A-rank Rift / Mistwood Abyss
The wind howled across the broken cliffs, swirling dust and ash.
The Rift was chaotic.
C-rank monsters spilling out in twisted waves, screeching and thrashing.
Finn stumbled back with a grunt, swinging his battered sword clumsily.
He barely nicked the charging beast, a misshapen hound, its matted fur patchy and diseased.
It yelped, but instead of dying, it lunged again.
"Oof!" Finn was barely keeping his footing.
Across the battlefield, Beatrix danced through enemies like a storm.
Her sword flashed, severing limbs and heads with brutal precision.
Blood sprayed in arcs around her, but she barely broke a sweat.
Kain, a shadow at her side, moved even smoother.
His gauntlets shimmered black and violet, each punch ripping through monsters like paper.
There was a cold beauty to it, his casual, almost bored slaughter of dozens at a time.
The two of them fought back to back effortlessly, barely needing to look at each other.
Meanwhile, Finn gasped, clanging steel on bone, slowly losing ground.
As a brief lull fell over their part of the battlefield, Kain leaned closer to Beatrix, voice low and smooth like poisoned honey.
"You're amazing out here, Bea," he murmured, lips barely moving.
She flushed faintly, slicing a monster in half without looking.
"Thanks," she said, glancing quickly at Finn's struggling form.
Kain chuckled under his breath.
There was no humor in it.
"I congratulate you on getting together with Finn"
"Oh! You saw his confession yesterday"
Kain punched a wolf shadow to the ground with ease.
"Of course, but funny enough," he said, flicking blood off his gauntlets.
"Kissing me and then accepting his confession the next day…"
He let the sentence trail off, wounded. Bleeding.
Beatrix stiffened.
Her blade wavered for just a second.
"Kain, that's not—" she started.
He gave her a soft, sad smile.
Something twisted.
Something beautiful in its tragedy.
"I get it," he said quietly, almost too quietly for her to hear.
"I just thought what we had meant something"
He looked away, eyes distant, voice thick.
"But maybe I was just... a distraction for you"
Beatrix's grip on her sword tightened until her knuckles turned white.
Guilt slammed into her like a hammer.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, almost inaudible over the din of battle.
Kain's smile sharpened behind his sad mask.
Perfect.
Without missing a beat, he reached into his pocket, fingers brushing the hidden [ Black Thorn Charm ] an item he bought from the system.
He squeezed it once.
A faint pulse of invisible energy rolled out, targeted like a dagger.
[ System Notification ]
[ Black Thorn Charm Activated! ]
[ Beatrix's Loyalty toward Finn: 100% → 60% ]
[ Beatrix's Affection toward Finn: 100% → 60% ]
[ Minor Confusion effect applied ]
Beatrix blinked once, confusion flashing in her eyes.
Her gaze slid from Finn, who was now on one knee fending off two low-level beasts, back to Kain.
Back to safety.
Back to strength.
Back to him.
Kain's heart thudded once, slow and savage.
He had her.
Not completely.
Not yet.
But the foundations were cracking.
Another few pushes.
Another few moments of weakness.
And Beatrix would be his again.
Finn didn't even notice.
He was too busy failing.
Too busy struggling for his worthless life.
Kain shifted his stance, catching another monster in a devastating uppercut, crushing its skull with a single blow.
He grinned, the battlefield noise fading under the roar of his victory.
'Soon,' Kain thought.
'Soon, you'll look at him and feel nothing'
'And when that happens, I'll be sure to reward you'
After the Battle
Kain's hand clapped Finn's back like a brother would, and a wide grin stretched across his face.
But behind his easy laughter, his mind was a churning storm.
"You good now, dude?" Kain said, watching Finn clutch himself after taking a hard hit from the monster.
Finn grimaced, trying to laugh it off.
"Haha, I'm sorry you had to see this, Kain"
"It's fine, man," Kain said smoothly, thumbing over his shoulder toward Beatrix.
