Dark Earth (Male Reader)

12: Chase

The ground shakes as you push forward. Your legs move faster than you can see as you propel yourself through the wasteland. Air whips through your hair and clothes. Your body pulses with fire as you run at amazing speeds, looking for any sign of Dim or the monsters. The barren hills and empty craters show no sign of life. Using the fire, you can feel the open tunnel beneath the ground. You follow it, wondering how long you'd been out.

You can't believe how stupid you were. You lost control in the middle of the battle. The hate you'd felt for the monster had completely consumed you. When Dim was grabbed off your back and carried away, you didn't even notice. You just kept killing. The evil before had to be destroyed. In that moment, nothing else mattered. Not even her.

In the distance, you see a small cluster of white figures. Several Dirt Lurkers mill about, sniffing at the ground and air. One by one, they notice the ground beneath their hand feet start to shake as you tear towards them at blazing speeds. You can feel the anger rise up again, but you struggle with it, pushing it down. Your first priority is to find Dim and get her to safety.

However, that plan abruptly changes. The fire alerts you to something above you, but you don't react in time. The object swoops down and crashes into your back, bending you and knocking you to the ground. Jumping to your feet, you come face to face with another Cloud Lurker. It screams in your direction, challenging you. You send fire into your hand as it clenches into a fist, but you never get the chance to fire the punch. From behind, a Dirt Lurker rises up and climbs you to the side with one of its heads.

Crashing against an old black tree, you recover to see the monsters converging on you. The other Dirt Lurkers remain behind their comrade, watching as it and the Cloud Lurker move in. You didn't know that they were capable of working together like this. You wonder just how intelligent these things are.

The Cloud Lurker rushes you. Hardening the space around you, it crashes into the force field, clawing at you. It's fast, but not as strong as you imagined. The Dirt Lurker is though. It leaps over the monster and smashes against the protective space shield, straining your power and knocking you back.

You're not used to dealing with two different monsters at once. Their strengths make for for each other's weaknesses. An attack on one would leave you open to the other. Still, you're in no mood to give up. Dim's life is on the line. Pushing the fire into your legs and hand, you sprint towards the Cloud Lurker.

It's started by you sudden boost in speed. It tries to react, but you swing your hand in a cross chop, pushing space at it. The invisible force becomes sharp, cutting the monster in half. The Dirt Lurker sees you attacking it and charges in, but you're ready. You spin your whole body, continuing the chop. In one swift motion, you slice both monsters, breaking their bodies into four gross chunks that land dead on the dusty earth.

The other Dirt Lurkers know they can't stop you. They turn to leave, but you still need to find Dim. However, before you give chase, the group breaks up and you see a frail figure resting among them. They all burrow out of sight, leaving you and their prey behind.

You run up to Dim, kneeling next to her. The first thing you see is a massive gash in her side, tearing across her stomach. It's bleeding heavily; the red fluid staining the ground. Her breathing is shallow and her eyes are pale. She glances over and sees you kneeling beside her. Her lips move, but no sound comes out.

"Dim?... Dim!"

She weakly grasps your hand. You can feel her trembling. Her body is cold and clammy. Tears start to well up in your eyes as you look down on her blood covered face. With one final breath, Dim squeezes your hand before going limp. Her head rolls as she dies in front of you.

You think of nothing. There are no thoughts in your head. Your body in numb. The only thing inside you is fire. It's burning hotter than ever. Energy floods your body, maxing you out. You grip her hand tightly, shaking in anger. You don't want this.

"DON'T DIE ON ME!"

A massive pulse of energy explodes from your hands, blasting through Dim's lifeless body. The ground trembles and she starts to glow blue and green. Energy swirls in the air, moving like flies around you both. They start to spin, circling around her. At first, there are no changes, then you see it.

Her wounds are starting to heal. In fact, her entire body is changing. The color was returning to the skin. Thick patches of mud and dirt evaporate away. The cuts and scrapes on her body stitch themselves back together. The blood that was once leaking out of her body is moving backwards, filling her up. Even her clothes mend themselves. You can hear her breathing again. It sounds like she's breathing in reverse.

The lights stop. Her body is looking better than before, though her left arm is still missing. Dim gasps, panting heavily as she looks up at you, stunned.

"W... What?... (Y/N)... Did I..."

"Dim! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine... I... I died..."

She looks up at you. A tear runs down her cheek as she holds your hand.

"You brought me back..."

"... I... did..."

You're not sure how it happens. Dim suddenly pulls herself up, bringing you in close. Before you know it, she's planted her lips on yours, kissing you passionately as she presses her body against you in a massive hug. Startled, you remain still. Then you kiss back. The two of you forget about the world for a moment, only thinking about each other. Everything feels right now.

You don't even notice the fact that a fourth ring tattoo has appeared around your wrist.