last."
It was deep, calm. Unhurried.
Before him stood a man. His followers had spread out through the ruins, taking up positions from where they could observe everything.
He was tall. Broad-shouldered. Short gray hair. The face of a man who cared nothing for moral boundaries.
He didn't look like an ordinary bandit. Too composed. Too experienced.
The man gazed down at Nait, like someone studying an interesting insect under glass.
"The name's Kaiser," he said, his lips curling into a faint smile.
The name meant nothing to Nait.
But he instantly understood: this wasn't a random encounter.
"You've probably figured out by now that you can't move, haven't you?"
Fractum.
This was Kaiser's Fractum.
An invisible force pressed down on Nait's body, like the weight of tons of stone. He felt his muscles pinned to the ground, though no ropes bound him.
"Silent, are we?" Kaiser smirked, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. One of his men immediately stepped forward with a lighter. "Smart boy. This is my Fractum—'Gravitational Shackles.'"
He took a slow drag from the cigarette, then lazily snapped his fingers.
The pressure on Nait's body increased.
Nait clenched his teeth but didn't make a sound.
"Completely immobilizes you, but it leaves one amusing detail—full awareness," Kaiser continued, exhaling smoke in Nait's direction.
He crouched down, staring directly into Nait's eyes. His men tensed, ready to act at the first signal.
"So you'll feel everything. Right up to the very end."
Kaiser glanced at his cigarette, smoked it down to the butt, then carelessly flicked it to the ground near Nait's face.
"Honestly, you should be flattered."
He sheathed his dagger, stood, and took a few slow steps to the side.
"I don't usually take jobs like this. Most of the time, people pay me to eliminate… well, real targets. Important people."
He turned back to look down at Nait.
"But this time, some little aristocrat…"
Click.
Kaiser froze mid-sentence.
As though he hadn't meant to say that.
He'd just slipped up.
A brief pause.
Heavy, like the gravity crushing Nait's body.
Kaiser slouched slightly, running a hand over the back of his neck, and let out a dry chuckle.
"Well, damn. My mouth gets me into trouble sometimes."
He crouched again, meeting Nait's gaze directly.
"But let's be honest... that doesn't help you at all."
He ran a finger across his throat in a suggestive motion.
"You're going to die anyway."
Kaiser took a deep drag, exhaling smoke slowly, his eyes never leaving Nait.
"Don't waste your time guessing. It won't change a thing."
He reached for his dagger again, but this time, he held it differently.
Not toying.
Preparing.
— If I were you, I'd relax. You know, not everyone dies cleanly.
He leaned down, pressing the cold blade against Nait's throat, tracing the tip lightly across his skin. It didn't cut, but it was enough to feel the steel.
— But I like you, kid. I'll make it quick.
Nait couldn't move.
The crushing gravity pinned every muscle.
But…
No.
This wasn't how it was supposed to end.
He couldn't just lie there and wait for death.
His Fractum…
Where was it?
He tried to summon it, to feel that same force inside him, the one that had devoured people back in the schoolyard.
But there was nothing.
Nothing.
Kaiser raised the dagger.
— Say goodbye to this world, Elstain.
He swung it downward.
And in that moment…
A hand rested on his shoulder.
Casually.
Like stopping an old friend on the street.
— Yo.
Kaiser didn't even have time to be surprised.
A dull thud.
The world vanished.
Impact.
Stone exploded into dust.
Kaiser felt his face slam into a solid wall with bone-rattling force.
Crack.
His body followed the momentum, knees buckling as his consciousness momentarily faltered.
What…
What had just happened?
But before he could comprehend it, the world disappeared again.
A flash.
He wasn't by the wall anymore.
He was on the ground.
In front of him—Nait.
And…
The bandits.
The ones who, just moments ago, had been in control.
Now they were frozen in shock.
Some had their mouths wide open, trying to speak.
Others took a step back.
But none of them understood what was happening.
Neither did Nait.
He had just watched Kaiser holding a blade to his throat.
Now Kaiser was on his knees.
And behind him stood Zein.
One hand was calmly resting on Kaiser's head.
As if he were casually leaning on a table.
— So… Now for the important part.
A dull thud.
The world vanished.
Impact.
Stone exploded into dust.
Kaiser felt his face slam into the hard wall with full force.
Crack.
His body jerked forward with the momentum, his knees buckling, his consciousness wobbling for a second.
What…
What the hell just happened?
But before he could even process it, the world vanished again.
Flash.
He wasn't against the wall anymore.
He was on the ground.
In front of him—Nait.
And…
The bandits.
The ones who, just a second ago, had been in control.
Now they were frozen in shock.
Some had their mouths wide open, struggling to form words.
Some had already taken a step back.
But no one understood what had just happened.
Not even Nait.
He had just watched Kaiser pressing a knife to his throat.
Now Kaiser was on his knees.
And behind him—him.
Zein.
His hand resting calmly on Kaiser's head.
As if he were casually leaning against a table.
"Alright… Now for the important part."
A dull thud.
The world vanished.
Cold.Silence.Altitude.
Kaiser froze, his body suspended in midair.
The wind slashed against his skin, his hair whipping wildly from the sheer speed.
The sky.
He was so high up that he could see the entire city in the distance, tiny and insignificant, like a toy.
