The engine didn't just struggle—it complained, dragging out each rotation like it resented being forced to keep going, and Aria Cole couldn't even blame it, because if she were honest with herself, she felt exactly the same way.
"Come on… don't do this to me today," she muttered under her breath, leaning forward slightly as though her body weight alone could convince the truck to cooperate.
The steering wheel trembled faintly beneath her palms, the entire dashboard rattling in uneven rhythm, while the cracked windshield in front of her distorted the morning light into something harsher than it should have been.
It was just another bad day.
At least—that was what she thought.
Her phone buzzed violently against the passenger seat, the sharp vibration cutting through the dull mechanical noise of the failing engine, and she reached over without thinking, glancing down just long enough to read the notification.
[BREAKING NEWS: GLOBAL EMERGENCY—CITIZENS ADVISED TO SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER]
Aria let out a quiet, humorless laugh as she shook her head.
"Yeah, because hiding indoors has always worked so well," she murmured, tossing the phone back onto the seat as her eyes returned to the road.
Still, something about the message lingered in her mind longer than it should have.
It wasn't just the words.
It was the tone.
Too urgent.
Too sudden.
Before she could think any further, the world changed.
Not gradually.
Not subtly.
It simply… stopped.
The air felt like it had been pulled tight, stretched to a breaking point that no one could see but everyone could feel, and for a fraction of a second—so brief she might have imagined it—everything around her seemed to freeze in place.
Then—
The sky flickered.
Not lightning.
Not anything natural.
It was as if reality itself had glitched.
Aria's hands tightened around the wheel. "What the hell was that…?"
A sound followed.
Clear.
Sharp.
Mechanical.
DING.
Aria froze.
"…No," she said immediately, shaking her head as if she could physically reject what was happening. "No, I'm not doing this today—"
A translucent blue screen appeared directly in front of her eyes.
Not on the dashboard.
Not reflected in the glass.
Directly in front of her.
Floating.
Unavoidable.
[WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE SYSTEM]
Her breath caught in her throat, and for the first time that day—maybe for the first time in a long time—Aria felt something close to genuine fear settle deep in her chest.
"This isn't real," she said quietly, though there was no conviction behind the words. "This is… some kind of trick. A projection. A—"
[Humanity Survival Rate: 3%]
That made her stop.
Completely.
"…Three percent?" she repeated slowly, her voice dropping.
Her mind tried to process it, tried to rationalize it, tried to reject it—
But something deeper told her not to.
Because if this was fake…
It was too detailed.
Too immediate.
Too real.
[Initializing Player Status…]
"Player?" she echoed, almost incredulous. "You've got to be kidding me…"
The screen shifted again, new text forming with cold precision.
[Player: Aria Cole]
[Level: 0]
[Class: None]
[Assigned Asset: Broken Transport Vehicle]
Aria stared at the last line.
Then slowly…
Very slowly…
She looked around the inside of her truck.
The torn seat beneath her.
The rust creeping along the edges of the door.
The engine that sounded like it might die at any moment.
"…You're serious?" she said flatly, her gaze returning to the screen. "This is what I get? Out of everyone in the world, this is what I start with?"
No answer came.
Of course not.
Because whatever this system was—
It didn't care.
A scream shattered the silence.
Loud.
Close.
Terrified.
Aria's head snapped toward the street ahead, her entire body going rigid as her eyes locked onto the scene unfolding in front of her.
People were running.
Not casually.
Not confused.
They were running like their lives depended on it.
Because they did.
"What is going on…?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
A man tripped, hitting the ground hard, his hands scraping uselessly against the pavement as he tried to push himself back up.
He didn't get the chance.
Something hit him.
Fast.
Violent.
Inhuman.
Aria's breath caught as her eyes widened, her entire body going cold as she took in the sight of the creature crouched over him.
It had once been human.
That much was clear.
But whatever it was now…
Was something else entirely.
Its movements were wrong—too sharp, too sudden—its limbs bending in ways that shouldn't have been possible, while its mouth stretched unnaturally wide as it let out a low, guttural sound that made Aria's stomach twist.
"…No," she whispered, shaking her head instinctively. "No, no, no—"
The creature's head snapped up.
Its eyes locked onto hers.
Glowing.
Hungry.
[WARNING: MUTATED ENTITY DETECTED]
[Threat Level: LETHAL]
"Yeah, I got that—!"
The creature moved.
Not running.
Not charging.
It launched itself forward with terrifying speed.
Straight toward her.
"Oh hell no—!"
Aria twisted the key in the ignition.
The engine coughed.
Failed.
The creature closed the distance.
FAST.
"START!" she shouted, slamming her hand against the dashboard.
The engine sputtered again—
Still nothing.
The creature slammed onto the hood with a deafening crash, its weight denting the already fragile metal as its distorted face came into full view through the cracked windshield.
Up close—
It was worse.
So much worse.
Its eyes were wide and unfocused, its teeth jagged and uneven, its entire expression twisted into something feral and wrong.
"Move!" Aria snapped, panic surging through her veins as she twisted the key again.
The engine choked—
Then—
Roared to life.
"Yes—!"
She slammed her foot down on the gas.
The truck lurched forward violently, throwing the creature off balance as it slid off the hood and hit the ground hard.
Aria didn't look back.
Didn't slow down.
Didn't think.
She just drove.
Her hands shook.
Her breathing was uneven.
Her heart refused to calm.
Behind her, the world collapsed into chaos.
And ahead of her—
There was nothing but uncertainty.
After several long seconds, she finally managed to speak again, her voice quieter now, but steadier.
"…Alright," she said, tightening her grip on the wheel as her eyes focused on the road ahead.
"If this is real…"
She glanced briefly at the glowing system interface still hovering in her vision.
Then back at the road.
Her expression slowly hardened.
"Then I'm not dying like that."