"Someone...Save me..." The desperate cry of a person tore through the night.
He stumbled, running.
Thud!
He fell.
The skin on his palms tore as he tried to land on them.
Blood flowed. The pain stung. But he didn't stop.
He stood up and continued running.
The hungry howls of the monsters echoed in the night, growing closer.
"No! No...NO!" Finn swayed forward with his hands, as if trying to grab something.
Tears streamed down his face, his face twitched in fear and regret.
Memories flashed in his mind.
"What did I do wrong? Why do I have to die!
His lungs burned, legs hurt.
But he didn't stop.
However, unnoticed to him, he was slowing down.
Dark veins crawled up his neck, pulsing with each step, bringing him closer to his doom.
Thud!
Suddenly, his legs went numb.
Finn collapsed to the ground.
"I did what I had to do to survive. Is it so wrong?"
ROOAR!
The howls of the monsters drew closer.
"No! No! NOOOO!"
Finn grabbed forward with his palms, his fingers scraping the street, nails breaking as he dragged himself forward.
His heart pounded, face wrung in terror.
A strong will reflected in his eyes - the will to survive.
But fate was cruel.
Soon, the monsters' movements reached his ears.
He knew.
They sensed him. They knew he was here. They were coming.
"Noooo..."
Tears rolled down his face.
He dragged himself, his body trembling, his fingertips torn.
Chunks of skin remained on the street, torn from his fingertips as he dragged himself forward.
He extended his arms forward to grab the ground again.
His arms froze.
He couldn't move them.
"NO! NO!! NOOOOO!"
His loud voice turned into begging.
Despair replaced his will to survive.
His entire body went numb.
He knew this was his end.
Blood filled his mouth. He started choking.
Grrrrrrr!
The low growl of a monster rang.
It arrived.
The air grew still, as if the world itself waited for his end.
Swoosh!
The hound monster leaped into the air, landing with its paws on Finn's waist.
He turned his head. All hope vanished.
From the corner of his eye, he could see the monster.
Bloodshot eyes stared coldly at him, freezing his blood.
The mouth salivated.
Shluck!
Sharp teeth sank into flesh.
The monster bit his thigh.
Blood splashed.
Aaaghhh-gghhkk!!
Finn screamed, his cry broken by the blood bubbling in his throat.
The monster hound pulled.
Clothes tore - flesh followed.
Ligaments, muscle, and a chunk of tingly human flesh came off Finn's thigh.
Munch! Munch!
With two quick munches, the monster swallowed.
Blood flowed from his leg, soaking his clothes.
Shluck!
The monster bit again, eating Finn alive.
He couldn't move. Couldn't scream. Couldn't struggle.
He could only remain in place as pain assaulted him—pain of being eaten alive.
And pain as the virus slowly transformed him into something else. Something unnatural. Something inhuman.
His choking gurgles and the munching of the monster filled the night.
Slowly, he experienced what it felt like for the monster to feast on him -drowning in pain and fear.
Until eventually, he died of blood loss.
He died an agonizing death.
As if the heavens made him pay for his sins.
...
More than ten minutes passed.
Vincent lay on the ground, tied to the chair.
The red hue in his eyes gradually disappeared.
He lost consciousness.
Blood covered the room.
Marin, Hossik, and Dorvin lay on the ground, their corpses grey, with dark green veins crawling over them.
Their white, pupilless eyes wide open.
Crack!
A bone-cracking sound rang in the room.
Marin's hand moved.
His body moved.
With each move, his skin cracked.
Dark green blood swept from the crack.
Marin's upper body raised. Then he stood up, his movements unnatural.
He had turned—an undead - a zombie.
Zombies follow their basic instinct, searching for human flesh to consume.
But as if the zombie didn't detect Vincent. No, as if it recognized him - recognized as one of its own.
It slowly made its way outside.
Its movements were stiff. Feet dragging, scraping against the ground.
Not long after, Hossik and Dorvin rose.
They left the room.
[Congratulations, you completed the main task. The zombie virus is slowly spreading through the world]
[You received:] - [Skill-Contract] - [Skill: Command] - [Skill: Probe]
The bluish window appeared, floating before Vincent.
[Notice]
The status window changed, turning red.
[The hunger subsided]
[The Progenitor transformation stopped]
[The host reverts to his human form]
Vincent's face started healing. The speed visible to the naked eye.
In a breath, his face healed. As if never touched before.
[Notice]
[Entering a period of weakness]
[Time till the next transformation: 11 days]
[Notice]
[Please satisfy your hunger]
The world outside kept rotting as he lay motionless, neither dead nor alive.
...
A week passed.
On one of the moons.
Top floor of the tower.
The entity of unfathomable power sat on the throne of fallen foes, shrouded in darkness.
The demoness stood at the feet of the figure and respectfully bowed.
