A piercing howl tore through the night's silence, jerking Aiden from his sleep. He sat up abruptly, his heart racing wildly, hand instinctively grasping the crowbar. The darkness of the ruined store seemed to thicken around him as if it had become a tangible, menacing entity.
The scream repeated, louder this time, followed by a chorus of growls and the sound of hurried footsteps. Aiden rose, all his senses on high alert, his body tense as a bow. He cautiously approached the barricade he had erected, scanning the shifting shadows beyond the shattered windows.
What he saw made his blood run cold. Deformed silhouettes moved in the night, some crawling on all fours, others staggering. Their eyes glowed with an unhealthy light, reflecting an insatiable hunger and deep madness. Monsters, created by mana, just like the demon dog he had encountered earlier.
Suddenly, one of the creatures turned its gaze towards the store, as if it had sensed Aiden's presence. A deep growl escaped its gaping maw, drawing the attention of the other monsters. In an instant, they converged on Aiden's precarious refuge, their howls turning into a nightmarish choir.
"Great, just what I needed."
Aiden backed away, short of breath, his mind racing for a way out. He knew he couldn't hold out long against such a horde. His eyes frantically swept the inside of the store, desperately searching for an escape.
That's when he saw it: a trapdoor, half-hidden under debris. Without hesitation, Aiden rushed towards it, clearing the rubble with a strength born of fear and adrenaline. He lifted the trapdoor, revealing a dark passage that plunged into the depths of the building.
At that moment, the monsters crashed against the barricade, their bodies hitting metal and glass with a deafening noise. Aiden had no time to think. He plunged into the opening, closing the trapdoor behind him just in time to hear the creatures flood into the store. Thankfully, he had spent time reinforcing the barricade, which had bought him a few seconds, seconds that had just saved his life.
Darkness engulfed him, muffling the sounds of destruction above. Aiden took a moment to catch his breath, his heart beating so hard he felt it might burst. Then, cautiously, he began to descend the rusty ladder that led into the darkness.
The air was heavy and humid, filled with the smell of mold and decay. Aiden continued his descent, each rung creaking under his weight, until his feet finally touched the ground. He groped in the dark, his hands meeting the cold, damp concrete walls.
A sudden noise made him jump, a scratching sound coming from the darkness ahead. Aiden froze, holding his breath. The scratching came closer, accompanied by an animal sniffing. A creature, lurking in the darkness, had sensed his presence.
Aiden tightened his grip on the crowbar, his only defense against the horrors that prowled. He moved forward cautiously, each step measured, every breath controlled. His eyes began to adjust to the darkness, discerning the outlines of a narrow corridor stretching before him.
The corridor opened into a larger room, faintly lit by a greenish glow that seemed to emanate from the walls themselves. Aiden was stunned to find himself in an old subway station.
In the center of the room, a figure was curled up, trembling. Aiden approached slowly, crowbar raised, ready to defend himself. But as he got closer, he realized with surprise that it was a young woman, dirty and bloodied, her eyes wide with terror.
"Don't... don't come any closer!" she pleaded in a hoarse voice, raising her hands defensively.
Aiden lowered his weapon, trying to adopt a less threatening posture.
"I mean you no harm," he said softly. "I'm just looking for shelter, like you."
The young woman eyed him warily, distrust in her gaze.
"You can't trust anyone," she whispered. "The world has gone mad. Monsters roam everywhere, and humans... humans have become monsters too. I believe they're even worse..." she added, glancing at her bloodied body.
Aiden nodded slowly, understanding all too well what she meant.
"My name is Aiden," he introduced himself. "I... I just want to understand what's happening and find a way to survive."
The young woman hesitated for a moment, then relaxed slightly. "I'm Léa," she responded. "I found refuge here when everything started, a week ago, when the sky tore open and the world plunged into chaos."
"A week," Aiden thought deeply, "so my two blackouts were that long, that's why everything has changed so much, I'm late to the party."
She then told him what she had witnessed, the horrors she had seen. Animals transforming into monsters under the influence of mana, humans developing strange and terrifying powers.
Society collapsing, the law of the strongest becoming the only rule.
"Nobody really knows what caused all this," she concluded. "Some speak of a scientific experiment gone wrong, others talk about the wrath of the gods. But in the end, what does it matter? We just have to try to survive, day by day."
Aiden listened in silence, his heart tightening with each new revelation. The world he had known was gone, replaced by a waking nightmare where every shadow could harbor a bloodthirsty monster.
"We should stick together," he finally suggested. "Alone, we stand no chance. But together, maybe we can make it through."
Léa eyed him, weighing her options. Then, slowly, she nodded.
"You know, even if I don't show it, my wounds are too severe, I'm going to die soon," she replied, revealing numerous lacerations, bruises, and even some burns. "It's not just the animals, some humans have become drunk on their power, but thank you for being by my side to the end," she added, starting to struggle more and more to breathe.
Léa's revelation hit Aiden like a punch. As he observed the severe injuries and obvious signs of suffering on Léa's body, a deep sadness and anger at the cruelty of this new world overcame him. He knelt beside her, powerless, desperately seeking a way to help her, to change the inevitable course of things.
"There must be something I can do," he murmured, his voice laden with palpable sadness.
But Léa gently shook her head, a weak, sad smile on her pale lips.
"Just the fact that you're here... that's enough for me. In this mad world, to meet someone who still cares... it's more than I could have hoped for, not to end alone..."
As Léa struggled for each breath, Aiden stayed by her side, holding her hand, a gesture of comfort in the suffocating darkness of the abandoned subway station. They talked for a while, or perhaps for hours, time seeming to stretch and contract around them. Léa shared fragments of her life before, memories of a world that now seemed to belong to another era.
But eventually, words became rarer, Léa's voice weakening until it became just a whisper. And then, in a final breath, she was silent, leaving Aiden alone with his silence and the weight of his grief.
The monsters that had sought to break into their refuge seemed to have dispersed, but Aiden felt no relief. Léa's death had etched a dark and indelible truth into him: in this new world, death could come at any moment, striking at random, taking those who desperately fought for just a little more time.
He also understood that some people were simply doing their best, suffering through these events much more than him, and he couldn't complain. He would have to do everything possible to become stronger, and to reframe this humanity.
As he was about to move away, seeing all the blood on the ground, a strange feeling coursed through his body, and at the same moment, a notification appeared:
"Drink the blood of the victim. Reward: 20 exp"