GODGAME

The Monster, Za

Cold sweat rolled down Ren's face as he instinctively backed away.

"What are you? Who are you? How did you get into my house?!"

His voice trembled, his pupils dilating in sheer panic. Every biological instinct screamed that what he was looking at defied the laws of nature.

"Oh, my!" the insectoid figure said, politely tapping a slender finger against its arm. "Where are my manners? Forgive me. Allow me to introduce myself."

The beetle-man tilted its head, clusters of compound eyes locked into a bone rattling stare, "My name is Za. Good evening, Ren."

Ren felt his throat go completely dry. He didn't want to believe his own ears. The thing was talking...It knew him.

"How do you know my name?" Ren demanded, his mind desperately calculating a route of escape.

"That is a good question that I cannot answer right now," Za replied.

Its eyes narrowed into a scrutinizing glare. "As for what I am...," it took a deep breath seemingly knowing what it would say next would cause a bit of a confusion, "I am a Beast from the Monsterverse."

Ren shook his head wildly. "What the hell are you talking about? Monsterverse?"

"Oh..." Za tilted its head sharply, like a scientist examining a strange mutation in a test tube that was unplanned for. "You truly know nothing of the reality right in front of your face? Humans are so remarkably blind to the obvious. But for someone like you, Ren, to follow their blinded path... I am rather disappointed."

"Disappointed? Who the hell are you to judge me?!" Ren spat out.

Despite his bravado, his legs were violently shaking.

There was something profoundly wrong with the aura emitting from this creature. It felt like staring directly into the mouth of the abyss.

No, not just that.

There was a name, a term, that could be attached to it, and that's;

Bloodlust.

If there was a single word to describe the suffocating pressure flooding the room, that was it.

Za pointed a razor-sharp, slender finger directly at Ren’s chest. "I wouldn't even know you existed if I hadn't been drawn here by your essence."

Za’s compound eyes narrowed even further. "An essence like yours cannot be allowed to wander freely. The Recruiters would absolutely love to get their sticky hands on you..."

Ren felt like he was losing his mind. He aggressively ran a hand through his wavy black hair. "Essence? What essence?! What are you trying to say?"

Za turned its head back toward the dining table, looking at the family portrait. "Your mother really did you no favors by keeping you in the dark. Feeding you a lie, hoping the boy would never discover who he truly is... how tragically sad."

"Tch!" Rage flared through Ren's terror. "Don't you dare talk about my mother!"

"My apologies," Za said, though the tone remained entirely detached. "I did not realize humans possessed such fierce protective instincts for their parents. Truly fascinating."

Ren ground his teeth. 'What is this thing?' he thought, 'What does it want from me?'

Za tapped the glass of the picture frame. "Who is this man standing beside her?"

"Huh?" Ren slightly lowered his hands, but his stance remained guarded. "That's my father. Why do you care about a—"

"Your father?" Za stared at the portrait, then at Ren, then back to the photo. "This is who you call a father? This puny, sickening, primitive..."

Ren's eyes twitched. Was this creature trying to ragebait him?.

Za took a sharp, rattling breath. "Forgive my outburst," he murmured smoothly. "Allow me to correct it."

Shatter!

With a casual flick of his claw, the glass of the portrait exploded.

Using the tip of a razor-sharp fingernail, Za cleanly sliced Ren's father out of the photograph, ripping the paper in half.

"STOP THAT!" Ren yelled.

He lunged forward, throwing a desperate, heavy fist to push Za away, so he can seize the portrait. But his hand met nothing but empty air.

What?! Ren’s eyes widened as he stumbled forward into a vacant space.

"You are far too emotional," Za’s smooth voice whispered directly behind his ear.

A violent shiver ran down Ren's spine. The freezing breath of death was pressing against the back of his neck.

How? He was standing right in front of me a second ago! How did he move? When did he move? I didn't see a single streak of light.

Za casually crumpled the torn fragment of Ren's father, tossing it aside like garbage. He carefully adjusted the remaining photo of Ren and his mother. "There. Much better."

Pure, unadulterated fury burned within Ren's chest. This monster had invaded his home, mocked his life, and destroyed the only piece of history he had left of his dad.

"That was my FATHER!" Ren screamed, turning on his heel.

"Hush now, Ren," Za said, folding his arms elegantly. "That creature was not your father. And please do not shout. It is unbecoming."

"You son of a—" Ren’s fists clutched so tightly his split knuckles turned white, fresh blood seeping from the cracks. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

Za tilted his head one final time. "Your mother really ruined you by hiding your heritage."

Ren felt the heat in his chest swelling to a boiling point. He needed answers. Everything was moving too fast. "Heritage? What heritage?!"

A horrific, clicking sound escaped Za. It was an attempt at a laugh, but it sent a wave of absolute dread straight down Ren's spine.

