"They weren’t just blades." I thought

As the claws extended from my hands, they were jagged, organic but twisted into lethal, unnatural weapons. The bone felt as if it had been sharpened by some dark force, gleaming under the dim light of the cave, curved like talons ready to rip through anything in their path. They pulsed with living energy, as if hungry for blood.

Lightning crackled along the edges, charging the air around me with static as I flexed my hands, feeling the raw power simmering beneath the surface. The Shadow Coyote, sensing the shift, tensed. It knew the balance was changing.

With a roar, we collided. My claws slashed through the air, aiming for the beast’s side. The impact was brutal, the sound of claws tearing through flesh echoing in the cavern. Sparks flew as my claws bit deeper than before, shredding the shadowy armor that clung to the Coyote like a second skin. It let out a guttural growl, eyes flaring crimson as it retaliated with a swipe of its massive, shadow-infused paws.

Pain flared as one of its claws tore across my arm, but I didn’t back down. I met it head-on, raking my jagged claws across its chest, sending a pulse of electricity surging through its body. The lightning crackled around us, making the air hum with power. We were locked in a vicious dance, exchanging blow for blow, neither of us yielding an inch.

But even with my strength and the lightning rippling through me, the Shadow Coyote wasn’t backing down either. It was fast—too fast. Each time I thought I had the upper hand, it countered, moving with the precision of a creature that had survived countless battles. Its shadowy form twisted and warped, as though the darkness itself was alive, protecting it. We were still equals, still locked in this relentless struggle.

As I looked towards Leo— whatever I thought he was capable of, this was something else entirely.

Rico moved with an unnatural grace, dodging and countering, but Leo was a whirlwind. With every one of Rico’s attacks, the shadows responded, forming shields, blades, and tendrils that defended or struck back with blinding accuracy. It was a dance of darkness, and for a brief moment, even I was mesmerized.

My wandering mind however almost cost me, as the Shadow Coyote lunged at me again, its massive jaws snapping inches from my throat. I ducked, avoiding its bite, and slashed upward, my claws digging deep into its side. I felt the satisfying give of flesh and bone, and for the first time, I felt the beast weaken.

But only for a second.

With a savage growl, the Coyote retaliated, slamming into me with enough force to send me crashing into the cave wall. My body thudded against the cold stone, and I gasped, my breath coming in short, sharp bursts. The weight of the fight was bearing down on me, but I couldn’t stop. Not now.

The Coyote stalked toward me, red eyes glowing with cruel satisfaction. It knew it had me pinned, its claws digging into the ground as it prepared for the final strike. My muscles screamed in protest, but I wasn’t done yet.

On the other side of the chamber, Leo was moving faster, his katana flashing in the dim light as he deflected another of Rico’s attacks. The shadows around him pulsed, shifting and morphing with each of his movements, but I could see the toll the fight was taking on him. Blood from his earlier wounds had started to slow him down, and Rico was pressing the advantage.

“Not bad,” Rico taunted, his voice smooth and condescending. “But you’re bleeding, my friend. You won’t last much longer.”

Leo didn’t respond, his focus entirely on the fight. But I could see it—the strain, the weariness creeping into his movements. He was still holding his ground, but Rico was relentless, pushing him back with every strike.

Then, the Shadow Coyote lunged at me again.

I barely had time to react, raising my claws to block its attack. The impact was brutal, the sheer force of it rattling my bones. I stumbled, my back slamming into the cave wall as the Coyote’s claws pinned me down. It loomed over me, its snarling face inches from mine, its hot breath washing over me as it grinned.

“Looks like you’ve lost, boy,” it growled, its voice dripping with mockery.

I gritted my teeth, trying to push back, but the weight of the beast was too much. Its claws dug deeper into my shoulders, and I felt the sting of pain lancing through me as it prepared to finish me off. But in that moment, something clicked.

A thought. A realization.

I wasn’t just some brute with claws and lightning. I was more than that. I had power—real power—and I could use it in ways even I hadn’t fully realized.

As the Coyote leaned in for the kill, I focused. The energy inside me surged, coiling and twisting around my neck. Just as the Coyote opened its jaws to tear into me, I struck.

