CALAMITY : Legends Of The Chosen

Underground Chamber: The Hexed Sanctuary

The portal collapsed behind them in a shimmer of blue light.

Shojiro stepped into the chamber first — the scent of old stone and iron lingering. His bare feet echoed softly. His body was leaner now, sharper, more terrifying to look at — scars like lightning bolts stretched over every muscle, and his right eye burned with a dull crimson light.

Karl walked ahead toward a bed carved into the wall — surrounded by barrier runes and pale blue energy veins. Resting atop the bed, covered in light cloth, was a girl.

Her white hair was matted. Her arms and legs were bandaged with strips of nanite tape. IV threads of healing fluid weaved into her wrist. One eye was half-lidded, observing the new arrival.

"That's Zixy," Karl said, his voice quieter than usual. "She's a Chosen... but Arae used her blood to power the Maze's statues. She's been trapped here for over a month. Alone."

Shojiro didn't speak right away.

He walked toward her slowly.

Zixy opened her eye fully, struggling to sit up.

Shojiro knelt beside the bed and offered the warmest smile he could muster.

It was crooked — his lips were cracked, and one canine tooth had been chipped. But it was real.

"Yo," he said softly. "You the one who paid the electricity bill around here with your blood?"

Zixy blinked in confusion, then let out a faint chuckle — dry, but real.

Karl smirked from the back.

Shojiro continued, voice light.

"They said this maze was hell, but no one told me it came with interior design. Stone walls, ancient power... and a beautiful girl sleeping on a slab of concrete? Classy."

Zixy snorted.

"You're... weird," she rasped.

"And you're alive. That's all that matters."

He glanced at Karl, then back to her.

"I'm Shojiro. Official musclehead, part-time idiot, full-time friend."

He gently reached out, brushing a strand of hair away from her face.

"Welcome back. You've been through hell — but we're gonna get out of it together. All of us."

She stared at him.

Then, without meaning to, she laughed again. A tired laugh. A healing one.

Karl leaned against the wall, folding his arms.

"You still tell terrible jokes, Sho."

Shojiro grinned.

"And yet here we are. You, me, tech-boy… and zombie voodoo girl. I say that's a squad."

Zixy let her head fall back gently onto the pillow, her body trembling slightly — not from pain, but relief. For the first time in weeks… she wasn't alone.

Maze Sector 9 — The Screaming Hollows

A deep rumble vibrated the stone floor beneath their feet as Karl's portal snapped shut behind them.

Shojiro narrowed his eyes.

"...You feel that?"

"Hard not to," Karl muttered, scanning the war-torn terrain — shattered statues, collapsed walls, black scorch marks carved by shadows.

Suddenly, a massive tremor.

A shadow loomed.

From the far end of the hollow, it emerged — a 50-foot beast formed entirely of writhing black tendrils and jagged shadow plating. Four muscular arms, each crackling with unformed blade energy. Its face bore no mouth, only a hollow slit — dripping black ichor. It screeched — the sound like thousands of whispers clashing at once.

Shojiro instinctively stepped forward, fists clenched.

"The hell is that—"

Karl's eyes widened.

"No... that's them."

The creature slammed its fists into the earth, crushing three oncoming statues into vaporized rubble. The air rippled with corrupted VYTHRA. Its body pulsed — unstable, nearly sentient.

But as it turned…

It froze.

White light flared in its empty chest — and slowly, the mass began to recoil.

Out of the creature's back, like peeling shadows, two humanoid figures emerged:

Zans, breathing hard, eyes sunken, fists glowing with remaining VYTHRA.

Kuro, her form draped over his — her black hair fading into tendrils of smoke.

Their eyes locked with Shojiro and Karl's.

Zans trembled. His voice cracked.

"Karl...? Shojiro...?"

Shojiro's lips parted, stunned.

"Zans…? You're alive."

The shadow beast behind them began to shrink, retracting like smoke into Zans's body. Kuro's spectral form rested her chin on Zans's shoulder, her gaze softening.

"They're here," she whispered. "Finally…"

Shojiro stepped forward slowly, eyes glossy.

"You… you went through hell too, didn't you?"

Zans collapsed to one knee, exhausted but holding steady.

"Didn't we all...?"

Shojiro grinned.

"Damn right. And we're not done yet."

Karl knelt down beside them, gently placing a hand on Zans's back.

"Let's bring the others home."

Zans knelt, voice broken, staring at his hands trembling in disbelief.

"I couldn't save Enme… her body was torn apart, shredded beyond recognition."

His breath hitched as he struggled to hold back tears. "But… her VYTHRA never dropped to zero. Nobody's can. If it did, she would've been lost forever."

Karl and Shojiro exchanged looks, understanding the weight of his words.

"Exactly," Karl said quietly. "Even Yggdrasil can't save you if your VYTHRA hits zero. That's why it bottoms out at one percent — just enough to keep you alive for a chance to revive."

Shojiro's scarred face was grim. "We all believed she was alive because her VYTHRA never reached zero. You carried her broken body, thinking she was gone — but she survived. We all survived."

Zans's eyes flickered with pain and relief. "I never knew about the revivals… I thought I failed her."

Karl laid a firm hand on Zans's shoulder. "We all did. But now we have a chance to find her. To bring everyone back."

Shojiro nodded. "You're not alone. Come with us."

Zans took a deep breath and rose, resolve hardening in his eyes. "Then let's move forward. Together."

Karl's voice was calm but searching. "Where's her body now?"

Zans looked down at the shadow cocoon wrapped around him, his fingers trembling slightly. "This is what's left of her."

Shojiro's eyes narrowed with concern. "Is it in a horrible condition… like Leone's?"

Zans nodded slowly, his voice thick with pain. "Ravaged, torn apart… No clothes, no dignity. I wrapped her in shadows to cover her before it decayed further."

Karl gave a nod of understanding, a faint sigh escaping him. "Well, it doesn't matter anymore. Yggdrasil forges new bodies. The past can't hold them forever."

Shojiro clenched his fists but managed a small, steady nod. "She's alive. That's what counts."

Shojiro crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at Zans. "So… no clothes, huh?"

Zans blinked, suddenly realizing the implication. "W-Wait, that's not—! I didn't—!"

Karl smirked, nudging Shojiro. "You sly dog… got a peek?"

Zans turned crimson. "I wrapped her in shadow clothes, okay?! I didn't look! I was mourning her, not—!"

Karl's eyes widened, voice cracking just a bit from the stress and exhaustion. "Wait—no clothes? You actually got a peek?"

Shojiro's lips twitched into a small, tired smile. "Dude… we're Chosen, not saints. We're still teenagers underneath all this."

Zans gave a dry chuckle, the tension easing just a little. "Yeah, doesn't make it any less awkward though."

Shojiro laughed. "Bro, chill! I'm just saying… for a bunch of world-saving Chosen, we're still just teenagers at the end of the day."

Karl ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head but grinning. "Guess even in hell, some things never change."

As Karl, Shojiro, and Zans exchanged those awkward laughs, a soft, shadowy voice echoed from the corner—Kuro.

Kuro chimed in with a lazy yawn from Zans's shadow, "Honestly? Enme had a better body than my own anyway. But lucky for her, Zans is loyal to the soul, not the skin." she said with a teasing smirk, her voice laced with playful sarcasm. "But honestly? Zans would only ever need me, no matter the shape or size."

The boys froze.

"…Did she just admit Zans got the best view out of all of us?" Karl blinked.

Zans covered his face. "Please, someone end me."

Shojiro grinned, the moment of lightheartedness warming the otherwise cold chamber. "Nah, man. We die enough already. Let's just enjoy being dumb kids while we can."