The glass hadn't even finished hitting the floor when Dreyl moved.
Shards hung mid-air, suspended like frozen rain. The apartment lights flickered violently, casting warped shadows across the walls. In the center of it all, something emerged from the broken window.
Short. Lean. Barefoot.
His body shimmered with black serpent-scale patterns, curling up his arms and neck like cursed tattoos. Wild blood-red hair shot in every direction, jagged like fangs. His eyes—bright venom-green, slitted like a reptile's—glowed in the dark.
He didn't blink.
He just watched.
Dreyl took a slow step backward, the Fatebreaker dice glowing red-hot in his palm.
"You're fast," the figure said, his voice smooth and slow, like poison. "Faster than I expected."
A forked tongue flicked out, tasting the air.
"But not fast enough."
Dreyl said nothing. He simply let the die fall.
Clack.
It landed. The glow surged.
6: SURVIVE.
Dreyl's fingers twitched. His muscles locked in place.
The figure's waist-length whip unraveled, coming alive with a hiss. It slithered like a serpent, hunger radiating from its every coil.
"I'm Viper," the stranger said, stepping into the dim light. "Half-demon. Half-snake. Trained in the pits of Naraka. Sent to hunt the Devil's son."
He smiled.
All fangs.
"And now that I've found you... let's see if you're worth the bounty."
The whip cracked forward like lightning.
Dreyl launched himself sideways, springing up to the wall in a blur. His sneakers gripped the plaster like claws.
"Heh," he muttered, crouched sideways like a fly. "Minus the wings."
Without warning, he kicked off the wall and dove straight down. His boot collided with the back of Viper's head. The serpent-boy hit the floor—but was laughing even before he landed.
"Do you seriously think... that's gonna work?!"
Viper rolled to his feet, grinning like a madman.
Dreyl clenched his fists. "Bring it, snakey."
Viper charged.
The apartment exploded into chaos. Blades of air and aura ripped through the walls. Dreyl ducked, weaved, countered. Every strike Viper threw was venomous—sharp and precise—but Dreyl moved like fire and shadow.
Red energy crackled down Dreyl's right arm.
"What the—?" Viper blinked.
Too late.
Dreyl's glowing fist sank into his gut.
Viper spat blood and flew backward, crashing straight through the window he'd entered from.
Dreyl walked to the ledge and leaned out casually. "Not so neat now, eh?"
From the street below, Viper growled. His body shifted. Muscles coiled tighter. Scales thickened. His teeth grew longer, sharper.
He wasn't laughing now.
He was transforming.
The full Viper form.
Tall, monstrous, with a tail that lashed behind him and eyes burning bright.
"This ain't over," Viper hissed, voice twisted. "Come on, devil-boy. Come get some."
Dreyl grinned—and jumped.
He plummeted from the window like a comet, foot extended in a flying kick aimed straight at Viper's jaw.
But Viper dodged.
In one fluid motion, he twisted and grabbed Dreyl by the throat mid-air. His grip locked tight, lifting Dreyl off the ground.
"Looks like the Devil's own son isn't all he seems," he sneered.
Dreyl's vision blurred. His limbs thrashed, but the grip was vice-like.
"Sh...it... too... h-hard..."
His lungs screamed.
Then—Fatebreaker pulsed.
The die hadn't rolled again, but its glow erupted. A spark ignited in Dreyl's chest. Something old. Something angry.
1: REWRITE THE OUTCOME.
A wave of red-black energy exploded from him.
BOOM.
Viper flew backward, slamming into a lamppost hard enough to crack it.
Dreyl dropped to his knees, coughing violently. His vision flickered. Horns shimmered faintly from his skull. His eye blazed.
Something inside him had awakened.
"You want a devil?" he growled, rising.
"I'll give you one."
Viper staggered upright, blood dripping from his lip.
"There it is," he said, voice breathless. "I was waiting for that."
He whipped forward again.
But this time, Dreyl didn't dodge.
He caught the living whip mid-strike. It wrapped around his arm, hissing—
—but didn't move him an inch.
"Not this time."
Dreyl yanked hard, dragging Viper forward—and drove his fist into his chest again.
CRACK.
Viper hit the pavement with a wheeze.
But Dreyl didn't finish him.
He stood tall, aura crackling, fist still raised.
"I'm not like my father," he said coldly. "I don't kill just because I can."
Viper blinked up at him.
Then—he laughed.
"Guess the rumors were wrong."
He sat up, breath still short.
"You've got guts, devil-boy. I like that."
He unclasped the whip from his waist. The living weapon hissed once… then went limp.
Viper extended a hand.
Dreyl hesitated.
Then accepted it.
"Name's Viper."
"Dreyl."
Viper grinned, flashing his fangs. "I was sent to kill you. But now... I think I'll stick around. Just to see what kind of devil you become."
As they walked side by side under the flickering streetlamp, shadows stretching behind them—
The Fatebreaker pulsed once in Dreyl's pocket.
You made the right choice.