The light spat them out hard. Harry hit stone again, his hands scraping rough pavement. He groaned, rolling onto his side, the dagger burning in his palm like it never wanted to let go.
When his eyes adjusted, he realized it wasn't a forest or a cavern this time. They were in the middle of a city. Or… what was left of one.
The buildings stretched tall, glass cracked, windows smashed. Cars sat rusted in the streets, doors hanging open. Not a sound anywhere. No birds, no voices, nothing.
Naruto stood up and brushed mud off his orange clothes. "Well this place sucks."
Spider-Man turned slowly in a circle, mask-eyes narrowing. "New York? No… no, the skyline's wrong. And way too quiet. Even my New York at three in the morning isn't this dead."
Flash zipped forward and back in a blink, stopping beside them again. His face looked tight now. "No one. I checked six blocks. Not a single person."
Harry swallowed. "Empty?"
"Empty," Flash said.
Kakashi crouched, touching the ground with two fingers. He stayed that way for a long moment, silent. Finally he said, "This place died a while ago."
Harry's scar gave a faint twitch. Not sharp, not painful, just enough to make him shiver. The dagger thrummed once, almost quiet, like it was listening.
Naruto kicked a broken sign lying in the street. "First creepy forest, then big spider cave, now zombie city. I'm not liking the travel package, guys."
Harry forced a weak laugh. "You think I booked it?"
They walked. Streets stretched long, trash scattered like it had been frozen mid-movement. Harry kept close to the others, the silence pressing on his chest. It wasn't just empty. It felt… wrong.
Spider-Man muttered, "I've seen my share of end-of-the-world stuff, but usually there's something. Smoke. Rats. Bad guys monologuing. Here? Nothing. Like they all just—" He snapped his fingers. "Gone."
Flash's voice was quiet. "Reminds me of when time breaks."
Nobody asked him to explain.
They turned a corner. The street opened into a square. A fountain sat in the middle, water long gone, cracked stone dry. A statue towered over it, half-broken. Harry squinted. The face was smashed but the figure held something… a shield.
Spider-Man tilted his head. "Is that—Cap? No way."
Kakashi glanced at him. "Who?"
"Long story," Spider-Man muttered, too quick.
Harry's chest felt heavy. Another world. Another piece of somewhere that wasn't supposed to exist. He sat down on the edge of the fountain, the dagger buzzing faint in his hand. He hated it, but also couldn't put it down. His scar ached again, soft but steady.
Naruto climbed up on the statue's base, squinting at the broken face. "Whoever this guy was, he didn't win."
Flash's head snapped up. "Shh."
Everyone froze.
There was sound now. Very faint. A scrape. A shuffle. Like shoes dragging on concrete.
Harry's heart jumped. He stood, wand out. Spider-Man raised one hand, web ready. Kakashi's knife gleamed in the dim light.
The sound grew louder. Around the corner. More than one set of feet.
Harry whispered, "People?"
The footsteps came closer. Figures turned the corner. But they weren't right.
Bodies thin, clothes ragged, faces pale, eyes dark and empty. Their movements jerky, slow, but steady. Their mouths opened, no words, just soft groans.
Naruto said the obvious. "Zombies. You've got to be kidding me."
The first one lurched forward. Spider-Man shot a web, pinning it to the wall. It kept struggling, head twisting, mouth opening wider.
Flash blurred past, knocking three down, but they crawled right back up. Kakashi moved quick, knife clean through one's neck, but the body twitched even headless.
Harry fired Stupefy. The red light hit, blasting one back. It lay still for a moment… then pushed itself up again.
"Oh, come on," Harry muttered, stomach twisting.
The dagger pulsed in his hand. Louder. Stronger. The whispers filled his head again.
"Open."
"No," Harry whispered. "Not again. Not now."
The zombies moaned louder, more of them stumbling out from broken shops, from side streets, from shadows. Dozens. Maybe more.
Naruto growled. "I can make clones, but not that many!"
Spider-Man muttered, "I've read this comic. It ends badly."
Flash grabbed Harry's shoulder. "The dagger wants out."
Harry shook his head, voice cracking. "What if the next place is worse?"
Kakashi's voice was quiet, calm, almost too calm. "It will be."
The dagger burned hot. The whispers turned to a roar inside Harry's skull.
The first zombie lunged, jaws snapping. Naruto punched it straight in the face.
The dagger flared white.
The city tore apart.
Harry screamed as the world folded in on itself again, the last sound he heard the endless moan of the dead echoing into the light.