Beast of the apocalypse

"G..ve mm…ee."

Ark slowly backed away. 

"What the hell is this?"

It was then Ark realized that he could no longer feel the raindrops against his skin. He looked up to see a broken red moon coupled with a starless sky. 

They were no longer in Lorsine. 

'An apocalypse creature?'

After the judgement of the Archons, strange things had began to happen in their world. 

The apocalypse would descend randomly on a city, transforming the plain and bringing ruin to its inhabitants until all waves of beasts were cleared.

The entire Eastern continent was lost in this manner, a problem that was left to fester too long due to humanity's poor knowledge at the time.

One out of many losses…

There were two ways apocalypse creatures could enter into their world. 

One was when apocalypse descended, and the second was through a gate…

'He must have escaped through a gate and was never found.'

Ark's eyes were darting around the alley, looking for a potential weapon. 

'Anything, I need anything!'

He knew that conventional weapons were no match for the sturdy physiques of these beasts but it might just be the salvation he needed. 

No matter how much he looked there was nothing good in sight. Unlike in the slums where there was always one bottle or two, the finer parts of the city were kept clean. 

Since there was nothing good, he went for her next best thing. The metallic lid of the trash can.

Just as he ran towards it, the shadow creature ran after him as well, its movements were disturbing. 

Although it appeared to hover above the ground, there were sounds of splashing water as it flew over puddles on the floor. 

'Puddles? That means we might still be in Lorsine.'

Ark brought the metallic lid up and rammed it into the monster's chest. 

The lid caved, bending as it made contact with its body. The creature just stared at him, although it had no eyes Ark could tell that was exactly what it was doing. 

"…i..ve ..ee."

Ark pushed the trash can at it and sprinted into a run. There was no way he could beat that thing no matter how hard he tried. 

The alley twisted upon itself like a mirage, making Ark feel dizzy but he didn't stop his run. 

It was like an endless path, no matter how far he ran, nothing about the area changed. It was just running and running and—

Boom!

Ark suddenly bounced against a rock hard surface bouncing back with such a force that his head slammed violently against pavement. 

Throbbing pain filled him as his vision blurred but when he opened his eyes the beast was upon him. 

It placed a single hand on his chest and yet Ark could not pull it off. 

Then slowly moving its left hand towards his face with surgical precision, Ark finally realized what it was after. 

'My mark…'

"Get your hands off me—Ahhh!"

Intense pain seared through his body, almost making him convulse. It felt as though multiple sharp claws had plummeted deep into his heart and was now slowly ripping it out. 

The pain was so intense that he momentarily lost track of his surroundings. 

All he knew was that he could not let this happen. 

So he punched, he kicked, he pushed, he used his teeth, his nails, everything. 

But it was not enough. 

The pain getting worse by the second and Ark could feel it.

His mark was slowly getting ripped away. 

'Is this it? Is this how I end?'

The mark had given him the chance to finally live a good life, to make a change for once and yet…

Bitter tears rolled out of his eyes. 

'Yet I'm still a horrible failure!'

"Damn it!" 

He screamed all while the creature mumbled:

"..i..ve me."

Then he heard another voice. 

A figure waddled over to where the beast was crouched over Ark and lifted a half filled bottle into the air. 

"Get your F*cking hands off him!"

Crash!

A bottle of liquor was smashed over the nape of the shadow creature's neck. Strangely the creature staggered back, releasing its hold on Ark.

Finally free of the blinding pain Ark sprung to his feet, picking up a shard of broken glass and gripping it so tightly that his fingers bled. 

Then he noticed the environment was shifting. 

"What the hell happened?"

"Get the hell out of here you sissy!"

Standing next to him was none other than his father. 

His eyes widened in shock. 

'How did he get here?'

He had no time to ask though because his father shoved him forward. 

"I said get the f*ck out!"

He then lifted a lighter and tossed it right at the shadow creature. 

An unearthly scream emerged from the creature, a mouth tore through its face as its body was engulfed in flames. 

Ark was ready to fight but there were many things he did not know. How did his father find him and how is he taking on apocalypse beats as though it was the most normal thing in the world?

If he was to stay, he would only be a nuisance. The beast had handled him the way birds did insects…

He knew this and yet it was a hard decision to make. His father had not always been the drunken man he was today. 

There was actually a time where he was rather decent, a respectable man with a well paying job, who loved his son and wife. 

But things changed and became who he was today. 

Yet he had saved Ark. 

He was the only family he had left.

Before he could make a decision, the decision was made for him. His father shoved him so hard, with such unnatural strength that he tumbled across the floor. 

By the time he rose to his feet…

A single drop of rain fell on his head, followed by many others. 

He was back in the alley, his father along with the beast were gone.