Yu Ren inhaled deeply, the moment they emerged from the tunnel into the ruined cityscape.
Stale as the air was, it tasted less like blood and mold. More like dust and ash.
At least it wasn't humming with death.
Yet.
The sun barely pierced through the clouds—a smog-choked sky, tinged with gray-green. Birds didn't fly anymore. The trees didn't rustle. Everything above ground just... waited.
"Kai," Yu Ren whispered. "Are we sure this isn't worse?"
"No. We're not."
---
They were just outside what was once a mag-rail substation—now overtaken by crawling vines and collapsed steel beams. Some panels still flickered with ghost light, but the surroundings were long abandoned.
Except…
Footprints.
Fresh ones.
Boot-shaped, smaller than Kai's, larger than Yu Ren's. Four sets.
Yu Ren lowered his voice. "How recent?"
Kai crouched, brushing a finger over the dirt. "Twelve hours. Maybe less. No drag marks. All upright."
"Armed?"
Kai nodded. "Military pattern treads. Tight formation."
"Friendly?"
Kai didn't answer.
---
They followed the prints only until they reached a broken overpass. There, they paused under cover. Below them stretched what had once been a marketplace—now just broken carts, scrap, and corpses too old to smell.
Yu Ren knelt beside a rusted-out sign. He could barely read it through the corrosion:
1 Copper – Clean Water
5 Copper – Dried Mushrooms
3 Silver – Ammunition (Limited)
1 Gold – ImmunoShot (Black Market)
He squinted. "Who the hell still uses money?"
Kai tilted his head. "Barter now. But old values stick. People still say 'worth a silver' even when they're trading roach jerky."
Yu Ren looked skeptical. "So... food might still cost 'copper,' but it could mean bottlecaps or mutant teeth?"
"Or blood," Kai said, walking past him. "Or information."
---
It wasn't long before they spotted the new survivors.
A rooftop lookout, masked, held a beat-up rifle.
Yu Ren held up his hands. "Not looking for trouble—just passing through."
No answer.
Kai tensed, ready to grab him and vanish.
But a voice from below called out.
"Lower the gun, Mina. He's got a kid's face. He's either not dangerous or just dangerous enough to leave alone."
Yu Ren frowned. "I'm twenty-three."
A woman stepped out from behind the rubble—tall, lean, carrying a bow and wearing armor stitched from salvaged riot gear and denim.
She smiled.
"Kidding. You've got the eyes of someone who knows better than to scream at monsters. That's rare."
Kai spoke first. "We don't want a fight. Just looking for shelter."
The woman nodded, assessing them quickly. "You got anything to trade?"
Yu Ren fished around and pulled out a clean knife. Carbon steel, still sharp. "Got this."
"Too valuable for a single night," she said, eyeing it with interest. "You desperate?"
Yu Ren didn't answer.
Kai stepped forward and pulled out a dented but functional solar lighter. "Here."
Her eyes lit up.
"That'll do."
---
They were allowed into what the woman called "The Spire." It was once a bank, reinforced with metal shutters and defensive wiring. Inside, torches burned low and smoke curled in barrels.
About ten survivors sat scattered—eating, fixing gear, or just staring blankly.
The woman introduced herself. "Name's Rye. I run this camp."
Yu Ren sat stiffly by a barrel, absorbing it all. "You always take in strangers?"
"No. But I trust my gut. Yours smells like trauma, not treachery."
He half-laughed. "That's… disturbingly accurate."
She shrugged. "We've all got it."
She nodded at Kai. "You, though, smell like secrets."
Kai didn't smile.
Rye gestured toward the barrel. "You two need food?"
Yu Ren perked up.
"Three bites of fungus bread, two sips of marrow broth," she said. "Cost: one favor owed."
Yu Ren blinked. "That's… very specific."
"Barter rules. Favors are our currency now. Weapons too. Clean water's gold."
Yu Ren leaned closer. "How much would this buy?"
He showed her the [Phase Anchor] wrist device they'd taken from the facility.
Rye stared.
"That… that might buy you a week here. Or get you killed by someone who wants it."
Kai took it back quickly.
"Just curious," Yu Ren said.
---
Later that night, Yu Ren wandered near the roof. The stars were hazy, and he could see the broken skyline stretching forever.
He sat on a metal beam, legs swinging over the edge.
Kai joined him, sitting silently for a few moments.
"You okay?" Kai finally asked.
"No," Yu Ren said. "But I'm not melting into goo, so that's progress."
They sat there, quiet.
Yu Ren turned toward him. "Back in the tunnel… I saw your name. In my memory. Why were you part of Project Dawnkeep?"
Kai looked away.
"I wasn't supposed to survive it."
Yu Ren blinked. "What?"
Kai exhaled. "I was one of the prototypes. They made you—Subject 14—after they learned from our failures."
Yu Ren's heart thudded.
"You were… before me?"
Kai nodded. "I escaped. They didn't like that. I've been hiding ever since."
Yu Ren felt hollow. "Then... all of this. Our meeting. It wasn't coincidence."
Kai didn't reply.
---
System Sync Reached:50%
Core Memory Thread Access Unlocked
Initiating Reconstruction…
Yu Ren staggered as the world twisted.
He stood in a white corridor. Clean. Bright. Terrifyingly sterile.
Glass rooms lined the walls—each filled with a child.
One was screaming.
Another was smiling at a camera, holding up a bloody drawing.
Yu Ren walked, heart pounding.
At the end of the hall, two names glowed on a digital panel:
SUBJECT 07 – "Kai"
SUBJECT 14 – "Yu Ren"
The door slid open.
Inside were two chairs.
And a voice.
"Only one of them will be chosen for Project Ascension."
Yu Ren gasped and slammed back into his body.
---
He lay on the roof, sweating, breathing hard.
Kai stood over him, alarmed. "What happened?"
"I remembered. You… and me. We were supposed to replace the world. One of us would ascend."
Kai knelt. "Then you know why I left."
Yu Ren nodded. "Yeah."
He wiped his face, laughing bitterly.
"Looks like we both failed."
Kai touched his shoulder. "Or maybe we weren't meant to succeed then. But now... we choose."
---
Downstairs, someone screamed.
Rye's voice barked orders.
Yu Ren and Kai bolted down to find two survivors hauling in a wounded man.
"Biter," one said. "Jumped him near the collapsed tower."
The man was shivering, foam on his lips.
Rye turned toward Kai and Yu Ren. "We need someone to cauterize the wound. Our medic's dead."
Yu Ren stepped forward before thinking.
"I'll do it."
Kai blinked. "You sure?"
Yu Ren grabbed a heated blade from the fire barrel and walked over, voice steady.
"I've remembered worse."
---
Trait Unlocked: [Field Medic – Improvised]
You are now able to stabilize bleeding and infection in low-resource environments.
Passive: +10% success rate on medical actions using fire, pressure, or scrap materials.
---
To be continued.