Yuki stirred awake on the 7th floor of the 678 Web, her eyes adjusting to the dimness. The room was dark, gloomy, and filled with a low-hanging fog that curled at her ankles like smoke. Seven sat silently across from her, elbows resting on his knees, gaze unreadable.
Before she could speak, the metal door burst open.
A line of Ghoul Government officials stepped in, one after another, filling the space with authority. At the center of them stood Kira, a tall blond male in a fitted black suit. As the Vice President of Ghoul City, his presence alone made the room fall silent.
"All ghouls of 678," Kira announced, voice echoing off the walls. "Listen up."
Ghouls from every corner of the Web gathered around him. Hundreds—678 in total—formed a restless crowd, their eyes glowing in the fog.
Kira lifted a tablet in his hand. "I've received troubling news. Humans have been getting… curious. Too curious. About Ghoul City and the Webs." He paused, letting the tension rise. "It is the duty of Sacrifice Ghouls to keep a low profile. To maintain peace between our world and theirs."
A tall ghoul with pitch-black hair, tattoos spread across his throat and jaw, stepped forward. Pen, with his cool gothic demeanor, crossed his arms.
"Why is it always us?" he demanded, voice sharp. "Why do we have to maintain the peace? What are humans doing to hold up their end? Why must ghouls always sacrifice?"
Kira didn't flinch. "We cannot control humans or their world. We can only control what we do in our world." His gaze swept the crowd. "And if we want Ghoul City to survive, we must be careful."
Yuki's heart thudded. Humans? Curious about Ghoul City? The idea repeated over and over in her mind. Was the barrier between the worlds thinning?
Seven stood and walked to her side. "Looks like we're going to your world."
He didn't wait for her reaction. He simply walked toward the Web's front gates. "Let's go, Yuki."
Yuki swallowed hard and followed.
At the entrance, Shara waited with six other ghouls. Pen approached them first, adjusting the piercings along his brow.
"Listen up," Pen said. "We're going to the human world. Keep a low profile. No full ghoul transformations unless absolutely necessary. Human government officials are already watching us. So be careful who you interact with."
Seven, Yuki, Shara, and Pen took the lead, the rest of the ghouls falling in close behind.
They stepped out of the Web and onto the spiraling staircase that connected Ghoul City to the human world above. Each step upward brought a clearer view of New York City—bright lights, roaring traffic, the hum of life. The moment Yuki emerged from the final step, nostalgia slammed into her chest.
Food truck smells—tacos, curry, hot pretzels. Tourists laughing. Street performers playing saxophones under neon lights.
Yuki hadn't seen any of this in what felt like years.
Pen stopped in front of the train station. "Alright," he said, voice firm. "The Web we're headed to is the human version—The Sacrifice of the Ghouls Web. Best behavior. No exceptions."
Yuki barely heard him. Something cold brushed past her cheek.
Red lights flickered. The air shimmered.
Then Sakura stepped out of the shadows behind her.
She leaned close to Yuki's ear. "That Web… is the one where I grew up. Sacrifice Ghouls there have the power to turn humans into ghouls. We're the only ones who can protect humans from pure ghouls."
Yuki's breath caught. "I never knew. Why didn't you tell me?"
Sakura smiled gently. "I was protecting you, silly."
With a whoosh of dark petals, she vanished back into the shadows.
As Yuki walked with the group, she noticed familiar buildings—coffee shops, alleyways, her old train stop. Then her heart stopped.
Her old university came into view.
She hadn't walked these sidewalks since her disappearance.
A voice broke the moment.
"Yuki? YUKIII!"
She froze.
A boy ran toward her—a man now, taller, stronger, but with the same warm smile.
Zero. Her childhood friend. Her one comfort during college.
"Zero…" she whispered.
He wrapped her in a big hug. She stiffened, eyes burning with sudden tears. She quickly wiped them away before he noticed.
"Wow," Zero laughed. "It's been forever. Look at your hair—it's cute! Really short and kinda… edgy."
Yuki tilted her head playfully. "Don't I look so… Lolita?"
Zero burst out laughing. "Always, Yuki."
As he shifted, something on his chest caught her eye. A badge.
FBI.
Her stomach dropped.
"Zero… it was good seeing you," Yuki said quickly. "But I have to go. My friends and I—we're heading somewhere."
She stepped away, rejoining the 678 ghouls.
But she only walked a few steps before she heard it.
A scream.
Then another.
"HELP! YUKI—HELP ME!"
Her heart fell into her stomach.
She turned slowly, terrified of what she might see.
Zero was on the ground—blood pooling around him, eyes wide in shock. A pure ghoul, pale and feral, stood over him with an unhinged smile.
"Zero…" Yuki whispered, trembling.
FLASHBACK
Yuki sat alone in the school cafeteria, reading Zombie Die Days, nibbling an apple.
Two popular girls approached her. "Hey, nerd, that's our spot."
Before Yuki could move, Zero appeared behind them.
"You read Zombie Die Days too?" he asked her with a bright smile. "Those novels are sick."
The girls huffed and walked away.
"I'm Zero," he said.
"I'm Yuki…" she whispered shyly.
END FLASHBACK
The memory faded.
Zero lay unconscious in a hospital bed, bandaged and bruised. Machines beeped softly beside him.
On the small bedside table sat a handwritten note from Yuki:
"Hey… a group of gangs attacked you after I walked off yesterday. You hit your head pretty hard.
I left snacks, food, and some video games for you.
Get better soon.
Love, Yuki."
FLASHBACK TO THE ATTACK
Zero lay on the cold pavement, his body numb, blood pooling beneath him. His vision blurred at the edges, but in the corner of his eye… he saw movement. A silhouette. Long hair… dark, swaying like a curtain in the wind. And a sharp, unnatural glow—almost witch-bright.
Yuki…? he thought weakly.
But it wasn't just Yuki standing there.
A girl with long hair leaned over the pure ghoul who had attacked him. She wasn't screaming. She wasn't afraid.
She was laughing.
A soft, chilling sound that didn't match her small frame.
Before Zero could blink, she grabbed the pure ghoul by the jaw and tore into it, ripping the creature apart as if it were nothing but paper. Flesh shredded like fragile sheets. Bones cracked like dry twigs. Her laughter echoed louder, twisted and wild, splashing through the alley as blood sprayed across the concrete.
Zero tried to lift his hand—reach for Yuki, warn her, something—but his body wouldn't move.
All he could see was Yuki standing frozen behind the girl, eyes wide in horror as the laughing figure continued tearing the ghoul to pieces with supernatural strength.
Then everything faded.
His hearing collapsed first.
Then his sight.
Until darkness swallowed him whole.
END FLASHBACK
Zero didn't remember anything after that moment—just the sound of that eerie laughter and the flash of Yuki's hair as she stood in the glow of the streetlights, watching everything happen.
And somewhere deep inside him, he wondered…
Who was that girl? And what was Yuki hiding?