"Karai..." The entity's voice rang in the room. Voice as dark as the abyss, shaking the void itself.
"Your majesty," The demoness bowed even more, her heart filled with pure respect and loyalty. "I have an urgent report."
Profound silence enveloped the room.
"Your majesty," The demoness took the silence as approval and started the report. "We observed the changes the mana brought to the race of this world. After careful observation, we noticed that they might be a branch of the higher lifeform we faced in world 1111."
"The Cultivators?" The entity's voice rang.
"Yes. But they are incapable of morphing and absorbing the mana in such a unique way.
When faced with a life-threatening situation, the mana awakens the hidden talents of humans whose blood is not too thin or diluted.
We can't estimate the limits of their awakened abilities.
Your majesty, according to my observation, amongst all the races we faced, the creatures of world 1111 and this world, 3002, have the most potential."
"Are they a threat?" The entity's voice rang.
"Unlikely, Your Majesty. They do not have time to develop and get strong enough to face us." The demoness replied, pausing for a second.
"Something's troubling you."
The entity spoke, as if it could read the demoness's thoughts.
"Your majesty, there seems to be a disease in one of the human settlements on the planet."
"A disease?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. The disease turns the infected into low-level undead.
It's my first time witnessing something like this. I suspect it's an ability of some of the awakened humans. But we can't rule out the possibility of some higher force interfering,"
"Is it a threat?"
"No, Your Majesty. It only affects our lowest-ranking clansmen.
And it doesn't affect the awakened humans.
I estimate the virus will help humans awaken more quickly, but it will also kill a large portion of them.
On this planet, only the awakened humans will remain; the rest will be turned into low-level undead."
"This is the end of the report, Your Majesty."
"You can leave,"
The demoness bowed respectfully and slowly made her way out of the throne room, not showing her back to the entity.
The entity remained sitting on the throne, shrouded in darkness.
A sigh suddenly shook the room.
"Three thousand worlds and not a single worthy foe..."
...
In the room, the unconscious Vincent remained oblivious to the chaos in the outside world.
A pungent stench filled the room.
The blood had dried up, rotting.
Weak daylight entered through the open door.
Swoosh!
Vincent's eyes snapped open.
His pupils trembled.
"Agh..." He groaned, attempting to move and turn.
Memories flashed in his mind—memories of everything that happened.
An intense nausea rose up his throat.
He had witnessed everything. Felt everything. But couldn't react, like a spectator in his own body.
"Bleeuughh..."
He vomited.
The sensations were coming back to him—the tingly, chewy human flesh, overflowing with blood.
With each chew, blood filled his mouth.
The terrible metallic taste of blood still lingered in his mouth.
Disgust crept up his throat—disgust at what he had done.
Vincent continued throwing up, unable to stop, even when there was nothing left ot vomit.
A pungent, rotting stench reached his nose.
Only adding to his disgust.
Tears streamed down Vincent's face as he struggled to stop vomiting.
'Just what have I done? What have I become?!'
Yes, he was happy.
He witnessed Marin's death. The death of his subordinates. A pitiful, agonizing death. Death worthy of them.
But he felt it.
For his revenge, he has sacrificed something.
He felt himself void, missing something, but unable to point out what.
But deep down, a thought birthed fear. Fear that he was unable to bear the consequences. Fear that what he has sacrificed might be his humanity.
He used all his strength, rubbing the rope that tied him against the floor.
After a week, it has loosened considerably.
Without much effort, he managed to pull out his hands.
He untied the rope around his legs and stood up.
Pain assaulted his body.
He hasn't moved for a week.
His body has stiffened, especially his neck.
"Ughh..."
He vomited again. Nothing came out this time - only air and regret.
He covered his nose.
Each breath of this stinking, rotting air resurrected the sensations of eating human flesh.
His eyes landed on the open door.
'I need to leave quickly,'
The longer he stayed here, the worse he felt.
He needed fresh air. He needed to empty his mind. He needed time.
He made his way towards the door.
His steps weak, body trembling. He ignored his steps, landing in the dried, sticky blood. He wanted to get out.
'Wait,'
Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.
His body froze.
Stiffened, he turned his head back, staring at the blood-covered floor.
His heart pounded.
With the passing time, his clarity was returning.
'Where are Marin and his lapdogs?'
A bad feeling crept up his heart.
'Are they alive? No...'
He shook his head.
He saw them die.
'Where are their corpses?'
"Ughh..."
Once again, the memories and sensations returned to him.
Nausea assaulted him.
'Get out of here first,'
Quickly, he resumed his walk.
His mind raced as he tried suppressing his memories from resurfacing.
'Come to think of it, how did all of this blood not attract monsters?'
"Wha..."
As he reached the door, his eyes widened in pure terror.
He got the answers to his questions.
He stood frozen, words unable to leave his mouth.
His eyes trembled.
Heart pounded.
"W-What have I done?"