A Stupidly Brave Decision

Haruki had done a lot of dumb things in his life. Sticking his hand into a moving blender when he was five. Telling his high school principal that his tie looked like a crushed cockroach. Trying to cook instant ramen with beer instead of water.

But this? This was shaping up to be the dumbest thing yet.

The whole world had gone to hell, and here he was, standing in front of an actual god, unarmed, running his mouth like he had a death wish.

"You know," Haruki said, gesturing vaguely at the massive shadowy form looming before him, "for an all-powerful cosmic horror, you really give off some middle-manager energy. All this vague whispering and cryptic bullshit—it’s like you’re trying to upsell me on a timeshare in hell."

The god—if that’s what it even was—didn’t react. It simply loomed, an impossible shape in the darkness, shifting like smoke, like something his brain refused to fully comprehend.

Kain, who had been standing beside him a second ago, exhaled sharply. "Haruki."

"Yeah?"

"Shut the fuck up."

Haruki scoffed. "Why? You think it’s gonna get mad? What’s it gonna do? Smite me?" He spread his arms dramatically. "Ooooh, scary! Big spooky shadow thing, I’m so terrified."

Kain pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly debating whether he should fight Asvar or just kill Haruki himself.

The god finally moved. Its shape twisted, folding in on itself, stretching taller, wider. The room darkened further, the air growing thick and suffocating.

Ah.

So I did piss it off.

Haruki took a small step back. "Alright, I see I’ve struck a nerve. Fair. Let’s just—"

He didn’t get to finish.

Something ripped through the air—a force so powerful it sent Haruki flying backward like a ragdoll. His body slammed into the far wall, the impact knocking the breath out of his lungs.

Kain barely moved. He simply stood there, rolling his shoulders, cracking his neck.

And then he sighed.

"Haruki."

"Yeah?" Haruki groaned from the floor.

"Don’t talk again."

Haruki held up a weak thumbs-up. "Noted."

Kain turned back to the entity, his expression unreadable.

Asvar did not speak. It simply watched. Waited.

Haruki had seen Kain fight before, but there was something different about him now. He wasn’t just preparing to attack. He was calculating.

And then, with a speed that barely registered, he moved.

The first strike was brutal. Kain’s blade slashed through the air in a perfect arc, slicing straight through the darkness. The world seemed to break where the blade passed—like reality itself was splitting open.

Asvar didn’t dodge. It didn’t need to. The darkness simply reformed, closing around the wound like nothing had happened.

Kain’s jaw tightened. "Figures."

The next attack came faster. Kain’s movements blurred, the ground cracking beneath him as he launched forward. He was fast—too fast for Haruki’s eyes to keep up. But Asvar was faster.

The god’s form shattered, dispersing into dozens of writhing tendrils of black smoke. They twisted through the air, lashing out at Kain from every direction.

He dodged. Barely. His coat tore as one of the tendrils grazed his side, leaving a deep, burning wound in its wake.

Haruki, still sprawled uselessly on the ground, winced. "You okay?"

Kain ignored him.

Haruki pushed himself up, gripping the edge of a broken pillar for support. His legs felt like jelly, his ribs screaming in protest, but he forced himself to move. He might not have been as strong as Kain, but he wasn’t about to just sit there like some helpless bystander.

His eyes darted around the battlefield. There had to be something he could do.

And then he saw it.

A switch.

A big, ominous-looking switch on the far wall, covered in dust and rust, with the words "EMERGENCY SYSTEM OVERRIDE" barely visible beneath the grime.

Oh.

Oh, that looked important.

Haruki narrowed his eyes. This was probably one of those things you weren’t supposed to touch.

But then again, when had he ever followed the rules?

"Fuck it," he muttered, stumbling toward the switch.

Kain, who had just barely managed to avoid getting eviscerated, caught sight of him and immediately looked pissed.

"Haruki. What are you doing?"

Haruki didn’t stop. "Something stupid."

"Don’t touch that."

"I’m gonna touch it."

"Haruki, I swear to—"

Haruki pulled the switch.

For a split second, nothing happened.

And then—

The whole building lurched.

A deafening alarm blared through the air, the walls shuddering, machinery deep beneath them roaring to life. The lights flickered violently. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of grinding metal echoed like the wail of something waking up after a long, long sleep.

Haruki turned back to Kain, panting. "Okay. Maybe that wasn’t my best idea."

Kain looked like he wanted to strangle him. "I hate you."

"Yeah, yeah, get in line."

Asvar, however, had finally reacted.

The god reeled back, its form shuddering violently. The alarms, the energy, the sheer shift in the room—it was affecting it.

Haruki grinned. "Oh sh*t, did I actually do something useful?"

Kain didn’t answer. He was already moving, using the god’s hesitation to strike.

His blade glowed.

Haruki had never seen it do that before. A blinding, brilliant light cut through the darkness as Kain brought his sword down with enough force to split the earth.

Asvar shrieked.

Not a sound.

Not a voice.

Something wrong.

Something that made Haruki’s bones feel like they were being pulled in every direction at once.

The god recoiled, its form convulsing.

For the first time, it looked like it was actually in pain.

Kain’s breathing was ragged. His eyes were wild.

Haruki swallowed.

And then—

The power cut.

The alarms stopped.

The lights died.

And the moment ended.

Asvar lunged.

Kain barely had time to react. The god’s form swallowed him whole, the darkness coiling around him like living chains.

Haruki’s stomach plummeted.

"KAIN!"

The god didn’t stop. It dragged Kain into the shadows, its shape twisting, distorting—

Haruki moved.

Without thinking. Without planning.

He ran.

Straight into the dark.