CALAMITY : Legends Of The Chosen

"They thought the battle had drained them. But it wasn't the enemy that drank their strength."

Scene 1 – The Demon Surge

The ruins of Daegu lay like a split-open tomb beneath the overcast sky. Towering skeletal buildings leaned at unnatural angles, draped in rust and thorned vines. Mutated vultures circled above.

The Chosen had come here tracking a surge of demonic signals.

They weren't subtle.

Max hurled a bolt of crackling lightning into the storm-wracked avenue. A shrieking demon — all spine and bone-hooks — erupted in a flash of steam.

Karl rolled forward in mech-mode, peppering a chitin-armored beast with precision gunfire.

Shojiro punched a crumbling wall in half, driving his knee into a crawler that tried to leap from behind.

Morgz, flanked by swirling oceanic pressure, twisted his palm and drowned two flying harpies in midair.

Elira moved beside him — graceful, ethereal, her golden-glow aura pulsing like a heartbeat.

She raised her hand.

From her fingertips spilled lances of glowing light. Demon blood hissed against the ground as her radiant strikes impaled another trio of snarling beasts.

The Chosen were winning. But something felt... wrong.

Scene 2 – Slower Than Usual

Karl's legs trembled after the final kill. He steadied himself against a burnt-out car door.

"What the hell?" he muttered. "I'm overheating faster than usual…"

Shojiro pulled back, chest heaving harder than it should have been. "That took too long."

Max glanced at his palm. "My Vythra flow's messed up. Like I'm leaking every time I exhale."

Morgz was the only one who didn't feel it.

Not yet.

"I feel fine," he said.

Shojiro looked over. "That's 'cause you barely got hit."

Morgz chuckled and waved it off. "Maybe I'm just built different."

But Max's brow furrowed.

"No... Something's draining us. Even when we're not burning energy."

Scene 3 – The Second Wave

A demonic shriek pierced the air.

A second pack arrived — twisted wolf-things with iron-threaded hides and black flame tongues. They skittered across rooftops and tore down cracked concrete pillars.

"Positions!" Shojiro shouted.

They formed up.

This time, the battle felt heavier. Max's lightning short-circuited mid-cast. Karl's drones jittered. Shojiro's muscles tightened mid-strike, almost locking up. Even their shouts lacked force.

And Elira...

She was glowing brighter than ever.

Her golden aura flared with each move, firing beams of shimmering "light" through the streets. Every time she struck—

Max's vision blurred.

Shojiro's knees buckled.

Karl groaned as his HUD flashed CORE DRAIN.

Scene 4 – The Aftermath

When the last demon collapsed in a heap of acidic gore, the group didn't celebrate.

They slumped.

Shojiro leaned against a fallen statue, chest heaving. "Why do I feel like I just fought a top-tier?"

Max staggered over to Karl, wiping blood from his ear. "Something's bleeding our systems."

Karl checked his internal readings. His reactor had dropped 18% Vythra output — even though he barely used heavy weapons.

Shojiro checked his pulse. His regeneration was stalling. Muscles still felt tense.

And then they all looked at Elira.

She hadn't broken a sweat.

Her body glowed with residual light — faint trails of golden energy still dancing around her like smoke.

She tilted her head innocently. "Are you all okay?"

Morgz walked toward her, smiling through the pain.

"She's fine," he said. "She probably just has an advanced adaptation to the environment."

Shojiro looked unconvinced.

Karl's visor scanned her. "Elira, when you fight… do you pull from other Vythra signatures?"

She blinked.

"I don't know. Maybe? I thought that's what we all did."

Max squinted. "No, that's… not how our powers work. They come from within. Not from others."

Elira smiled softly. "I guess I'm just different."

Scene 5 – The Growing Doubt

Later that night, the team gathered around a ruined petrol station, licking wounds, checking gear.

Karl whispered, "We need to run a test."

Shojiro nodded. "Next fight. Keep her out of it. Just observe."

Max muttered, "If she's not a Chosen, we'll know."

Morgz overheard and snapped at them.

"She is one of us. Just because she doesn't remember everything doesn't mean she's a threat."

"She's draining us," Max said coldly.

"You don't know that."

Karl cut in. "We will. Soon."

Morgz walked away, fists clenched.

And behind him, Elira stood in the shadow of a broken doorway.

She'd heard it all.

But her face didn't show pain.

Just… calculation.

"Some parasites don't sneak in.

They wait until you invite them."