The Silence Before the Storm Breaks

For a long moment…

there was nothing.

No sound.

No movement.

Only endless dust and smoke slowly drifting in the shattered city.

The explosion of gold and black light had covered the entire battlefield so completely that even the sky disappeared for a second. Every hero had been thrown back, every demon had been knocked down, and even Ajmal’s magical barriers had cracked like thin glass.

And now…

there was only silence.

A deep, painful silence.

As if the world itself was holding its breath.

Ayon, coughing from the dust, tried to stand.

Ayon:
“W-Where… where is Kemp…?”

Sumit lifted a chunk of broken stone off his legs and looked toward the center of the explosion.

Sumit:
“That blast was too big…! I couldn’t even see anything inside it!”

Alir, her bow broken in half, stared with wide eyes.

Alir:
“The light… it was so bright… I couldn’t see either…”

Serdihun 1 and Serdihun 2 held onto each other, trembling.
Jirsong forced himself to stand, electricity sparking around his damaged armor.

Jirsong:
“Ajmal! Did Kemp survive that?!”

Ajmal did not answer immediately.

He stood still, staring ahead.
His eyes glowed faintly as he used his magical sight to look into the smoke.

Then slowly…

very slowly…

Ajmal whispered.

Ajmal:
“…I can’t see clearly. But something… someone is still standing.”

Everyone turned toward him.

Ayon:
“KEMP?! Is that Kemp?!”

Ajmal shook his head.

Ajmal:
“I cannot tell yet. The aura is mixed… gold and black both.”

The heroes felt fear crawl into their hearts.

What if the Demon King stood victorious?

What if Kemp had fallen?

What if the world truly had no hero left?

The smoke began to clear.

Shapes started appearing.

The heroes held their breath.

A tall figure stepped out of the smoke.

But the light around it flickered—sometimes gold, sometimes black.

Sumit whispered in fear:

Sumit:
“Is that… the Demon King… or Kemp…?!”

Ayon took a step back.

Ayon:
“No… no way…”

The figure walked slowly, dragging something behind it.

Metal scraped against the broken ground.

The ground cracked under every step.

The air shook.

Serdihun 2 hid behind Serdihun 1.

Serdihun 2:
“What… what is that aura…?”

Ajmal lifted his staff, preparing a spell.

Ajmal:
“Be ready for anything. This presence… it’s unstable.”

Jirsong narrowed his eyes.

Jirsong:
“It can’t be… Don’t tell me—”

The smoke thinned even more…

And the figure became clear.

Everyone gasped.

It was Hero Kemp.

But something was terribly wrong.

Kemp’s armor was shattered in many places.

His wings of golden light were cracked.

His spear was glowing—
but now half of it was covered in black lightning.

A strange mixture of gold and darkness swirled around him.

Ayon stumbled back.

Ayon:
“W–What is happening to him?!”

Sumit’s eyes widened.

Sumit:
“He’s… glowing black too! That’s not normal!”

Alir’s voice shook.

Alir:
“Did the Demon King corrupt him…?”

Ajmal stepped forward slowly, keeping his staff raised.

Ajmal:
“Not corrupted… not fully. But the energies from the last clash must have merged inside his body.
Kemp is holding both light and darkness at the same time.”

Serdihun 1 gasped.

Serdihun 1:
“That’s impossible… no human can handle that!”

Ajmal nodded.

Ajmal:
“Exactly. That power could tear his soul apart.”

Inside the armor, Buddhist was barely conscious.

His vision was blurry.

He couldn’t feel his hands.

He couldn’t move his legs properly.

Buddhist (thinking weakly):
“The… darkness entered me during the blast…
But I can’t let it take over…
Not now…”

He tried to raise the spear.

His arm trembled violently.

Gold flickered.

Black flickered.

Both fighting inside him.

Kemp took another step—
and the ground around him cracked again.

A shadowy voice suddenly echoed behind him.

A voice filled with rage and pain.

From the smoke behind Kemp, another aura rose.

Much darker.

Much colder.

Much angrier.

Ayon’s eyes went wide.

Ayon:
“HE’S STILL ALIVE?!”

The Demon King emerged, heavily injured but still terrifying.

His giant sword was cracked.

Half of his body was burned with golden light marks.

But his eyes burned brighter with fury.

Demon King:
“HERO KEMP…
YOU ABSORBED MY DARKNESS…
AND YOU STILL LIVE?”

He spat blood but still stood tall.

Demon King:
“I WILL FINISH YOU… EVEN IF IT COSTS ME EVERYTHING!”

The heroes stepped back.

Even the demons looked scared now.

Because the Demon King’s power was unstable too.

Like a volcano about to burst.

The Demon King pointed his cracked sword forward.

Kemp pointed his trembling spear toward him.

Both of them were exhausted.

Both of them were unstable.

Both of them were filled with light and darkness.

Ajmal realized the danger.

Ajmal:
“This is bad… If they clash again now—
it will destroy the entire city!”

Sumit shouted:

Sumit:
“Kemp! Stop! You’re not stable!”

Ayon yelled:

Ayon:
“Wait! At least rest for a minute!!”

Jirsong roared:

Jirsong:
“KEMP! YOU’LL DIE IF YOU MOVE AGAIN!”

But Kemp did not stop.

He stepped forward.

One slow, painful step after another.

Inside the armor, Buddhist whispered:

Buddhist:
“If I stop… he will kill everyone…”

The Demon King growled and took a step too.

Demon King:
“COME THEN, HERO…
LET US DIE TOGETHER!!!”

Both powers rose higher.

Gold swirling.

Black exploding.

The ground shook.

The sky darkened.

Ajmal realized something important.

His eyes widened.

Ajmal:
“This… this is not a fight anymore.
This is a countdown to destruction.”

The heroes looked at him in fear.

Serdihun 2:
“What do we do?! We can’t let them clash again!”

Ajmal’s face tightened.

Ajmal:
“We must stop one of them.
Or we all die.”

The heroes stared at Kemp.

Their friend.

Their leader.

Their hope.

Sumit clenched his fists.

Sumit:
“We can’t hurt Kemp… but we can’t let him destroy himself either…”

Ayon whispered:

Ayon:
“If only we could reach Buddhist inside… if only we could break the darkness…”

Ajmal suddenly raised his staff.

Ajmal:
“I have a plan.
But it is dangerous.”

Jirsong growled.

Jirsong:
“Everything is already dangerous! Just say it!”

Ajmal breathed in.

Ajmal:
“We must enter Kemp’s aura.
And help Buddhist from inside the light.
Only he can stop Kemp’s body from collapsing.”

Ayon’s eyes widened.

Ayon:
“You mean… we go near him?! But that aura can kill us!!”

Ajmal nodded.

Ajmal:
“Yes. But if we don’t…
Kemp and the Demon King will destroy everything.”

Sumit stepped forward without hesitation.

Sumit:
“Then I’m going. I trust Kemp.”

Ayon followed.

Ayon:
“Count me in. We’re friends. We finish this together.”

Jirsong smirked, lightning sparking.

Jirsong:
“Let’s go before the world ends.”

Alir lowered her broken bow.

Alir:
“Kemp needs us… Buddhist needs us. I’m coming too.”

Serdihun sisters held hands.

Serdihun 1:
“We… we will support with healing!”

Serdihun 2 nodded, scared but brave.

Together…

all the heroes ran straight toward the unstable aura of light and darkness.

Straight toward Kemp.

Straight toward destruction.

Straight toward hope.

The Demon King roared.

Demon King:
“FOOLS! NONE OF YOU CAN STOP THIS FATE!”

But the heroes did not stop.

The final moment was coming.