Five Minutes to Live – The Cat’s Command to Flee!

The sword came down fast... but it didn’t strike me.

I dodged at the very last moment, as if my body moved on its own.

The blade passed right by my cheek, cutting a single strand of hair.

Then... I grabbed the dead guard’s sword.

It was heavy, but my hand didn’t tremble.

One step forward.

Then a strike.

The blade rose then dropped.

It hit the neck of the soldier who had lunged at me.

He didn’t have time to understand what had happened.

His head fell. His body followed a moment later.

His blood spilled across the ground, and the sound of his collapse was a warning of what was coming next.

The soldiers shouted:

"Take him down!"

They rushed toward me.

But I didn’t retreat.

I moved. Fast.

As if the wind was pushing me forward.

The sword slashed open the first soldier’s chest, shattered the arm of the second, and stabbed the third straight in the stomach.

Strike... then another... then a jump.

Everything turned into a red haze.

I was fighting... and winning.

But my heart was pounding like a war drum.

And a voice inside me was whispering:

"You’re burning from the inside... be careful."

Then I heard the cat’s voice.

Calm... but sharp:

"Stop! Your energy is draining! Your body can’t take much more!"

I stopped.

I turned quickly and said:

"But I’ve just started!"

The cat replied as he leapt onto my shoulder:

"If you keep going… you’ll die. Don’t test your limits—run!"

At that moment, I felt it.

My knee buckled, my hand began to shake, and the sword suddenly became heavier.

The soldiers weren’t stopping.

Their numbers were growing, and arrows were being drawn from afar.

The cat spoke firmly:

"Open a path now!"

The arrows behind me whispered of death.

One grazed past my ear, slicing a strand of hair.

The second scratched my shoulder.

But I didn’t stop.

The cat on my shoulder shouted:

"Turn left! Don’t run in a straight line!"

I leapt over a corpse, slid beneath a severed hanging rope, and dashed toward the left corner of the square.

A small gate behind piles of rotten wood.

I shoved it with all my strength.

Creak!

It opened.

Cold air burst toward me, bringing the stench of mold and decay... the alleys of the lower city.

The cat yelled:

"Down the stairs, fast! That’s the sewer path they won’t chase us there easily!"

I didn’t think.

I jumped.

Bones cracking, breaths whistling, sounds of pursuit.

The stairs were slippery, but they led to a dark tunnel. My breath was heavy, my body bleeding from cuts, the sword on my back weighing me down.

But my heart kept beating strong.

I reached an abandoned cellar, the stench of death thick in the air.

The cat said:

"Stop... don’t move yet."

I dropped to my knees.

Everything inside me was burning.

"How much time do I have?" I whispered.

The cat replied:

"Five minutes... or less, before your body gives out."

I lifted my head.

The sound of boots was getting closer above.

They were searching.

"Will they find us?"

The cat shook his head:

"Not yet... but we can’t stay."

He looked at me, and his voice softened:

"Listen... what you did today was just the beginning. But you’re still weak. We need to train. Disappear. Then come back."

"Come back where?" I asked.

The cat gave a cold smile and said:

"To the hell they built for us. And we’ll take it from them."

I sighed and tried to stand.

My body resisted... but obeyed.

Slowly, I moved through the shadows, the cat on my shoulder, away from the square... from the blood... from Rai.

The cat said we were safe.

But I felt the exact opposite.

Every step in the tunnel, every drop of water falling from the ceiling, every distant echo... felt like a warning.

We walked in silence.

A silence so heavy, even my breath sounded like screaming.

Finally, the cat said:

"There’s a small door at the end of this tunnel... behind it, an old hideout used during the war."

I nodded. We continued walking.

But suddenly...

The cat stopped.

"Stop," he whispered.

I froze.

Even my heart tried to stay quiet.

Then we heard it.

Footsteps.

Light... precise... not chaotic like those of soldiers.

These were the steps of a single person.

And he knew exactly where he was going.

The cat dug his claws into my shoulder.

"That’s not a regular soldier..."

"Who is it?"

He answered in a low voice:

"A hunter."

Sweat trickled down my neck despite the cold.

What’s a hunter doing in the sewers?

We heard a new sound... a soft screech... like something metallic dragging against the walls.

Then came a voice:

"Your escape from the square was surprising... but your miracle won’t last long, shadow-dweller."

The cat stepped back.

"We need to run. Now!"

I ran.

And for the first time, it felt like the earth itself wanted to hold me down.

The ground sloped, the mud was slick, the air grew heavier.

Behind me, the hunter’s steps drew closer. He wasn’t running... but he wasn’t falling behind either.

He walked with confidence. As if he knew I’d fall soon.

The cat shouted:

"Faster! Faster! Your energy is collapsing!"

But my lungs were on fire, and my legs trembled.

I stumbled.

Fell to my knees.

The hunter’s footsteps grew closer... and closer.

I looked up.

A rusted door. Chained shut.

I raised the sword and screamed:

"Open!"

I struck the lock.

CLANG!

It didn’t break.

Second strike.

The cat screamed:

"Behind you!"

I turned.

The hunter appeared.

His face was hidden by a black mask, only his eyes visible... gray, cold.

He held a short spear, its tip made for one thing—to kill.

He raised it.

Just as he lunged...

Third strike!

The chain snapped.

I pushed the door, entered, and slammed it behind me.

His spear pierced through the door... inches from my face.

A simple wooden panel... that’s all that separated us.

But he didn’t try to break through.

He whispered from behind the door:

"You won’t survive next time."

He vanished.

I collapsed on my back, gasping.

The cat jumped off my shoulder and looked me in the eye:

"Remember that face. Remember that feeling. Weakness won’t be forgiven again."

I stared at the cracked ceiling, breathing heavily.

But something inside me had changed.

If I don’t learn now... I’ll die the next time.

For a moment... I thought I survived.

Just one second.

Enough to hear the air tear.

Then... pain.

Pain beyond description.

The spear pierced the door... and me with it.

From back to chest.

Its tip emerged in front of me, dripping with my hot blood.

I screamed.

A scream that held fear, rage, and despair.

My knees gave out, my body froze, but my eyes stayed open.

Through the hole... I saw him.

A dark face... a frozen heart.

The hunter stood there. Calm. Not panting. Just staring.

As if he didn’t miss.

As if that’s exactly where he meant to strike.

Then he said in a low voice, each word hitting like a slap:

"This isn’t an injury... this is a signature."

He pulled the spear slowly... without mercy.

It exited as it had entered—leaving both inner and outer wounds.

I fell to the ground.

The cat screamed:

"Stay awake! Don’t close your eyes!!"

But I was drowning.

Heat... then cold.

Sounds... then silence.

The last thing I saw wasn’t the cat... or the tunnel.

It was that light.

A faint glow... coming from beneath the wall.

And behind it...

A third eye.

Watching me.

An eye... not human.

And a new voice. Deep. Broken. Neither the hunter’s nor the cat’s.

It said:

"The blood has touched you... now you belong to us."

Then—darkness.