My head throbbed.

Everything around me blurred. There was a ringing in my ears so loud it drowned out the world. My body felt heavy, the ground unsteady. A warm trickle ran down my face. Blood?

I shifted, trying to prop myself up on my right arm, but the surface beneath me wasn’t solid.

Water.

Panicked, I touched my head, wincing as pain flared. I twisted at the waist and noticed something—or someone—floating beside me.

Jelly.

She looked so still—too still.

Blinking hard, I forced my head to clear. The darkness around me was thick, tinted murky blue. And it hit me.

I couldn't breathe.

My lungs burned, panic seizing me as I flung my hands wildly through the water. My body twisted in a frantic surge, my arms reaching for Jelly. Her limp form drifted beside me. Her hair swirled in slow currents.

No—she wasn’t moving.

I grabbed her waist, heart pounding as I kicked upward, pushing through drifting debris. The ache in my chest deepened, but I forced my legs to keep kicking.

Break the surface. Just break the surface.

Suddenly, my head burst free.

Air. I gasped. The sweet, stinging chill of oxygen flooded my lungs.

The moonlight painted ripples on the water. I scanned the landscape and spotted the hillside nearby. Gritting my teeth, I pulled Jelly’s body along, forcing my aching limbs to swim toward it.

The ground felt like salvation as I dragged her out of the water, laying her gently on the damp grass.

She wasn’t breathing.

I hesitated. Should I—?

No. No time to doubt. She needed help.

I leaned over her, heart hammering. My hands cupped her cheeks.

“One... two... three...”

Please, let this work.

*****

“Josh!”

Chevonne's voice broke through the haze as she sprinted toward us, bedraggled but safe. Relief hit me so hard I could barely meet her eyes. More than anything, I was glad she hadn’t seen—

Jelly stirred.

Coughing softly, she blinked up at the sky then down at the damp grass. Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Thank you.”

It sounded something more as if she couldn't believe what I did.

Chevonne knelt beside her. “Are you both okay? What happened?”

“We’re fine,” I answered, deflecting. “What’s going on out there?”

Chevonne’s face hardened. “We were attacked. Dr. Shawn’s keeping them at bay across the basin.”

“Alone? He’s fighting them alone?”

“He’s holding them off, buying us time. He told me to find you both. Jelly, there’s something only you can do.”

Jelly sat up, still clutching her chest. “Where’s Rico?”

“He’s fine. He swam back toward the hotel ruins. He’s searching for the cursed item. But listen—Dr. Shawn needs your help. He said you need to enter creating mode.”

Jelly blinked. “Creating... mode?”

“It’s like... a bird’s-eye view of the entire realm.”

Jelly nodded slowly. “I did it before. Once. When the wolves attacked. But... It just happened. I didn’t control it. I don’t even know how to trigger it.”

Chevonne’s gaze stayed firm. “You can do it. Close your eyes and focus. Thinkers work best alone. Since you’ve only recently become a creator, it’ll take time—but it’s in you. Just trust yourself.”

She helped Jelly lean back on the grass then stood and grabbed my arm, tugging me away.

“Come on. Dr. Shawn needs backup.”

*****

“Hey, was it really okay to leave her there alone?” I whispered as we ran.

Chevonne didn’t look back. “It’s safer. If she unlocks her full power, she could wipe them all out with her ability. She rules this realm, Josh.”

“That’s if she figures it out. What if someone reaches her first?”

Chevonne shot me a determined glance. “They won’t kill her. They need her alive to steal control of the realm. Besides, we won’t let them get close. Right?”

I nodded, her unwavering confidence sparking a bit of my own. “Over our dead bodies.”

We crested a hill, and there he was—Dr. Shawn.

He stood on a jagged piece of rubble hovering over the waterfall basin, his body enveloped in a glowing amber thought. Pieces of debris floated around him, suspended in his control, rotating like tiny moons.

His thought radius was vast, the amber light stretching far across the water.

On the opposite hillside, a group of figures lingered just outside the border of his thought. They were familiar faces.

Council members.

They weren’t attacking.

They were watching.

Resting beneath the shadow of a cocohair tree, a massive figure loomed at the forest’s edge, half-hidden.

It was a giant. The same one that destroyed the clone school.

They were waiting for something to happen. They even looked comfortable.

The only one struggling was Dr. Shawn. His breath came in ragged bursts, his shoulders sagging. Blood seeped through his torn sleeve again, staining the fabric dark.

“How’s the arm, Doctor?”

A voice echoed from across the basin.

Joseph.

