Ouch!
My head… it hurts!
The pain came without warning.
It was sharp, splitting his skull as though a spike had been driven clean through. His breath caught. His grip on the metro's overhead strap nearly slipped.
Ravi Sharma staggered, knees bending under him. The crowded train swayed around him, but his world had gone white.
What… what's happening to me?
The agony wasn't normal. It wasn't just a headache.
It was like something was being forced into his mind.
And then the memories began.
Blood on the streets.A sky torn open like paper.The thunder of beasts that should not exist.Screams that were swallowed whole.
He saw them all.
He saw himself.
Older. Desperate. His body battered and smeared with blood.A weapon in his hands, swinging clumsily, barely keeping him alive.Allies—faces he couldn't even place now—falling beside him, one after another.The smell of smoke. The taste of iron.
The end.
Ravi gasped.
His heart thudded painfully. His hands were slick with sweat.
He blinked—
The metro was still there.
The rattling tracks. The faint stale air. Bodies pressing against him from all sides.
Like nothing had happened.
No…
This isn't possible.
Yet in the pit of his stomach, he already knew the truth.
He'd lived this before.
The train burst from the tunnel. Sunlight spilled through the smudged glass windows.
But the sky outside…
It wasn't blue.
Cracks spread across it like a spiderweb of light. Thin, radiant fractures splitting open wider with each heartbeat.
The light pouring through was blinding.
Passengers cried out. Phones lifted, flashing as they tried to record the impossible.
The metro screeched to a halt.
But Ravi?
He didn't move.
Because he already knew what would step through.
The fracture widened.
Something emerged.
A figure.
Its robes shimmered, woven from shifting threads of light. Above its head spun a halo of flame, rings of fire turning endlessly.
The weight of its presence pressed down on every chest, every mind, demanding submission without a word.
Kneel.
Some passengers sobbed. Others trembled where they stood.
And then a voice.
Not from the figure's mouth.Not from the air.It rang directly inside their skulls—metallic, ancient, absolute.
[Welcome, Players.]
Silence.
The sound of ragged breathing filled the carriage.
Then, shakily—
"Wh–what is this? Who are you?"
A woman's voice. Thin. Breaking.
The figure tilted its head. Its halo spun faster.
[Do you at least know what a Scenario Host is?]
Nobody answered.
Eyes darted. Faces paled.
And then—
A dry laugh.
Ravi's lips curled faintly, humorless.
"It's the one running the show," he muttered. "Only… you don't get to quit."
The air trembled. Text flooded their vision.
[Main Scenario #1: The First Hunt]Clear Condition: Eliminate the designated threat.Time Limit: 30 minutes.
[System Notice: Initializing…][System Notice: …Error Detected…][System Notice: Unknown signal intrusion…]
The letters glitched, warping into static—then reformed.
@Unknown_Origin: I gave you another chance. Don't waste it.
The words flickered out.
The passengers around Ravi were still staring at their system prompts, unaware of what had just appeared.
Only he had seen it.
Ravi exhaled slowly. His voice was barely audible.
"So… it was you."
The floor vibrated.
Thud.
Thud.
The sound echoed from the tunnel ahead.
A deep growl followed, low and guttural, rolling like thunder.
Panic swept the carriage.
People surged toward the doors. Hands slapped against glass.
But they crashed into a wall of shimmering blue.
An invisible barrier.
Sealing them in.
The growl came again. Louder. Closer.
The lights flickered overhead.
Ravi turned slowly toward the tunnel.
His gaze settled on a forgotten length of rusted iron pipe in the corner by his seat.
He bent down. Fingers curled around it. The cold weight was reassuring.
His pulse steadied.
The footsteps stopped.
A shadow stirred in the tunnel.
Then—
Two molten-yellow eyes snapped open.
They burned in the darkness, unblinking, hungry.
The growl deepened into a snarl.
Ravi raised the pipe. His grip tightened.
A smile, thin and sharp, tugged at his lips.
"…Let's dance."
The growl shook the tunnel walls.
Dust fell from the ceiling. Sparks danced from the flickering lights above the rails.
The passengers clung to each other, some sobbing, some screaming.
