It was ironic, in a way. The very people society called heroes—the ones they looked up to, the ones who were supposed to protect, defend, and fight for justice—were the ones who now avoided the first real test of their power. They were the ones turning their backs, fearing the unknown, and making excuses. And this time, there was no way around it: Ygros, the first of the Ten Apocalypses, was too powerful to ignore. Yet everyone did.
I could feel the weight of the situation pressing down harder with every passing moment. Evelyn and I had just arrived back in the base after hearing the news. I was still processing everything she had told me. But now, there was a stark realization that the fight I was about to step into wasn't going to be easy—not just because of the creature I was about to face, but because of the very people who were supposed to stand by my side.
When we started hearing reports, I was ready to get out there, to take action. I was Kai Skyline, the one who would stop this destruction. But as we gathered intel from other sources, the truth became clearer. Heroes—and not just the ones outside of the government—were hesitating. Everyone was too focused on their own agendas, too afraid to risk their lives for a threat that they couldn't fully understand. It wasn't about doing what was right anymore; it was about who could survive, who could gain the most, and who had the luxury of ignoring the crisis.
It all started when word spread about Ygros's attack on Chillán. At first, no one knew the magnitude of the situation. It was just a minor skirmish, a flash in the radar. But as more reports trickled in—towns flattened, people wiped out, and power grids disrupted—the alarms started ringing across the globe. And still, not a single hero stepped up.
Some were too busy with their personal growth.
I overheard a conversation between two prominent high tier heroes on a tv in the facility—the type that had been around for decades and could easily take on any A-tier threat. But when it came to Ygros, they were nowhere to be found. One of them, a hero named Maximus, renowned for his ability to control gravity, gave a response that stuck with me.
"You think I'm going to waste my energy on something like that? I'm already preparing for my next big fight. The Calypso Arc, the tournament of champions. That's where I'll gain real power. Not from some **'apocalypse' monster.'"
The other hero, a master swordsman named Bladeon, nodded in agreement, his gruff voice echoing in the silent room. "It's not even worth the risk. A creature like Ygros? Too unpredictable. If I go after it, I'll be putting my entire career at risk. What do I gain from that? Glory? Fame? Pfft."
Their words hit me like a slap to the face.
It wasn't just the A-tier heroes, either. The government had its own trained forces, including heroes who had joined the ranks out of loyalty to protect the nation. But even they were hesitant. Some whispered in the hallways of the base, their faces grave.
"You heard? Ygros is out there. They're sending teams into the battlefield, but no one can really gauge its full power. There's no way we can be prepared for something like that. It's an anomaly, one that doesn't even fit into the standard protocols. What if it can control the weather? What if it can disrupt our powers somehow? We need to know more before we make a move."
Others were openly afraid.
"Are we really supposed to fight that thing? I mean, we're not even sure if its powers are elemental or—god, what if it has some sort of telekinetic ability?" One hero mumbled in a meeting, shifting nervously in their seat. "If we mess up, it could end all of us."
Some heroes had their own reasons for not joining the battle, ones that could be classified as purely selfish.
"Ygros is just a damn freak of nature, don't you think?" A renowned A-tier hero, Seer, said during a private discussion with a team of heroes. "I've got bigger things on my plate. You think I'm going to go running into the mountains to face some mutated monster just for a couple of extra zeros on my paycheck? Nah, I'll leave it to the other guys. I'm going after bigger challenges, bigger rewards. Maybe one of those S-tier apocalyptic quests. Ygros is beneath me."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Seer was supposed to be a pioneer in his field. His powers of foresight were unmatched, yet he was willing to just let the entire world burn because of his ego. It disgusted me.
But in the end, it was the fear of the unknown that kept everyone away from Ygros. Heroes who normally thrived on taking down huge threats and testing their limits suddenly found themselves paralyzed by an unseen terror. What was it capable of? What was its true form? No one could tell, and no one was willing to risk their lives in battle just to find out. The simple fact was that even the government heroes, those who'd signed up to defend their countries, were staying away. The risk was too high.
As the days went on, I realized I wasn't alone in my thinking. I was the one willing to risk everything, to face the creature no one else had the guts to confront. But for some reason, that didn't bring me solace. If anything, it just made the weight of responsibility feel heavier.
And then, there was the question that still gnawed at the back of my mind:
Where did I fit into all of this?
I wasn't like the others. I didn't come from a prestigious family of heroes. I hadn't trained with the best or fought in the biggest leagues. I was Kai Skyline, a name no one knew. But if I was the one who had to step up, to challenge Ygros, was I really prepared for what came next?
I shook my head. I couldn't afford to second-guess myself now.
The others had turned their backs, and that just meant one thing: I was the only one who could stop Ygros. Whether or not anyone else joined me didn't matter.
I was going in.
But I didn't know if I was going to survive.