CHAPTER 11 — Quiet Walls
ELION — POV
When I stepped back inside from the balcony—frost still fading from my fingertips—the apartment felt different.
Warmer, almost softer. Human.
The earlier chaos had settled into a fragile calm. The siblings whispered in their shared room. Their mother rummaged in cupboards, trying to occupy her hands. And Alexiy…
She watched me like she wasn't sure whether to smile, cry, or collapse from relief.
"Did it work?" she asked quietly.
"It worked," I said.
She nodded slowly, but kept staring—eyes tracing my hands like she could still see the frost clinging there.
I pretended not to notice.
Instead, I took in the space—the cramped living room, narrow hallway, kitchen full of mismatched mugs and unopened mail. This place was lived in. Worn. Home.
A kind of life I never had.
"Follow me," Alexiy murmured, breaking the silence. "If… um… you're staying tonight, you should know the layout properly."
I nodded.
She led me down the hall, her limp noticeable but controlled.
"Bathroom's here. Mom's room is across. Lily and Aaron share the first bedroom."
She hesitated at the last door.
"This one is… mine."
She pushed it open.
Pink sheets. Piles of clothes. A half-made craft project on the floor. The smell of vanilla shampoo.
It was messy.
Personal.
Cute.
She flushed and scrambled to shove a few things aside—including a black bra she definitely didn't want me to see.
I glanced around once.
Didn't comment.
Her face turned pink anyway.
"A-Anyway!" she squeaked. "Let's, um—go back."
The mother had finished heating water for tea by the time we returned. The apartment filled with a warm, earthy smell.
"I know it's little," she said, handing me a cup, "but… food is food these days."
I accepted it.
Then pulled out two sodas and a small pack of jerky from my Inventory.
Lily lit up instantly. "He's like a walking vending machine."
She whispered to her mother—not quietly at all:
"Are you my sister's boyfriend?"
She said it with a grin that could kill.
Alexiy nearly choked on air.
"LILY— HE'S JUST—!"
I shook my head. "No. I don't believe we've done proper introductions. Hello my name is Elion, feel free to call me Eli. I was working at a gas station when the apocalypse hit. I happened to be outside when I heard a scream, I ran and ended up running into Alexiy here, we spent the night resting at the gas station then left this morning and made our way here since she wanted to make sure her family was alright."
I share my introduction and of how I met Alexiy. The mother spoke up introducing herslef as Sarah, Lily was the teenager 17, a rebel. and Aaron was 12. He was shy and quiet but his eyes never seemed glued to me for some reason.
Lily kept asking questions to get under Alexiys skin; if I was single, what type of girls do I like, if I had any experience dating before.
Teenagers.
We sat. Ate. Drank. The tension slowly dissolved into something gentler, something close to comfort.
When dinner was done, I began asking questions.
"What's the building layout? How many apartments per floor? Which units are occupied?"
Sarah told me everything—who lived where, which neighbors screamed earlier, where they heard thuds behind doors. The whole fourth floor was a patchwork of trauma.
"And outside?" I asked.
"The city went quiet around midnight last night," she said. "All the sirens stopped. The people… stopped."
"A bad sign," I murmured.
Lily nodded nervously. "But Lexi showed us the system and said you have skills and are really strong, right?."
"Yes," I said. "I have skills and I may be strong... but that shouldn't matter. At the end of the day the only person you can rely on is your own strength. It's every man for himself now. I promise you that as strong as I am now, there is someone stronger out there... for now."
I finish with a slight smile. While its true they need to face reality, it's also true that if something happened right now I'm fairly confident of taking on at least a dozen regular zombies and even a variant would be easier to fight now that I had Frostwill.
Alexiy shivered.
I filed everything away in my head. Different routes to the pharmacy. Level of threat that a grocery store would have. Possible escape paths for when shit hit the fan—like it always did eventually.
The night grew darker.
Then—
Scratching.
Slow.
Dragging.
Right outside the door.
The apartment went dead still.
Aaron crawled into his mother's lap.
Lily clamped her hand over her mouth.
Alexiy inched closer to me unconsciously.
I raised a finger.
"Shh."
Danger Sense prickled faintly.
This wasn't an attack, or someone trying breaking in.
Just something… hungry. Wandering. Testing.
It lingered.
Then faded.
The room exhaled.
One by one, they retreated to their rooms. Even Lily stopped teasing. Exhaustion had won.
I lay down on the couch, bat resting beside me, Shadow Veil simmering just beneath my skin.
I didn't plan to sleep.
Didn't need to. I finally had magic why would I sleep?
In all reality I was tired and wanted nothing more to crawl back to my trailer and fall asleep for a week, but now that I actually had magic. That my one wish finally came true— it was hard to stop.
I entered a in between state of half-asleep and half-deep meditation. I was following my mana flow. practicing my control of my mana, the speed, the amount. Crimson Pulse helped. My first skill. One that would only keep proving it's worth. As I check my status again I couldn't help but smile when I saw the numbers.