"You should check on Beatrix, though. She looked worried"
Finn, the idiot, lit up instantly like a kicked puppy offered a scrap of affection.
"Yeah, yeah, you're right! Thanks, man!"
Kain watched him jog clumsily toward her, sword dragging, breathing heavily.
Pathetic.
The moment Finn's back turned, the smile fell from Kain's face like a broken mask.
Only cold calculation remained.
He flexed his fingers inside his gauntlets, feeling the hum of power thrumming in his bones.
'You're already cracking, Beatrix,' he thought, eyes locked on her figure ahead.
'All I have to do now... is break the last pieces apart'
The Plan was simple.
Separate Finn from Beatrix.
Make him look like a dead weight.
Let her see him as a burden.
Every missed strike, every stumble, every wound, highlight them, magnify them.
Protect her.
Be where Finn fails.
Catch the blows Finn can't.
Shield her when he's too slow.
Be her real hero, again.
Remind her of what they had.
The touches.
The kiss.
And when her loyalty and affection, already bleeding from the Black Thorn's venom, crumbled to dust.
Take her.
Not just her body.
Not just her heart.
Her soul.
Later, deeper in the Rift
While Finn hacks away uselessly at a reinforced monster shell, sweating and swearing.
Kain casually dropped beside Beatrix, sidestepping a lunging demon ape with a lazy backhanded punch that shattered its spine.
"Still fighting strong," he said, voice warm, teasing.
Beatrix gave a breathless laugh, brushing blood-slicked hair from her eyes.
"I could say the same to you," she replied, her gaze lingering just a second longer than necessary.
Kain moved closer, close enough that their arms brushed, almost by accident.
His scent, a mix of leather, blood, and something darker, enveloped her.
"You know," he said, voice low, almost lost under the roar of distant battle,
"I still remember... how you asked for the practice dates"
Beatrix's hands faltered for a heartbeat on her sword hilt.
Kain leaned in further, lips almost brushing her ear.
"You looked so excited, and it brought me such joy seeing you smile"
She shuddered.
And Finn?
Finn was busy crying out as his sword cracked uselessly against another monster's hide.
A shout of panic.
Another scrape.
Another failure.
Kain smiled into Beatrix's hair, unseen.
"Maybe... maybe it's not too late," he whispered.
"You don't have to carry dead weight forever, Bea"
"You could still come back"
"To me"
He brushed his knuckles lightly against hers, just a graze, but it sparked something deep inside her chest.
A warmth.
Beatrix's heart pounded.
Her mind screamed warnings.
But her body remembered.
Her soul remembered.
And the Black Thorn's poison coiled deeper inside her spirit.
Deeper into the Mistwood Abyss – Sector Theta
The ground trembled.
A low growl echoed from the fissures ahead.
The Rift had sent something stronger this time.
Something smarter.
An A-rank monster: A Mistborn Ravager, a hulking beast stitched from smoke and bone, its red eyes gleaming with hatred.
Even Beatrix tensed, raising her blade in a proper stance.
Kain just smiled, rolling his shoulders.
He'd been waiting for a real opportunity.
The Mistborn Ravager lunged straight for Beatrix.
In that split second, instinct decided everything.
Finn screamed, charging like a fool, sword raised high over his head.
"BEATRIX, I'LL SAVE YOU!"
Too slow.
Too sloppy.
The Ravager's clawed hand was already swinging toward her exposed flank.
Kain didn't hesitate.
He moved.
A single blur of motion, powered by his Eclipse Gauntlets.
He slammed into Beatrix, pushing her out of the monster's death blow, and directly into his arms.
Her body hit his chest with a startled gasp.
His arms wrapped around her, protective, strong.
Finn's wild sword swing missed everything by a country mile, throwing him off balance.
He stumbled.
Right into the Ravager's path.
The monster's claws ripped across his side.
Blood exploded.
Finn screamed, collapsing to the ground like a broken puppet.
