Ten years.
It had been ten long years since the world ended — ten years since the day the skies turned dark, the streets drowned in blood, and the dead claimed the earth. What was once a world of laughter and ordinary life had become nothing but ruins, dust, and the constant growl of hunger from the creatures that roamed every shadow.
In the middle of a broken city, a man could be seen running. His breaths came in harsh, desperate gasps, the sound mixing with the uneven pounding of his footsteps against cracked pavement. Behind him, a mass of figures chased relentlessly — skin pale and torn, eyes clouded with the haze of undeath, jaws snapping at the air.
Just moments ago, their small group had been surrounded. There had been a way to escape… but only if someone stayed behind. The man could still hear the voice of their leader shouting, see the sharp, unreadable look in his eyes before the shove came — hard and sudden. The others fled, their silhouettes vanishing into the distance, leaving him alone in the path of the horde.
He knew why.
He had always been the weakest among them. A rank 2 awakener — barely enough to fend off a small pack, let alone a tide like this. They called him "comrade," but deep down, he knew he was the expendable one. And yet… he didn't want to die. Not here. Not like this.
His chest burned as he ran, but his thoughts burned hotter. Regrets. So many regrets. Faces of people he had failed flashed before him, each one like a blade to his heart. But one memory stood out above all the rest — his best friend, reaching out for help years ago, fear in his eyes, while he… did nothing. That moment had haunted him every single day since.
His foot caught on something — a loose piece of rubble jutting from the ground. He stumbled, arms flailing, and fell hard to the cracked earth. His palms scraped against the rough surface, pain shooting through his limbs, but there was no time to recover. Shadows loomed over him, the sound of gnashing teeth closing in.
They reached him before he could move. His breath hitched as cold, lifeless hands grabbed at him. A shiver ran through his body, not from the chill of the air, but from the certainty — this was the end. Tears welled up in his eyes, spilling down his cheeks as he looked at the ruined sky one last time.
If only… if only I had another chance…
The thought faded as darkness swallowed everything.