CALAMITY : Legends Of The Chosen

Morgz stood there in the circle of their apologies and silent support. Leone's hug lingered a second longer—warm and shaky—and he gently patted her back in response.

The tension of the moment finally cracked... and Morgz exhaled long, like he was letting out a storm he'd been holding in his chest since the moment he sliced his ears off.

He looked around at the group—these people who had nearly killed him, unknowingly—and gave them a weary smile.

"…You guys really are the worst friends anyone could almost-die for."

Karl chuckled awkwardly. "You good now, water boy?"

Morgz tilted his head like he was pondering it deeply.

"…Yeah. I'll forgive you all."

Everyone looked a little surprised.

"But on one condition," Morgz continued, raising a finger.

Max squinted. "Oh no. What."

Morgz smirked.

"You guys help me get a girlfriend."

Everyone blinked.

"Like seriously. You all almost turned me into wet sushi. Least you can do is make sure I don't die a virgin."

Max: "I KNEW it—"

Karl: "I knew this was gonna pivot into a sex joke—"

Enme deadpanned. "He went from trauma dump to Tinder profile in 0.2 seconds."

Shojiro sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yggdrasil help us all."

Morgz pointed dramatically at the horizon. "I demand someone with brains, biceps, AND respect for nautical ecosystems!"

Enme folded her arms. "What, you wanna date a marine biologist?"

Morgz smirked, arms crossed. "If she wears glasses and calls me 'captain,' I'm putting a ring on her immediately."

Leone, still blushing from earlier, looked at him in disbelief. "Y-y-you were j-j-just crying a-a minute ago...!"

Morgz winked. "Yeah, and now I'm rehydrated. Thanks to your hug, honestly."

Shojiro sighed again. "I take it back. He's not okay."

Karl patted Morgz's back with a clank of his gauntlet. "Nah, he's fine. He's just Morgz again."

Max gave him a thumbs-up. "From haunted to horny in record time."

And just like that…

The campfire glowed a little warmer. The mood lifted a little lighter.

And though none of them said it out loud, they all knew:

This was what it meant to survive together.

To break, bleed, and still find time to laugh like idiots afterward.

Now they embarked on their journey bonds stronger than ever

Scene Title: Shadows That Breathe

Location: Neo-Jinchuan's Outskirts — War-torn Zone

Setting: The sun hangs low over a broken city. The Chosen ride in Chariot Mode — a high-speed traversal formation — scanning for demon clusters. Up ahead, something catches their attention.

The wheels of the Chariot ground to a halt.

"Stop," Shojiro muttered, peering through the distortion-resistant windshield.

Max leaned forward. "Yo… what the hell is that?"

They all saw it now — a shadow-cloaked figure standing atop a hill of twitching, half-dead demons. The corpses were recent. Blood still steamed on broken asphalt.

The mist hadn't touched this area. But it felt like it should've.

Something darker was claiming this ground.

"He's… killing them?" Leone whispered.

"More like harvesting," Karl replied. "Look."

Each time the figure sliced a demon, black smoke — VYTHRA essence — swirled toward him. Absorbed into the shadows cloaking his body.

Enme frowned.

"That's not normal."

Shojiro stepped out of the Chariot. The rest followed.

---

The Cloaked One

The man didn't flinch as the Chosen approached. If anything, he knew they were there. His breathing slowed. His final blade swing cracked the skull of the last demon in his path.

Then he stepped off the corpse pile — and the shadows peeled back.

Like unraveling thread, the black mass receded into his spine, vanishing into a focused line.

Beneath the shadow—

A young man.

Same age as them. Burned hoodie. Ash on his arms. Calm eyes with no light in them. Skin pale from lack of sun. Quiet strength — the kind not taught, but forced by survival.

He raised both hands peacefully.

"…I'm not your enemy."

He took a slow step forward.

"My name is Zans Keifer. I—"

A sound stirred.

Behind him… the shadows writhed again.

From that pool emerged a shape — not monstrous, but almost regal.

A slender girl. Young woman-shaped. Pale face framed by black void. Long claws, sharp features, gleaming eyes like lanterns.

She made no sound.

She simply stared at the group… and then turned… and dissolved back into Zans's shadow.

—

Enme moved first.

"That… that thing—!"

She extended both arms, golden glyphs instantly blazing to life.

"Everyone down! He's possessed—!"