Kain held Beatrix close, shielding her with his body, feeling her trembling against him.
Above her head, he smirked.
Perfect.
Beatrix tore herself free, eyes wide and frantic.
But it wasn't Finn she looked at first.
It was Kain.
"Kain—are you hurt?" she gasped.
Her hands flew to his chest, checking him, smoothing across his arms, searching for injuries.
Not Finn.
Not the boy bleeding out in the dirt.
Kain.
Kain caught her hands in his, gently, reverently, like she was something fragile he would never let break again.
"I'm fine," he whispered, his voice rough with fake strain.
"I'm always fine when you're safe"
Her lips parted, and words caught on her tongue.
Emotion swirled in her bright, confused eyes.
Kain stared down at her like she was the last light in a dying world.
Like she was his salvation.
Behind them, Finn whimpered, trying to crawl toward them.
"Bea… Beatrix… I think... I think I need a potion..." he croaked out weakly.
Beatrix flinched, guilt flashing for just a second.
But Kain's hand tightened around hers.
Grounded her.
Reminded her where safety was.
Where strength was.
Where home was.
"You should finish the monster, Beatrix," Kain said gently, guiding her sword hand back to the hilt.
"I'll make sure he doesn't die"
The unspoken words: 'You don't have to worry about him anymore'
Beatrix hesitated.
Then nodded.
She turned, face hardening, and charged the Mistborn Ravager, leaving Finn behind without a second thought.
Behind the lines
Kain knelt beside Finn.
Grinning.
"Don't worry, buddy," he said, slipping a potion from Finn's own belt and dumping it down his throat with mock care.
"You'll live"
'Unfortunately,' he added silently.
Finn coughed, pain etched into his face.
"She's... she's amazing, isn't she...?" Finn rasped out, trying to smile through the agony.
Kain chuckled, low and affectionate.
"Yeah," he said.
"She really is"
He looked up, watching Beatrix fight, her form sharp, lethal, beautiful.
'She just deserves better'
[ System Notification ]
[ Beatrix's Loyalty toward Finn: 60% → 45%]
[ Beatrix's Affection toward Finn: 60% → 50% ]
[ Confusion effect intensifying. Critical threshold nearing ]
After the Battle
The Ravager's body collapsed into smoking ruins.
Beatrix stood over it, panting, her sword hanging loosely from blood-slick fingers.
The world was quiet again.
Too quiet.
Finn had long since passed out from blood loss, curled against a broken stone like a discarded toy.
The Rift had fallen still.
For now.
Beatrix wiped blood from her brow, turning to Kain.
Her safe harbor.
Her rock.
Her anchor in the chaos.
"Kain..." she breathed, dazed.
He was already moving, stepping into her space, catching her trembling shoulders in his strong hands.
"You're hurt," she said, voice cracking.
"I'm fine," he murmured, forehead pressing against hers, forcing her to feel his heat, his strength, the steady thrum of life in him.
"You're not fine," she whispered.
"You're tired. You're alone"
He cupped her face.
"I'm only alone when you're not with me," he said, voice low, thick, like molten iron poured into her bones.
Beatrix's breath hitched.
For a moment, she stood there, caught between worlds, the past she thought she wanted, and the future standing before her, offering salvation.
Finn was a boy.
Kain was a man.
She leaned into him before she even realized she was doing it.
And Kain.
Kain didn't hesitate.
He caught her mouth in a kiss.
Hard.
Claiming.
Nothing like the soft hand holding that Finn offered her.
No.
This was raw.
Desperate.
Possessive.
A kiss that said: You are MINE.
And Beatrix.
She kissed him back.
Harder.
Fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him closer, closer, needing him like she needed air.
Kain growled low in his throat, hands roaming down her sides, finding her hips, gripping them with bruising force.
Beatrix gasped into his mouth, and he used the opening to deepen the kiss, swallowing her whimper.
She was burning in his arms.
Shaking.
Breaking.