"I am not the one designated to explain your birthright to you, Ren. We have spent far too much time conversing as it is. Let us skip to the core reason for my visit." Za pointed his finger back at Ren's chest.

Ren held his breath, waiting for the monster to speak.

When the words came out, they were delivered in a flat, monotone whisper completely severed from reality.

"I am here to kill you, Ren."

"Kill me—?"

Before his brain could even process the syllables, the world exploded.

"CRASH PUNCH!" Za whispered loud enough.

A fist connected with Ren’s stomach.

The sheer, monumental force of the impact instantly collapsed his stance.

Ren violently sprayed a mist of blood as his body tore through the dining room air, smashing clean through the drywall of his house.

BOOM!

The resulting shockwave rattled the entire structure. Furniture shattered into splinters, and the windows blew outward in a shower of glass rain.

Ren slammed brutally against the far brick wall of his bedroom. Blood poured from his mouth as he collapsed onto the floor, violently coughing up while his vision spun in dizzying circles

Grunting in agony, he grabbed the edge of a shattered nightstand, trying to force his trembling body to stand.

A seizing, paralyzing pain ripped through his gut. He doubled over, clutching his stomach.

The moment he managed to force his head up, his heart stopped.

Za was already standing right in front of him.

"You're still breathing? How exceptionally human."

A second punch whistled through the air.

But Ren was done being thrown around like a ragdoll.

Fueled by a massive spike of survival adrenaline, he ignored the agony and threw his own right counter-punch, aiming straight for the beast's incoming fist.

Fist met fist.

CRACK!

The collision didn't just stop Ren's momentum—the terrifying feedback of force tore through his knuckles, snapping his fingers backward.

A strangled, agonizing gasp escaped Ren’s lips.

The shockwave didn't stop at his fingers.

It traveled up his forearm, completely shattering the bones in his hand and wrist.

His left arm instantly went limp, hanging uselessly at his side like a broken branch.

Before the scream could even leave his throat, Za's second strike caught him squarely in the ribs.

CRUNCH!

Ren was launched clean through the outer wall, flying out of the house.

He landed heavily in the dirt lot behind his home, rolling to a violent halt.

He couldn't move... couldn't breathe.

He could feel the jagged, splintered edges of his broken ribs piercing deep into his internal organs.

'... What the hell is this thing?' Ren thought, violently vomiting blood into the dirt.

All his life, he had been the apex predator. He was the fighter who broke seniors. He was the one who always won. But right now, staring helplessly into the dark sky, Ren finally understood the true, terrifying definition of weakness.

A blinding headache set through his skull as blood pooled rapidly inside his chest.

Za walked out of the ruined gap in the house, stopping a few feet away.

He tilted his armored head down at the broken teenager. "You are in quite a terrible shape, aren't you, Ren...?"

Ren parted his lips, but the only thing that escaped was a wet, wheezing cough of blood.

"Oh, dear," Za murmured, checking a sleek metallic collar around his neck. "Well, you are effectively dead anyway."

Za pressed a small button on the device. Slowly, his stick-thin body began to dematerialize into light particles, his glowing compound eyes fixed on Ren until the very last second.

Then, he vanished.

Left alone in the dirt, Ren let out another ragged, desperate cough.

He couldn't speak, no words would form on his lips. The only thing left alive inside him was the chaos of his thoughts.

'Death? Is this really how I die? In the dirt behind my house? I didn't get to say goodbye to anyone... I didn't tell Mac... I didn't tell Mom...'

Tears of bitter frustration mixed with the blood on his cheeks.

A self-deprecating laugh rumbled up in his chest.

'... Heavens, life really is just a cruel joke. In the end, it’s just death. No matter how hard you fight for something. I should have just stayed and hung out with Mac today... I could have played that video game with him... I didn't even get to see my Mom wake up... Oh, what a life. I didn't get to hear a single explanation about what that monster said. My heritage... what did he mean?'

With a final, desperate surge of will, he tried to raise his one useful hand toward the dark sky.

It dropped instantly back into the dirt, completely lifeless.

'There are still so many things I haven't done. I can't die yet... It won't be fair..'

He closed his eyes, letting the heavy darkness take him.

But the absolute second his consciousness began to slip away, a sharp, mechanical chime echoed directly inside his skull.

Sounding like a loud notification.

DING!

Ren’s eyes snapped open.

Floating in the dark, a translucent screen flashed on right in front of his fading vision.

[Welcome, Warrior!]

[You have successfully unlocked: The Supreme Boxing System.]

[Initializing fusion process...]

'What... what exactly is this?' Ren’s dying mind reeled. 'What's going on...'

Before he could process the glowing text, a sudden, violent screech echoed through the quiet night air.

A car had just slammed its brakes to a halt right outside the lot.

Through his blurry, blood-tinted vision, Ren could just barely make out the figure of a man throwing a car door open and sprinting toward him with urgent steps.