A sharpened spike of flesh shot from my neck, piercing the Coyote’s open mouth with blinding speed. It didn’t even have time to react. The spike drove straight through its skull, the sickening crack of bone and brain matter splitting under the force. The red light in its eyes flickered, then went out.

The beast went limp.

With a grunt, I shoved its lifeless form off me, gasping for breath as I stood. My heart pounded in my chest, the adrenaline still coursing through me. The Coyote collapsed to the ground, its massive body crumpling in a heap.

It was over.

However Leo wasn’t as lucky.

Just as I caught my breath, my attention snapped to their battle. Leo was in trouble. He’d been holding his own, the shadow armor around him flickering as he fought back with everything he had, but Rico had stepped up his game. Dark energy crackled around Rico’s hands, and in one swift movement, he’d slashed across Leo’s side, his nails cutting deep. Blood flowed freely from the wound, and Leo staggered, his face tightening in pain.

As the blood continued to streak down his side, the shadows around him flickered dimmer and dimmer with each step Rico took.

Rico’s eyes glistened as he saw the blood. He stepped forward, wiping a finger along the edge of his claws and tasting it with a slow, deliberate motion. His eyes lit up, a twisted grin forming behind that mask. “Ah… perfect,” he muttered, his voice almost reverent. “This blood… it’ll be perfect for what’s to come.”

Leo’s knees buckled, and before he could recover, Rico slammed a fist into his chest, knocking him to the ground. Leo hit the floor hard, blood still dripping from the wound. Rico chuckled, his attention momentarily shifting from the fight as he looked down at the fallen warrior.

“Such a delicious meal, even Gordan Ramsey would have nothing to complain about” Rico whispered, then chuckled as he shook his head opening up both his arms. “Truly a gift from below.”

He turned, glancing toward the Coyote. “Enough playing around, finish him—”

stopping mid-sentence, his head tilting in confusion. The Coyote lay dead, the massive beast lifeless on the cave floor. His gaze snapped to me, and for the first time, I saw something like surprise flicker in his eyes.

I met his gaze, wiping the blood from my face, and gave him a cold, satisfied grin. “Too late for that.”

“What—?”

He didn’t finish the question. I was already moving, my claws crackling with lightning as I launched myself at him. Rico turned, just in time to see me coming, but it was too late.

I slammed into him with full force, my claws tearing through his guard and sending him crashing to the ground. He grunted in pain, but I didn’t give him a chance to recover. I raised my claws again, the sharp edges gleaming, ready to finish what we’d started.

Rico staggered back, the force of my strike sending him to the ground. The eerie white mask he wore cracked as it hit the cave floor, splitting down the center and tumbling away. As he pushed himself up, I saw his face for the first time.

Beneath the mask was a man with a sharp, angular face, pale skin almost ghostly white, and eyes that glowed with a predatory gleam. His lips twisted into a sneer as he wiped away a trickle of blood from his mouth. Dark tattoos, similar to the markings on the mask, ran along the sides of his face, giving him an even more twisted appearance.

I didn’t waste any time. Leo was still bleeding out, his shadows flickering weakly as he tried to stay conscious. I knelt beside him, placing a hand over his wound. Drawing on the healing power I’d absorbed from the scout, I let the energy flow into him, focusing on sealing the cut and knitting the torn flesh back together. I could feel the power working through me, mending the damage little by little.

Leo groaned, his eyes fluttering open. “You’re gonna be just fine buddy.” I muttered, trying to keep it light despite the tension thick in the air.

But just as Leo started to stir, a sudden blur of motion caught my eye. Rico was already on his feet, his face twisted in a mask of pure fury. Before I could react, he moved faster than I’d seen anyone move before, a blur of speed and darkness.

His fist slammed into my chest with brutal force. The impact was like being hit by a truck. I felt my ribs crack, the shockwave of pain knocking the wind from my lungs. My feet left the ground as I was sent flying across the cave, my body slamming into the stone wall with a sickening crunch. The cave shook from the impact, dust and debris falling from the ceiling as I crumpled to the ground.

For a few seconds, everything was a blur. My vision swam, and I could taste blood in my mouth. I tried to get up, but my body wasn’t responding. Every muscle screamed in pain, and I could barely focus through the ringing in my ears. I blinked hard, forcing my eyes to adjust as I fought to pull myself together.

