The world ended with fire.
At first, no one believed the alerts. Governments told us to stay calm. News anchors smiled stiffly into cameras while a meteor shower lit up the sky, streaks of burning light tearing across the heavens. People gathered on rooftops, on highways, filming with their phones, laughing nervously as if it were fireworks.
Then the first impact hit.
The ground screamed. A column of fire devoured a city on the horizon. Another meteor crashed into the ocean, and a tidal wave taller than skyscrapers swallowed entire coasts. That's when the satellites went down. The internet flickered into silence. The last thing I saw on the news was an anchor's face frozen in static. After that, the world was nothing but chaos.
And then came the sickness.
They called it a virus at first — something released by the meteors, spreading through air and water. But it wasn't a virus. Not really. The infected didn't just cough blood and collapse. They twisted. Bones cracked. Skin split open as glowing veins carved patterns beneath. Some dropped dead and stayed dead. Others rose again, no longer human, their eyes burning like molten glass.
The survivors named them Aberrations.
That was three weeks ago. Now I sat alone in the dark, pressed against the cold wall of a ruined convenience store, clutching the only weapon I had: a rusted crowbar. My breath puffed in shallow clouds in the early dawn. My clothes were shredded, my hair stuck to my forehead with grime and sweat. My stomach ached with hunger, but the shelves around me had been picked clean days ago.
And then — it appeared.
A soundless chime rang in my skull, like a drop of water rippling across my mind. My vision flickered. Blue light bled into the corner of my sight, forming words in a neat, glowing box.
[ SYSTEM INITIALIZED ]Welcome, Survivor.Adapting biological signature…Sync complete.
Name: Aria ValeLevel: 1Health: 100/100Stamina: 60/60Skills: NonePerks: NoneXP: 0
I froze. My pulse thudded so loud I thought something would hear it. I blinked, but the words didn't vanish. They hovered, waiting, alive in a way that made my skin crawl. I lifted a trembling hand and reached toward them, but of course, my fingers passed through air.
This was it. The whispers people talked about. The "game menus." Some survivors claimed the world had turned into a simulation. Others said it was God giving humanity a second chance. I didn't care which was true. All I knew was that I'd just become part of something I couldn't understand.
A new line appeared.
Quest Assigned: Survive the First Cut.Objective: Eliminate one Aberration.Reward: +50 XP, Random Drop.
I swallowed hard, bile rising in my throat. Eliminate one Aberration? Alone? With a crowbar and empty stomach?
The groan came then, low and wet, seeping through the store's broken windows. I gripped the crowbar tighter. My arms shook. The Aberration stumbled into view, dragging its twisted body down the street outside. Its head lolled at an unnatural angle, veins glowing faintly beneath gray flesh. Its hands were claws now, jagged and glistening.
It hadn't seen me. Not yet.
I should've run. I should've stayed quiet, let it pass. But the quest pulsed in the corner of my vision like a brand seared into my skull. I didn't know if ignoring it was an option. I didn't want to find out.
My feet moved on their own. The crowbar felt like lead in my grip. I crept to the door, my breath catching with every step. The Aberration twitched, head jerking toward the sound of glass crunching under my shoe. Its glowing eyes locked onto mine.
It screamed.
I screamed back, charging forward with everything I had. The crowbar smashed into its skull with a sickening crunch, but it didn't fall. It clawed at me, slicing across my shoulder, hot blood spraying down my arm. I swung again, again, tears burning my eyes, until finally the thing collapsed in a twitching heap.
[ Aberration Slain ]+50 XP.Level Up!
Congratulations, Survivor.Health increased. Stamina increased.New Skill Unlocked: Basic Melee (Lv.1).
I fell to my knees, gasping, blood slick on my clothes. My whole body shook with adrenaline and horror, but the glowing blue text danced in the corner of my vision like a victory fanfare. I'd survived. Somehow.
The corpse twitched. I scrambled back, crowbar raised again. But instead of moving, the body dissolved. It broke apart into black ash that scattered into the wind. In its place, a small shimmering object lay on the cracked pavement. I picked it up with trembling fingers.
[ Random Drop Acquired: Minor Health Potion ]
I almost laughed. A potion? Like some video game prize? It was absurd. But when I uncorked the tiny vial and drank, warmth spread through me, closing the gash on my shoulder until only a faint scar remained. My eyes stung, and for a second, I thought I might cry.
This was real. All of it. And if I didn't adapt, I'd die.
The sound of footsteps crunched across broken glass. Not the shuffling drag of another Aberration — no. These were steady. Controlled. Human.
My head snapped up. A silhouette moved through the rising mist at the end of the street. Tall, broad-shouldered, carrying himself like he owned every inch of the ruined world. The pale dawn painted him in silver light as he drew closer. My chest tightened when I recognized him.
"No…" I whispered, breath catching in my throat.
The figure stepped fully into view, dark hair falling into storm-gray eyes that had haunted me for years. His lips curved, not in a smile but something sharper. Something that said he was as dangerous as the monsters.
"Aria," Lysander said, his voice low, carrying across the silence of the broken street. "Of all the people still alive… it had to be you."
My crowbar trembled in my grip. Every memory of our rivalry came crashing back — the betrayals, the venom, the fire of hating him so deeply it burned. And now, here he was. In this nightmare. In my world again.
The System chimed in my vision.
[ New Quest Assigned ]Form Alliance: Lysander Hale.Reward: Unknown.Penalty: Death.
The ground seemed to tilt beneath me. My rival. My enemy. My only chance.
And for the first time since the sky fell, I wasn't sure which scared me more — the Aberrations lurking in the shadows, or the boy standing right in front of me.