Kazuo crouched atop a derelict rooftop, his silhouette sharp against the fractured skyline. Rain began to spatter on the cold concrete, each drop crackling with latent tension as it slid across his gloved fingers. He flexed his hand, and faint blue sparks danced along his knuckles, illuminating the tattooed reminder of all he’d lost.
Lena[/@ch_2], her breath visible in the chill, scans the shadows with a battered rifle.]
Lena pressed her back to the wall, eyes darting to Kazuo above. She whispered into her radio, voice trembling but resolute.
"Are you sure about this, Kazuo? Kairos could be anywhere—hell, he could be dead. Why risk everything for a rumor?"
Kazuo watched lightning fork across the heavens, the flash reflected in the hollow sockets of a toppled statue. He replied, each word weighted with the burden of three haunted years.
"Because if there's even a chance to undo this… if we can find Kairos, find a cure, and erase Necroxis from history—then it's worth every risk. We can’t keep running forever."
Lena raises her rifle, knuckles white on the stock, as the beast prowls nearer. Kazuo narrows his gaze, tendrils of electricity arcing from his forearm to the sniper rifle strapped across his back.
"If we make it through tonight, you owe me a story. About the before times. About why you never miss," she murmured, forcing a shaky grin.
"Deal," Kazuo replied, eyes never leaving the monster. "But first, let’s survive the now."
Kazuo[/@ch_1] clutching a bolt of lightning, beneath the words “Hope Survives.” The wolf-dog lunges, jaws snapping. The world seems to hold its breath.]
Kazuo raises his palm and a bolt of raw electricity erupts, illuminating the alley in ghostly blue. The beast convulses mid-leap, its howl drowned out by the storm. The mural’s eyes seem to follow Kazuo as he lowers his hand, breath ragged, the cost of power etched across his face.
Lena wipes monster blood from her cheek, her voice steadier now.
"So what’s the plan, genius? How do we find a ghost in a world full of monsters?"
"We follow the rumors, the footprints of hope. Kairos left clues—encrypted broadcasts, scattered journals. We’ll gather them all," Kazuo replied, his eyes alight with stormfire. "And when we find him, we build a cure. Then, we rewrite fate itself."[/@ch_1_d]
The journey ahead is uncertain, the line between salvation and damnation razor-thin. Yet, with each step, Kazuo and Lena defy the darkness, chasing the impossible—because even at the end of the world, hope sparks anew.