Name: Elion
Level: 2
Physique: 12
Mind: 13
Spirit: 12 —> 13
Will: 21
Perception: 10
Free Points Remaining: 11
[SKILLS]
Passive:Crimson Pulse, Danger Sense
Active:Shadow Veil, Telekinesis, Frostwill
Extra: Inventory
[BLOODLINE] Dormant — ?
So, right now I know that the 'Physique' increases my speed, strength, and endurance. And I can assume that 'Spirit' is mana. I pulled up the description of Crimson Pulse.
Skill: Crimson Pulse (Passive)
Increases mana regeneration by +0.5 per minute
Increases mana pool by +1 a day
Allows for faster mana flow, instant casting
Requires no activation, always active
An OP skill if I ever saw one. I smiled at the one line of 'Increases mana pool by +1 a day' And the increases to my Spirit stat would mean an increase in mana. I smiled at the free points I would continue to earn. That meant one less thing to worry about long term. I sighed.
Perception heightened my senses. I would see better, smell more, hear further. and it felt like my sense of balance increased as well. it was weird, it almost felt like I was slowly seeing more of reality, peeling back one layer after another.
I decide not dump stats tonight. I wanted to get used to my current strength, and test out my new skill before deciding on a path. While I won't neglect a stat, I will prioritize some more than others. And to decide which stats to focus on I needed more combat experience to figure out where I was lacking and where to improve.
I dismissed the system screen, and with a flick of my wrist a chocolate milk appeared in my hands.
The sun had sent by now,
The room was quiet and everything was still. The city felt almost peaceful. I closed my eyes and focused more on my meditation.
Then—
Soft steps.
Light.
Hesitant.
Coming my way.
I opened one eye.
Alexiy stood beside the couch, wringing her wrapped shoulder with her good hand.
"Hey," she whispered.
I sat up slightly. "Can't sleep?"
She shook her head.
"Everything feels… too real now. Like it finally hit me. I almost died out there... I thought I'd never see them again."
Her voice cracked.
She sat beside me.
Close. Too close.
For a second, she didn't speak. She just breathed—slow, shaky—like she was trying not to fall apart again.
"Thank you," she whispered finally. "For giving me another chance. For saving me. For not leaving me behind."
She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me.
She was soft. Warm. She was trembling, I could feel her body shiver pressed up against me, but it isn't from the cold.
The hug seemed to contain all her emotions. Fear, sadness, anxiety, loneliness...And maybe a little desperate.
I didn't reject it.
Didn't move.
Just let it happen. then slowly I wrapped my arms around her waist pulling her in closer to me. Her breath hitched—a sharp intake— before she seemed to melt and relax into my touch.
"You said earlier…" she murmured, cheek pressed to my shoulder, "that maybe you couldn't survive alone."
"I remember," I said quietly.
Her voice softened—raw and honest:
"I meant what I said too. I'll follow you."
I turned my head toward her.
"What about your family?" I asked. "Your mother needs help. Lily needs protection. Aaron needs someone to guide him. What if I don't stay here? What if I leave the city? Roam the wilds? Would you leave your family to see the world? You could die, or something could happen to them while you're not here."
I wasn't trying to scare her, just stating the facts. She needs to be awake of the consequences if she chose to follow this path.
She met my gaze.
Her pink eyes seemed to sparkle in the moonlight, clear. Unwavering.
"Then I'll come with you. I've always wanted to travel."
I stared at her. and she smiled.
A bright, earnest smile. This girl... she was too much, too sincere, too willing.
I slowly let out a exhale as I spoke, "Alexiy," I said slowly, "I'd be glad to have you. As a partner. A follower. A maid. A wife. Whatever you choose."
Her breath caught.
"But I'm still a stranger. And you don't know the things I've done," I continued. "Or the things I'll have to do." My voice took on a darker, sharper tone.
"I'm no hero, I'm no savior. I'm selfish so if I don't see a benefit I won't just go around saving people like I did you. I'm not saying we'll never help, but it will be for profit. I'm not a saint."
There was a faint warning in my tone—a shadow. She didn't flinch.
"I trust you," she whispered.
I looked into her eyes and she stared right back into mine. we stayed like that for a while, still hugging each other finding warmth from the embrace. I sighed.
Then reached into my Inventory and pulled out three red orbs.
I took her hand gently and placed them in her palm.
"Here," I said. "Use these. If you're coming tomorrow you'll need to get stronger. The world won't get easier, but from here on out..." I passed and looked her to make sure she hear my next words. "It's you and me, against the world."
Her breath seemed to get caught as her fingers tightened around my hand still holing them out for her.
She leaned forward—
And kissed me.
It was soft, a brief peck. But I felt her trembling.
Before I could speak, she jerked back, face flaming, and scrambled to her feet.
"G-goodnight!" she squeaked.
She fled down the hallway like she was escaping a crime scene.
Her door shut.
I leaned back on the couch, staring at the ceiling.
A slow smile tugged at my mouth.
Well tomorrow was going to be interesting.