Beatrix tore at the buckles of his armor, desperate to feel skin, to feel him without barriers.
"Kain—" she panted between kisses, "I—I don't know if we should—"
He silenced her with a kiss that left her dizzy.
"You want to," he murmured, lips brushing hers.
"I know you do"
Another kiss, deeper.
More demanding.
More dangerous.
Her hands fumbled with his shirt, sliding up the hard plane of his stomach, his chest.
He stripped off her bloodstained armor like he was unwrapping something precious.
Something sacred.
Piece by piece, until only her thin undershirt and leggings separated them.
And then those were gone, too.
They stumbled back against a broken pillar, stone biting into Beatrix's back, grounding her in the surreal, burning moment.
Kain's hands skimmed over every inch of her body, memorizing her.
Worshipping her.
Marking her.
Her head fell back as his mouth found the curve of her throat, then lower, teeth grazing sensitive skin, pulling gasps and whimpers from her lips.
Her hands clawed at his back, urging him closer, closer.
"Please," she whispered, broken and whole all at once.
"Please, Kain!"
And then there was no space between them.
No hesitation.
No guilt.
Only fire.
Only him.
Kain entered her with one savage thrust, tearing a ragged moan from her throat.
Beatrix clung to him, nails digging into his shoulders, riding the dizzying wave of pain and pleasure, the overwhelming sense of being filled up completely.
He moved inside her with brutal tenderness, every thrust hitting her exact G-spot, making her moan intensely.
There was no Finn.
There was no past.
There was only Kain.
Their bodies slammed together in a frenzied, desperate rhythm, the broken pillars around them bearing silent witness to their fall.
Kain whispered her name against her ear, over and over, like a prayer he didn't believe he deserved.
Beatrix cried out, shattering against him, her body convulsing, tears streaking down her cheeks.
And Kain.
Kain kept burying himself in her.
[ System Notification ]
[ Beatrix's Loyalty and Affection toward Finn: 45% → 0% ]
[ Beatrix's Affection toward Kain: 50% → 100% ]
[ Bond Formed: Irrevocable ]
Afterward, Kain cradled Beatrix against his chest, wrapping his coat around her trembling body.
He kissed her sweat-slick forehead, gentler now.
"You're mine now," he whispered.
"And I'm never letting you go"
Beatrix clung to him tightly.
And somewhere behind a broken pillar, Finn stirred weakly.
Still clueless.
Still dreaming of a future that no longer existed.
Moments Later
The weight of it settled into her bones, heavy and real.
But there was no regret.
No guilt.
Only...
Belonging.
Her fingers traced lazy circles over Kain's chest as she whispered, "Kain... I want to tell him"
Kain's hand tightened around her waist.
"Tell him what?" he murmured against her hair, though he already knew.
"About us," she said, her voice small.
"That it's over. That he never... meant anything. Not really"
Her voice trembled, not from uncertainty, but from eagerness.
From devotion.
From the need to sever herself from the lie she had been living.
Kain smirked against her temple, his breath warm.
He cupped her chin, forcing her to meet his dark, amused gaze.
"No," he said simply.
Beatrix blinked.
"But—"
Kain kissed her, soft and slow, until she melted again in his arms.
When he pulled back, he was smiling, a cruel, knowing smile.
"If you tell him now," he said, stroking her flushed cheek with a calloused thumb, "it spoils the game"
"The game?" she breathed, shivering under his touch.
"Watching him try," Kain said, voice dropping low, "Watching him stumble after you, thinking he still has a chance... while you're already mine"
He brushed his lips along her jawline, making her gasp.
"You'll smile at him," he murmured.
"Laugh at his stupid jokes. Let him think everything's fine"
"And at night, I'll give you the warmth he doesn't give you"
Beatrix shivered violently.
And then she smiled.
Slow.
Cruel.
Beautiful.
"Anything you want," she whispered.
