The darkness felt endless. No dreams, no memories—just the void. I floated in it for what felt like days, or maybe it was only seconds. Time didn't matter. I didn't matter.
A sharp pain jolted me out of the nothingness, a searing reminder that I was still alive. Barely. My stomach throbbed like it had been torn open by claws—because it had been. I groaned, my hand instinctively going to the wound, feeling the bandages wrapped tightly around me. The faint metallic scent of blood hung in the air.
I cracked open my eyes, blinking against the dim light of a room that was unfamiliar. My head felt heavy, and my limbs were sluggish. Everything around me was blurry at first, but I could make out the shapes of two figures. Kail and Galaxy, standing by the far wall, deep in conversation. Their voices were low, tense, like they didn't want to wake me.
Or maybe they thought I wouldn't wake up at all.
I tried to speak, but my throat was dry, and all that came out was a hoarse rasp. I shifted, wincing at the pain flaring through my body. Galaxy noticed me first, his face still unreadable despite the hint of relief in his eyes. Kail was at my side in seconds, his usual cocky demeanor replaced with something I hadn't seen from him before—genuine concern.
"You're awake," he said, his voice softer than I expected. "Good. We thought we'd lost you there for a bit."
I forced myself to sit up, though every movement sent a sharp pain through my torso. "What... what happened?" I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.
Kail glanced at Galaxy before answering. "DJ got away. After he... after what he did, he took off. We've been looking for him ever since, but he's gone underground. No one's seen him."
The weight of his words hit me harder than any physical wound could. DJ was still out there, in the grip of the parasite, more dangerous than ever. And I had failed to stop him. I had failed everyone.
"I should've stopped him," I muttered, my fists clenching in the sheets. "I had the chance. I—"
"Shut up." Kail's voice was sharp, cutting through my self-pity like a blade. "You did what you could. Hell, you did more than any of us expected. Don't start with that 'I failed' crap."
Galaxy stepped forward, his galactic prosthetic arm shimmering faintly in the dim light. "Kail's right. You're not dead, JLC. That's something. But if you're serious about this, if you really want to save DJ... you're going to need to get stronger. A lot stronger."
I nodded, though the weight of my failure still pressed heavily on my chest. Stronger. Yeah, I needed that. But it wasn't just about strength. It was about understanding. About not letting this happen again.
"What's the plan?" I asked, my voice firmer this time.
Kail crossed his arms, his usual cocky grin returning. "We track DJ down. Simple. But this time, we go in prepared. No more getting caught off guard. We train, we plan, and we hit him hard before the parasite takes over completely."
Galaxy gave a nod of agreement, though his expression remained thoughtful. "It's not just about fighting DJ, though. There's more going on here than we understand. That parasite... it's not normal. I've seen parasitic magic before, but this? This is something else. We need to find out where it came from—and why it's targeting DJ specifically."
That struck a chord. DJ wasn't the only one with a parasite, but his was different—stronger, more aggressive. It felt personal, like something, or someone, wanted him to suffer. And if we didn't stop it, DJ wouldn't just be lost to the parasite—he'd become something far worse than we could imagine.
I struggled to get to my feet, wincing as the pain shot through me again. Kail moved to help, but I waved him off. I had to stand on my own. I had to face this, no matter how much it hurt.
"Alright," I said, my voice steady. "We find DJ. And this time, we save him."
---
The next few days blurred together as I recovered. Every moment was filled with training, pushing myself harder than ever before. Kail didn't hold back now—he pushed me to my limits and then some. We fought every day, sparring until I could barely stand, forcing me to rely on my magic more and more. My eyes burned with each session, but I had to test the Eyes of Truth, to understand their true limits.
Galaxy watched from the sidelines, his arms crossed, observing every movement. He rarely spoke, but when he did, it was always something useful. He understood magic in ways I couldn't even begin to grasp, and he was constantly throwing out insights about how I could better harness my abilities. His presence, though quiet, was a reminder that there were bigger stakes at play than just me and DJ.
One night, after an especially brutal session with Kail, I sat alone on the rooftop of the apartment. The city stretched out beneath me, lights flickering in the distance. My stomach still ached from the wound DJ had left, but it was healing. Slowly. I stared up at the stars, feeling the weight of everything that had happened crashing down on me again.
I had come so far, but it still didn't feel like enough. I couldn't shake the image of DJ's face, twisted in pain and fury, lashing out at me with everything he had. And I still didn't know if I could save him.
The wind picked up, and I heard the faint sound of footsteps behind me. I didn't need to turn around to know it was Kail.
"You're thinking too much again," he said, leaning against the railing beside me.
"Can't help it," I replied. "Every time I close my eyes, all I see is DJ. And I keep wondering... what if I can't do it? What if I'm not strong enough?"
Kail was silent for a moment, then he sighed. "Look, you're gonna doubt yourself. It's human. But that's not what matters. What matters is that you don't let that doubt stop you. You keep pushing. You keep fighting. And you do what needs to be done."
I glanced at him, seeing a rare seriousness in his eyes. For all his bravado, Kail had his own demons. Maybe that's why he understood.
"Yeah," I said quietly. "You're right."
We stood there in silence, watching the stars. Tomorrow, we'd start searching for DJ. Tomorrow, the real fight would begin.
And this time, I wouldn't fail.
-
