Survivor's guilt. That feeling of responsibility you experience after living through something that claimed the lives of others.
That hopeless culpability over which you have no control.
That inescapable sentiment stalking you, whispering that your continued existence is a mistake.
That self-loathing guilt. The kind that drove me to abandon my home—like a coward.
After I ran from the bunker, I wandered the wastelands for months, barely surviving off whatever scraps I could scavenge from abandoned buildings.
I slept in worn-out tents at old campsites, my body weathered by endless nights of bitter cold.
I wasn't truly living—just existing. Every day blurred into the next, void of purpose, void of meaning.
Then, one day, while searching for food in a broken-down mall, I heard it.
A low crunching sound echoed through the empty halls, like someone chewing on bone.
My heart pounded as I followed the sound down a dimly lit corridor. Every instinct told me to turn back, but something inside, either morbid curiosity or just sheer recklessness—pushed me forward.
And then I saw it.
Perched over a mauled corpse, its face buried in the remains, was a nightmare made flesh.
The creature was grotesque—its body twisted and dysmorphic, long claws stained red, fangs glistening in the dull light. And its eyes… deep, dark-red orbs that glowed with the thrill of the hunt.
My body locked up.
I knew this monster.
It was The same one that destroyed my home.
The same one that ruined my life.
The same one… that killed my family.
I was filled with so much rage… so much anger I could barely contain it. And yet… I couldn't move.
I was angry, but more than anything else, I was terrified, frozen in fear.
I had seen what this thing could do. The day my world fell apart, it tore through the whole ward like a god of death, unstoppable, unrelenting.
My breath grew louder. My mind raced. My knees buckled.
I collapsed to the floor.
The monster lifted its head, eyes locking onto mine.
This was it.
For running away—for surviving when I shouldn't have—this was my punishment.
And maybe… maybe I deserved it.
But still… I didn't want to die.
Not yet.
Not like this.
A flash of movement. A figure emerged from the shadows, clad in the robes of a samurai, his blade crackling with an ominous electric aura.
I could see it…
In my helpless state, I was the perfect prey.
It lunged, moving with speed no man could ever dream of reaching.
The stranger unsheathed his blade.
A single swing—
*Slice*
The creature's head hit the floor before its body even registered what had happened.
I gasped, my mind struggling to process what I'd just witnessed.
The stranger sheathed his blade, glancing at me with a mixture of curiosity and mild annoyance.
"What's your name, kid?"
I swallowed hard, my voice barely more than a whisper.
"J… Jin. Jin Otoma"
"Jin, huh?" The man studied me for a moment. "You're lucky I was passing by; otherwise, you'd be a goner."
(What's a kid his age doing out here alone? He looks like he's been surviving on his own for months… maybe even years.)
"Well, anyways, I'm Miyamoto De--"
"Just call me Miyamoto"
"Uhh… Mr. Miyamoto… how'd you beat that thing so easily?" I asked hesitantly.
"It's called a Fallen. Their vicious creatures that hunt for the pleasure of killing."
"Hard to believe they were once human."
(!!)
Miyamoto tensed.
There were more. He could feel it.
"Follow me, kid, if you wanna live, that is."
***
The world hadn't always been like this. There was a time before the wastelands, before the monsters, before the struggles for survival.
How did everything end up like this, you ask?
Jin followed closely behind Miyamoto, his mind still processing what he'd just seen.
"It all started with an asteroid," Miyamoto said
"It was 30 years ago"
"Damn thing was the size of Pluto. On a collision course for Earth. If it had hit, it would've wiped us all out."
"So what happened?" Jin asked.
"We thought we saved the world," Miyamoto said bitterly. "Launched every missile we had. Blew it to hell."
He scoffed.
"Turns out, we only made things worse."
Jin furrowed his brows. "How so?"
"The explosions shattered the asteroid into millions of pieces. The debris rained down on us for days. We called it The Great Falling."
His expression darkened.
"Over half the world's population was wiped out in less than 24 hours. But that wasn't even the worst part."
Jin swallowed. "What could be worse than that?"
Miyamoto glanced at him.
"The debris was contaminated. The ones who survived the impact didn't stay human for long."
Jin felt a chill crawl down his spine.
"They lost themselves. Their names. Their memories. Their humanity."
"And they became the Fallen."
The words lingered in the air like a death sentence.
Jin's fists clenched.
"So the monster in the mall… that thing…"
"Was human?!"
"uh uh, it was... Once" Miyamoto nodded
"So, whatcha doing out here all by ya self kid?"
Jin bowed his head with sorrow
"I have no where else to go" he said
"I see"
Miyamoto takes a second to ponder the situation
"Well, why don't you stay with me then." He shouts
Jin looks up, his eyes bright
"Really?"
"Yeah, why not"
"But in exchange for my help, your gonna have to do something for me in exchange." says Miyamoto
, a sly grin sweeping across his face
"Yeah? And what's that?"