[ Loyalty to Kain: 100% ]
Kain kissed her again, deeply, sealing the dark pact between them with the taste of ash and blood.
Before they could go another round, they heard a groan.
Beatrix stiffened in Kain's arms.
Finn stirred behind the broken pillar, pushing himself upright with a pathetic, weak little whimper.
"K-Kain...? Beatrix...?"
His voice was thin.
Confused.
Pathetic.
Kain immediately pulled away from Beatrix, standing smoothly, no trace of what had just happened clinging to him.
Beatrix scrambled to pull the coat tighter around her bare skin, wiping hastily at the tears on her face, the marks he had left on her throat.
Kain crouched beside Finn with a casual, almost mocking smile.
"You're awake, buddy," Kain said, clapping a hand on Finn's trembling shoulder.
"You took a nasty hit. Thought we lost you"
Finn blinked up at him, dazed.
Beatrix stood stiffly behind Kain, cheeks burning, not with shame, but with effort.
Effort not to laugh.
Not to mock.
Finn smiled weakly.
"You... saved me...?"
Beatrix opened her mouth.
But Kain squeezed her hand behind his back, out of Finn's sight, silencing her.
"Of course," Kain said smoothly, helping Finn to his feet.
"We're all a team, right?"
Finn grinned at him, grateful and clueless.
Beatrix smiled too.
A hollow, glassy smile.
Not for Finn.
Never again for Finn.
Only for Kain.
Always for Kain.
The Heart of the Rift
The Boss rose before them, a mountain of flesh and bone.
A grotesque giant, stitched together from hundreds of corpses, with three screaming heads.
Each head bellowed incoherently, one in rage, one in sorrow, and one in cruel, mad laughter.
[ BOSS: The Unsung one ]
Its massive fists slammed into the cracked earth, sending tremors through the ground.
Finn, as always, drew his battered sword, face set with clueless determination.
He looked back once, just once, expecting to see Kain and Beatrix right behind him.
They had said something about a "surprise attack," after all.
Some big secret plan to finish the boss off together.
Finn grinned stupidly.
"Alright, guys!!" he shouted over his shoulder.
"Hold tight! I'll keep it busy!!"
And he charged.
Alone.
Sword flashing.
Armor rattling.
Hope shining bright in his empty, vacant eyes.
Behind a Crumbled Boulder, Just Out of Sight
Kain pressed Beatrix up against the stone, his body covering hers completely.
Their clothes were a half-forgotten mess on the ground.
Beatrix whimpered into his shoulder, fingers clawing at his back.
Kain grinned against her throat, biting down hard enough to leave yet another mark.
"You hear him?" he chuckled into her ear.
Beatrix shuddered violently, nodding.
"He really thinks we're helping," Kain said, biting back a laugh.
"He thinks we're saving him"
Beatrix gasped, tears of laughter and arousal blurring her vision.
"Poor Finn," she moaned.
Kain laughed low in his throat, a sound full of cruelty and pleasure.
"I told you," he said between rough, punishing kisses, "I could take you right under his nose... and he'd never. Even. Notice!"
Beatrix gasped again as he moved inside her, the sound swallowed by the roaring of the distant boss.
"He's busy fighting for his life," Kain muttered, voice thick with pleasure.
"While we're fucking like rabbits"
Beatrix clung to him like a woman drowning.
Drowning in him, in this twisted ecstasy that tasted like betrayal and victory all at once.
"Of course…I'm yours... only yours..." she panted desperately.
Kain grinned savagely.
"Good girl"
Meanwhile, on the Battlefield
Finn slammed into the boss's leg with all the strength he had.
"TAKE THAT, YOU UGLY BASTARD!!" he yelled heroically.
The boss didn't even flinch.
One of its massive hands swung down, clipping Finn across the field like a ragdoll.
He landed face-first in the dirt, coughing up blood.
Still, he laughed.
"Heh... That's the signal, right?" he mumbled through broken teeth.
"Kain and Beatrix must be about to unleash the secret move...!"
