"If the first thing you see on the streets is fire, you need to take cover."
The warning arrived as a distress signal, flashing across every electronic device within my sight.
I had been on my way to class when the shockwaves hit—violent, unnatural, like two otherworldly beings colliding. In an instant, classes, exams, even my friends were thrown out the window. None of it mattered anymore. I just wanted to survive. I just wanted to get out.
But where could I even go? Was there a single corner of the city that was remotely safe?
Probably not.So then why were the people in front of me running like ants?
I asked myself these questions, but I already knew the answer. It's human instinct—to run, to struggle, to cling to life, even when the end feels inevitable.
Thud. Thud. Thud.BAAAAM!
I hit the cold ground hard. A man in his early twenties had slammed into me, his shoulder knocking the air from my lungs. He shouted, "Sorry!"—but didn't slow down.
"You motherf—," I muttered, trying and failing to stand. "So this is it, huh? Today's the day I finally bite the dust."
When I look back on my life, what do I see? Happy memories? Regrets?
No.
I see an orphan.
I lost my parents when I was twelve. Strangely enough, life after that wasn't especially cruel. I made friends. I stayed in school. I lived the life expected of a twelve-year-old who had learned too early how fragile everything was.
But the scar of that day never faded.
I could never forget the moment a monster took my parents from me. And even now—when incomprehensible energy tore through the sky and death loomed inches away—I was reliving it all again.
What was the point?
I had seen that monster's face back then. I had stared straight into my own death eleven years ago. And here I was now—no different from the terrified child I once was. All I could do was hope. Hope that Humanity's Savior would arrive again. Hope they would save me, and the countless frightened ants scrambling through the streets.
"I should try standing again," I begged my conscience.
But my legs wouldn't move. Fear had rooted them in place. Tears welled in my eyes—
Clap!
Before my mind could catch up, blood splattered across my face. For a brief, horrifying moment, I thought my head had been split open.
It hadn't.
Someone else had been cut in half.
Her blood poured from the waist down, soaking my hair, dripping past my eyes.
I stood up instantly. Adrenaline surged through my veins, burning away the fear. I ran north—far, far away from the monster invasion. The screams behind me blurred into meaningless noise, distant echoes I couldn't afford to acknowledge.
I had just witnessed a woman being cut in half. The blood on me belonged to another human being. It was a tragedy beyond words—especially for someone only twenty-three years old.
"Everything will be alright," a news reporter's voice crackled from an unbroken drone hovering above. These drones existed solely to monitor monster activity."Humanity's Savior is on the move!"
Suddenly—everything stopped.
The crowd froze.
Humanity's Savior?That meant it was over. That meant we were safe.
Relief flooded my chest just as a sword of yellow energy formed in the sky. This energy felt different—cleaner, overwhelming in a way that inspired awe rather than terror.
Slash.Slash.Slash.
From the drone's speakers came the sound of steel carving through flesh. I didn't need to see it to know.
It was done.
Humanity's Savior had saved us once again.
The massive yellow sword vanished from the sky—and with it, the nightmare ended.
And just like always, the unbroken drones tried to chase after her—but they never could. It was always the same. She appeared when monsters did, and once the threat was gone, she vanished into thin air.
She defeated them all.
She was a mystery in every sense of the word. So much so that the only image humanity possessed of its savior was a single photograph taken from behind—blonde hair flowing, face forever unseen.
Some even claimed she might be a man with long hair.
No one could say for certain. When the topic of Humanity's Savior came up, certainty was the one thing no one had. But there was one truth everyone agreed on: whoever she was, she stood on our side. For whatever reason, she fought for us.
She was the force holding the world in balance. Without her, humanity would have been reduced to nothing long ago.
"You're soaked, son."
A deep, throaty voice spoke from behind me. I turned to see a man in his forties holding out a towel.
"Thank you," I said, accepting it.
He watched silently as I wiped the blood from my hair, his expression tightening with something close to grief. After a moment, he asked, "What do you think the damage is this time?"
There was a sadness in his eyes—one that only came from witnessing too many tragedies. I didn't know the answer, so I simply held up the towel, now stained dark red.
"I'm guessing you don't want this back."
He let out a small chuckle and walked away.
There was no chance I was going back to school after this. I started heading home and pulled my phone from my pocket. The front glass was completely shattered, spiderwebbed with cracks—but when I entered my passcode, the screen lit up.
Still working.
I opened the news section immediately. A headline dominated the screen:
"Nearly 3,000 Dead in Latest Monster Invasion — How Long Can Humanity Continue Relying on Its Savior?"