The Divine Twins

“Come out, come out now....." Stefin whispered softly. "I don’t have all day.” he walked carefully amd also with a sharp instinct. A few moments later something forced its way through a dimensional crack into the human world. Its face was unlike anything human, as it stretched downward. it's mouth split wide in a silent scream, as black residue dripped from its claws fingers. A low, roar escaped its throat. But it wasn't clear.

Then a small portal opened close to Stefin right hand and through it a small dagger handle emerged from inside slowly. Without hesitation Stefin grabbed it and moved first closing the distance in a blink of an eye, his blade flashing upward in a clean arc aimed for the creature's chest. But it shrieked and recoiled, its body twisting with unnatural flexibility. Claws raked the air where Stefin head was.

But Stefin pivoted just in time to dodge, his boots scraping the concrete floor. Then without hesitation he adjusted his grip on his dagger and prepared himself for a counter attack once he gained his footing. He drove his elbow into what seems to be the creature's ribcage without wasting time.

The impact cracked something brittle and sent it flying slamming into a wall, leaving behind a dark smear that pulsed like a living wound. Without hesitation it lunged again and this time it was faster than he was before. Stefin felt the strike before he saw it, pain exploding across his side as claws tore through the fabric of this cloth and skin. He felt a warm pain at the side of his ribs. But that didn’t slow him. Pain was something he was familiar with. Pain like that was manageable for him. He caught the creature’s wrist mid-swing and twisted hard. Bone snapped. The creature howled, the sound jagged and wrong, vibrating through the empty street. “Stay down,” Stefin growled.

THREE HOURS BEFORE THE FIGHT.

The closing bell of James High School just rang, and without hesitation the students within the school block immediately began exiting without wasting time. Laughter and chatter filled the hallway as groups headed toward the school entrance.

Stefin, a student of James High, already stood at the entrance of the school, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon as though there was something there the naked eye couldn’t see. Something only he could. He stood there for over a minute while other students walked past him, heading straight for their destined homes. Stefin, on the other hand, didn’t move. Suddenly, a soft tap struck him from behind, almost knocking his bag off his back.

“Hey, man, what are you staring at?” a young boy’s voice said. Stefin snapped out of his thoughts and turned around, only to see his close friend, Bob, someone he had known since his very first day at James High School. Bob was about the same age as Stefin, but the two couldn’t have looked more different.

Stefin had a hazel rare eye color, with crimson pupils that matched the red shade of his hair. His athletic build was the result of suffering and relentless training. Bob, in contrast, looked like any ordinary kid, dark hair, black pupils, and a calm appearance that made it obvious he wasn’t the type to seek trouble. “Ouch… you know that hurts, right?” Stefin groaned, rubbing his left shoulder with his right hand as if in pain.

Bob chuckled mockingly, crouching slightly with both hands resting on his knees. “You and I both know that wouldn’t even make you flinch,” he said. “What are you, five years old or something?” Stefin scoffed, and the two burst into laughter for a moment.

“Both of you are impossible,” a third voice cut in. They turned to see Jerry, the last member of their little crew, walking toward them with his bag slung over one shoulder. He adjusted his glasses and sighed. “I swear, if people didn’t know you, they’d think you were plotting something dangerous again.”

Stefin smirked faintly, his eyes drifting back toward the horizon. “Maybe I am.”

Bob raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Then whatever it is, it better wait. I’m starving.”

Jerry nodded. “And I don’t feel like getting dragged into trouble after school.”

Stefin finally turned away from the horizon and faced them, his expression unreadable. “Relax,” he said. “Let’s go home.” But even as they walked away together, the strange feeling in Stefin’s chest refused to fade, as if something was coming, and it was only a matter of time.

As they headed home, Stefin suddenly felt a strange sensation coming from the same direction he had been staring at earlier. "This sensation…?" he muttered inwardly, gritting his teeth. "It’s definitely a fractured zone." The feeling was so intense that he didn’t even realize he had stopped walking. By the time he noticed, his two friends were already several steps ahead of him.

Bob was the first to sense something was wrong. He stopped and turned around. “Hey… what’s wrong?” he asked, his voice filled with curiosity.

Jerry, just noticing as well, turned back and followed Bob’s gaze. When Stefin didn’t respond,

Jerry walked closer and snapped his fingers in front of his face. “Yo, did you forget something or what?”

“Huh?” Stefin gasped, snapping back to reality. He blinked a few times, his eyes finally focusing. “Did you say something?”

Bob frowned slightly and walked closer. “Dude, you just froze back there. You okay?”

Stefin straightened his posture, forcing a casual smile. “Yeah… I’m fine. Just remembered I forgot something in class… my book,” he stuttered, gesturing vaguely toward the school compound they had left a while ago.

Jerry folded his arms, clearly unconvinced. “You sure? You’ve been acting weird since school ended.”

Stefin glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes briefly locking onto the distant horizon before he turned away. “It’s nothing,” he said calmly. “You guys keep going; I’ll catch up once I get the book.”

“Why don’t we just go with you to find it?” Bob suggested, stepping closer to him.

“There’s no need for that,” Stefin said immediately, his tone firm.

Before they could even protest further, he pivoted sharply and started running toward the school. His two friends stood frozen for a moment, watching him fade into the distance. They assumed he was genuinely heading back for his book, but in truth, Stefin had no intention of returning to the classroom.

As he ran, his senses sharpened, and the strange energy he had felt earlier grew stronger. His heartbeat quickened. "I'm sure it's a fractured zone," he thought grimly. He slowed his pacing slightly as he turned to a hidden alley near the school boundary, crouching behind a low wall. From this vantage point, he could see the faint shimmer of something unnatural lingering in the distance, almost like a crack in two dimensions and looking at it he knew it was the source of the sensation that had stopped him earlier. That crack is a doorway into the Blight Realm and it is called the fractured zone.

Stefin walked closer and without hesitation he jumped through the pulsing crack in the air. The edges shimmered with black smoke and light, pressing against him like water. One step in, and the world turned hollow and wrong. A low, almost imperceptible growl echoed from all directions and no direction at the same time, which sent a chill down his spine.

Stefin’s crimson pupils narrowed. "This is it… time to see what I would be going up against this time." He muttered then took a deep breath, his hands curling into a fists, as he went further into the blighted realm.

The creatures are called blighted. A monster created from dark magic and some were once human but once their hatred for something or someone grows stronger than anything, dark magic consumes those hatred and turns them into these monsters. And once that happens they would have no memory of their past lives and all they now know is to kill and destroy.

Meanwhile some of them still retain their memories and are also able to communicate. These are known as normal blighted and are much stronger than the normal ones. It was a heavy, cloying smell, like damp earth mixed with rusted iron, clinging to the air as he stepped deeper into the abandoned district.