Hyosan High felt ordinary that morning. Students rushed through the hallways, laughing, tapping on their phones, and chatting with friends. But a faint, unsettling energy lingered—coughs from the back of classrooms, a strange tension in the air.
Then it happened. A student convulsed in the corridor, eyes rolling back before snapping wide, glassy and predatory. Others followed. Screams echoed, panic erupting instantly.
Nam On-jo grabbed Su-hyeok's hand. "We have to get somewhere safe!" Ji-soo, Seok-yoon, and a few other students scrambled to barricade doors.
I froze, instincts flaring. Metallic blood tang, erratic heartbeats, and sudden movement—something inside me stirred. Then a student lunged at me, teeth sinking into my arm. Pain exploded, white-hot, but it quickly shifted into something else.
Strength surged, muscles tensed, senses sharpened. From my back, a shadow-like appendage flickered—the kagune. It lashed forward instinctively, weak and awkward, barely enough to knock the zombie back. Hunger whispered in my chest, faint but insistent, tugging at me to feed. I clenched my teeth. Control… survive… protect.
Cheong-san grabbed my shoulder. "We need to move!"
I nodded, flexing my trembling hands. The horde pressed closer, groaning, snapping at anyone nearby. Students scattered in panic. I swung my kagune again, jerky but effective, pushing one zombie aside, giving Nam On-jo and Su-hyeok time to retreat.
We ducked into the chemistry lab, slamming the door, barricading it with overturned desks. Smoke, blood, and fear filled the air. Outside, the groans of the infected echoed endlessly. Survival wasn't just about avoiding monsters—it was about strategy, improvisation, and protecting those who couldn't defend themselves.
Cheong-san's eyes scanned the room. "We need supplies. Water, food… anything to survive."
I nodded, forcing down the hunger that pulsed faintly, feeling my kagune twitch in response to the surrounding danger. Slowly… I'll get stronger.
Nam On-jo whispered, "Do you think the government knows about this?"
Seok-yoon's face was grim. "They know. People are getting powers—ghoul-like abilities—but they can't control it. They're dangerous… unstable. The real danger isn't just the infected—it's the world itself."
I felt a chill. My kagune pulsed faintly, responding to the fear around me. Slowly, unpredictably, it grew stronger with each encounter. My senses were heightened: I could hear whispers of heartbeat, sense movements beyond vision, smell the faintest hint of blood. One day, if I trained, controlled my hunger, and survived, my kagune could evolve into something unstoppable—like Kaneki, the ghoul I had read about in legends and whispers online.
We moved toward the gymnasium, the hallway littered with broken glass, overturned lockers, and bodies. Small groups of zombies shuffled along, some fast, some slow. My kagune twitched nervously, striking at one, clumsy but effective, and I felt a surge of confidence. Each swing, each strike, strengthened my control, even if slightly.
By evening, we reached the gymnasium. Other students had barricaded doors and rationed supplies. My kagune pulsed beneath my skin, hunger simmering but under control. Cheong-san turned to me. "We survive this… together. Every fight, every decision, we get stronger. We protect each other."
I exhaled, gripping my kagune. Slowly, unpredictably, it pulsed with growing power. Hunger whispered, but I pushed it down. This power… it was mine, and if I survived, trained, and mastered it, nothing—zombie, human, or government experiment—could stand in my way.
Outside, the infected moaned endlessly, but the greater threat was clear: the world itself was collapsing. People were gaining ghoul-like powers, zombies roamed freely, and governments manipulated chaos.
Hyosan High was no longer a school—it was a battlefield. Every hallway, every classroom, every shadow could mean life or death. And in this collapsing world, the slow awakening of my ghoul powers might be the only hope against the chaos, capable of eventually surpassing anyone—like Kaneki, the ghoul legend.