Stomp. Stomp.
As I ran through the metal hallway of the bizarre, time-lost building, I looked back, afraid they might be on my trail.
Rose had stayed behind to hold them off, but that didn't guarantee they wouldn't still find a way to get to me.
I kept running, trying to locate the objective that had brought us here in the first place. I opened every door along my path, taking just a second to make sure I wasn't missing it.
As I closed yet another door, I heard deep growls—followed by the unmistakable sound of bare feet slapping against metal floors, coming from the other side of the hallway.
Shit.They got past Rose.I need to hurry.
I sprinted to the far end of the hall. I didn't have as much time as I'd like, so I had to move faster. I couldn't thoroughly inspect every room anymore—I just kicked the doors open, glanced around for a second, and moved on.
But the constant opening and closing of doors must've caught their attention. The monsters… They had vaguely human forms, but their skin and muscles were rotten, hanging off their frames like tattered cloth. Some had bones jutting out of their shoulders, others had entire sections of exposed skeleton showing through necrotic flesh.
They looked like zombies—but that's where the similarities ended. These weren't mindless. In fact, if it weren't for me and Rose, they'd still be in their village, living peaceful lives as they had for hundreds of years.
They weren't evil. Not really.
It was my fault. I wasn't smart enough to be cautious when we passed through their village. I spoke to the village chief and forgot to use my scent-removing cloth before we left. Now, the entire village was under the effects of my curse.
As the sounds of the creatures drew closer, I ran faster—desperately trying to find the right room, the right objective. But I wasn't fast enough.
I opened yet another door, took a quick look inside, and slammed it shut behind me. When I turned to glance down the hallway—
I saw it.
Its skin hung in strips, revealing more bone than flesh. Its jaw dangled loosely, seconds away from falling off. And the worst part? It spoke.
"Boy... come back with us to the village. We can guarantee your safety," it said, its jaw swaying with each word."You don't know how dangerous what you're looking for is."
It started walking toward me, stumbling on one foot, catching itself with the other. But before it could get too close, I turned and bolted down the hall.
I gave up on the original objective. All I cared about now was not getting caught. I made sharp, random turns, trying to shake them off. I had to find another exit—because the one we used to enter the building was definitely blocked by now.
More footsteps. More of them were chasing me. And not all of them were slow.
I turned sharply into another hallway, only to find a dead end. A door stood at the end. The creatures were too close to turn back. I didn't think—I just ran inside and slammed the door shut behind me.
When I heard them pass by, I allowed myself a breath."Fucking shit, man… they won't leave me alone," I whispered to myself.
But deep down, I knew why.It was all my fault.
Okay, technically, it was the fault of the curse. But still. The monsters didn't deserve this.
Since birth, I've had a curse. Some might call it a blessing, but I knew how vicious it truly was.
I was unimaginably beautiful. Or rather, I emitted an aura that attracted anything and everything once they acknowledged me. A mere whiff of my scent would drive others into lust. A word from me would send them into longing. And if—God forbid—someone saw my actual face… the best outcome would be imprisonment and daily violation. Worst case? Worship. And I promise you, that's not as fun as it sounds.
At first, I thought I was just really good-looking. So I tried scarring my face, spent nights rolling in filth to mask my scent, and practiced speaking like I had a Lego lodged in my throat. Nothing worked.
Back to the present—Rose, a vampire I made a deal with for protection in exchange for my blood and virginity, had accompanied me. While passing through the village of those creatures, I accidentally spoke to their chief and forgot to mask my scent. Now the entire village was under the curse's effect. Hence, this mess.
The room I was in looked like a study—books everywhere, advanced computers blinking with eerie lights, and black, shadowy arms writhing through the air, grabbing at anything within reach. In the center was a wooden chair with a headpiece like one of those electric execution chairs.
I stood frozen, overwhelmed—too late to notice one of the shadowy arms slipping behind me. It grabbed my leg and yanked me toward the chair.
I struggled. Grabbed at everything I could. But the arm was too strong. I was forced into the chair, and as the restraints clamped down, my vision flickered.
Then… darkness.
When I came to, I saw a middle-aged man in a lab coat.
"Hi, settler of Pera. I am Dr. Theodore Clemens Dutch, the lead scientist on the Pera Rehabilitation Plan."I tried to look away, but I couldn't. His gaze held me.
"I'm responsible for restoring the planet of Pera to the galactic fold—"
The image glitched, flickering like an old TV.
A different face appeared—a ragged young man, breathless and surrounded by chaos.
"Is this working? Yes? Okay, I don't have much time," he said as gunfire echoed in the background.
"We're the Revolutionary Army. We intercepted the council's propaganda machine to bring you the truth."
I just stared, confused.
"A few decades ago, the United Human Empire faced a threat like no other—a virus. It could survive the vacuum of space, the heat of the sun, and every environment in between. It spread to every colony. Your planet, Pera, was one of the first infected. Maybe even the third."
The story unfolded like a nightmare.
The High Council used infected planets as testing grounds for experimental cures. Billions of people, used like lab rats. For twenty years, the galaxy knew nothing. Then one escapee made it off-world—a deformed, mutated thing. He was quickly killed, but the truth couldn't be buried.
The public reacted with outrage—but like all fires, it eventually burned out.
Then came the 14th Thoolick War. The council's grip loosened. The inhabitants of Pera began to evolve, adapting to the experiments. Other planets weren't so lucky. Their people perished.
Now the war was over, and the council wanted to resume experiments.
But we—the rebels—intervened.
They had planned to feed you council propaganda. We changed the data. Instead, we're giving you the full history of the human race—from Earth's stone age to the first wormhole transmission.
You'll be our avatar. Learn it all. Then contact us. Join us.
Before I could process it all, the knowledge surged into my mind. Every tweet, every file, every secret. Everything.
And like any normal human, my mind broke.
I died—overwhelmed by the weight of knowledge.
But then... I opened my eyes again.
In another universe.
In another place.
Breathing fresh air.
As a baby.
A baby with wings.