Advent of Cataclysm.

"What does the earth falling apart mean, like literally breaking apart anf floating off into space?" Kai asked aloud, causing Andrew and Ava who were both aware he had a voice in his head by now to look at him shocked. 

"Kai!" Ava screamed when the ground beneath them started opening up as well. 

"Something of that scale would be unfortunate, but I doubt the earth would reject life itself, the apocalypse is only a correction by nature that the Red One has taken advantage of as the seals holding the gates of hell and heaven are weakened." 

"Shadow, I know you think this is useful information for me but none of this means shit to me right now, I need information that can help me survive and keep Ava safe, that's all." Kai replied, holding on to the mentioned girl and pulling her closer to himself while Andrew approached on his own. 

"You seem to know about everything happening around us, is there anywhere that the ground isn't falling apart?" Kai asked and then turned his attention to Andrew.

"I'll give you a boost, hurry up!"

"Go to the mountains, the highest peak you can find, hold on tightly to the woman you protect, and raise your hand to the sky." It answered, it was no riddle, but it wasn't much of a hint either. 

"Why am I gonna do that?" Kai rebutted, making a punting motion with his hands for Andrew and nodding as the teen came running at him. "It sounds stupid and useless like everything else you have told me!"

Kai huffed and flung his hands upwards, sending Andrew above the crack and over to the safe side of the sinking ground with a crash, and then waiting there with Ava on his back.

"It will work, you have refused to accept my power for a month, yet I still remain at your side, the least I deserve is a small bit of trust," The shadow spoke plainly, almost impatiently, having had conversations with Kai several times a day on various useful and useless topics. "Trust me, Kai Mora, this is the only way you survive what happens next." 

"The only way?" Kai paused mid-crouch, looking over his shoulder at Ava who had closed her eyes. "Seriously?" 

"Correct, if you are not on the highest peak, you will die, if you are not in that specific place that I have exhausted my power to divine, you will die, I want you to live, you are a pivotal part of this end, so you must survive at any cost, understood?" It responded, gone was the humour or the light tone it usually used; it was serious this time. 

"Hurry, time waits on no man." 

"R-right then," Kai dropped the rebellious act and took a deep breath, the people surrounding them were panicked, screaming and trying to climb themselves out while the earth around them sunk and the walls of the crack grew higher and higher, but amongst that crowd, he noticed one man that had paid attention to him; the young man who had arrived first with the tear in his shoulder.

"The man had paid attention specifically after Kai had launched andrew out of the crack with ease, even though the wall at that point was over fifteen feet high.

"Ava, hold on tight, we're going up." Kai glanced over his shoulder again and then took a running start, using another woman's head as a launching pad and leaping half the height of the wall, turning mid-air and landing feetfirst, bouncing from one side to the other when the soil and rock almost crumbled with him. 

"Come on!!" Andrew called from the top when he heard Ava scream. 

"Working on it!" Kai ground his teeth, running diagonally and slowly gaining more height until he was a foot away from the top again.

Spinning, he threw the girl off his back at Andrew and then rolled his way upwards, landing on his stomach and almost slipping back into the crack. 

"Here," Andrew slid towards him and grabbed his hands, pulling him free of the fall and flopping onto his back with Kai huffing next to him on his elbows. "What the fuck... is this all there is to living now?" 

"All of our food and supploes got buried when the buildings collapsed too," Ava held on to Kai's shoulder and tried helping him to his feet, but rather than accept her help he grabbed her hand and began walking. 

"Where are you going?" Andrew asked. 

"Shadow said to find the highest peak and wait there for some kind of miracle-" 

"Wait!!" The three heard a shout behind them. "Please, wait!!" 

Again, it was the man from below, the screaming had stopped after those that were not crushed were caught and killed by the demons that had been separated earlier, he might have been the only survivor. "How did he climb his way out?" Kai wondered aloud, thinking how he was only able to get that high thanks to his strength and agility being many times that of the average person. 

"Please!" The guy called again, holding on to the edge unable to climb any higher. "Please!" He called once more. 

"The tremors stopped, it's just a matter of time before those demons from earlier find a way to the top if they weren't killed by the collapsing debris," Andrew ran over to the man, extending his hand and taking his wrist. "Kai, help me." 

"Why should I? We need to get going," Kai retorted coldly. "I help you because despite all odds I think you're trustworthy, but I have no idea who that man is, I don't care for his life in the slightest. 

"The world is ending, Kai," Ava held on to his arm. "But does that mean your humanity has to die along with it?" She asked him. 

"We don't have time for this- Ava!" Kai snapped when she ran over to Andrew and started helping the man as well. 

"Thousands of people are dying every hour, I won't look away from someone right in front of me that I can save!" She ground her teeth, pulling with all her strength. 

With a thundering explosion, the cracks in the ground slammed shut sending blood, dirt and bits of people in the air when the tremors started again and the land started getting further unstable, Ava was on the ground heaving, Andrew next to her and the guy they had saved was on his stomach breathing heavily. 

Standing over the three of them was Kai, holding on to one of Ava's hands after he had dragged her from the crack inadvertently saving Andrew and the man in the process. 

"If you ever try something like that again, don't expect me to come saving you." Kai glared at Andrew, and then looked at Ava, pulling her to her feet. 

"I told you before; I am no hero, I don't give a shit about anyone but you, don't give me a reason to lose faith in you, Ava." He warned her sternly and then turned to the mountain. "That peak is about thirty minutes from the ground, and it really isn't much of an incline, let's get going." 

"Thank you!" The man flipped to his back staring at the skies. "Thank you!" He slapped Andrew's leg while he was getting up. 

"Don't, you heard what he said, I took an unnecessary risk and only survived because he bailed us out, I promise, I won't make the same decision twice, it's the end of the world; the only hero is a dead one, be on your way, stranger." Andrew adjusted his glasses, staring at the man in his peripheral and then running towards Kai and Ava, faltering when the ground suddenly shifted again, but keeping his pace to catch up.

"I'm Fritz!" The man easily caught up with Andrew after a few seconds. "Fritz Teufel, you are Andrew, right?" 

"What are you doing?" Andrew snapped. "I said be on your way, not my way!" 

"I'm following that guy," Fritz pointed at Kai." He threw you thirteen feet in the air, and then climbed a nearly vertical wall with a girl on his back, if anyone is a hero then he's it-" 

"Didn't you scale that same wall with a bad shoulder?" Andrew snapped. "I'd never be able to get off the ground, forget the wall itself!" 

"That guy from before is following us," Kai looked behind himself at Andrew, arguing with the man while the two of them ran side by side. "I knew he'd be troublesome as soon as I laid eyes on him," He scowled. "If this turns dangerous or damaging I'll kill him faster than he can think his name," He swore.

"Then you'll let him tag along?" Ava asked. "That's unlike you-" 

"People are weak, they tend to make decisions that get others killed to save their asses when push comes to shove, he at least had the skill to get out of the crack himself, if his shoulder wasn't injured he'd have needed no help, that man is abnormally strong, he may be of use."

Kai admitted to Fritz's usefulness, and then stopped at the edge of the forest, clutching Ava's hand when they heard a loud roar in the treeline and saw several large trees collapse before them. 

"Shadow-" 

"You must keep going, time is of the essence, there is only one chance."