Ash And Silence

His hand appeared first—large, black, and covered in scales as thick as steel, like a shard of night being pulled out from the earth itself. A low growl followed, like a mountain cracking from within, as the ground beneath me trembled. Cracks spread and widened, and his body—massive, heavy—slowly rose from the crater of destruction that had formed.

Two sharp horns jutted from his temples, curving backward like the scythes of an ancient demon. His eyes... glowed red. Deep, burning red, like embers from the pits of hell. But more than that—inside them burned rage, not just primal instinct, but hatred long buried.

~GGGRRRRGRRRRAAAAAHHHH!!!

That sound wasn't just a roar. It was an explosion. A shockwave. A boom that cracked the air like a hammer striking the sky. Buildings around me shook violently. Windows shattered in unison like a storm of glass. Car alarms, shop alarms, even hearing aids wailed out of control.

Smoke curled between dust and the piercing screams. Chaos erupted in all directions.

But me?

I just stood there—frozen. Unable to move. My body stiff, as if time had stopped. I stared at the Behemoth rising—not like a wild beast, but like an ancient god forcefully awakened from a long slumber.

He looked straight at me. His gaze locked onto mine like a blade piercing skin.

As if... he knew.

He knew I read his story last night.

"No... This isn't real... This is... just a dream, right?"

My own voice sounded foreign amidst the roar of a collapsing world.

Damn it... the book... it's still at home. On the table. Where I should've left it yesterday. "How could I... how could I be so stupid…!"

My legs gave out, but I forced myself to move. One step, then a sprint. My breath fractured. My chest felt crushed from the inside.

The city—empty. No one around. Everyone had evacuated. Everyone, except me.

"Don't look back... don't look back..."

BOOM!!

That sound—too close.

The ground behind me burst open. A tail—long, hard, and solid like living steel—smashed the side of a nearby building. Concrete cracked. Walls collapsed. Glass rained like bullets.

"AARGH!" I threw myself to the side, hands over my head. My body trembled.

"No... no... NO!!"

Dust rose and swallowed everything. I couldn't see, but the sound... it remained. Every step, every stomp of the Behemoth shook the earth like the heartbeat of death.

I turned—forced to.

Behemoth stood amidst the rubble. His breath heavy. Chest rising and falling like a storm. His shoulders as wide as a highway, armored like a stone soldier. His body like a walking mountain.

He turned. Searching.

Then—

DUUUUMMMM.

His head lowered. His face drew near. His breath—hot, moist, sharp, and stinking of burnt flesh. So close, it felt like it might pull my face off.

"Please... don't move... don't see me..."

I covered my mouth with both hands. Tears flowed. Cold sweat drenched my neck and chest. My body didn't move. My heartbeat—nearly stopped.

Behemoth sniffed.

Once. Twice.

Then—

~GGRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

His roar tore through the air—and my body. The sound struck my chest like a sledgehammer shattering bone. I fell to the ground, ears ringing, vision shaking.

"Sto... p..."

Suddenly, the sky cracked.

From the clouds, fighter jets shot down like silver arrows.

BOOM! BOOM! Two rockets struck the earth. Explosions burst. Light blinded everything. Fire engulfed the ruins.

"That's... help?! They're here?!"

But the Behemoth—unstoppable. One jet flew too low—and was swatted aside by its claw. Swatted like a toy. It exploded mid-air, its pieces falling... toward me.

I ran again. My breath gone. But I had to get home. I had to. That was all I could think of.

"Please... I need to go home...!"

The ground kept shaking. Buildings along the way crumbled one by one. Dust choked the air. But my house... it was in sight.

So close...

A voice from the sky, fast and frantic:

"Reporting in! Target heading west! Fire to the east! Repeat, fire to the east—!"

I'M DEAD.

"That's my direction, you idiot!"

~DUAAAAARRRRR!!!

An explosion dropped right in front of me. My body flung backward, slamming into a half-collapsed wall. Pain. Heat. Blood. The world shattered into fragments of metal and dust.

"Come on... just a little more..." I crawled. My hands and knees scraped raw. Blood dripped onto black asphalt. I dragged myself toward my collapsing home.

Up above—a jet spun out of control. Swatted by Behemoth's towering tail. The pilot screamed:

"Mayday! Mayda—NO—!"

BRAAAKKK!

The jet crashed. Directly. Into my house.

"NOOOOO!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!"

The book.

The evacuation tent was packed. Coughs, cries, screams, and medical machines mixed into one. The smell of antiseptic and smoke filled everything.

I sat silently in a corner, hugging my knees, wrapped in a thin blanket. The world still spun. The shock hadn't faded. My head throbbed, and though my body was safe... my mind wasn't.

Though I was found and evacuated hours later, my heart—wasn't saved. It was broken because of one thing.

My own carelessness.

Up front, the news screen played a live broadcast—shaky and full of distortion.

"An unknown giant monster that appeared in central Shionra this morning... is now spreading widely, moving with no clear direction."

"Severe damage confirmed. The regions of Zepharia, Ignisora, and Thalmera are now also in emergency status."

"Elemental wielders have appeared in their respective territories to contain the threat."

I slowly looked up.

"Elemental wielders...?"

The words slipped from my lips unconsciously. My body responded before my mind could catch up.

"They're real...?"

My hands trembled. In my mind, that sketch reappeared. Last night's drawing. A giant monster. A destroyed city. That bold title like a prophecy:

"THE AWAKENING OF BEHEMOTH SHAKES THE CITY."

My eyes burned. My throat tightened.

"I... should've believed..."

"What have I done...?"

Dominatus, Shionra's central government.

Cigarette smoke floated lazily in a dim room that barely breathed. The walls were cold, full of shadows. The glass table in the center reflected the red glow of emergency lights.

Four chairs. Four figures. They'd sat too long, too deep—ruling the world from behind the scenes.

One of them placed that morning's newspaper on the table. The headline was clear.

"THE AWAKENING OF BEHEMOTH SHAKES THE CITY."

He hissed, "What the hell is this...?" His voice was raspy and heavy.

The second figure chuckled softly, swirling a glass of aged wine no longer touched. "Ironic. We control everything—Elemental Wielders, the news, even regional borders. But now something appears... without our permission."

The third figure simply stared at the big screen on the room's side. Chaotic footage from Shionra still playing. Screams, explosions, and dust. "This wasn't part of the plan. No signal. No warning. And it happened... in the heart of the city."

The fourth, the quietest, finally spoke. His voice deep, like a sharp whisper.

"That creature... it's not from our time. It's older. Deeper than history. It came from a time before we had any control."

Silence. The words hung in the air. But they—the power holders—did not tremble.

They knew no fear. Only strategy.

"So?" muttered the first. "We just let our city be torn apart by a prehistoric beast?"

The third figure rose slowly. His shadow stretched along the wall like a monster of their own. "We'll prove it. Even ancient miracles... can be subdued."

None of them spoke again. But nods followed, one by one.

Finally, the figure in the main chair tapped the table three times.

Tok. Tok. Tok.

"Send him in."