He stepped forward, the moonlight catching his smug grin as he slouched onto the ground. The rest of the council stayed in the shadows behind him.

Joseph guffawed and pointed lazily at Dr. Shawn. “We’re not even serious yet. How come you’re already tired?”

“It won’t take long before he collapses,” Priscilla shouted coldly, her voice echoing from deeper in the shadows. “No need to waste our energy on a fight this pointless.”

Lucky Kid appeared next, tossing a handful of berries and apples into the air. “Brought snacks. Who’s hungry?”

They each grabbed a fruit—except Rex.

Rex emerged last, his gaze locking on Dr. Shawn. He didn’t reach for the food. He didn’t speak. He just watched.

They weren’t taking this seriously.

And Dr. Shawn was losing ground fast. His aura dimmed, his breath labored. He wouldn't hold much longer.

But the council hadn’t noticed us yet.

Chevonne gripped my elbow tightly. “Josh,” she whispered, her voice urgent, “I need you to do something. Promise me you’ll follow through—no matter the consequences.”

The intensity in her eyes set my heart racing. “Are you planning something dangerous? If so, I’m not helping. I won’t let you risk yourself.”

Her face darkened. “Josh, how can you be like this right now? Dr. Shawn’s out there fighting for us—dying for us—to protect Jelly. We can’t just stand here and watch him sacrifice himself alone. We have to act.”

“But—”

“No! You will do as I say. Remember how Finlay’s linked to me? That gives us an advantage. I need you to make him touch them once I trigger my thought. I’ll get closer to be sure they’re caught inside.”

And then she told me the rest of the plan.

I shook my head. “That’s too risky. There has to be another way—”

Her voice dropped to a fierce whisper. “What other way? Until Rico finds the cursed item, we’re on our own. We’re both orange-margin thinkers, Josh. We can’t overpower them directly. All we have is strategy. Now, distract them. Remember the plan.”

Before I could protest, she was already moving—vanishing into the woods. She crouched low, slipping from tree to tree, circling toward the council’s position on the opposite hillside.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit,” I muttered under my breath.

If anything happened to her...

But there was no turning back now. We’d come too far.

I sucked in a breath, squared my shoulders, and stepped into the open.

Dr. Shawn’s shimmering thought was the only thing separating us from the council across the water. They noticed me instantly.

Rex stiffened. Joseph shot to his feet, nearly dropping his half-eaten apple.

“Hey, hey, hey! Look who’s here!” Joseph’s voice rang out mockingly. “Isn’t that your uncle, Rex?”

Rex’s glare sliced through me. Cold. Intimidating. He moved closer to the bank, almost brushing the amber edge of Dr. Shawn’s thought.

“Rex, stop!”

Priscilla’s voice snapped like a whip. Her thought flared, and Rex froze mid-step.

His face twisted with rage. “Let me go, you idiot! The second I break free, I’m coming for you first!”

Priscilla flinched, her focus wavering, but held him firm. Sweat beaded on her brow, the strain of controlling him clearly costing her.

Joseph moved quickly, grabbing Rex’s shoulders and pinning him to the ground.

And there was Chevonne.

I saw her shadow shifting near the bushes behind them.

She’d made it.

Dr. Shawn’s thought wavered. His aura dimmed again. A chunk of debris tumbled from the air, splashing into the water below.

“Oh? At your limit already?” Priscilla mocked, regaining her composure.

I moved toward the water’s edge and stepped just inside Dr. Shawn’s thought barrier. The aura flickered faintly around me, but he noticed. I told him what Chevonne planned to do.

His eyes met mine, and he gave a small nod. The plan was still possible.

He loosened his hold on the debris circling him. “You ready?”

“Hell, yeah.”

I gritted my teeth, recalling Chevonne’s instructions on how to trigger my thought with minimal effort.

Joseph, still pinning Rex, sneered. “Oh? What’s this? Gonna lecture us into submission?”

Without warning, Dr. Shawn released his control over the debris and uprooted the soil beneath me. The ground shot me across the waterfall basin with dizzying speed. The sudden attack caught the council off guard.

The instant I passed beyond Dr. Shawn’s barrier, I activated my thought.

Rocks I'd pocketed earlier morphed into delicate white flowers in my hands. I flung them high into the air. The petals scattered above, catching the moonlight. For just a heartbeat, their gazes lifted, distracted by the illusion.

It was all the time I needed.

I slammed into Rex and Joseph, shoving them hard enough that they stumbled backward into Lucky Kid, the impact sending all three crashing against the cocohair tree’s trunk.

I hit the ground rolling, my breath knocked from my chest.