Zans held out a hand, panicked. "Wait! She's not—"

But the seal shot.

A chain of ethereal symbols lanced across the air — straight toward Zans.

And in that moment—

Kuro reacted.

She didn't reappear beside him.

She rose from his back.

Merged.

Her human shape liquefied into shadow — wrapped around Zans like a second skin, entering him, bone by bone.

His arms convulsed. Eyes went black. Spine bent backward as a shockwave of dark VYTHRA exploded outward.

Zans didn't scream.

His voice when he spoke was two overlapping tones.

"…You shouldn't have done that."

---

Scene: The Shadowlash Battle

Shojiro took point as Zans launched forward — a streak of warping shadows behind him.

"DEFENSIVE FORMATION—!"

Shojiro caught the first clawed strike, his forearm trembling with the sheer pressure. Zans's form didn't slow. He rotated, kicking low. Shojiro blocked, then launched a counterfist that barely grazed his jaw.

Zans skidded back. Mist crackled around his feet.

Max fired a VYTHRA burst from his palm — but Zans melded into the shadow of a lightpost and re-emerged above, slamming down with both fists.

BOOM!

The ground cratered as Max was flung backwards.

Karl dashed in, nanoblade revving to full vibration.

He slashed—

Zans caught the blade with one hand, pulled Karl in, and slammed his head into Karl's shoulder, cracking nanite plating.

Karl flipped back.

"Damn—he's precise."

Enme summoned a massive sealing sigil midair.

But Zans raised a finger.

Shadow chains snaked out of the ground, wrapped the sigil mid-cast, and crushed it like glass.

Then those same chains lashed out.

Leone flipped backward, dodging three. Shojiro grabbed one, ripped it free, and hurled it like a whip toward Zans's face.

Zans caught it midair… and grinned.

He wrapped the chain around his arm and pulled Shojiro toward him, mid-sprint—

But Shojiro was ready.

He rotated his shoulder mid-drag, planted his feet, and powered forward—

Boom.

Elbow straight into Zans's chest.

Zans coughed blood, but his shadow snarled—Kuro's eyes flaring across his back.

"Not… done yet."

A tendril exploded from beneath Shojiro's feet—

Leone tackled him out of the way.

Zans leapt into the air, shadow claws curling like spears around his wrists.

He came down, aimed at the center of the group—

But Shojiro was already there.

Fist cocked back.

Veins glowing red-crimson.

Eyes locked.

And for a moment—time slowed.

He could hit Zans.

He should hit Zans.

But in that moment… Shojiro saw it.

In Zans's eyes — pain. Not hunger. Not rage. Desperation.

Still human.

Still fighting.

Shojiro's fist hesitated.

Then—

"Sorry."

BAM.

He punched him square in the jaw.

Zans crumpled like stone.

The shadow chains collapsed with him.

Kuro's form peeled off like smoke in the wind, reverting to a dim silhouette inside his shadow again.

Aftermath: A Chance to Speak

Zans woke in their temporary shelter — a building they'd cleared and fortified.

Shojiro stood over him.

"…You hit like a truck," Zans muttered.

"You fight like a nightmare," Shojiro shot back.

Zans slowly sat up. His hoodie was gone — replaced by a clean shirt Leone had found in the ruins.

The others watched him, cautious but no longer hostile.

Enme looked down.

"…I attacked first."

"You weren't wrong to be cautious," Zans replied. "Kuro scares people. Even me."

He looked at the shadows flickering at his feet.

"Kuro's not a demon. She's a soul construct. Born from the day I died. Nocturne gave her form. She protects me… sometimes too much."

Leone whispered, "You… weren't in control, were you?"

Zans shook his head.

"She reacts when I'm threatened. Especially if I don't fight back fast enough."

Shojiro crossed his arms.

"Then next time, introduce yourself before the demon pile grows ten corpses high."

Zans smiled weakly.

"I was trying to. But the way you guys pulled up… I figured silence was safer."

Max piped in, "Yeah, well… showing us your edgy girlfriend who lives in your spine wasn't a safe bet either."

Zans laughed under his breath.

Shojiro extended a hand again.

"This time, let's meet properly."

Zans took it.

"Zans Keifer. Class: Stalker. Shadowborn. Survived hell. Fought my way through Purgatory's outer ring."

Shojiro smirked.

"Welcome to the Chosen."