The stairwell was chaos.
Kai didn't even bother with the elevator. People were screaming, pushing, running in every direction. Some had glowing weapons in their hands. Some had blood on their clothes. Some had wide, empty eyes like they were already dead.
Text floated everywhere.
Names. Levels. Fates.
Dies today.Kills his best friend.Survives the apocalypse.
Kai forced his way down the stairs, gripping the railing so hard his knuckles turned white.
"Maya… Maya… Maya…" he whispered, like saying her name would keep her alive.
Outside, the city looked nothing like it had yesterday.
Cars were abandoned in the streets. Fires burned in random places. Monsters prowled between buildings. Players were fighting them like it was some twisted action movie.
Kai's phone buzzed again.
Maya.
He answered instantly.
"Kai!" she cried. "There's something in here— it's huge! It killed three people already!"
"I know," Kai said, his voice shaking but steady. "Listen to me. I need you to go out the back of the store. There's an alley. Follow it north until you see a blue vending machine."
"How do you know that?!"
"Just go!"
He ran as he spoke, dodging people and debris.
"I can't— it's blocking the front—"
"Back door, Maya! Back door!"
The call filled with screaming and crashing.
Kai's vision locked onto a glowing red shape three blocks away.
NAME: DEVOURERLEVEL: 12SPECIAL: SCENT TRACKING
It was hunting the people in the grocery store.
"Maya, it tracks by smell," Kai said quickly. "You need to cover yourself. Spilled food, trash, anything!"
"What?!"
"Trust me!"
He turned a corner, almost crashing into a man holding a flaming sword.
"Move!" Kai yelled.
The man stared. "You don't even have a system, dude. You're dead weight."
Above the man's head:
FATE: WILL ABANDON HIS TEAM
Kai didn't respond. He ran past him.
On the phone, Maya was breathing hard.
"I threw rotten milk on myself," she said, almost crying. "I smell horrible."
"Good," Kai said. "That's good."
In his vision, the Devourer stopped moving toward Maya.
Its head tilted.
TARGET LOST
Kai nearly collapsed from relief.
But her Fate still read:
DIES TODAY
"Why…" Kai whispered. "What else is coming?"
Something shifted in the distance.
Another red marker appeared.
Much bigger.
NAME: PLAYER – REX HAWTHORNELEVEL: 20CLASS: BERSERKERFATE: WILL SLAUGHTER 17 SURVIVORS TODAY
Kai's heart dropped.
A Player.
Not a monster.
And he was heading straight toward Maya.
Rex Hawthorne moved through the street like a walking disaster.
Cars were pushed aside as if they were toys. His massive frame was wrapped in red-glowing armor, veins bulging across his arms as if something inside him was about to explode. A giant two-handed axe rested on his shoulder, dripping with blood that wasn't all monster blood.
Kai saw survivors running from him.
And dying.
Above each person Rex passed:
Dies screaming.Skull crushed.Bleeds out.
"This is insane…" Kai whispered.
Rex wasn't just killing monsters. He was killing people. Weak Players. Non-Players. Anyone in his way.
"System rewards PvP," Kai muttered as he ran. "So you became a butcher…"
Maya's breath came fast through the phone.
"Kai… I see a man outside. He looks… scary."
Kai's heart stopped.
"Maya, stay hidden. Do NOT go outside."
"He's shouting," she whispered. "He's saying anyone hiding is a coward."
Above Rex's head:
FATE: WILL FIND MAYA
"No…" Kai whispered.
Kai ran harder.
"Maya, listen to me. There's a freezer in the store. Get inside. Close it. Do not make a sound."
"But—"
"NOW!"
He saw it.
Rex reached the grocery store.
Kai was still two blocks away.
Rex kicked the door open.
Maya screamed.
Kai's vision locked onto her.
FATE: DIES IN 47 SECONDS
"Run to the freezer!" Kai yelled.
Through the phone, he heard footsteps, shelves falling, Rex laughing.
"Come out, little rabbit," Rex said. "The system gives bonus EXP for kills like you."
Maya was crying.
"I'm scared…"
"I know," Kai said, tears in his eyes. "Just hide. Please."
Rex walked closer.
Kai threw his phone into his pocket and sprinted into the street.
"HEY!" Kai shouted at the top of his lungs.
Rex turned.
Above Kai's head… nothing.
No stats.
No fate.
Rex frowned.
"What the hell are you?" he said.
"I'm the guy who knows how you die," Kai said.
For the first time, Rex hesitated.
And that hesitation… was all Kai needed.