Before I could gather myself, the earth shifted beneath me. Dr. Shawn, straining, lifted me with a surge of soil and launched me back across the basin. I landed hard in the water, gasping, but he hauled me out again with another burst of power, gently setting me on the hillside by carrying the water around me.

But he was losing strength. Fast.

It had all happened in one fluid sequence—too swift for them to react properly.

Except for Priscilla.

She caught on, her eyes narrowing.

“Joseph! Rex! You’re linked!”

Chevonne canceled her thought instantly, but it was too late.

Priscilla tracked the retreating energy right back to her position behind the underbrush.

“There she is!”

Joseph and Rex snarled and took off after her as she bolted into the trees.

Damn it. They found her.

But that was the plan.

We needed to separate them—to isolate Priscilla so we could coerce her into submission without harming anyone. She was the key. If we could force her to use her thought to immobilize the others, we could subdue them peacefully.

But with the cursed item missing, a critical piece of our strategy had crumbled.

Dr. Shawn’s thought finally collapsed. His aura blinked out.

He fell face-first into the water.

Priscilla cackled.

“How unfortunate can you be?”

Her thought ignited as she extended it toward Dr. Shawn’s limp body.

He stirred. His limbs twitched.

She was controlling him.

Even unconscious, she forced his body to move—dragging him awkwardly across the basin, making him struggle to swim with one bloodied arm.

I hadn’t known she could manipulate someone like that.

Then, a gunshot echoed.

Priscilla jerked back, her thought vanishing.

Khaki-shorts man balanced atop a floating piece of the ruined hotel. His pistol was already smoking, aimed directly at her.

Priscilla slumped, slipping beneath the surface with a splash.

Khaki-shorts man dove after Dr. Shawn.

I dove, too.

The icy water closed over me as I swam toward Priscilla’s sinking form. My fingers hooked under her arm, dragging her upward as khaki-shorts man surfaced with Dr. Shawn.

We hauled them both to the bank, coughing, dripping, breathless.

Priscilla and Dr. Shawn were both unconscious. Out cold.

Both sides had just lost a fighter.

"I'm sorry I got here late," khaki-shorts man said as we shackled Priscilla’s limp form.

"No worries. Go protect Jelly—she's at the far corner of the hillside. I'll find Chevonne."

Before he could respond, I had already sprinted in the opposite direction.

The forest closed in quickly, dense with low-hanging branches and damp earth underfoot. Broken stumps jutted out where trees had been freshly cut, and splatters of blood marred the moss.

I passed the decapitated corpses of rhino-like beasts, deer, hares—even wolves. The carnage felt excessive in a way that knotted my stomach.

If there was one thing working in my favor, it was how carelessly they left their tracks. Twigs snapped underfoot. I followed torn leaves and bent grass, moving past pitfalls, muddy swamps, and the dry creek bed where more blood soaked the dirt.

Still no sign of her.

Then, I heard the shriek.

I ran toward the sound, the trees giving way to a wide meadow bathed in pale light.

There—Rex and Joseph.

They circled each other, visibly exhausted. Rex’s face and arms were slashed all over, streaked crimson, while Joseph, oddly untouched, swayed on his feet from sheer fatigue.

They’d been at it for a while.

But where was Chevonne?

I crouched low, moving from bush to bush, keeping my breath steady.

I needed to confirm.

Focusing, I strained to perceive their thoughts.

Joseph's was barely visible—small, tightly controlled. Just as Chevonne had described. Rex’s thought only covered him, like clothes.

As I remembered, his burst required physical contact. But Joseph could strike him from a distance, which made their clash all the more dangerous.

Suddenly, Rex lunged.

Joseph slashed, but Rex twisted under the air blade with unnatural speed.

A heartbeat later, Rex was beneath him.

An uppercut sent Joseph sprawling to the grass. He scrambled back, gasping for air, but Rex was already on top of him.

He seized Joseph’s cheeks in a vice grip, forcing his head back with both hands.

"You're always the fast one,” Rex hissed, tightening his hold. “Not this time."

"Josh."

I nearly jumped as a voice whispered beside me.

Chevonne knelt there, unharmed.

"Where—? Are you okay? What happened?"

She nodded, her eyes on the fight. "I'm fine. You?"

"We took down Priscilla, but Dr. Shawn's out cold."

Before she could react, a shriek tore through the air.

We turned back—

Joseph was pinned.

Blood pooled beneath him, soaking the grass. His face twisted in agony. His shoulders… They were ruined.

No, they were flayed open, the flesh torn.