Beneath him—nothing but endless emptiness.
Kaiser flailed his arms, trying to grasp onto something, anything—
But there was nothing.
Just the infinite drop below.
And in front of him—Zein.
Floating effortlessly.
As if gravity was nothing but a suggestion, not a law.
Zein stared at him.
His white hair danced wildly in the wind, but in those crimson eyes, there was something close to boredom.
He tilted his head slightly.
— "Tell me… can you fly?"
Kaiser lunged forward, desperate to grab him—
But Zein was already gone.
And then—
He fell.
Kaiser vanished.
But no one had time to process it.
The bandits stood frozen in place.
They had just watched their leader standing there, ready to kill Nait.
And now—
He was gone.
And in his place stood someone else.
White hair, messily falling over his face.
Red eyes, gazing at them with a lazy, almost uninterested expression.
Zein just stood there.
Calm.
As if nothing had happened.
And that was the scariest part.
— "W-what the hell…?!"
The first bandit stumbled backward, panic creeping in.
The second reached for his weapon.
A mistake.
A dull thud.
Zein disappeared.
And reappeared right in front of him.
In the bandit's eyes, fear flickered.
But it was already too late.
Click.
A spear was already piercing through his chest.
The bandit didn't even have time to inhale.
He twitched… and collapsed.
His body hit the stone with a dull thump, kicking up dust.
Silence.
Zein slowly lifted his head.
— "Alright, who's next?"
Blood still dripped from the spear.
The bandits staggered backward.
One of them swore under his breath.
Another gripped his weapon, as if it would change anything.
But one of them—the smartest one—had already taken a step back.
And turned.
To run.
Click.
Zein vanished.
And reappeared right in front of him.
Face to face.
The bandit didn't even have time to scream.
A dull crack.
The spear sliced through the air, plunging into his throat.
Blood burst in an arc of crimson.
His body jerked… and fell.
Without a sound.
The Third Attacked.
He swung his sword with all his strength.
Zein didn't move.
The bandit smirked.
"Gotcha!"
But no.
Click.
Zein vanished.
The blade sliced through empty air.
The bandit blinked.
And then he felt the cold.
The cold of metal in his gut.
Zein was already behind him.
His spear had gone straight through.
The bandit's body jerked.
And collapsed.
Three Left.
They didn't attack.
Now, they only wanted to survive.
"We surrender!" one of them yelled, dropping his weapon.
Zein tilted his head.
"Surrender?"
The bandit nodded frantically.
"Please… I…"
Click.
Zein vanished.
When he reappeared, his spear was already sticking through the bandit's chest.
The bandit shuddered… and fell.
The remaining two froze.
They already knew.
There would be no escape.
Zein looked at them and sighed heavily.
"You really thought you could kill my friend…"
He twirled his spear between his fingers.
"…and just walk away?"
The bandits didn't respond.
They just ran.
Click.
Zein vanished.
Two flashes of steel.
Two bodies hit the dust.
Silence.
The smell of blood filled the air.
The bandits lay lifeless on the ground, their bodies twitching in their final spasms.
Zein calmly wiped his spear on his sleeve, as if this were just another tedious day.
Nait still couldn't move.
The Gravitational Shackles held him down, paralyzing his muscles.
But the scariest part wasn't that.
It was the fact he couldn't understand what had just happened.
Zein turned to him slowly and grinned.
"So… heading home now?"
Nait blinked.
Then blinked again.
"You… Do you even realize what just happened here?!"
Zein shrugged nonchalantly, as if pondering.
"Hmm… Bandits? An assassin? Attempted murder?"
He clapped his hands together.
"Oh, right. I won."
"You…" Nait struggled to find the words, his mind reeling.
He took a deep breath.
"What. The. Hell. Was. That?"
Zein burst into laughter.
"What do you mean? It's just one of my Fractums."
Nait felt his anger boil inside him.
"One of?!"
"Yeah, of course."
"What the fu—"
"Okay, okay, I'll explain later," Zein interrupted, waving him off. "Let's get you free first."
"Yes, great idea! Free me!"
Zein stood in front of him, folding his arms.
"Alright, hold on. Give me a few seconds."
Nait exhaled sharply.
"Hold on?! Just do it already!"
"Patience, my friend."
Zein looked up at the sky.
"Three…"
"Zein."
"Two…"
"ZEIN!"
"One."
A shadow fell from the sky.
A heavy crash.
Stone shattered, the ground trembled.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
The body splattered against the stone floor, like a discarded sack of meat.
Nait fell silent.
His eyes widened.
Right in front of him lay a mangled, lifeless body.
Kaiser.
Dead.
He had fallen from the sky like some kind of damn meteor.
Zein stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded.
"Well, there we go. That'll do it."
Nait felt the crushing weight lift off his body.
Kaiser's Fractum had vanished with his life.
Nait staggered but managed to stay on his feet.
Zein stretched lazily.
"Alright, now we can go home for real."
Nait let out a slow, shaky breath.
"You know… You're insane."
Zein clapped him on the shoulder.
"And you're only realizing that now?"
They walked away, leaving behind the dead and the ruins, bathed in the pale light of the moon.
A place where someone was supposed to die.
But it wasn't them.