The streets looked normal.
That was the first lie.
The sky was blue. Cars lined the roads.
Storefronts gleamed with glass displays. The lights of a diner blinked in their steady rhythm.
But there were no people.
A stroller lay tipped on its side. Coffee cooled in a cup, half-drunk, abandoned on a café table. Blood smeared across the pavement in jagged streaks.
Elias's chest tightened.
His fingers twitched, sparks crawling weakly across his skin before fading. His entire body buzzed with nervous energy, but the power was shallow, unstable—like a sparkler flickering before it died.
He didn't care.
He had to get home.
A sound broke the silence.
Shuffling.
Wet, uneven footsteps.
Elias turned.
From the mouth of an alley, a figure staggered into view. Its body was twisted—shoulders hunched, one arm swollen and sponge-like, its jaw dangling open. The eyes rolled, cloudy and twitching.
It stopped when it saw him.
Then it shrieked.
The sound rattled his bones.
The thing lurched forward, movements clumsy but deliberate.
Elias stumbled back, pulse spiking. His hand came up on instinct. Sparks built in his palm—then burst.
The discharge exploded against the creature's chest. At such close range, the blast ripped across its body, convulsing it violently.
The stench of scorched flesh filled the air.
Elias staggered, panting. His arm tingled. His fingers went numb.
Finally, the sparks fizzled out.
The system flickered in his vision.
[Classification: Lesser Changed.]
[Once human. Failed the Black Fog. Partial mutation.]
[Behavior: Instinct-driven. Prey preference: Humans.]
[Growth Method: Consumption of human flesh → rapid power core development.]
Elias's stomach churned. They… feed on us.
Another shriek answered him.
He turned. More shapes stumbled into the street.
Three, then five.
Twitching and deformed bodies, eyes wild, jaws dripping.
Their heads all snapped toward him.
And then they charged.
Elias bolted.
His boots hammered the pavement, lungs burning as he sprinted past cars and abandoned bikes.
The creatures shrieked, unsteady but relentless.
He ducked into an alley, chest heaving, pressing himself against the wall. The world went quiet—until he heard it.
Chewing.
Wet, tearing, grotesque chewing.
Elias peeked around the corner.
A group of the Changed crouched over a body. Their jaws ripped into flesh, tearing chunks free, swallowing greedily. Bones cracked under their teeth.
As they fed, their bodies shuddered. Their swollen limbs pulsed, their twisted muscles twitching violently, as though something inside them was growing.
Elias's blood ran cold.
The system whispered again.
[Observation: Cores form within the bodies of the Changed.]
[Survivors may consume cores to strengthen themselves.]
[Warning: Risk of backlash increases with core quality.]
Elias's throat tightened.
If he didn't grow stronger, he'd never make it back.
He forced himself toward the twitching body he'd downed earlier. His hands shook as he dug into its chest.
His fingers closed around something hard.
A crystalline lump came free, slick with black ichor, faintly glowing from within.
[Core Extracted.]
Elias stared at it, bile rising.
Consume it or be left behind.
The shrieks grew louder. More were coming.
With shaking hands, he raised the core to his lips.
The taste was ash, lightning, and rot.
It burned down his throat like molten glass.
He collapsed, writhing, electricity tearing through his veins.
His teeth clenched, every muscle convulsing until he thought his heart would burst.
Then it passed.
The system flickered.
[Core Absorbed.]
[Affinity Reinforced: Lightning.]
[Progression: Minor.]
Elias gasped, chest heaving.
His hand sparked.
Faintly brighter than before. Not by much. Barely anything, even.
But it was something.
Another line appeared.
[Note: First-time classifications will only be provided for seven days after the Black Fog.]
Seven days.
After that, he'd be blind.
The shrieks closed in, echoing down the street. Elias staggered upright, fists clenched, sparks twitching across his knuckles.
He glanced toward the city's heart—the skyscrapers, the crowded streets. The howls were louder there, dozens, maybe hundreds of them.
He couldn't fight them.
Not yet.
At Tier 0, his lightning was only a spark. Deadly up close, but useless from a distance.
Every second the monsters fed, they grew stronger.
If he stayed here, he'd never make it home.
His jaw clenched.
The system flickered one last time.
[Progression System Detected.]
[Nine tiers must be achieved before the first evolution.]
[Current Status: Tier 0.]
Tier 0. The bottom of the ladder.
Nine rungs to climb before he could even dream of evolving.
But it didn't matter.
Elias wasn't fighting for power.
He was fighting to get back.
Survival meant leaving the city behind.
He turned toward the edge of the skyline.
Toward the unknown.
Because nothing else mattered.
Not the monsters. Not the tiers. Not even himself.
Only getting home.