The city was dying.
Smoke drifted between the buildings like dark fog.
Car alarms blared endlessly.
Somewhere in the distance, glass shattered, followed by a scream that ended almost as quickly as it began.
Liam tightened his grip on the fire axe.
Only a few hours had passed since the sky broke.
Yet the world already felt centuries away from the one he knew.
The four of them moved carefully down the abandoned street.
Nobody spoke.
Their footsteps echoed against empty storefronts.
Every intersection made Liam's shoulders tense.
Every parked car looked like a place something could be hiding.
Ben finally whispered,
"...It's too quiet."
As if the city had been waiting for someone to say those words...
A voice rang out from above.
"Hey!"
Everyone froze.
"Down here!"
Liam looked up.
A young man stood on the roof of a three-story supermarket.
He waved both arms wildly.
"Don't stay in the open!"
"There are monsters nearby!"
Noah instinctively raised his sword.
"Who are you?"
"We're survivors!"
The young man pointed toward the building.
"Come inside! Hurry!"
Liam's eyes narrowed.
Too convenient.
Emma noticed his expression.
"You don't trust him."
"I don't trust anyone."
The young man seemed to understand their hesitation.
"We've got food."
He pointed toward several people watching from the rooftop.
"We've been rescuing anyone we can find."
Ben looked hopeful.
"Maybe..."
Liam remained silent.
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Then...
A distant howl echoed through the streets.
The Shadow Hounds.
Closer than before.
Emma made the decision.
"We don't have many choices."
Liam reluctantly nodded.
"Let's go."
The supermarket's front entrance had been barricaded with shelves, shopping carts, and steel racks.
Someone inside slid a heavy cabinet aside just enough for them to squeeze through.
The moment Liam entered...
The cabinet slammed shut again.
The store smelled of canned food, sweat, and fear.
Nearly forty people were inside.
Families.
University students.
Office workers.
An elderly couple sat quietly in one corner.
A little girl hugged a stuffed rabbit so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
Everyone looked exhausted.
Everyone looked afraid.
But they were alive.
For the first time since the apocalypse began...
Liam felt something he hadn't expected.
Hope.
"Welcome."
A man in his early forties stepped forward.
He wore a security uniform stained with dried blood.
"My name's Marcus."
"I used to work at the shopping center next door."
He offered Liam a handshake.
Liam hesitated...
Then accepted it.
Marcus smiled.
"We've been gathering survivors for the last couple of hours."
"We've blocked every entrance."
"So far..."
He glanced toward the ceiling.
"...It's holding."
Emma let out a relieved sigh.
Ben nearly collapsed into the nearest chair.
Noah finally lowered his sword.
For a brief moment...
They could breathe.
Marcus gathered the newcomers around a folding table.
"We've learned a few things."
His expression grew serious.
"First..."
"The monsters aren't attacking randomly."
Liam exchanged a glance with Noah.
Marcus continued.
"They're pushing people."
"Pushing them where?" Emma asked.
Marcus unfolded a city map.
He had drawn dozens of red circles across it.
"Every attack eventually drives survivors toward the city stadium."
Ben frowned.
"The stadium?"
Marcus nodded.
"Nobody who reaches it has come back."
The room became deathly quiet.
Liam felt a chill crawl down his spine.
The Alpha Wolf...
The monsters...
They weren't simply hunting.
They were gathering people.
Just as they had tried to herd Liam away from the university.
"Second."
Marcus pointed toward several Awakened standing nearby.
"People with combat classes are getting stronger."
One of them stepped forward.
A tall woman carrying a spear.
"My name is Rachel."
"I reached Level Four."
Ben's eyes widened.
"Already?"
Rachel nodded.
"The monsters give experience."
"But only if you land the killing blow."
A few people immediately looked at one another.
The atmosphere shifted.
Just slightly.
Barely noticeable.
But Liam caught it.
The System rewarded killing.
And rewards changed people.
Marcus looked toward Liam.
"What class are you?"
The question he'd been dreading.
Emma answered before he could.
"He doesn't have one."
Marcus frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"The System rejected him."
Silence spread across the room.
Some people laughed nervously.
Others stared.
One young man snorted.
"Nice joke."
Emma shook her head.
"She's serious."
Marcus studied Liam for several long seconds.
Finally...
He sighed.
"Then stay close to the fighters."
"You don't have to prove anything."
Liam nodded.
"Thanks."
But deep down...
He knew that wouldn't be enough.
As evening approached, the survivors settled into uneasy groups.
Some shared food.
Others cried quietly.
A few prayed.
Liam sat alone near a broken window.
His eyes drifted toward the fading sunlight.
Only then did he notice something strange.
The crimson crack in the sky...
Had grown larger.
It now stretched across almost half the horizon.
And through it...
He could see stars.
Not tiny points of light.
Entire constellations.
Slowly moving.
Watching.
He had the unsettling feeling...
That Earth wasn't looking into space.
Something in space...
Was looking back.
A soft blue-gray window flickered into existence.
Only Liam could see it.
Administrator Protocol
Passive Observation Complete
Authority: 3%
New Function Available
Archive
Status: Locked
Requirement: 5% Authority
Liam frowned.
Archive?
What was it?
A database?
A memory?
Before he could think further—
A scream erupted from the front entrance.
One of the barricades exploded inward.
Wood and metal flew across the store.
People scattered in panic.
Marcus shouted,
"Everyone back!"
Liam turned toward the shattered entrance.
A lone figure stood in the smoke.
It wasn't a monster.
It was human.
A young man.
His clothes were torn.
Blood covered half his face.
His eyes glowed an unnatural blue.
A floating status window hovered above his head.
Awakened
Level 8
Class: Berserker
The man slowly smiled.
It wasn't the smile of someone who had been rescued.
It was the smile of someone who had found exactly what he was looking for.
"I finally found more experience."
He raised his massive axe.
And pointed it...
At the survivors.