Vortex Origins
Chapter 102: Falling embers

Chapter 102: Falling embers

The salamander stretched its arm forward.

Light bled from its palm, swelling into a molten orb—white-hot, unstable, screaming with power.

It laughed.

"Bye-bye, weak humans."

Max stood his ground, fists clenched. No more drones. No more backup. Just him, facing the impossible.

Ash hovered near Kael, who still lay slumped against the stone. Steam hissed off his skin as his healing dragged on, too slow.

Ash glanced at Max.

’If he fails to come up with a plan. we run.’

But no one moved.

The creature’s laughter echoed through the ruined streets. It poured into every crack and shattered window. Children clung to their mothers. Some people dropped to their knees, hands clasped, whispering to gods that no longer answered.

The orb above the salamander’s palm pulsed brighter.

Then—gone.

Snuffed out in an instant. Smoke replaced the light.

The creature staggered, clawed fingers pressing into its chest. It gasped—then growled.

Max narrowed his eyes.

What—

The salamander dropped a few feet, trembling midair. Its wings twisted violently, then melted back into its flesh. Its form began to swell. The lean frame bulked up. Its once-bright flame dulled to choking smoke.

It screamed.

"No! No, no—!"

The voice cracked. The words fell apart. Roars replaced speech as its throat tore with agony.

Then it fell.

A massive body slammed into the ground, dust and ash thrown skyward.

The light in its body faded.

When the smoke cleared, it was no longer divine. Just a hulking beast. Tier 6.

Its breathing was slow. Harsh. Unsteady.

The salamander’s head remained pressed to the earth.

It did not rise.

It knelt.

The creature raised its head—and roared.

The sound tore through the air like thunder cracking the sky. Bones rattled. Hearts skipped. A silence fell over the survivors, held in place by sheer terror.

Then its eyes ignited—deep red, burning with madness.

It struck.

A fist came down on a group of settlers before they could scream. Flesh broke. Bones shattered. Blood soaked the dirt. The salamander slammed its hand into a nearby building, crushing it. Rubble crashed down over a cluster of travelers still trying to flee.

Max’s voice cut through the chaos.

"Everyone, get back! It’s not thinking—it’s gone feral!"

His voice dipped.

"This... this is better."

From the debris, a sudden gust of cold wind burst out. Kevin shot forward, wings tattered, ice armor cracked across his body. He didn’t wait. Didn’t ask. Just acted.

He faced the creature, arm raised. A jagged pulse of frost surged from his palm.

An ice chain whipped out, trying to bind the beast.

Max shouted,

"You idiot! That won’t work!"

The frost touched the salamander—then vanished, turning to mist before it reached its skin. Steam hissed from the creature’s body.

Kevin growled and raised his other hand. A spear of blackened ice formed, dense and sharp. He lunged for the creature’s chest.

Too slow.

The salamander brought its fist down like a falling mountain.

It struck Kevin’s head. His body slammed into the earth, throwing up a cloud of dust and shattered stone.

He rolled, groaning—but alive.

The beast lifted its arm again.

Kevin barely had time to raise a dome of ice around himself. It froze mid-air, layered and thick.

But the salamander didn’t stop.

Fist.

Fist.

Fist.

It pounded the dome again and again. Cracks spiderwebbed across the surface. Steam curled from the creature’s arms as the ice resisted, just barely.

Kevin was still inside.

Waiting for it to break.

Alex moved. Fast.

A blade of compressed air sliced through the heat. It struck the salamander’s back with a sharp hiss—then vanished into steam. No reaction. No turn of the head. The beast only kept hammering its fists down, locked in its rage, blind to everything but the dome beneath its hands.

Kevin was still inside.

Alex didn’t stop. He sent another strike. Then another. Gusts slammed into the creature’s side, peeling dust and smoke off its molten skin, but doing nothing to slow it.

A roar sounded again—not from the creature, but from the dome.

It cracked.

Then shattered.

The final punch landed. Kevin’s body bounced against the ground with a sickening crunch. His armor caved. Wings folded unnaturally beneath him. The stone beneath broke apart, turning the dirt into a cratered pool of blood.

The salamander raised its fist again.

It didn’t come down.

A flash of fire struck its jaw, lifting it off the ground.

The creature crashed onto its back, limbs flailing, steam bursting around it.

Kael hovered above.

Flames wrapped around his body, not like armor—like wrath given shape. His skin was fire. His breath was smoke. Only his face remained human, the rest a blazing silhouette of something no longer bound by flesh.

The creature rose, growling deep. It reached out.

Kael vanished—reappearing under its chest. A fist drove into its gut with enough force to lift the beast slightly off the ground. Lava spilled from the creature’s mouth in thick gobs, hissing as it hit the stone.

Kael stepped back, crouched low.

Then moved.

He launched forward, trailing heat like a comet. His arms locked around the creature’s waist. The air screamed as both of them shot upward, past the rooftops, past the smoke, out of the sky.

And then—impact.

They slammed into the earth outside the settlement. Dust swallowed them whole. Stone cracked. Trees snapped. The shockwave rippled back through the settlement like a passing storm.

Kael was the first to rise, sliding across the dirt, boots digging trenches into the scorched ground.

He didn’t wait.

One more punch.

The salamander hit the earth, body jerking from the force.

Then it surged up with a snarl, swinging its fist wide.

Kael caught the blow with his shoulder. The ground shattered beneath him—but he didn’t fall. His flames burned hotter.

And the battle wasn’t over.

The creature charged again.

Its fist tore through the air, a blur of molten stone and fury. Kael ducked under it, flames trailing his shoulders as he pivoted to the side. The heat burned his face. The air itself felt heavy—thick with smoke, ash, and rage.

The salamander opened its mouth.

Lava poured out.

Kael leapt back, boots skidding across cracked earth. The lava sizzled where he’d stood a second ago, bubbling like a wound in the land. Before the beast could close its jaws again, Kael was already moving. He dove low, rolling under a swinging tail, then came up with a punch that landed under its ribs.

The creature barely flinched.

Its claws found his side—raking across him with brutal force. Kael staggered, blood leaking from beneath his scorched armor. His body screamed at him to stop, but he didn’t.

Couldn’t.

The beast slammed its weight forward, trying to crush him. Kael raised both arms, a wall of fire bursting upward to slow the charge. It wasn’t enough. The creature barreled through it and hit him full-force, sending him flying across the dirt.

He rolled to a stop, coughing up blood. His chest felt cracked, his legs trembling.

But his fire was still burning.

Kael stood.

The creature roared, steam venting from its skin like pressure from a furnace. It spat again, a jet of lava streaking through the air. Kael met it with fire—not a wall, but a focused stream, hot and narrow like a blade.

The two forces met. The lava hissed. Then turned black.

Kael ran straight through the cloud of ash.

One punch to the throat.

The creature stumbled.

Kael didn’t stop.

He jumped, planting a foot on the beast’s knee, then the shoulder, climbing with speed and fury. The creature grabbed for him—but he was already on its head.

Both fists came down.

Flames erupted from his arms, pouring into the beast’s skull.

The creature shrieked. Its body thrashed, lava pouring from its wounds, but Kael didn’t stop burning. His fire drilled through the head, cooking the insides, melting bone. The creature’s body jerked—then fell still.

Smoke curled from its eyes.

Kael slid down its back as it collapsed with a thunderous crash. The earth shook. The trees bent. Silence followed.

He stepped onto its back, standing tall.

His chest rose and fell, blood dripping down his side, ribs bruised, face burned.

But he was smiling.

Victory burned hotter than any wound.