When I managed to lift my head, I saw Rico at the entrance to the cave. He was already there, like nothing had even slowed him down. Leo hung limply over his shoulder, unconscious and bleeding, like a lifeless doll. Rico’s grin, that twisted, sadistic smirk, was even more unsettling now that I could see his face. The cracked mask lay discarded on the ground, revealing the cold malice in his eyes.

I staggered to my feet, still dizzy from the hit. I could feel the blood dripping down my side, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t let him take Leo. I had to stop him, even if my body was barely holding on. I took a step forward, but Rico’s eyes flicked toward me, and in an instant, his hand went to his jacket.

What he pulled out next stopped me dead in my tracks.

It was a Tommy gun. The kind of gun you’d expect to see in old gangster movies, but this one was far too real. The polished silver gleamed in the dim cave light, its massive drum already locked and loaded. Rico didn’t say a word. His grin was all the warning I got before he pulled the trigger.

The roar of the gun filled the cave, deafening and relentless. The first few bullets hit me like blunt hammers, bouncing off my skin, each one leaving a painful bruise. For a second, I thought I might be able to withstand it, that maybe I’d heal before the damage got too bad.

But Rico wasn’t firing at random. He was precise, methodical. Each bullet hit the same spot, again and again. My skin started to give way under the relentless barrage, the bullets digging deeper and deeper until they began to tear through flesh. The pain was immediate and all-consuming. Blood sprayed from the wounds as the bullets punched through my body like hot knives, shredding me where I stood.

I stumbled back, trying to shield myself, but it was no use. Rico’s aim was unrelenting, his eyes cold, almost gleeful as he continued to squeeze the trigger. The bullets didn’t stop, ripping through my chest, my arms, my legs. Every second felt like an eternity, my body breaking down under the assault. The ground beneath me was slick with blood, my blood, pooling in thick, dark puddles.

My legs gave out first. I collapsed to my knees, my breath coming in ragged, choking gasps. My vision blurred again, darkness creeping in at the edges. I could barely keep my head up, could barely think through the pain. The gunfire kept coming, each bullet feeling like it was tearing away a piece of me, until I was nothing more than a bleeding, broken mess.

The Tommy gun finally clicked empty, the echo of the last shot hanging in the air. For a moment, all I could hear was the ringing in my ears and the sound of my own ragged breathing. I tried to move, to get up, but my body refused to listen. I was spent, bleeding out and barely holding on.

Rico lowered the gun, letting it hang at his side, the smoke still curling from the barrel. He took a slow, deliberate step toward me, his grin widening as he looked down at my broken form. His eyes, cold and cruel, sparkled with twisted satisfaction.

“Not so tough now, huh?” he sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. “All that power, all that fight, and look where it got you. Lying in the dirt like a little bitch.”

I could barely lift my head, my vision flickering in and out, but I could still see the satisfaction in his eyes. He was enjoying this—watching me bleed out, helpless. The pain was unbearable, but worse than that was the helplessness, the feeling that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop him. Not this time.

Rico glanced back at Leo’s unconscious body slung over his shoulder, then turned his gaze back to me. “Should’ve stayed out of this, Seth. You were never gonna win.” His voice was calm, casual, as if this was just another day for him.

He stepped closer, towering over me, then spat on the ground next to me, his expression twisted with disgust. “You’re done.”

With that, he turned and walked out of the cave, Leo still in his grasp. I could hear his dark, mocking laughter echo through the cave as he disappeared into the night, leaving me behind, broken and bleeding out on the cold, blood-soaked ground.

The silence that followed was suffocating. My body refused to move, pain radiating from every wound, my vision growing darker by the second. I could feel the blood loss, the cold creeping in as my body began to shut down. I was on the edge, teetering between life and death, my heartbeat slowing, my breath shallow.

For a moment, I wondered if this was it. If this was how it all ended.

The darkness was closing in, thick and suffocating, wrapping itself around me like a death shroud. My body was cold, numb, and broken. I could feel the blood pooling beneath me, my strength slipping away with every heartbeat. The taste of copper filled my mouth, and my vision flickered like a dying lightbulb. Everything hurt. Everything screamed for me to just give up, to let go, to sink into that black void that promised release.

