"...Our team name is... Tyrants."
’Tyrants?’
Ash glared at Max. It wasn’t a name Max would ever choose. It sounded ruthless and cruel, nothing like his brother’s calculating and protective nature.
Max continued, completely unfazed.
"And as for active field members... there are only two of us."
"What?!"
Ash’s eyes went wide.
"So... the other active member is Tyrin? You’re telling me it’s literally just the two of you on this entire planet?!"
Max gave a quiet, solemn nod.
A cold shiver raced down Ash’s spine. The thought of being stranded with both his brothers on an uncharted, monster-infested world in deep space was terrifying. But the realization that followed was far worse.
No help was coming.
"Dammit!"
Ash shouted, his voice cracking with anger.
"Why the hell would headquarters approve a suicide mission like this?! Where’s Dad? Is he part of this madness too?!"
"Actually, the entire Team Vortex left on a mission in deep space a while ago. I didn’t go with them, obviously... since I handed in my badge."
Ash let out a heavy sigh, turning back as he stared at the frozen army.
"Oh. Right. Of course he left. I bet he doesn’t even care that one of his sons has been missing for nearly a year. Classic Dad. Very uncaring."
Max looked at him with a gentle expression.
"Ash... listen. Dad has—"
Caaaw... Caaaw...
Something rustled faintly in the distance.
Caaaw...
Ash snapped to his feet, instantly cutting Max off. The exasperation vanished from his face, replaced by a look of sudden terror that quickly twisted into fury.
’No... no way.’
Ash had thought he’d finally escaped it. It had been nearly a year since he’d last heard that sound. Why now? And how was it even here?! They were on an unknown world days away from Varagos!
Max blinked, startled by Ash’s sudden movement.
"Ash? What’s wrong?"
Ash gritted his teeth, his jaw clenching so hard it hurt.
"That damn bird... What the hell is it doing here?!"
Max narrowed his eyes, following Ash’s gaze upward. The heavy fog made it almost impossible to see the top of the ruins, but then—
Caaaw... Caaaw...
The rasping call echoed again.
Perched on the highest spire of some strange ancient structure beyond the gate sat a massive crow. Except calling it a crow felt wrong. Five eyes glowed across its skull, each burning with a different sickly color. Its feathers weren’t made of organic plumage, but a shifting coat of black oil that dripped and reformed in slow, viscous ripples.
Max’s eyes widened in genuine shock.
"Wait... isn’t that the same crow from the city? How did it get out here?!"
Ash didn’t answer. His hands trembled with rage. Ever since he was a child, that grotesque crow had haunted his life. Worse still, whenever it appeared, catastrophe inevitably followed, often even worse than anything caused by his [Eye of the Storm] Root. And what worse time for it to show up than now, while they were already in this nightmare scenario?
’Shit...’
Without hesitation, Ash took a hard step forward.
"Stay here. I’m going to kill it and end this endless stalking once and for all."
Before Max could grab him, Ash bolted forward, vanishing into the swirling fog beyond the outer gate.
"Hey! Wait! Ash, get back here!"
Max’s shout was swallowed by the heavy silence. Cursing under his breath, Max lunged after him. He stepped over the shattered stone threshold of the gate and instantly slammed to a halt.
Ash stood frozen just a few paces ahead. He wasn’t looking up at the spire anymore. His eyes were locked straight ahead, completely wide with shock.
Max’s stomach dropped. He slowly shifted his gaze to follow his brother’s line of sight.
And then he saw them.
Two colossal figures loomed in the cavernous courtyard, standing like ancient sentinels on either side of a massive inner door. At first, Max’s mind refused to accept what he was seeing, registering them as towers. But towers didn’t breathe. Towers didn’t shift with the low, grinding creak of ancient stone. And towers certainly didn’t have two pairs of hollow eyes burning with radiant light, locked directly onto the two human intruders.
Each stone colossus held a massive spear horizontally across the entrance, the two weapons forming a barrier that completely blocked the inner gate.
Against these titanic beings, Ash and Max looked like ants.
Swallowing hard, Max whispered under his breath.
"Well... at least now we know who’s manifesting the Dominion Aura."
Ash whipped his head toward Max, his eyes wide.
"How can you make jokes right now?!"
Max didn’t reply. He kept his eyes fixed on the monoliths. Seconds stretched into agony, measured only by the frantic pounding of their hearts. The stone giants didn’t attack; they simply stared down with cold, radiant light, pinning the brothers in place.
