When Yuri first saw her, Nina's eyes opened wide—almost painfully so, like they couldn't believe he was real. Then she ran.Not walked, not stumbled—ran. Straight into his arms.
Her body collided with his chest in a desperate, shaking embrace. She clung to him with the strength of someone terrified he might vanish into dust if she loosened her grip even a little.
She sobbed uncontrollably, her tears soaking through his shirt until the fabric clung to his skin.
He didn't care. He held her just as tightly—arms curling around her trembling form, chin resting atop her head. His own eyes burned, moisture gathering despite his effort to hold back.
"N-Nina…" he whispered, his voice quivering. "It's okay… you're safe now. It's okay."
He stroked her messy, tangled hair with a gentleness that felt foreign even to him.
But the world around them… was dead.
They walked through the corpse of the city.
The sky was colorless. No wind. Not even the hum of electricity. Cars sat abandoned in the streets—some burned, some crushed, all silent. Storefront windows were shattered. Signs dangled on a single hinge. The city wasn't just ruined.
It had been hollowed out.
Nina stayed close—almost glued to his side. Her steps were uneven, cautious, as if every shadow might swallow her.
"How could this… have happened?" she whispered, her voice cracking. "Everything just… ended. In one night."
Yuri exhaled slowly. "I'm sorry, Nina. I'm sorry I wasn't here."
She stopped walking. Completely. Her entire body trembled.
"I… I saw them," she said, barely audible.
He turned toward her, alarmed. "Nina?"
"They were—" She gagged. Her throat locked. Her eyes unfocused like she was staring straight into a memory she couldn't escape.
Then she dropped to her knees.
And vomited.
Yuri was beside her in a second, supporting her by the shoulders. He slid the loosened tie from around his neck and wiped her mouth as gently as he could.
"Hey," he whispered. "It's okay. You don't have to think about it anymore."
Her breath hitched, and she leaned into him, shaking.
"I promise," he murmured, touching his forehead to hers, "I'll keep you safe. Even if it costs me my life… I'll protect you, Nina."
Her eyes glimmered with something—fear, hope, disbelief. She didn't trust the world anymore, but she trusted him. She nodded, wiping her face, gripping his arm as though grounding herself to reality.
They kept walking. Two silhouettes wandering through a world whose heartbeat had stopped.
After a long, heavy silence, Nina spoke. "By the way… how have you survived this long, Yuri? You barely look hurt."
He blinked, staring down at his hands as if noticing them for the first time. "Honestly… I don't know. There was someone—someone who took care of me, apparently. I've been unconscious… all this time. I only woke up a few hours ago."
Her eyes widened. "Wait—really? That means there are survivors! Yuri, that's great!"
She tugged his arm with sudden urgency. "Come on, we have to find them! Maybe they can help both of us! Where are they?"
He hesitated.
"Well… yeah, we should. Maybe we can ask her. She was staying in—"
Yuri froze.
His words evaporated. A chill slithered up his spine. His body stiffened.
Nina's breath caught. "Yuri…?"
"I… don't know," he whispered.
"What?" She stepped closer, panic rising. "What do you mean? Try harder—think."
"I don't know. I–I don't…" His breathing accelerated. Sweat dripped down his forehead.
"Yuri! Their name? Their face? Anything!" Nina pleaded. "You said 'she,' right? Then what did she look like!?"
"I don't know! I DON'T KNOW!" he yelled, gripping his head.
Pain knifed through his skull—sharp, blinding, unnatural. It felt like something was clawing at his memories, ripping them apart as he reached for them.
"What's happening to me…" he gasped.
Nina dropped beside him, pulling his shaking body into her arms. She held his head against her chest and stroked his hair, whispering:
"It's okay. Don't hurt yourself. I'm here, Yuri. I'm right here."
He hesitated, breathing ragged. "…Nina…"
"It's fine," she said softly, forehead touching his. "As long as we have each other… we'll be okay."
Something in him… twisted.
He pulled away abruptly.
His face had gone pale, sickly. His pupils shrunk. He stared at her—not with fear or confusion…
…but with recognition.
"N-Nina…?" she stammered.
He took a step back. Then another.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"Who… exactly are you?"
DUM—
Nina froze.
Her smile faltered. Her lip twitched. Something in her expression broke apart like cracking porcelain.
"Yuri… what are you talking about…?"
But he knew.On some primal level, he had always known.
The eyes that once glowed warm and alive were now empty. Hollow. Predatory.
That wasn't Nina.
Not even close.
He ran.
He didn't think—he just ran. Through broken streets, past overturned cars, past the death of the world itself. His lungs burned, his legs screamed, but terror shoved him forward.
It didn't matter.
She was there.
Right beside him. Her footsteps made no sound. Her presence clung to him like a second skin.
Then—
PAIN.
A white-hot explosion tore through both legs. He collapsed onto the cold pavement, screaming.
When he looked up, she stood over him, smiling sweetly.
"Silly," she whispered.
Her lips didn't move.The voice echoed inside his skull.
"Why would you ever run away from me?"
She laughed—though it wasn't laughter. It was a glitching, broken sound. A mockery of human joy.
"Yuri…" her voice slid through his mind like a knife. "Didn't you say you'd protect me? Even if it cost your life?"
He stared at the sky—empty, starless, suffocating—and realized:
This wasn't a nightmare.
This was hell.
"…You killed her, didn't you?" he whispered. "Nina…"
The creature tilted its head, smiling innocently. "Silly Yuri… I am your Nina. Don't you remember?"
VUSH—
His eyes flew open.
His lungs expanded sharply as he gasped for air. He stumbled backward—realizing he was standing. Not dying. Not bleeding.
Standing.
Before him, a masked man lowered his arm.His cloak billowed like living darkness.Long hair tied back.And in his hand…
A severed head.
Her head.
The man glanced at him, voice calm and unshaken. "Are you okay?"
Yuri's throat tightened. He couldn't speak.
"I'm sorry I didn't step in earlier," the man continued. "But I had to wait. You needed to unlock your first skill."
He paused, tilting his head slightly.
"Congratulations, Yuri."
Silence swallowed the street.
The masked man's tone sharpened—cold, precise.
"You're now a player."