Vortex Origins

Mark froze. Max turned his head.

Kael stood in the doorway, arms crossed, shoulders stiff. His eyes locked on Mark like flame to dry grass. The heat there wasn't from his core ability.

"Don't think this story earns you sympathy,"

His voice didn't rise. It didn't need to.

"Don't think it justifies anything."

Max moved, one step closer.

"Kael—"

But Kael didn't look away.

"What? Don't tell me you're siding with them now. Don't tell me you think feeding kids to that thing was a choice worth making."

Behind him, another shadow slipped through the doorway. Ash.

He didn't say a word. He didn't have to.

His eyes moved across the room—past Mark, past Max, past Kael. They landed on the settlers. On their sunken faces. Their empty stares. Not one of them looked surprised. Not one of them denied it.

They didn't even flinch.

Ash stood still.

And the silence around him said more than any of them ever could.

Old Man Mark opened his mouth, but no sound came. His hands shook, fingers curling like they were pulling something out of the dirt—something that didn't want to come.

"I… I never wanted it to happen that way,"

Kael stepped forward, shadows under his eyes like bruises that never healed.

"But it did. And you let it. So tell me—how many kids did you feed to that thing before we showed up?"

The air didn't move. The room didn't breathe. The silence had teeth.

"Judging by the bones I saw down there, it was a lot right?"

Max didn't speak. His jaw locked like a steel trap.

Ash pushed off the doorway and stepped inside. The room felt thick—like the walls remembered the screams. The settlers didn't even lift their heads. Their eyes were drained, lost somewhere far from here.

Kael's voice fell quiet, but it cut deeper.

"You know what I hate most? That look in your eyes. Like you've already accepted you're the villain… and you're just waiting for someone else to end the damn story for you."

Mark stayed still.

Ash's voice came in, low.

"Was there ever a moment you regretted it? When you made that first choice… when you looked a child in the eyes and decided they were the price—did you hesitate?"

Mark lifted his face. Eyes raw, rimmed red.

"Every night. I hear their screams when I try to sleep. Still—"

Kael's face twisted.

"Still... Its wasn't loud enough."

Max reached out, hand resting on Kael's shoulder.

"Kael… that's enough."

Kael pulled away, eyes still locked on Mark.

"Don't forget what they did, Max. I haven't. We bled for people who would've watched us die. Don't confuse desperation with innocence."

Ash's gaze moved over the settlers again. They weren't standing. They weren't hiding. They were just… waiting. Waiting for the end of something they'd already outlived.

His thoughts stirred like sand under the wind.

'This place isn't a settlement. It's just a tomb with beating hearts.'

Mark sank into a chair. His arms dangled over his knees.

"We did what we had to, I don't expect forgiveness."

Kael turned. No heat in his voice now, only cold steel.

"Good. Because you won't get it."

Ash stepped beside Max, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go. There's nothing left here but ghosts."

Max gave a slow nod.

As they turned toward the door, Mark's voice scratched through the quiet.

"Wait."

The brothers paused.

"I know you hate us. Maybe you should. But still…"

Behind him, the settlers moved. Slowly. Heads bowed. As one, they spoke.

"Thank you."

Max looked at them. His face didn't shift, but something flickered in his eyes.

"I hope you guys safely leave Dancing Fire Region. You deserve that at least."

They stepped outside.

Sunlight slammed into them. Too bright. Too clean. It didn't match the dirt they'd just walked through.

Wind swept in, carrying more than dust.

Kael broke the silence.

"To think they'd use kids like that."

Ash glanced over at him.

He had known Kael all his life, but this... this was different.

To Ash, Kael was the loud one. The arrogant one. The guy who laughed too hard, fought too much, and lived like nothing could ever touch him. A walking ego with fire in his blood and fists always ready.

But ever since he joined Team Vortex, that image had started to crack.

Ash had always known, deep down, that Kael cared about kids. He'd seen him slip food to hungry street kids when he thought no one was looking. He remembered how Kael had patched up a bruised orphan and sat with him all night, telling stories.

But he didn't know it was like this.

Didn't know Kael would look at broken children like they were sacred.

Didn't know the fire in him could burn with sorrow, not just rage.

Kael didn't say anything more — just stared into the distance, jaw clenched, hands loose at his sides. The flames around his shoulders had quieted to embers, but Ash could feel the heat anyway.

It wasn't the kind of anger that exploded. It was the kind that waited — and protected.

Ash looked away, feeling something shift between them. For the first time, he wasn't just looking at his reckless brother.

He was looking at a man who had drawn a line — and would burn the world before letting a child suffer behind it.

Ash turned his head, eyes narrowing as he glanced at Max.

"So… where are the Dunehaven people going? Got a place in mind? The world's not safe. Any open land's either crawling with monsters or already claimed—by a settlement, or the military."

Max shrugged without looking up.

"I didn't ask. Just know they wanted to get as far from the Dancing Fire Region as they could."

He fell silent for a moment, then snapped his fingers like something just clicked.

"Oh, right. That reminds me. Ash, the tournament's in a few days. You've been called back to the academy."

Ash blinked.

"Already? I thought I had more time."

Kael perked up behind them.

"That means the senior tournament's here too."

A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Heh… this is gonna be fun."

Ash caught the glint in Kael's eyes. Max noticed it too, but neither said a word. They just kept walking.

The silence grew heavy, footsteps crunching dirt as thoughts spun in Ash's mind.

'Damn... I guess I have to go. But I don't want to. Still… I owe this to Dad.'

Then Kael stopped, head tilting slightly.

"You guys hear that?"

The earth let out a low, drawn-out groan beneath their feet.

Then a second one—louder. Deeper. Like something buried was waking up. Something old.

The sound cracked through Ironhold like a whip. Guards snapped to attention, boots pounding the ground. Shouts flew across the streets.

"Gate two—shut it down!"

"Get the children inside!"

"Armor up—now!"

Blades clanged. Shields rose. The fortress turned frantic.

Shutters slammed. Heavy locks clicked. Market stalls were left behind, fresh food rolling across the dirt. A woman yanked her child by the arm, vanishing into a shelter. A man dropped a crate and ran, not looking back.

No one moved toward the sound. They just ran from it—like instinct had taken over.

Screams tore through the air. Not from pain. From recognition.

Max stood still for a beat. Just one. Then his voice snapped through the chaos.

"Oh no… guys, we need to move. Now."

Ash spun toward the tremor, feeling something pull at his blood. A thrum inside his veins. Low and Rising.

"Is it…?"

Max didn't wait.

"Yes. The second creature wave have begun."