"Damn!"
"I think we are fucked!"
"I know but... Why are we fucked?"
"Heh, what are you talking about? You still have doubts after witnessing this horrifying fucking shit that is happening right in front of our eyes?"
Eryx squinted up at the sky. His mouth was dry and his heart was pounding.
In fact, it was not just him. All around, the evening crowd on the street paused. Their faces lifted toward the darkening sky.
Everyone had a shocked expression on their faces, despair clearly flashing in their eyes.
Eryx rubbed his eyes, hoping he was just tired, hoping he was not seeing what he thought he was seeing. But his friends' words completely pushed his heart into the darkness.
In the sky, a splintering crack that was zigzagging across the sky like glass under strain could be seen.
Eryx was out on the street with his friends, going to play in the Ernet Cafe, the famous gaming hub tucked between a row of neon-lit stores when suddenly, the sun above their heads disappeared and the world darkened. Immediately after, a giant crack appeared that started to spread wider.
All felt their stomach drop. They knew things were about to go very, very wrong.
People began to murmur. Some were taking hesitant steps back but most remained glued to the sight above. Neon lights from the city cast eerie reflections against the fragments of sky that shattered and peeled away, revealing a writhing darkness on the other side.
"Hell, god. What is that?"
Dante, Eryx's friend, pointed at the crack and shouted in fright. Everyone saw a shadow moving within that dark gap. And then another shadow appeared, and then another. These shadows were giant and their shapes were irregular.
"Monsters..." Eryx muttered the word before he even realized it.
And then,
BOOM!
A gigantic creature tore through the cracked sky. Its clawed limbs stretched outward as it plunged downward. This gigantic creature's scaled body glistened in the city lights. Its eyes were blazing with a predatory gleam.
Once this creature descended, it was soon followed by dozens more, and very soon, a whole army of impossible-to-appear creatures spilled through the shattering sky. Shrieks and howls echoed in the air as they descended upon the city.
"Run, monsters… Monsters are descending from the shattered sky!"
"Save us..."
"Oh my god, this is the apocalypse!"
People started screaming and began to scatter in all directions. They were doing their best to run as far as they could from monsters. But the creatures were fast. They swooped down and crashed into the streets, knocking into buildings, and shattering them.
"They're everywhere! God, no!"
"Somebody, please help!"
"This can't be happening..."
"What are those things?"
"Mommy! Where's my mom?!"
"Don't stop, you idiot. Keep running!"
"It's the end! We are done for!"
All kinds of panicked words echoed in the air. In seconds, the entire city was plunged into chaos.
Eryx's heart also raced as he ducked into an alley and pressed himself against the wall. His breaths were hurried, shallow, and desperate. His heart hammered as he heard someone else rush in behind him.
It was Dante, his friend. Dante was not faring better than him. His eyes were wide with terror.
"Eryx...what the hell is happening, man?"
Eryx swallowed hard, trying to steady himself as the sounds of destruction echoed everywhere around them. "I think the world is ending."
Dante grabbed his shoulder, shaking him. Fear was clearly flashing in his eyes as he spoke, "This is real, right? We are not dreaming? Apocalypse like those described in fantasy novels has truly descended upon our world!"
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a monstrous roar erupted nearby, causing both of them to flinch.
Eryx glanced up and caught sight of a giant creature perching atop a building. It was devouring human bodies, treating them like mere snacks. Suddenly, the creature turned and glanced at Eryx and Dante with its huge eyes.
Both their bodies shuddered. Eryx shoved Dante's body and shouted in a low voice, "Is that real enough for you? We need to move. Now!"
They immediately turned and started running away, only to welcome a chaotic sight.
The city was in total chaos.
Buildings were crumbling everywhere. Flames shot up from broken windows, lighting up the night with a fierce orange glow. The air was thick with smoke and the smell of burning metal and flesh.
Monsters were everywhere, their roars and people's screams filling the entire city.
Huge dark creatures with sharp claws and teeth were roaming the streets, hunting down everyone at sight. People were running and screaming, but there was nowhere safe to go. Some were trapped under fallen buildings, reaching out for help as the monsters closed in and ended their lives.
A dark-skinned and scaly creature was grabbing a man who was trying to hide behind a car. The monster dragged him out as its teeth sank into the man's shoulder. The man screamed in pain but the monster only bit harder, tearing into him as blood spilled onto the pavement.
In another corner, a woman was trying to shield her child, but a monster found them. It lunged forward and raised its claws. The woman fell to the ground and her grip on her child loosened as the creature attacked.
Cars exploded in the distance as fires. The streets were already littered with debris, twisted metal, and bodies. Some bodies were lying still, some had their limbs bitten off, some were missing their heads and other parts of their bodies, and some were in the state of trying to crawl away. One common thing about them was that they were all dead.
There were sounds of destruction everywhere.
"This is truly the end of the world!"
Eryx sighed in fright and paused at the sight of this cataclysm.
"You fucking idiot, Eryx, what are you doing standing there? Run!"
Only when Dante shouted loudly did Eryx come back to his senses. By now, Dante had already run about a dozen meters ahead of him.
Eryx started running for his life again.
"Ahh~"
Suddenly Eryx's foot slipped on something slick. He looked down only to realize his hands were trembling. Blood had somehow started flowing out of his body even though he was clearly not injured.
"What happened?"
Eryx was confused.
He stared at the red staining his fingers, and suddenly, a sickening realization crept into his mind. When he met Dante's gaze, he saw his friend's face go pale.
"Eryx, your skin... It is... It is falling off."
Dante's voice trembled as he pointed at Eryx in horror.
Unknown to them, when they had just started running, the monster had suddenly spewed out green mucus at them. Just a single drop of that mucus touched Eryx's skin before they could leave the alley.
Eryx's skin falling was the result of that corrosive mucus.
"This… This…"
Eryx was paralyzed with horror. His heart started pounding so violently it felt as if it might burst from his chest. Each of his heartbeat started beating louder than the chaos surrounding him. His skin was falling, yet he was strangely drenched in sweat along with blood. His fingers trembled as he clutched at the edge of a broken wall for balance. His mind raced, caught between disbelief and raw terror, struggling to process the gruesome scene that was happening with him.
Suddenly, Eryx's vision blurred as the sky above his head cracked even further. More and more creatures poured through those cracks. All he could think in those moments was: "God, you truly fucked me up!"