"This... can't be real, please tell me I'm dreaming," Zero muttered, gasping as he jogged through the street.
The air was thick and nasty, the kind that clung to your throat. Everything felt dead.
It was far too quiet.
He turned a corner and saw an apartment lot. Maybe someone's in there... He thought, making his way forward.
But the second he stepped onto the lot, he froze.
There was another one of those things. This one looked skinnier, its skin darker, almost burnt. It stood in front of the apartments, holding a body in its mouth— a woman.
It bit down hard, a loud, sickening crunch echoed through the parking lot.
Then it dropped her, sniffing her body briefly, before wandering off, like it had lost interest.
Zero kept his head down and crept toward a nearby alley, trying not to breathe too loud. Just a few more steps—
His foot clipped a can. It scraped against the pavement with a sharp, ugly sound that cut through the silence.
The creature stopped.
Its head turned, slow and twitchy.
Zero didn't waste any time, and immediately began running, or at least trying to.
But the monster didn't chase him. Instead, it just started walking—calm, almost lazy—like it knew he wouldn't make it far.
Zero kept moving through the alley, even as he felt the warm trickle of blood trailing from his leg. That sound again—the creature's roar, different this time, almost like a faint, low humming noise, as if it were amused.
He broke out onto another street, legs nearly giving out. He spun around, hoping—maybe this time it gave up.
It hadn't. It just stood there, watching.
Then its chest started to glow a bright yellow.
Its entire body suddenly flared up, as if it were preparing to attack. It gave out this low, repeated chirping noise as it pumped its chest into the air.
Zero blinked in confusion as he watched the display.
Then the ground started to tremble. A low rumble from somewhere deep—getting closer.
Shrieks. Growls. Footsteps.
It wasn't trying to attack---
It was calling.
From alleyways, rooftops, even storm drains, they came crawling out. Dozens of them.
Maybe more.
Zero's body locked up, heart climbing into his throat.
And just before they closed in, he dropped flat and rolled under the nearest car, barely breathing.
The monsters all made the same awful sound— like a bunch of hyenas laughing in sync.
They started circling the car, nudging it, sniffing, trying to get to him. One of them staggered up and let out a wet belch, spewing some glowing green bile that hit the back tire with a loud hiss, causing the nearby tire to pop.
Zero flinched. His chest tightened as fear closed in, cold and heavy. Sweat stung his eyes, mixing with the tears he didn't remember letting fall.
The car shifted beneath him, creaking as it rose on one side. Then, with a grinding screech, it tipped over completely, slamming onto its side.
Zero pulled his arms in close, curling up tight. He could hear them—shuffling, snarling. They were all around him now. He could see their faces splitting open—jagged mouths lined with layers of sharp teeth, getting ready to tear into him.
Then—
The air shifted. A low, humming sound filled the space, almost like steam hissing off a hot kettle.
The monsters froze.
Their jaws snapped shut as they turned toward the noise. The air turned red, glowing faintly.
And then, out of nowhere, a streak of red light cut through the nearest one's chest, flinging it backwards into a pile of rubble.
The others screeched and scattered. Some tried to run, but they weren't fast enough. Glowing red spears erupted from the ground, spearing several of them midair.
Zero stared in disbelief.
The monsters were suspended in the air, hanging in place. Their bodies started to break apart, turning into dust along with the spears, before being carried off with the wind.
"Yo!" someone shouted through the dust.
Zero turned his head slowly. Out of the haze and drifting dust came a tall figure—a man with bright red hair and glowing orange eyes. He twirled a glowing red spear effortlessly between his fingers, whistling like it were just another day.
"Hey--you okay, man?" he asked, reaching out a hand.
Zero hesitated, then took it. As the man helped him up, Zero staggered, legs shaky beneath him. The stranger caught him without missing a beat, steadying him with an arm.
"Easy," he said, slipping Zero's arm over his shoulders to support his weight. "What's your name?"
Zero blinked, trying to keep himself conscious. "Z-Zero… my name is Zero."
"Cool name! Nice to meet you, Zero!" the man said brightly.
"I'm Orion—but you can call me Ozai,"
Despite the blood, the ruins, and the bodies, Ozai smiled like he was having fun.
"Y'know I've never seen so many Ragnars in one spot. I've taken out, like, fifty of 'em so far—hah!" He ran a hand through his hair, laughing.
"Not that I'm complaining. The more the merrier!"
He looked down, noticing the blood smeared across both of them. His smile faltered.
"Damn... you're losing a lot of blood, huh?"
He shifted quickly. "Don't worry. I've got you."
With that, Ozai scooped Zero up onto his back and broke into a run.
Zero's head slumped against Ozai's shoulder. Everything around him started to fade, colors and shapes slipping away like water down a drain—
Then, everything went black.
When Zero opened his eyes, he was met with the dim, flickering lights of a convenience store ceiling.
He groaned and sat up from the cold floor slowly, glancing down at his arms and legs—both of which were bandaged and wrapped with surprising care.
"So it wasn't a dream…" The shock of the moment seeping into Zero's being, the dead people, the blood, the pain---all of it were real.
Zero sat up in silence, depersonalized.
His mind struggling to process the past events. Everything around him started to feel distant, like he was floating outside of his own body.
Somewhere nearby, the soft sound of wrappers crinkling in the background startled him, snapping Zero out of his trance.
Somewhat curious, and still sore, he spotted a nearby broom propped against the wall and used it like a makeshift cane.
Limping slightly, he made his way down the aisles of the abandoned store. Most shelves were either picked clean or completely ransacked.
At the end of one aisle, sprawled on the floor and chewing a pack of gum was the culprit, Ozai.
"What the…" Zero muttered.
Ozai turned his head and blinked. They stared at each other for a moment that stretched a bit too long.
"Oh, you're up!" Ozai said brightly. "Thank the goddess, I got bored and started losing hope after you were knocked out for like the first fifteen minutes..."
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, surrounded by empty chip bags.
"But then I remembered I was working on being patient. Food helped."
He picked up a crumpled bag and held it up like a trophy. "These things are insanely good, by the way---I've never had anything like this before."
He looked around at the mess. "I'd offer you some, but uh… yeah. They're all gone."
"You're the guy from earlier… Ozai, right?" Zero asked.
Ozai nodded. "Yep. That's me."
"Those monsters...what were they? And what the hell was with those red spears?"
Ozai stood and stretched, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"Those monsters? They're Ragnars. Normally they're pretty reclusive, they stay hidden in caves or mines and stuff, but--- Guess they're getting bold." He raised his hand, and a red glow gathered in his palm.
"And this…"
The light formed into a sleek red spear, hovering in the air beside him.
"This is my Signature. A type of Armament Magic."
The spear split into two, then four. Then with a swift motion, the pieces fused into a glowing red shield.
He caught it, held it up, then resized it—larger, smaller—before finally dispersing it into flickering red dust that surrounded the two.
"I call it Volundr," Ozai said.