Nowhere to Run

The second Vivi kicked open the rusted metal door of the abandoned subway station, the smell of damp concrete and old magic hit her like a punch to the face. The air shimmered with residual energy, a sure sign that something—something big—had gone down here.

Callum stepped in behind her, his hulking form barely fitting through the doorway without brushing against the crumbling walls. His presence was a heat at her back, a constant reminder that she wasn't alone in this nightmare.

[SYSTEM ALERT: WARNING! HOSTILE ZONE DETECTED.]

Vivi barely resisted the urge to snarl. No kidding.

A single, flickering light buzzed overhead, casting eerie shadows across the floor. Blood—fresh, dark, and disturbingly human—pooled near the center of the room, seeping into the cracks of the old subway tiles.

Callum crouched beside the bloodstain, running his fingers over it. "Still warm."

[SYSTEM ALERT: BLOOD ANALYSIS IN PROGRESS...]

[...PROCESSING...]

[...STILL PROCESSING...]

Vivi clenched her fists. "Seriously? You have ONE job. Just spit it out."

[SYSTEM ERROR: TOO MUCH BLOOD. DATA OVERLOAD.]

Vivi dragged a hand down her face. "You're the worst."

Callum glanced up at her, one brow arched. "Talking to your imaginary friend again?"

[SYSTEM ALERT: CALLUM HAWTHORNE HAS TRIGGERED SYSTEM QUERY MODE.]

[QUERY MODE ACTIVATED: WHAT IS CALLUM HAWTHORNE THINKING?]

Vivi groaned. "Skip. Skip!"

[SYSTEM ALERT: SKIP FUNCTION NOT AVAILABLE.]

Callum was staring now. "You okay?"

Vivi exhaled sharply. "No, because my very special magical interface won't stop giving me unnecessary updates."

Callum didn't even blink. "That sounds like a personal problem."

Vivi ignored him and stepped closer to the blood. Something wasn't right. The dark pool stretched toward the wall in an unnatural way, like it had been pulled there instead of spilling naturally.

[SYSTEM ALERT: DETECTING DARK MAGIC SIGNATURE.]

"Now you decide to be useful?" Vivi muttered. She reached out, hovering her hand just above the blood. Instantly, a sharp, cold sensation shot up her arm, and a whisper—not a voice, but something more insidious—coiled around her thoughts.

Run.

"Oh, that's comforting," she muttered.

Callum stiffened beside her, his nose wrinkling. "Magic's still active. Someone's close."

[SYSTEM ALERT: THREAT LEVEL—MAXIMUM.]

[SYSTEM ALERT: RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE RETREAT.]

[SYSTEM ALERT: YOU ARE GOING TO DIE.]

"Oh my god, SHUT UP!" Vivi snapped at the system.

Callum's eyes widened slightly. "I mean, that's a bit harsh, but okay."

Before Vivi could explain (or further lose her patience), the shadows shifted.

Something moved in the farthest corner of the station, just beyond the reach of the failing light. A figure—a tall, gaunt shape draped in tattered robes—stepped forward, its face obscured by a hood.

Vivi's breath caught. "That's not possible."

[SYSTEM ALERT: ERROR. UNIDENTIFIED ENTITY DETECTED.]

[SYSTEM ALERT: DATABASE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THIS LIFE FORM.]

[SYSTEM ALERT: RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE—]

"Let me guess," Vivi snapped. "Retreat? Die? Just pick one and stick with it!"

The hooded figure lifted its head, revealing a mouth stretched into an unnatural, jagged grin. Its eyes—black voids rimmed with silver light—fixed on Vivi.

And then, it spoke.

"The Veil is already broken. You are too late."

A cold dread wrapped around Vivi's spine. Callum growled low in his throat, his claws extending.

[SYSTEM ALERT: BAD NEWS. REALLY BAD NEWS.]

[SYSTEM ALERT: IF YOU WANTED TO RUN, NOW WOULD BE A GREAT TIME.]

Vivi set her stance, magic already crackling at her fingertips. "No one asked you."

The figure lunged.

And the fight for their lives began.

Chapter 10: No Rest for the Doomed

Vivi barely had time to breathe before the system's notification bar blared across her vision like a neon warning sign at a disaster site.

[Urgent Alert!]

[Hostile Encounter Imminent!]

[Probability of Survival: 47%]

She groaned, rubbing her temples as the flashing text refused to disappear. "Oh, great. Love those odds."

Callum had already tensed beside her, his sharp gaze scanning the decrepit subway tunnel ahead. The stench of mildew and something metallic hung thick in the air. It was dark—too dark—but the faint flickering of blue glyphs along the tunnel walls told them everything they needed to know.

Magic was at work here.

"Do you feel that?" Callum muttered, his voice low, almost reverent.

Vivi swallowed hard, nodding. "Yeah. Like the air's humming."

[Congratulations! You've Identified a High-Level Magic Zone!]

[+5 Intelligence]

Vivi's eye twitched. "Really? Right now?"

Callum gave her a look. "What?"

"Nothing. Just my overly enthusiastic personal hell."

The tunnel stretched before them, an eerie expanse of crumbling tile and long-forgotten rail lines. Somewhere ahead, faint murmurs echoed against the stone. The Black Circle was close.

Too close.

[New Objective: Intercept the Black Circle Before They Relocate!]

[Time Limit: 10 Minutes]

Vivi sucked in a breath. "We need to move. Now."

Callum nodded, and they slipped forward, their steps careful but swift. The sigils lining the walls pulsed with a slow, rhythmic light, and with each step, the static charge in the air grew heavier. Vivi felt it in her bones—a deep, gnawing sensation, like something was pulling at the edges of her soul.

[WARNING: Prolonged Exposure to Unstable Magic May Cause…]

[List Too Long to Display]

Vivi smacked the notification aside. "I hate you."

Callum shot her a concerned glance. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Physically? Sure. Mentally? I want to fight God."

They crept around a bend, and the tunnel widened into a cavernous underground chamber. At the center stood a towering archway, carved from dark obsidian and wreathed in pulsing red energy. A group of hooded figures encircled it, their voices rising in a feverish chant. The Black Circle.

And at their feet—

Vivi's blood ran cold. The Veil. It was stretched across a stone altar, its silver threads glimmering under the flickering torchlight. The magic holding it in place vibrated with raw power, the air around it distorting like heat rising from pavement.

[New Discovery: The Veil of Worlds!]

[Legendary Artifact Identified!]

[System Analysis: 68% Complete…]

"Oh, don't you dare," Vivi hissed under her breath.

Callum's eyes darkened as he took in the scene. "We can't let them activate that thing."

"No kidding." Vivi tightened her grip on the dagger at her hip. "You take left, I'll take right?"

Callum nodded, and in unspoken agreement, they moved.

The moment Vivi stepped forward, however, the system let out a deafening chime that made her physically recoil.

[DANGER!]

[Elite Enemy Detected: High Priestess of the Black Circle!]

[Recommended Action: RUN.]

Vivi had half a second to register the warning before the chanting stopped. A pair of glowing crimson eyes snapped to hers from beneath a hooded cloak.

"Ah," the priestess purred, a cruel smile stretching across her lips. "You're just in time."

The archway behind her shuddered, and a thin crack of darkness split the air like a gash in reality itself.

Vivi's stomach dropped.

They were too late.