By the time the sun finally gave up and sank behind the buildings, Xalani was done.
Not tired—done. The kind of exhaustion that crawled into your bones and refused to leave. The kind that came from juggling too many people's problems while pretending you weren't barely holding yourself together.
She'd survived school gossip like a war correspondent—ear to every whisper, eyes to every stare. Collected drama like it was currency. Walked her bestie through another breakup; "fourth this month!", and it wasn't even mid-month yet. Somehow still turned in her assignments on time.
A miracle, honestly.
Her backpack dragged her shoulders down as she trudged along the cracked sidewalk. The sky above was bruised purple, heat still clinging stubbornly to the air like it had something to prove.
She sighed. Loud. Theatrical.
"I really don't want to go home," she muttered to no one, kicking a pebble ahead of her.ohhh! i really hope Mira's home, she thought. I can't deal with Father and—
Hard cut.Thought severed clean.
"HEYYY, PRETTY GIRL!"
Xalani flinched.
A silver sedan screeched to a halt beside her, tires shrieking, the smell of burnt rubber snapping her out of her spiral.
She closed her eyes.
"…Why now," she whispered. "Literally. Why now."
She turned slowly, already preparing the exact expression she reserved for idiots who mistook confidence for entitlement.
"Uh," she said flatly, "who exactly do you think you talking to right now?"
The window rolled down.
Grease incarnate smiled back at her.
The man leaned out, grin wide and oily, eyes shining with the dangerous confidence of someone who had never once been corrected in his life.
"You see anyone else around?" he said, spreading his arms. "I'm talkin' to you, pretty mama. Name's Simon—AKA Simon Says. But you can call me Papiii for short."
"... that was soo fucking cringe."
The car exploded with laughter—too loud, too forced, bouncing off the buildings like a pack of hyenas choking on their own jokes.
Xalani stared.
Just… calm.
Then she reached into her backpack.
Slowly. Deliberately.
Simon's grin twitched.
She pulled out a can of Coke.
Cracked it open.Took a long sip.Wiped her lip with her thumb.
Then she leaned in slightly and whispered—
"Oh yeah?"A beat."…Come closer."
The car went quiet.
Simon blinked. His friends snorted, elbowing each other.
She's gonna splash her drink in my face - He paused - Perfect. His ego decided. Anything that follows, wont be my fault bitch!
He leaned farther out the window, lips puckering, eyes closing.
PAWWWW—!
Her fist met his jaw like a wrecking ball.
Bone cracked. Teeth launched across the pavement, clattering like loose change.
Simon's head snapped back into the door with a sickening thud. The window spider-webbed. Blood poured from his mouth as he slumped sideways, stunned and boneless.
Silence.
Then chaos.
"What the—?!"
"Get her!"
Doors flew open—
—but Xalani was already moving.
She slammed the passenger door shut. HARD.
A scream.
She shoved the driver's door back closed—harder.
A crunch.
BAM.BAM.BAM.
Three doors.Three skulls.Three idiots screaming in pain and disbelief.
Xalani swung her backpack back over her shoulder, breath steady, pulse electric.
Then she ran.
She sprinted down the opposite end of the street, vaulting a trash bin, cutting between parked cars, adrenaline lighting her veins on fire.
Only after several blocks did she slow, then stop, hands on her knees, laughing softly to herself.
"…Weird," she muttered, glancing back. "No way they ain't pissed. They should've chased me by now. did i beat them that hard?"
She scanned the street. Alleyways. Corners.
Nothing.
No engine. No shouting.
Then—
thump.
She ran straight into someone.
"Ah—!"
She bounced back—
—but a hand caught her wrist instantly, grounding her, steadying her before she could fall.
Xalani looked up.
Yuri stood there.
Calm. Still. Like he'd been waiting.
A faint smear of blood marked his knuckles.
"…Are you okay?" he asked gently.
Her brain short-circuited.
"Y—Yuri?!" She blinked rapidly. "Where did you—how did you—actually, no, never mind!"
She lunged forward and wrapped him in a crushing hug, screaming straight into his shoulder—not fear.
Pure excitement.
"YURIIII! You ain't gonna believe what just happened!" she shouted. "I'm being soo deadass right now. Some gross perverted dudes tried pulling their macho shit, and I was like—BAM! Teeth everywhere! I swear one of em's still searching for his molars!"
Yuri froze for half a second… then carefully returned the hug.
"That's… impressive," he said honestly. "Did they hurt you?"
She pulled back, grinning, flexing her extremely unimpressive arm."Please. They wish."
He chuckled quietly, hand resting on her shoulder as they started walking. She launched into a wildly exaggerated retelling—thirty guys, spinning kicks, near-death escapes.
Yuri listened. Smiling. Silent.
When she wasn't looking, he wiped the blood from his knuckles.
Far away—
A dark room breathed.
Shadows shifted like living things. Figures stood in a silent circle beneath the dull red glow of a flickering lantern.
Footsteps echoed.
A man entered calmly, hands in his pockets. The air bent toward him.
Duke knelt before a throne of black stone.
"The weapon has reached the second stage," he said evenly.
The response was not human.
"VERY WELL."
The walls trembled.
"CALL UPON JUDGMENT," the voice commanded."CALL UPON THE EYES OF DARKNESS."
Duke bowed lower, smiling.
"Yes," he whispered."…Father."