He struggled to his feet, raising his sword again.
"I BELIEVE IN YOU GUYS!!" Finn howled, completely alone, blood streaming down his face.
"I KNOW YOU'RE FIGHTING FOR ME TOO!!!"
Behind the Rock
Beatrix screamed, but not in pain.
Not in fear, like Finn thought.
Kain covered her mouth with his hand, muffling the sounds as he thrust harder, driven by Finn's pathetic, desperate shouts echoing across the battlefield.
Kain leaned close, whispering against her ear with a cruel smirk:
"This feels good, right?"
"Having this dirty little secret under his nose?"
Beatrix sobbed against his hand, pleasure tearing her apart.
Kain groaned, the sound vibrating through both their bodies.
He kissed her temple once, mockingly tender, and drove into her one final, brutal time.
The world blurred into white heat and dark laughter.
Above the Rift, unseen by all
Even the broken gods looked away in disgust.
Or perhaps in awe.
For this betrayal was perfect.
Still, they felt a little bad seeing the poor bastard desperately fighting to stall for his best friend and girlfriend.
Back To the Fight
Finn slammed into the dirt again.
Blood poured from his forehead, blinding one eye.
His ribs were cracked.
His sword was snapped halfway down the blade.
But still, he staggered to his feet, swaying like a drunk.
The boss loomed above him, its three heads screaming in mindless rage.
Each head spoke with a different voice:
"You are NOTHING"
"You are BETRAYED"
"You are ALONE"
Finn wiped the blood from his mouth, flashing a broken grin.
"Heh... You can say whatever you want, freak...!"
He pointed the cracked sword up at the giant.
"I'M NOT ALONE!!" he roared.
"MY FRIENDS ARE WITH ME!!"
Behind the Rock
Beatrix scrambled to pull her shirt back on, her hair wildly tangled, skin slick with sweat.
She panted, cheeks flushed deep red, eyes hazy.
Kain calmly adjusted his gauntlets, a lazy smirk on his lips.
"Go ahead," he said.
"Your dumbass is about to die if we don't show up"
Beatrix nodded frantically, wiping her mouth before sprinting out toward the battle.
She stumbled into view, still panting, hair a wild mess.
Finn's one working eye lit up in pure, stupid hope.
"BEATRIX!!!" he cried joyfully, tears mixing with blood on his face.
"You must've been fighting those side monsters!!"
"I knew it!! I KNEW YOU HAD MY BACK!!!"
Beatrix forced a bright, shaky smile, clutching her sword in her trembling hand.
"O-of course, Finn... I was... busy..." she said breathlessly.
Finn turned back toward the boss, chest swelling with pride.
"Now Kain will finish it!" he shouted.
"I KNOW HE'S GOT A SECRET PLAN!!"
At that moment.
Kain walked out casually from behind the rock, flexing his gauntleted hands.
There wasn't a single scratch on him.
The boss roared.
Kain just smiled.
No words.
No speeches.
He lifted one hand.
And snapped his fingers.
The sound split the air like a thunderclap.
The Rift Boss exploded.
No build-up.
No dramatic struggle.
No epic fight.
One moment, the boss was there, a towering monster of death.
And the next, it was a bloody mist hanging in the air.
The ground shook violently as pieces of the giant rained down like rotten fruit.
Silence.
Finn dropped his broken sword, jaw hanging open.
He turned slowly, bloodied, broken, barely standing, toward Kain.
Tears filled his eyes.
Pure, stupid, beautiful gratitude.
"K-Kain..." he whispered hoarsely.
He stumbled forward, dropping to one knee.
"T-thank you..."
"Thank you for saving me…"
"You're... you're my best friend, man..." he sobbed openly.
"I wouldn't be alive without you and Beatrix..."
Kain smiled.
A real, genuine smile.
But not for Finn.
No, he smiled for himself.
For the victory that no one else could see.
For the betrayal so complete it felt like art.