The structure they guarded clearly wasn’t built for humans. It was an intimidating fortress of smooth, black stone, its entrance sealed by a colossal gate lined with cracks.
Ash tilted his head back slightly.
"Stay back. I’ll handle them."
He took a single step forward, but before his boot hit the ground, Max’s hand clamped onto his shoulder from behind, yanking him back.
"And where do you think you’re going?"
Ash narrowed his eyes.
"To kill the crow, obviously..."
"To—"
Max frowned.
"No. Absolutely not. We are not going anywhere near those two giants."
Ash tried to pull away.
"I know that! That’s why you’re staying here! I’m going alone!"
He tried to push forward again, but Max yanked him back hard.
"Ash. Stop!"
Max’s voice lost its usual playful composure.
"Stop it. Just... stop."
Ash turned around, stunned. He had heard Max shout before, in arguments, in moments of extreme stress, or when issuing tactical orders. But he had never heard his brother’s voice break with this kind of raw, desperate fury.
"Max...?"
"I know what you’re doing."
Max’s grip didn’t loosen.
"I’ve known ever since that first morning we found your room empty. So you need to listen to me right now."
He exhaled sharply.
"Mom gave me one job before she died, Ash. One. Keep my brothers from doing anything terminally stupid. Watching you treat your life like it’s completely worthless... I can’t handle it. You don’t get to throw yourself away for me. That’s my job. I’m the eldest. That’s how this works. Don’t take that away from me."
Ash went quiet. He slowly looked up toward the high spire where the five-eyed crow had been perched, but it was gone.
’Argh, of course it is.’
Ash looked back at Max, whose face was still tight with anger and exhaustion. Letting out a slow, heavy breath, Ash whispered.
"Alright, I’m sorry."
Max winced as he slowly shifted his body, still pressed down by the Dominion Aura. He slowly let go of Ash’s shoulder and rubbed his temples.
"Yeah, well... you’d better be. And... sorry for raising my voice."
Ash shook his head.
"Don’t apologize. My anger almost made me do something completely reckless that would’ve gotten us both killed. Thanks for pulling me back."
He turned back toward the two stone giants. They remained completely stationary, looming like mountains over the courtyard.
Max followed his line of sight.
"I don’t think they’re going to attack us."
Ash glanced at him.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, ever since we came in here... they’ve had every opportunity to squish us like bugs, but they haven’t moved an inch. That means they aren’t mindless beasts. That’s to be expected, though, since they have enough consciousness to project Dominion Aura. I don’t think attacking intruders is what they’re here for. They’re guarding this place with their Aura to keep the Chaos horde from getting inside. Which means whatever is behind that door... isn’t on their side."
"Oh," Ash murmured, processing the logic.
Max let out a weary sigh and tapped his wristband, bringing up a glitching holographic map.
"Look, our best option is to fall back beyond the courtyard and wait for Tyrin. I already sent him our coordinates. Though, with that massive army blocking the path, I have no idea how he’s going to reach us... but we’ll figure something out. It beats knocking on that door uninvited. That’s how people end up as stains on the floor."
Max forced a small, dry laugh.
"I’d rather endure this Dominion Aura for another hour than get squashed."
Ash gave a firm nod, turning to step back toward the gate. Max fell into step beside him.
Then, a grinding roar shuddered through the stone beneath their feet.
Both brothers froze, slowly turning around.
The massive inner gate... was opening. Not with a violent crash, but with an agonizingly slow, ancient groan.
At the exact same moment, the two stone giants lifted their massive spears, clearing the way. The white light in their eyes dimmed to a dull glow. And just like that, the suffocating weight pressing down on Max’s chest vanished entirely.
"Huh?"
Max blinked.
Ash turned to him.
"Yeah... it’s strange, isn’t it? Why would the door open now?"
Max shook his head.
"No, Ash... the Aura... It’s gone."
Ash frowned.
"What?"
A terrifying chorus of shrieks shattered the air behind them.
Both brothers whipped around toward the outer gate. With the Dominion Aura gone, the massive horde of Chaos creatures was already pouring over the threshold, a tidal wave of twisted limbs surging directly toward them!
’Shit!’
Ash spun back toward the two giants. They looked unbothered by the approaching horde. But between them, the colossal inner door was swinging open wider, revealing a pitch-black abyss that felt less like an entrance and more like an open throat waiting to swallow them whole.
"Don’t think about it!"
Max screamed, grabbing Ash’s arm and surging forward.
"JUST RUN!"
Side by side, both brothers sprinted straight into the darkness.