But something deep inside me—something primal—refused.

Somewhere, that familiar hunger stirred. Faint, but still there. Still alive. The darkness closed in, but I clung to that last thread of will, refusing to let go.

I wasn’t done yet.

It was faint at first, like a distant echo, but it grew louder, more insistent. My instincts flared to life, my body refusing to surrender. I wasn’t dead, I would do whatever it took to survive I just had to think.

Through the haze of pain and exhaustion, I spotted the Coyote’s corpse, its massive body still sprawled across the cave floor. It was a bloody mess, lifeless, its head twisted unnaturally from where I’d driven the spike through its brain. But it was still there. Still full of that power, that energy. The kind I needed to survive.

I couldn’t stand. My legs wouldn’t work, my muscles refused to respond, but I could crawl. I had to. Gritting my teeth, I dragged myself across the cold, blood-slicked ground, every movement a brutal effort. My arms trembled as I pulled myself forward, inch by agonizing inch, each heartbeat sending fresh waves of pain through my shattered body.

But I didn’t stop.

The Coyote’s form loomed closer, its shadow swallowing me as I finally reached it. My vision blurred, the edges of my sight fading in and out as I lay there, gasping for air, my body on the verge of shutting down completely.

Not yet. Don’t die yet.

Without thinking, driven by sheer instinct, I opened my mouth and bit into the Coyote’s flesh. The taste was rancid, raw and coppery, like biting into metal and rot, but I didn’t care. My body demanded it. My survival demanded it. I tore another chunk out, feeling the blood spill over my lips as I chewed and swallowed. It felt wrong—disgusting—but at the same time, I could feel something working.

With every bite, something stirred inside me. Something shifted.

I bit into the Coyote again, harder this time, tearing away more of its flesh, the hunger in me growing stronger with each swallow. The taste of blood filled my mouth, and the moment it hit my stomach, I could feel it—my body responding, cells knitting back together, the wounds beginning to seal, the pain starting to dull.

But it wasn’t enough.

I forced myself to keep going, biting into the beast’s dead flesh over and over again, each piece of meat sending another pulse of energy through me. My body screamed, the muscles twitching and spasming as they struggled to heal, the pain intensifying for a moment before starting to fade.

My vision sharpened. The darkness pulled back slightly as my strength returned, inch by agonizing inch. But it still wasn’t enough. My body was desperate for more.

I bit deeper into the Coyote’s carcass, tearing at its side, and suddenly, something clicked.

The familiar sensation, that pulse of power I’d felt before when I absorbed other creatures, flared up. I didn’t need to keep biting. My body already knew what to do.

The flesh whips erupted from my back without me even needing to think about it, stabbing into the Coyote’s body with a sickening squelch. I could feel the energy flooding into me, the power being ripped from the creature’s dead form and pouring into my veins. My vision flared with light, my body burning with the intensity of it as the flesh and energy I’d consumed began to fuse with my own.

The healing accelerated. My broken bones snapped back into place, my torn muscles knitting together, my skin sealing over the gaping wounds. The pain was still there, but it was duller now, more distant. My body was repairing itself, piece by piece, absorbing every bit of the Coyote’s strength.

The flesh whips dug deeper, greedier, pulling more and more from the Coyote’s body until there was nothing left. The massive beast began to wither, its once-powerful form deflating as its essence was drained completely.

I could feel it—its strength, its vitality—becoming a part of me.

The moment the absorption was complete, the whips retracted, slithering back into my body like living tendrils, and I collapsed onto the ground beside the Coyote’s withered corpse. My chest rose and fell with heavy, ragged breaths, the last remnants of the battle still echoing in my bones. My body was healing, but the process had taken everything I had left.

I stared up at the ceiling of the cave, the world spinning around me. My limbs felt like lead, my head throbbing with exhaustion, but I could feel the warmth of life slowly returning, my heart beating steadily once again.

I had survived. Barely.

As the adrenaline faded and my body fully began to repair itself, I couldn’t fight the overwhelming wave of fatigue that crashed over me. My eyes fluttered shut, my mind drifting into unconsciousness as the last of my strength gave out.

I’d done it.

But I’d never felt so hollow.

And then… darkness.