CALAMITY : Legends Of The Chosen

Scene: The Maze of Angels – Forgotten Hollow, Level 6

As the portal tore open, warping the air with Karl's spatial displacement tech, the group stepped into a place that reeked of decay. The ground was scorched black, the air thick with static and whispers of corrupted souls. The moment they emerged, an enormous crack of lightning echoed through the cavern.

And then they saw him.

A figure floated amidst the storm—wings of pure cursed lightning outstretched. His skin glowed a deep violet, veins of corruption crawling up his arms and neck like dark ivy. His hair had grown longer, untamed, and whipped around his face like wild flame. His eyes—no longer human—blazed with ghostly light. From head to toe, glowing Curse Mark tattoos pulsed like molten sigils.

He turned slowly, locking eyes with the group. And yet… there was no recognition.

Shojiro instantly stepped forward, instinct roaring through his blood. "Statue?" he growled, arms coiling, muscles compressing with dangerous speed.

Zans snapped into stance, his claws shimmering with shadows.

Leone's chains silently spun behind her like orbiting blades. "Get ready—this one's different…"

But before anyone could strike—

The figure twitched… then clenched his fists. In one blink, the wings retracted, lightning hissed into nothingness, and the cursed tattoos receded like ink pulled back into skin.

The storm faded. And then they saw it.

"...Max?" Karl asked, stunned.

The violet faded from his eyes. He blinked, confused for a moment, then a crooked grin stretched across his face. "Took you all long enough."

Shojiro's fists relaxed—but he didn't smile. He just let out a slow, shaky breath. "Max… you bastard."

Leone was speechless, her eyes wide. She had been prepared for a demon. Instead, standing in front of them was the Max they'd feared was lost.

Still shirtless. Still smirking. Just… infinitely more dangerous than the last time they saw him.

She muttered, a bit too loudly, "...he got hotter."

Max heard that. Blinked.

The whole group turned slowly toward her.

"I said what I said," Leone added flatly, folding her arms with a proud tilt of her head. "He did."

Zans snorted. Karl chuckled. Shojiro rolled his eyes.

And for the first time in over a month trapped in this nightmare, the group actually laughed.

Scene: Max Explains the Real Reason Behind His First Death

The group was still catching their breath from laughing about Max's ridiculous new Curse Mode transformation. Shojiro was wiping a tear from his eye.

"So… you really died fifty times?" Shojiro asked, still incredulous.

Max grinned, arms crossed proudly. "Oh yeah. But you wanna know what caused the first one?"

Zans tilted his head. "Wait… there's more?"

Max leaned closer like he was sharing a forbidden secret. "Wasn't the statues. Wasn't the traps. Wasn't even my own arrogance."

Everyone leaned in.

"It was Saria."

Dead silence.

Karl blinked. "You're kidding."

Leone raised an eyebrow. "Saria? The Primordial assistant AI?"

Max nodded slowly. "Yeah. See, after my first real death, she brought me to that white void—"

Shojiro interrupted. "The pre-revival zone."

"Exactly. She said I'd done well. Said I deserved a reward for surviving so long alone. I thought it'd be a skill upgrade or something, right?" Max scratched the back of his neck.

Zans narrowed his eyes. "And…?"

Max's voice dropped to a whisper. "She hugged me. No warning. Said 'thank you for not giving up.' But she forgot one thing…"

Shojiro: "…What?"

"She's 9 feet tall and weighs like half a ton in pure spirit mass. I got smothered into a flat pancake under those divine-ass physics."

Leone's face went red instantly.

Karl coughed. "You died because of affection?"

Max threw his hands up. "Not my fault! I was caught off guard, and her chest had more gravitational pull than a black hole!"

Shojiro facepalmed. "I knew you were gonna say it…"

Max grinned. "And the best part? She revived me immediately, apologized, and gave me a special perk: resistance to psychic smothering. Apparently it's happened before."

Zans: "How many people has Saria hugged to death?"

Max: "Enough to patch it in the system, I guess."

Leone couldn't even speak. She turned away, hiding her face behind her hand.

Shojiro whispered, nudging her. "You okay?"

"I will shoot him," she muttered.

Max winked. "Totally worth it."

Scene: The New Power and Revelations

The group stood there, still trying to process Max's new form. His wings were folded, but the faint crackling energy still lingered around his skin. His Curse Marks glowed faintly, illuminating the space. After a long pause, Max smirked, clearly enjoying the reactions of the group.

"Alright, alright, I'll tone it down," Max said with a wink, but then he couldn't resist adding, "But you know, after all that trauma, Saria rewarded me. Gave me a nice, little kiss and—"

Karl immediately interrupted, "Max, I swear, if you're going to say—"

"—I got kissed fifty times by my super sexy mummy girlfriend." Max leaned back, arms folded with a smug grin, clearly proud of his "achievement." "I'm just saying, after dying over and over again, it's the least she could do."

Leone, her face already red from earlier, snapped her head towards Max. "You… kissed her… fifty times? And you're bragging about this?"

"Hey, hey, I'm not bragging. I'm informing you guys of the facts. She shrunk down, gave me a kiss, revived me—fifty times," Max said, clearly too pleased with himself to care about how embarrassing it was.

Shojiro could barely hold back his laughter, his eyes watering from holding it in. "So... this whole time, Saria was just... kissing you back to life? What a way to go. How romantic."

Max gave a dramatic sigh, brushing his hair back as he leaned in closer to Shojiro. "Look, not to get too into it, but after a while, it was definitely the highlight of my week. Imagine dying, coming back, then getting kissed again. Like, it was basically the highlight of all my hellish experiences. What can I say? Saria's got that magic touch."

Leone groaned, her face still flushed. "I don't know how to feel about all of this."

Zans, who had been silent through all of this, couldn't suppress a small smile. "I'll admit, it's a unique way to get revived. But if it works…"

Max's grin stretched wider. "Damn straight! But hey, that's not all. After all that, I got these wings, and this thing"—he gestured to the Senbon Katana now at his side, shimmering with cursed lightning—"this was my reward for unlocking my powers faster than anyone else. The Ghostblade. Super sharp. Super deadly."

Karl raised an eyebrow. "And you think we need to fight all the statues with this…?"

Max shrugged nonchalantly. "Can't hurt to have more power, right?"

Leone sighed, rubbing her temples. "It feels like every time we try to catch up, you get something else."

"Hey, what can I say?" Max grinned. "Saria knows how to keep me motivated."

He flexed his wings dramatically, proud as ever.

Max, with a cheeky grin, wiped the sweat off his brow, his purple curse-marked wings folding behind him. "Alright, alright, I know I was being a pain earlier, but seriously — after all this chosen chaos is over, I'm thinking… maybe I'll just retire and live with Saria. You know, as her pet. She's got that kind of vibe." He gave a dramatic bow. "Who wouldn't want to be spoiled by their super sexy mummy girlfriend?"

Leone rolled her eyes, blushing hard, while the others chuckled at Max's antics.

Shojiro chuckled, shaking his head. "Max, you're hopeless."