Death Paradox 💥BAKUDEKU💥

Chapter 13

Part 2

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Chapter 13

They'd made it to the other side. Barely.

Katsuki stood on the white sands of a storm-battered beach, his eyes narrowed against the sheets of rain crashing down from the dark sky above. The salty wind whipped violently, tugging at his cloak and stinging his face with cold, wet lashes. Thunder rumbled in the distance, rolling over the jagged cliffs and trees that lined the horizon. Ahead of him, the pale sands disappeared into a dense, wild forest—its towering trees dark and gnarled, twisted by whatever cursed weather had been tearing at the FrostFire Region for days.

He didn't know where the hell they'd landed, but they were here. And that was all that mattered.

Katsuki let out a sharp exhale, running a hand through his wet hair, wiping his ash-blond spikes back. Behind him, Kirishima lay collapsed, panting heavily. The storm raged on, drenching both of them, but it was Kirishima's condition that worried Katsuki most. The dragon's wings drooped, his scales dull and cracked from the strain of the nonstop flights across the Mystic Sea. Every breath Kirishima took sounded labored, deep, and rattling, like each inhale was a fight against his own exhaustion. His normally bright red scales had darkened, taking on a burnt, worn-out hue.

Kirishima had pushed himself too hard. Katsuki could see that now, even though the dumbass had insisted over and over again that he could handle it. He'd barely managed to keep them in the air during the last stretch of the flight. At one point, just an hour or so from land, they'd come dangerously close to crashing into the freezing waters below. Kirishima's wings had faltered mid-flight, and for a heart-stopping moment, Katsuki thought they were going to end up as sea monster bait.

But they'd made it. Somehow.

Katsuki scowled as the wind ripped at him, whipping rain in sideways gusts. The forest before him loomed ominously, the thick canopy of trees barely visible in the downpour. They needed shelter—someplace to hole up and wait out the storm until Kirishima could recover. But where? The coastline was wide and exposed, and there wasn't a damn thing to see except the white beach stretching out endlessly and the dark forest creeping up to the shore.

Fucking great. No clue where the hell they were, and no way to move forward 'til shitty scales over there gets back on his feet.

Katsuki crouched down next to Kirishima's massive head, wiping the water from his face as he tapped the side of the dragon's face, fingers drumming impatiently against the cool, rain-slick scales. "Oi, shitty scales," Katsuki muttered, his voice barely audible over the roar of the storm. "You still with me?"

Kirishima didn't respond at first. His body lay sprawled across the soaked sand, wings limp at his sides, his breathing slow and labored. The storm pelted his dull red scales with relentless sheets of rain, and the cold, salty wind did little to help. But after another firm tap, Kirishima's eyes finally cracked open. The third eyelid, a milky membrane, slid across his golden eyes as they adjusted to the harsh storm. He blinked, groggy, struggling to focus on Katsuki, who was already glaring at him like he was about to punch him back to consciousness.

"We need cover, dumbass," Katsuki snapped, his voice sharp despite the concern in his eyes. "Can you get up? Think you could walk into the forest so we're not sitting ducks out here?"

For a long moment, Kirishima just stared at him, blinking slowly through the protective third eyelid. His massive chest rose and fell with deep, rattling breaths, and there was a weariness in his eyes that Katsuki hadn't seen before. The dragon didn't move, just kept staring like Katsuki had asked him to move a mountain or something equally ridiculous.