The fires in Blackthorn had burned down to embers. The night was silent now, save for the distant cries of the wounded and the occasional crackle of dying flames. The four stood amidst the ruins, bloodstained and breathless.
They hadn't planned this.
They hadn't expected to fight together.
And yet, here they were—standing side by side, having wiped out an entire raider force as if it were nothing.
A heavy pause settled between them, filled with unspoken questions.
Kade broke the silence first. "We need to leave before the wrong people start asking questions." His chains flickered around him, restless. "Bodies like this don't go unnoticed."
Jaxon nodded. "I know a place."
Without another word, they followed him through the ruined streets.
---
Jaxon led them through Blackthorn's twisting back alleys until they reached a crumbling, abandoned church. The stained-glass windows were shattered, and the wooden pews had long since rotted. Yet, the stone walls still stood, and the cold air inside felt safe.
Kade leaned against a pillar, arms crossed. Elias sat on a broken pew, flipping a card between his fingers. Reed exhaled slowly, his golden energy fading as he finally let himself rest. Jaxon stood near the altar, his symbiote shifting subtly around his shoulders.
The silence stretched. They had fought together. They had survived together. But they were still strangers.
"So," Elias said, breaking the quiet. "Are we just going to pretend this is normal?"
Jaxon tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
Elias gave a dry chuckle. "I mean, look at us." He gestured lazily. "A guy with a living shadow, a walking executioner, a healer who also kills people, and me—well, I don't even know what I am." He smirked, but there was no humor in it. "You don't get powers like these without a story."
Kade's eyes darkened. "You're assuming we want to talk about it."
Elias shrugged. "If we're working together, we should at least know what we're dealing with."
A beat of silence.
Then—Jaxon spoke.
---
Jaxon – The Twin Existence
"I don't remember where I was born," Jaxon said, voice even. His symbiote slithered around his arm, shifting between flesh and shadow. "I wasn't raised in a home. I was raised in a lab."
Reed's brows furrowed. "A lab?"
Jaxon nodded. "I was an experiment. They wanted to see how far they could push the boundaries of human adaptability. Turns out, I wasn't just adaptable—I was something else." He flexed his fingers, and his symbiote expanded for a moment, as if reacting to the memory.
"They kept me in a cage. Trained me to fight. To survive." His gaze flickered with something cold. "One day, I stopped listening. And when they tried to force me—" He smirked, but there was no warmth in it. "Let's just say they didn't get the chance to try again."
Silence.
Then Kade exhaled. "That explains a lot."
Jaxon arched a brow. "Oh? And what about you, Chainbound Reaper?"
---
Kade – The Chainbound Reaper
Kade's expression didn't change, but his chains tightened around his wrists.
"I wasn't born with these," he said, voice low. He glanced at his own hands, at the ghostly metal wrapped around them. "They were put on me."
Elias frowned. "Put on you?"
Kade exhaled sharply. "When I was a kid, my family owed a debt they couldn't pay. The kind you don't walk away from." He rolled his shoulders. "They took me instead. Said I'd pay it off in blood."
Reed's breath hitched. "They… enslaved you?"
Kade's lips curled into a bitter smirk. "Call it what you want." He raised his hand, and his chains pulsed faintly. "These were their way of keeping me in line. A cursed artifact, bound to my soul. They made me a killer. And when I finally got strong enough to break free?"
He held up his hand, letting the chains coil around his fingers.
"I kept them."
Jaxon gave a slow nod. "That's… messed up."
Kade scoffed. "Yeah, well. The world's messed up." He exhaled, shaking his head. "What about you, Healer? How does someone with your power learn to kill?"
---
Reed – The Healer's Judgment
Reed hesitated. His powers weren't like theirs. He wasn't built for war. And yet—
"My family ran an infirmary," he said softly. "We weren't wealthy, but we helped people. That's all we ever wanted." He clenched his fists. "But in this world, people don't like things they can't control. One day, a noble's son was dying. He had an infection—one I could've cured. But my father refused to heal him unless he paid."
Elias blinked. "You charged for healing?"
Reed's gaze darkened. "We had to. Magic like mine takes something in return. It's not infinite." He exhaled. "The noble didn't care. He came back with guards. Burned our home. Killed my family."
A silence heavier than before filled the room.
Elias studied him. "So, you kill now to survive?"
Reed shook his head. "No. I kill so people like that don't get the chance to hurt anyone else."
Jaxon exhaled. Kade nodded, understanding. Then—
Elias smirked. "Damn."
Kade arched a brow. "What?"
Elias leaned back. "We're all walking tragedies, huh?"
---
Elias – The Infinite Deck
Jaxon tilted his head. "What about you?"
Elias twirled a card between his fingers. "Oh, me?" He grinned. "I'm the fortunate one."
Kade scoffed. "Bullshit."
Elias chuckled. "Alright, fine." He sighed, flipping the card into the air. It glowed, shifting between different forms—fire, steel, shadows—before returning to normal.
"My father was a gambler," Elias said. "Not a good one. He bet everything—his money, his honor, even his firstborn son." He flicked his wrist, and the card vanished. "And he lost."
Reed's eyes widened. "He gambled you away?"
Elias nodded. "To a sorcerer. A powerful one. I don't remember his face, but I remember his voice." He exhaled. "He took me, raised me, trained me. And when I was ready?" Elias smirked. "He made me draw a card."
Kade narrowed his eyes. "And?"
Elias chuckled. "And I pulled this." He flicked a card forward. It landed on the stone floor, glowing faintly. "A card with infinite possibilities. The sorcerer called it a blessing." His smirk faded. "I call it a curse."
Jaxon stared at him. "And what happened to him?"
Elias leaned back, smirking. "Let's just say he's not making bets anymore."
---
The room fell silent again.
Four strangers. Four stories filled with pain, blood, and survival.
They weren't heroes.
They weren't friends.
But maybe, just maybe—they understood each other.
And for now, that was enough.
To Be Continued…