The sky broke at 2:47 pm.
Ethan Cole had been halfway through a forgettable afternoon shift of delivering packages and cursing at downtown traffic, when a high-pitched shriek tore the city like an air-raid siren.
The noise wasn't mechanical. It was something alive, something wrong.
It felt like the world had frozen… Pedestrians froze on their steps, car horns went silent, and for a heartbeat, the whole world seemed to hold its breath.
Then, reality cracked.
BZZZ!
Above the skyline, the clouds split open like shattered glass, glowing red from within… the world was coming to an end!
Chunks of burning debris rained down in waves, and from the hole in the heavens, dark shapes poured out in an event that sent the whole world reeling. Ships didn't pour out, neither did plants, but living things!
Their wings blotted out the sun!
A moment later, skyscrapers were collapsing as a cascade evident of the end of the world. It was a methodical breakdown of the city, maybe of the world.
People screamed, losing all sense of sanity and cohesion. Order jumped right out of the window.
Stampedes erupted. Sirens blared and choked off seconds later as a massive shockwave rippled through the streets, knocking Ethan off his bike and slamming him into a delivery van.
He gasped for air, ribs aching, but before he could move…
BOOM!
The road in front of him exploded upward, the asphalt tearing like paper as something inhuman clawed its way out of the ground.
A beast came out. It was massive and alien. It had six barbed legs, with chitinous armor glistening black and green, and a skull-like head with a vertical, serrated maw.
Acid dropped from its mandibles, sizzling holes into the pavement.
It turned, multiple eyes fixing on Ethan.
"Shit… what the f*ck!" he muttered in horror, stumbling backward.
An invisible force swerved and toppled cars behind him. Behind him, he saw a mother clutching her child, dragged away by a stranger before a collapsing traffic light smashed into the spot where she stood a heartbeat ago.
'What the…!' Ethan's heartbeat accelerated.
He heard gunshots from somewhere nearby. He had no idea if it was the police or civilians. It didn't matter.
The sound was drowned out by the beast's shriek. It was not a normal wild beast sound, it was a haunting metallic, and strangely otherworldly noise that made Ethan's teeth ache.
It lunged…
Ethan ran.
In the face of danger, he didn't freeze. He fled.
He vaulted over a wrecked delivery bike by the street side, sprinting down the shattered street with all the speed that he could muster. His breathing was ragged as his boots splashed through puddles of acid rain.
Behind him, chitinous legs slammed into concrete, each impact shaking the ground as a sharp hiss sliced past his ear… acid spit!
The liquid projectile hit a car to his left, eating through the metal in seconds.
'Holy…!' Ethan gasped, just now realizing how lucky he was.
He could hear his heart pounding heavily against his chest. He dove into an alleyway for safety but the beast rammed through the corner building like paper, its claws tearing through brick and steel with shocking ease.
Dust and debris rained down as it roared. Terrified, Ethan stumbled backward until his back hit a dustbin.
He looked around frantically. To his despair, he found no weapons. No escape. All he found was a broken pipe lying near a trash bag.
His hands trembled as he reached for it; knowing it wouldn't matter. This thing could rip through tanks.
Then, when all hope seemed lost…
DING!
~----~
[System Initialization Detected!]
[Unique Ability Acquired: Survivor's Gacha – Endless Improvisation]
"To face certain death is to draw from the unknown. In the moment of despair, you may manifest that which does not yet exist".
~----~
'Huh?'
A wheel of shimmering light appeared in front of him. It floated before his eyes, rudely interrupting his thoughts.
Segments of the wheel spun wildly, blurring into unreadable streaks. And then he heard a voice; cold and mechanical echo in his head.
["Critical Threat Detected… Improvisation Draw Activated!"]
Ethan barely registered it.
The monster was almost on him, its mandibles clicking dangerously like bone saws. Without thinking, Ethan reacted. He slammed his hand down on the glowing wheel out of instinct.
It immediately screeched to a stop, and then…
DING!
The system screen lit up again.
~----~
[Improvised Gear Acquired: Exo – Spike Gauntlet!]
"A jagged, short-lived combat gauntlet forged from debris and desperation. Increases striking force by 400% for 15 seconds. Designed to turn prey into predator."
~----~
Something formed on his arm. He watched as metal shards materialized from thin air, fusing and wrapping his forearm. It was a crude, spiked gauntlet.
It glowed faintly, humming with volatile energy.
And then, the monster lunged, mandibles wide open for an attack.
Ethan didn't think. He just reacted.
He took a step in, driving his fist upward into its open maw in a brutal punch. As his fist moved, the gauntlet ignited, slamming forward with a thunderous crack.
Ethan hit the monster.
CRACK!
On impact, chitin shattered like glass as a spray of green and toxic-looking blood splattered across the alley walls.
The beast shrieked and staggered in pain. Its head was half-caved in.
Ethan ripped his arm free, chest heaving. For a moment, he stared, not quite believing the amount of damage that he just did.
He felt it fading; the gauntlet's glow flickering out. Ethan looked down at his arm, still not understanding what just happened.
The creature roared and lashed out again, its claws dangerously going on the attack. Ethan didn't overthink it.
No time. Improvisation, again.
DING!
~----~
[Improvisation Draw: Spinal Harpoon!]
"A makeshift spear forged from urban wreckage, fitted with a spring-loaded spike for piercing armored flesh."
~----~
This time, a rough-looking spear materialized and clattered at his feet. It was assembled from steel rods and shattered rebar.
Ethan already had this weird wheel experience once. He did not hesitate.
Adrenaline surged through his veins as he grabbed the spear and got ready to fight for his life. As the monster charged at him again like a rabid dog, he retaliated and drove the spear straight into its wounded skull.
All it took was one devastating thrust.
BAM!
The spear entered the creature's head with a loud sound like that of hammer hitting anvil. That… hurt.
The creature convulsed, acid pouring from its opened maw in waves. It was heavily wounded this time. It collapsed in a heap, twitching violently before finally going still.
And then… silence. Only Ethan's ragged breathing could be heard.
CRKSH!
Ethan watched as the gauntlet finally disappeared, disintegrating into rusted fragments. The harpoon also collapsed in a heap. All that was left in its wake was the stench of blood and acid.
A notification appeared, glowing faintly in the air.
~----~
[Threat Neutralized: Improvisation Points +3]
"Your desperate survival has expanded the draw pool. Future improvisations may evolve or persist".
~----~
Ethan laid his back against the dustbin, shaking as the events of what just happened replayed in his head.
His chest burned. His arms ached like hell. But beneath the exhaustion and terror was a single, undeniable realization.
'This isn't a one-time miracle!' He thought. It wasn't luck.
He had just survived something no ordinary human could have.
Out on the streets, screams rose again. Fires climbed into the sky. From the red rift above, dozens more creatures descended, shaking buildings as they landed.
Ethan forced himself to his feet, eyes narrowing.
"If this world wants me dead…" he muttered, voice trembling but sharp as broken glass, "…then I'll improvise until nothing can kill me".
And as the sun vanished behind the swarm of descending horrors, the glowing wheel flickered before his eyes again, ready for the next spin.