But Ravi?
He stepped forward.
One step.
Two.
The rusty pipe scraped faintly against the floor as he tightened his grip.
Steady. Don't panic. You've done this before.
Or… had he?
The eyes in the dark moved.
Closer.
The shape behind them unfurled, slow and deliberate, like a nightmare crawling free from shadow.
First, the claws—metallic, curved, scraping sparks as they dragged across the tunnel floor.
Then the shoulders—hunched, jagged with bone-like ridges.
And then the maw—jaws splitting too wide, lined with teeth that gleamed wetly under the dim lights.
The thing roared.
The sound rattled glass.
Someone screamed back.
The monster surged forward.
The metro shook.
Passengers scattered, slamming useless fists against the blue barrier.
The creature lunged straight for them.
Ravi moved.
The pipe came up, iron screaming against bone. The impact jarred his arms, numbing them, but the beast's head snapped sideways.
It howled, furious.
[Combat Engaged.]
[Player Status: Active.]
Blue text flickered at the edge of Ravi's vision.
He ignored it.
The monster swung a claw.
Too fast.
He ducked—barely. Metal shrieked as the claw carved a line through the ceiling. Sparks rained down, burning against his skin.
Close. Too close.
He swung upward. The pipe connected with its jaw. A sickening crack.
The beast reeled, drool and black saliva spraying across the floor.
For a moment, the passengers behind him cheered—then immediately shrieked as the creature roared again, louder, angrier.
[Player Action Recorded.][Minor Threat Neutralization Progress: 8%]
"…Eight? Out of a hundred? You've got to be kidding me."
The beast lunged again.
Ravi sidestepped. His shoulder slammed against a seat, pain lancing down his arm. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself upright.
The claws came again.
He raised the pipe—too slow.
The impact knocked him sprawling. His back hit the floor. The breath left his lungs.
The monster loomed over him, jaws yawning wide.
Hot, rancid breath washed across his face.
Not like this. Not again.
The system flickered.
[System Notice: Unknown Signal Detected.]
@Unknown_Origin: Left. Roll left.
The words blazed in front of his eyes.
Ravi didn't think.
He rolled.
The claw slammed into the tiles where his skull had been, shards spraying across his cheek.
He came up swinging.
The pipe smashed into the creature's eye.
It shrieked, convulsing, clawing at its face.
[Weak Point Discovered.][Progress: 32%]
Ravi scrambled back to his feet, chest heaving.
The passengers were watching him now—terrified, desperate, hopeful.
Don't look at them. Focus.
The beast thrashed. Its claws tore up seats, sparks flying as metal split apart like paper.
The second eye glowed.
It turned on him again.
Ravi grinned, sharp and reckless.
"Round two, then."
He charged.
The next few seconds blurred into instinct.
Claw descending—duck.Tail whipping sideways—block. Pain exploded through his ribs.Gap opening—swing.
The pipe smashed down.
Bone cracked. Black ichor spattered his arm, sizzling against his skin.
The monster staggered.
[Progress: 61%]
"Still not enough?" he spat. "Fine. Let's finish this."
The system pulsed.
[Hidden Condition Met.][Temporary Skill Granted: Survivor's Strike]
Energy surged into his arms.
The pipe in his hands felt lighter—no, sharper, as though the wind itself pressed along its edge.
Ravi planted his feet.
The monster lunged.
He swung.
The pipe sliced clean across its throat.
A spray of burning ichor.
A final, rattling roar.
And then—silence.
The creature collapsed. Its body twitched once before dissolving into black mist that sank into the floor.
[Scenario Progress: 100%][Main Scenario #1 Completed.][Reward: +50 Coins.]
Ravi stood in the wreckage of the metro carriage, chest heaving, sweat and ash dripping down his face.
The passengers were staring.
Some in awe.Some in fear.Most simply in shock.
The system text glowed faintly in his vision, cold and absolute.
[Survivor Count: 117/160]
Dozens gone. Just like that.
And this was only the first hunt.
Ravi wiped the ichor from his cheek with the back of his hand.
The pipe trembled faintly in his grip.
He exhaled.
"…Welcome back, Sharma."