1:52 p.m. Shared Apartment

  The moment Nicco opened the door...

  And then he saw them.

  A dozen people. Men. Women. All with wide smiles—too perfect. Too... empty.

  "Kali? Dahlia?" he called, his voice tense. They quickly came into the living room.

  "What is it?" asked Kali, still drowsy.

  The figure at the front stepped into the hallway light. Its smile did not move.

  "You thought you could go against our kind. That you could kill... without consequences."

  Another figure stepped forward. And then another. Their eyes began to change. Skin tearing. Bones cracking. The first one transformed with a howl: claws, fangs, fur sprouting from his skin. A wolf. A werewolf.

  Others hunched over, their bodies exploding into impossible forms. Bones lengthening, mouths opening with multiple rows of teeth. Empty eyes glowing in the dark.

  Wendigos.

  "Shit..." Dahlia whispered.

  Nicco raised a hand. Electricity sparked from his fingers.

  But the monsters were already advancing. The windows shattered, glass flying. The apartment was overrun with shadows and screams.

  Kali screamed, and her body was surrounded by a dark aura. Everything around her seemed to tremble. A werewolf touched her... and disintegrated on contact.

  "Don't touch me without permission, asshole!" she shouted, her voice booming like thunder.

  Dahlia closed her eyes for a second. And then... the shadows rose.

  From every corner of the apartment, dark figures emerged. Her army. Faceless souls, made of smoke and rage.

  "You want them. You'll have to go through me," she whispered, and with a flick of her hand, her shadows lunged at the enemies.

  Nicco became a whirlwind of lightning. Each movement sent bolts exploding into the monsters, lighting up the room with electric flashes.

  "Watch out!" Kali shouted, hurling herself toward him as a creature leapt from the ceiling.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  She touched it, and the monster dropped lifeless to the ground, as if its soul had been torn out.

  "We have to get out of here," Nicco yelled. "They're going to destroy the building!"

  "No!" Dahlia shouted, her eyes completely black. "We have to beat them! Because if we run, they'll just come after us again!"

  The shadows spun around her like a storm. The creatures began to retreat.

  "Do you see now?" one of them snarled in a guttural voice. "You're not mere humans. You are what we feared. But not strong enough to defeat us!"

  And slowly they disappeared, fading one by one, leaving the air heavier than ever.

  The living room was a battlefield. Broken walls, smoke, black blood in the corners. Dahlia, Kali, and Nicco stood, breathing heavily, skin slick with sweat and darkness.

  "Are you okay?" he asked, panting.

  "No," Kali replied, staring at her hands. They were still trembling.

  The silence after the battle was unnatural. The living room was wrecked: cracked walls, shattered furniture, stains of dark, dry blood that defied natural laws. Dahlia's shadows had vanished. Kali was still gasping, her eyes glowing faintly with barely-contained power. Nicco's hands were shaking, his fingers burned from the electricity.

  Then... something changed in the air.

  A whisper. A scent of ozone and lavender. An unexpected breeze crossed the room, as if the world had paused to inhale. And in the middle of the chaos... she appeared.

  Skyler.

  She didn't enter. She was simply there, standing in the destroyed room, as if she had stepped out of a fold in time. Her red hair fell like silk, her face serene, and her eyes—those eyes that always knew more than they said—surveyed the scene with an ancient sadness.

  She extended a hand. Nothing more.

  And then...

  Everything began to rebuild.

  The cracks in the walls sealed like wounds healing in reverse. The furniture regained its form. Broken glass floated back to the windows, locking into place with a perfect click. The black blood was absorbed by the floor as if it had never existed.

  Within seconds, the room was... normal.

  Dahlia blinked. Kali stood frozen, mouth slightly open. Nicco slowly stood up, looking around as if trapped in a hallucination.

  "Guys?" Skyler said, her voice soft, concerned, like a whisper amid chaos. "Are you alright?"

  Kali stared at her.

  "Skyler, do you know who those were?"

  She stepped forward slowly, as if afraid to startle them.

  "Yes. It was them. From the Miraculum," she replied, a shadow of sorrow on her lips. "The paranormal-themed restaurant. An exclusive spot for entities... where the main course was usually humans."

  Dahlia felt a wave of nausea.

  "Did they attack us because of Aidan?" Nicco asked, his voice deeper than usual.

  Skyler lowered her gaze.

  "Yes. You've killed many of theirs. And you know how this works: power, vengeance, retaliation. They think themselves above consequences... and this was their way of 'responding.'"

  "And you?" asked Dahlia. "Where were you? Why didn't you come sooner?"

  Skyler stepped closer. Her expression shifted. She was no longer the ethereal woman floating above reality. Just a girl who'd arrived too late to protect her people.

  "I'm sorry. I wasn't far, but... I was held back. Something bigger is moving. Something... ancient. I came as soon as I could. But it was already too late."

  "We could have died," Dahlia whispered, more to herself than to her.

  Skyler looked at her. Directly.

  "But you didn't. You killed them. You did, in fact. You defended yourselves. And you did it well."

  No one responded. Silence returned.

  Skyler turned to the window and opened it. Air flowed in like a balm.

  "You need to rest, guys," she said quietly. "I'll place protection on the apartment again, but please rest."

  "Rest? How can we rest like this..." Nicco muttered.

  Skyler turned back, her expression soft.

  "You will. You're stronger than you think."