Rex held Joseph’s severed arms in his fists.

A gruesome, feral grin spread across his face as he slapped the lifeless limbs against Joseph’s face.

"How satisfying." Rex's voice trembled, almost euphoric. "After all these years—I've finally got you."

Something in me snapped.

I charged.

I hit him hard, slamming him back against a tree.

For a moment, I thought it had worked.

Then, his hands snapped around my throat.

The pressure crushed in, blinding.

I couldn't breathe.

This was it—

But suddenly, his grip slackened.

His expression shifted, the bloodlust dulling.

"Uncle?" he whispered, like he’d just woken from a dream. "What... What are you doing here?"

I didn't trust it.

"Don't give me that crap! You monster! How many people have you killed already?"

He hesitated, his eyes narrowing.

Then, slowly, a cruel grin spread across his face.

"Try to guess."

"What the hell are you? Do your parents even know what you've become?"

His face twisted into a glare. "Don’t you dare talk about them."

"Why? You’d kill me? Go on, then. That’s an easy job for you, right? Do it!"

“Don’t try my patience. You’ll regret it.”

I shifted my position, locking my elbow against his neck. He gripped my biceps with a force that almost crushed the breath from me. But instead of bursting me, he threw a left hook.

The punch hit my jaw, sending me staggering backward. My vision blurred for a second, but I fought it back, forcing myself to stand. Blood dripped from my mouth as I spat, the metallic taste harsh against my tongue.

Damn, he was strong.

"You know," Rex sneered, "I'm supposed to kill you, but when I saw you on the hillside... Something stirred inside me. I just can’t bring myself to do it, even if Master would be disappointed."

He grabbed Joseph’s severed arms, swinging them in the air with a twisted grin. “Do I look like a deer? Do you think this is funny for kindergartners?”

“Stop messing around!”

“But I’m not messing around.” His grin faded for a moment, his tone shifting. “You’re the one who inspired me to become a teacher.”

"Rex, what have they done to you?"

Everything about him felt wrong, like he was a different person altogether. I couldn’t help but feel a wave of pity.

"Uncle, why are you sad? Is it because I still haven’t returned the workbook you gave me?" Rex’s voice dripped with mock innocence. “I’m sorry, but I left it at the beach.”

I stared at him. I felt my feet move before I even realized it.

I swore on my life that I’d find the one who had done this to Rex. And they would pay.

“Josh, don’t!” Chevonne shouted, stepping out from behind the bushes, her hand outstretched to stop me.

But Rex saw her. His expression changed, and in an instant, he spun around, charging toward her.

I lunged to grab him, but my hands missed. Time slowed as if the world was testing me. I glanced down and saw Joseph’s body just inches from where I stood.

It all came down to this.

"Chevonne! Shoot out a thought!"

Without hesitation, Chevonne closed her eyes and initiated her thought. I did the same, quickly forming a plan in my mind. I grabbed a pebble, morphed it into a sharp knife, and stabbed it into Joseph’s thigh.

Rex dropped to the ground with a guttural scream.

I didn’t waste a second. I forced myself to my feet, spitting blood as I steadied myself. Rex was already on all fours, his eyes wild with fury.

“You bastard!” he snarled, charging at me this time, his arms reaching for me.

I ducked, rolling to the side as he flew past. He came so close I could feel the brush of his hair against my face. He shot toward a cocohair tree, but the impact sent him crashing back, propelling himself off the trunk with violent force.

I gritted my teeth. With barely a moment to think, I stabbed Joseph’s other thigh. Rex dropped before he could reach me, his body collapsing.

He lay there, his chin resting on the dirt, his eyes wide and vacant, staring at me with madness.

“He... he... he...” His voice was distorted, almost giddy. “I guess I have to kill you now.”

He reached for my foot, but before he could touch me, a flash of light illuminated the sky.

The pegasus-like beasts descended again, their wings glimmering in the moonlight.

Rex staggered to his feet. “He—hey, what are y—”

Before he could react, a beam of light shot from the beasts’ eyes, tearing through his body. The light pierced him with unrelenting force, creating holes in his torso. Their stomps followed, flattening his skull with a sickening crunch. Blood sprayed from his eye sockets and nose.

I screamed, the sight too much to bear. The beasts vanished as quickly as they came, leaving Rex’s lifeless body behind.

I stumbled toward his mangled corpse. I dropped to my knees, pulling his body close, holding him like I could somehow make it stop.

“He—hey, plea—”

I broke off, my voice cracking.

Then, I collapsed, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Everything around me blurred. I had no idea what came next.