Her survival instincts kicked in. This house wasn't a fortress anymore; it was a trap. If she stayed, she'd be cornered.
"Run," she muttered to herself. "Run now."
And she did.
She bolted for the door, her boots pounding against the metal floor as the hum of the black hole grew louder behind her. The air felt heavier, charged with energy that sent chills crawling up her spine.
Reaching the door, she threw it open and sprinted into the night, her breath coming in short gasps. Behind her, the black hole crackled and swirled, the sound chasing her like a predator.
"Very cool, Jiya," she muttered sarcastically as she ran. "They save the world, and now I get the bonus round."
But there was no time for anger. The only thing that mattered now was staying alive.
Well, you're probably wondering why I'm running like my life depends on it. Remember how I said 30% of the population survived the apocalypse? And how 29% of those lucky souls awakened as Players, gaining superhuman abilities? Yeah, well, guess who makes up the pathetic 1% left behind.
That's right—me.
I don't have even the tiniest power. Can't conjure fire, manipulate air, or even freeze a freaking ice cube. Nada. In this world, people like me are nothing but fodder. Completely useless. And if anything crawls out of that black hole back there, I might as well be a pre-packaged snack.
So, yeah, I'm running.
As my boots slap against the metal floor, I can't help but glance over my shoulder. Big mistake.
The black hole isn't just a little dot anymore. It's grown. A lot. It's already swallowed half the room, its swirling mass spreading like spilled ink across my living space.
"Oh, come on!" I scream, panic rising in my chest.
And then, as if the universe decided I wasn't already doomed enough, I reached the front door, panting like an overworked steam engine. All I needed was one scan of my fingerprint—just one—and the door would open.
"Huh?"
I froze.
"AHHHHH!"
I screamed because the black hole, now bigger than my life problems, had reached the kitchen and was happily devouring the floor tiles like some cosmic termite.
Now, remember how your mom used to nag about keeping the house clean? You know, the whole "Don't leave food on the ground! You'll regret it someday!" lecture? Yeah, like every rebellious kid, I ignored it. And guess what? Karma decided to show up today.
My foot landed on a stray can of soup—the soup I dropped three days ago and never picked up. Time slowed as I slipped, flailed, and went down like a poorly constructed tower of blocks.
"BAM!"
My head hit the floor with a dull thud, and I groaned, staring up at the ceiling, questioning all my life choices. I was just about to pick myself up when—
"Huh?"
The ground beneath me—once hard, cold, and dependable—suddenly turned into something soft and rippling, like water. My stomach dropped faster than my grades in high school.
Before I could even process what was happening, I started sinking. Slowly at first, then faster. I glanced down, and my brain flatlined. The floor wasn't just water—it was becoming the black hole.
A hysterical laugh escaped my lips as a smile, bright and completely inappropriate for the situation, spread across my face. "Damn it, I'm doomed," I muttered, the absurdity of it all hitting me like a truck.
And then, as if on cue—
"AHHHHHHHH!"
I fell. The floor disappeared, and I tumbled headfirst into the swirling void, screaming like I was on the worst rollercoaster ride of my life. My arms flailed, my legs kicked, but it was no use. The black hole had claimed me.
The last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me whole was the soup can rolling towards the door.
Figures.
Well, why? Because if this were the old times, then sure—this could be Earth. The blue sky, the soft grass, everything looked just like the pictures I remembered from before the apocalypse.
But that's the problem.
The sky hasn't been blue for years. Ever since the apocalypse, ever since the monsters took over, the sky had been a permanent shade of red—dark, eerie, and filled with things that wanted to eat you. There was no such thing as a clear sky anymore. And definitely no peaceful grasslands.
I closed my eyes and sighed.
Dreaming is nice.
Wow. I'm dreaming inside a black hole. How advanced of me.
Then—PLOP.
Something landed on my head.
I froze. Every nerve in my body screamed at me not to check. But, of course, curiosity is a cruel master, so I slowly raised a hand to touch my head.
It was wet. Slimy.
I pulled my hand away, and my brain took an extra three seconds to process what I was looking at.
A white, semi-solid, suspiciously mayonnaise-like substance.
I blinked. "Mayonnaise?"
Wait. No. Something was wrong. Mayonnaise is supposed to be smooth and creamy, right? This was… chunky.
A weird smell hit my nose.
A very weird smell.
…Why does it smell so awful?
I don't know why, but my gut screamed at me—don't look up.
But humans are the most unrestrained creatures in existence. Tell them not to do something, and they will absolutely do it.
So, of course, curiosity got the better of me.
And the moment my gaze lifted to the sky, all my worst fears were confirmed.
A bird.
A very, very ugly bird.
I mean, I've seen mutated monsters, half-rotten zombies, and players who looked like they hadn't bathed in years, but this—this thing took the crown.
Its feathers were patchy, its beak was slightly crooked, and its eyes—oh god, its eyes.
It looked at me like I was the most worthless piece of trash to ever exist.
And then, as if to really drive the point home—its eyes rolled.
It. Rolled. Its. Eyes. At. Me.
I swear I heard its judgmental little voice in my head.
"What the hell is this creature?"
Nice. So that's it, huh?
Not only am I in some unknown world, but I'm also getting insulted by a bird.