Roman was a kind-hearted boy who longed for love. But life had never been kind to him.
After his mother died, his father remarried. His new stepmother brought her son into their lives — Roman's stepbrother.
From the start, things were unfair. His stepmother and stepbrother tormented him behind his father's back. To make it worse, they always painted him as a problem in front of his father.
His father, once caring, slowly turned cold. He began comparing Roman to his stepbrother constantly.
"Why can't you be more like your brother?" he often said.
The love Roman once received faded. In its place came blame, beatings, and loneliness.
Then, disaster struck the world.
Due to a severe water crisis between nations, tensions rose. Nuclear war broke out. Ten nuclear bombs detonated at a single point.
A black hole formed. Half the world's population vanished in seconds.
But it didn't end there.
Massive gamma radiation spread across the planet. It twisted nature. Trees, animals, and aquatic life began to mutate. Humans exposed to the radiation turned into zombie-like creatures.
Survival became a daily battle.
Roman did everything he could to protect his family. He scavenged for food. He fought off the infected. He braved radiation storms and mutated beasts.
Meanwhile, his stepbrother, stepmother, and even his girlfriend did nothing. They stayed safe inside, relying on Roman to bring food. Whenever he failed, they cursed him.
"You're useless," his stepbrother sneered once.
"If you can't feed us, what are you even good for?" his girlfriend added coldly.
One day, their father turned into a zombie. Roman was forced to kill him. It broke him inside.
Even then, he thought maybe—just maybe—in this apocalypse, his family would change. That they would finally stand by him.
But he was wrong.
After a particularly dangerous hunt, Roman found a single chocolate bar. He hid one piece for himself and gave the rest to his stepmother.
She took it without a word. No thanks. No acknowledgment.
That night, while everyone was asleep, Roman crept toward his girlfriend's room. He had a small hope—maybe she would comfort him, show him some warmth.
But then he heard something—moaning sounds.
He froze.
No... it can't be...
He pushed the door open. It wasn't even locked.
Inside, his world shattered.
His girlfriend was on all fours, panting heavily. Behind her, his stepbrother was thrusting with a wicked grin on his face. Her tongue was out. Her eyes rolled back. She looked nothing like the girl he once loved.
And next to them—his stepmother. Also naked. On all fours. With the same expression of lust and madness.
Roman stood there in shock. His whole body trembled.
His girlfriend glanced at him once—then looked away, uncaring.
His stepbrother smirked.
"Oh look, the family dog is back," he sneered.
"You're just in time. Want a turn?"
Roman's fists clenched. His breath turned into a growl.
"You… you betrayed me…" he muttered.
His stepbrother laughed.
"Betrayed you? Please. You were never part of this family. You were just the errand boy. A loser chasing scraps of love."
Roman roared in pain and fury and charged at him.
But his stepbrother was stronger. He caught Roman mid-attack and slammed him against the wall.
Punch after punch rained down. Roman's face was covered in blood. His vision blurred.
"You think you matter?" his stepbrother growled as he beat him. "You're just a cockroach. Always were."
Finally, Roman was thrown outside the shelter. Bleeding, broken.
As he lay there gasping, he saw shadows approaching.
Zombies.
He tried to crawl, but it was too late.
They devoured him.
The pain was unbearable. Flesh torn, bones crushed, and his screams silenced under the gnarling teeth of the undead.
But something strange happened.
As the zombies fed, a surge of dark energy spread through Roman's body.
His blood, tainted by radiation, began to glow faintly blue under the moonlight. His soul, instead of passing on, resisted death.
The black hole that had formed during the nuclear war still pulsed energy across the sky. A rare wave of gamma flux passed directly through Roman's body.
His soul fractured... but didn't vanish.
Instead, it latched onto something ancient—buried deep beneath the earth. Something that had awakened after the apocalypse.
A forgotten entity. A force older than time.
It spoke to him.
> "You were betrayed… broken… consumed. But I see your pain. I offer you power… rebirth. In exchange, you will become my vessel of wrath and your soul will be my nourshment."
Roman's fading consciousness answered with one word:
"Yes."
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