He knelt beside Finn, clapping him on the back like a good friend.
"Always got your back, buddy," he said warmly.
Beatrix, standing behind them, bit her lip so hard it bled.
Her body still ached from Kain's touch.
And Finn...
Poor, perfect Finn...
Looked at both of them with eyes full of innocent trust.
Eyes that would never see.
Never understand.
Three chests materialized before them, rising out of the cracked, blood-soaked ground on ancient pedestals.
One bathed in blinding golden light.
One shimmering in rich silver mist.
And one... plain, bronze, almost dusty.
Finn, of course, clapped excitedly like a child on his birthday.
"TREASURE!!" he cheered, punching the air despite his broken ribs.
Beatrix wiped the sweat from her forehead, still catching her breath, but smiled sweetly at the sight.
Kain only smirked, walking up to his chest casually.
He popped the golden chest open with a lazy kick.
Inside lay a cape.
But not just any cape.
The Blood Demon Cape, a relic of the forgotten world.
A black and crimson masterpiece, stitched with runes that moved like living things.
An SSS-Rank artifact.
It pulsed with such dark power that even the Rift itself seemed to flinch at its awakening.
He threw it around his shoulders in one motion, the cape snapping into place as if claiming him.
He looked even more like a villain now.
Perfect.
Beatrix's Chest.
Feeling brave, she stepped up and opened her silver-lit chest.
Inside was a gorgeous, wicked sword, pulsing with icy blue light.
Frostmourne's Whisper is an S-Rank weapon.
Elegant.
Deadly.
Beautiful, like her.
She gasped softly, running her fingers along the blade with a reverent touch.
Kain gave her a sly look that made her knees wobble again.
Finn's Chest.
Finn, practically vibrating with excitement, rushed to the final chest.
He popped it open.
Inside was an A-Rank sword.
Nice.
Good.
Solid.
Respectable.
"HOLY SHIT!!"
Finn yelled.
"I GOT A RARE TOO!!"
He hoisted it above his head like a conquering hero, blood streaming down his face, tears in his eyes.
Kain and Beatrix exchanged a look.
Beatrix hid a smirk behind her hand.
Kain just chuckled under his breath.
The Rift around them cracked and shattered like glass, reality reasserting itself.
A blinding flash of light engulfed them.
When they opened their eyes, they were standing outside.
Zenith Academy / Field Training Grounds
A crowd of students milled about, looking bored.
Most had given up within minutes, fleeing at the first sign of real danger.
Some were even nursing minor injuries.
The professors stood at the edge of the field, talking among themselves.
The one in front turned at the sound of the light.
Professor Graystone.
His eyes widened behind his glasses when he saw them emerge.
"No way..." he muttered.
The entire field froze.
All eyes snapped to the three figures stepping out of the Rift gate.
Finn, battered, bruised, but grinning like a champion with his A-Rank sword slung across his back.
Beatrix, composed and radiant, a deadly new S-Rank blade gleaming at her hip.
And Kain...
Cloaked in the Blood Demon Cape, walked like a god among insects, radiating pure, casual dominance.
Professor Graystone strode forward, awe and disbelief mingling on his face.
"You... you closed the Rift..." he stammered.
"Completed it"
"Alone"
"Without support"
He looked between them, searching for words.
Finally, he simply muttered:
"Unbelievable"
The students around them stared in shock and envy.
Some even whispered:
"What the hell are they...?"
"Are they monsters...?"
"How... how could they survive that?"
Finn turned to Kain and Beatrix, giving them a thumbs-up, eyes shining with gratitude.
"We did it, guys!!!"
"Teamwork!!!"
"I KNEW we could do it if we stuck together!!!"
"Man, you two are the best friends anyone could ever have..."
Beatrix smiled sweetly, hiding her guilt behind her practiced innocence.
Kain simply clapped Finn on the back again.
Hard enough to almost knock him over.
"Yeah," Kain said coolly.
"Best friends forever"