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Chapter 5: The One Who Stayed Behind
My brother pulled me through the crowded streets toward what looked like a secure facility.
A soldier at the gate saw him and gave a respectful nod.
Without a word, my brother dragged me inside.
> "Stay here," he said. "Don't leave no matter what happens."
Then he left.
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Outside, I could hear him speaking calmly… too calmly.
> "Commander," the soldier asked, "what are your orders?"
> "It doesn't matter right now," my brother replied. "Protect the people inside. No one leaves. I'll go assess the situation."
> "Understood, Commander."
The soldier turned to me and pointed.
> "Get inside. Now."
I obeyed, stepping into a room packed with civilians — adults, children, elderly...
Voices overlapped.
Some cried.
Others prayed.
The chaos drilled into my skull.
I clenched my head, backed into a corner, and curled up…
waiting for him to return.
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Meanwhile—
> "Sir, it's coming this way."
> "What? That monster… what the hell does it want now?!"
My brother suited up.
Heavy armor. Advanced tech. Combat modules online.
> "Orders, sir?" another soldier asked, trembling.
> "We hold it off. But if it reaches this sector... assume I didn't make it."
The young soldier hesitated.
> "Commander… are you planning to die?"
> "Don't waste time. Go!"
The soldier ran.
My brother gritted his teeth.
> "Damn it… I'll stall it. As long as I can."
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In the distance, buildings collapsed.
Tentacles — enormous, unnatural — tore through the city.
And in the sky, floating above them…
A man.
No…
Not a man.
Something else.
But my brother's voice cracked—
> "...Father?"
His heart hesitated. His weapon lowered.
Just for a second.
But that second was enough.
A blast hit him hard — flung him down into the wreckage.
Smoke rose. The ground shook.
And then—
A deafening roar.
The monster… called something.
A tremor rippled across the world.
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Elsewhere, higher-ranking officers arrived.
> "Report! Where is the commander?!"
> "Sir… he stayed behind. To stall the creature."
> "He what?! Is he insane?!"
Suddenly—
The walls shuddered.
Tentacles retracted from the sky — glitching, twitching, vanishing into thin air.
And from the ruins…
A sound.
Not just a roar.
But a voice, twisted by pain and rage.
> "YOU... LEFT ME TO DIE."
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📍 To be continued...
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