The air around this newly formed Dark World was different. The three heroes would've pinpointed it to its link with the prophecy, or the fact that it had been ripped open by the Roaring Knight—whom they'd seen with their own eyes for the first time.

But no. It was something else. The atmosphere felt thick with fear and something darker—a suffocating unease.

Kris stood at the edge of broken glass, their hand clutching their sword tighter than usual. Ralsei had already checked the area—no sign of darkners nearby. Most areas were completely deserted, silence swallowing every corner, the scent of terror hanging thick. And for the first time, darkners weren't just wary—but completely terrified.

"A monster in a human's skin..." whispered the bravest, while the rest cowered in shadows. They left whole zones deserted, trails of broken furniture and shattered glass in their wake. Not turned, not spared—silenced. Someone with a human SOUL, but not like Kris's. Twisted. Wrong.

It didn’t make sense. There was no other human. Not in Hometown. Not in years. Kris had been the only one, always. Hell, they bet no monster had seen a human in their life besides him. So, for now another one to show up and cause this much chaos? It wasn't exactly a good look. They didn't even give them a chance. It was just massacring for the sake of it.

Susie kicked a cracked shelf aside. “None of them are talking anymore,” she muttered, glaring into the far corner where nothing stirred. “They’re not scared of us. They’re scared of… that freak.”

Ralsei tugged his scarf nervously, voice barely steady. “They said they don’t even let them escape. That they just—destroy them. Just... why are they doing this?” he looked down, a hint of despair in his gaze. That part made Kris’s stomach turn.

They had fought darkners before, again and again, but even the fiercest of them were spared; they never even laid a hand on them unless absolutely necessary. Though this newcomer seemed hellbent on wiping the entire place clean, with no explanation.

Somewhere deeper inside this sanctuary, a human was tearing through like a nightmare made flesh. Stronger than anyone expected, a force of chaos that the Roaring Knight—still lurking in the shadows—might be backing. Kris’s grip on their sword tightened once more.

The prophecy spoke of a human, a monster, and a prince from the dark… but what did it mean that another human had arrived?

And what if they weren't here to seal fountains—

—but to rip them open?