The city rotted under the twilight.
Smoke drifted between buildings like dying breath. Broken windows caught the last light of day, turning the ruins into a jagged maze of glass and shadows.
Zareth led the way, his boots crunching against loose gravel.
Behind him, Saedra twirled her blood-slick dagger absentmindedly, following without a word.
Rae trailed closely, hugging the straps of her torn jacket, glancing over her shoulder every few steps.
The Strays had thinned out. But the city itself felt alive — and hungry.
They moved fast.
Within minutes, they found shelter: a crumbling office building, half-swallowed by vines. The front entrance had collapsed, but a side stairwell gave way under Zareth's boot, leading them into a hollow, empty floor.
The night swallowed the world outside.
Inside, it was quiet. For now.
Then —
a soft chime.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
[MASS SPAWN EVENT: CLEARED]
[TUTORIAL FIRST TEST: 24 HOURS REMAINING]
The glowing text hovered in the air for a moment before fading into the dark.
Rae exhaled shakily.
Zareth slumped against a cracked pillar, arms crossed loosely over his chest.
Saedra dropped onto a piece of overturned furniture, humming a broken tune.
For a while, none of them spoke.
Finally, Zareth's voice broke the silence.
"Alright," he said, calm and direct. "Explain what happened before we dropped in."
Rae sank down across from them, pulling her knees to her chest.
She stared at her hands for a long moment, her thoughts scattered.
Then she began.
⸻
"It wasn't like this before," Rae said quietly.
"This... was Earth. Normal. People lived. Worked. Fought over stupid things. Laughed. Dreamed. We were just... people."
Zareth tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable.
"Then..."
Her voice cracked.
"Then the sky split open."
⸻
She spoke in halting words, painting a picture for them:
One day, without warning, the clouds tore apart — not with storms, but with light.
Beings descended. Not demons. Not gods. They called themselves angels.
But their smiles were too wide. Their voices too hollow.
Their gazes twisted, as if looking through the skin of the world to something uglier underneath.
They gathered the world's people without warning. A flash of burning gold — and then, all at once, the cities emptied into vast gathering places. People stood shoulder to shoulder, staring upward.
And then the announcement came.
"YOUR WORLD HAS BEEN CHOSEN."
"CELEBRATE. STRUGGLE. ASCEND."
"GLORY AWAITS THE WORTHY."
The system burned itself into reality soon after.
Rules. Tests. Marks. Deaths.
⸻
Zareth leaned his head back against the pillar, staring at the ceiling as though seeing beyond it.
Then he looked at Saedra and said,
"So... we dropped in right after the harvesting."
Saedra laughed quietly, a sharp little noise.
"Perfect timing. As always."
Rae pulled her legs closer, curling tighter into herself.
Zareth watched her for a moment, then looked away.
The night outside deepened.
The building creaked.
And somewhere far off, the city breathed in the dark.
Tomorrow, the last twenty-four hours would begin.
⸻
As the last threads of conversation faded into silence, Rae found herself studying them.
Zareth's posture was sharp yet composed, almost regal in the way his hand rested near his chin. It didn't match anything she'd seen from survivors scrambling to stay alive. His robe was dark as night, but the patterns along the sleeves shimmered faintly, like living veins of silver.
Saedra wasn't much different. Though her movements were looser, more feline, the flowing layers of her garb whispered of something old. Something... alien.
Not Earth. Not normal.
And then there were the words they chose — the way they spoke, the heavy, deliberate way they weighed every phrase, as if used to a world where speaking wrong could cost you your life.
Murim.
That word had slipped between them once, quick and soft. A place. A name. Maybe something more.
The curiosity burned in Rae's chest. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. They didn't feel like they belonged here — like they hadn't walked through Earth's dusty streets for years.
Her gaze flickered to Zareth.
"Where are you from?" Rae asked, the question slipping out before she could stop herself.
Zareth's eyes flicked to hers, unreadable. He didn't answer immediately.
Saedra, lounging nearby, didn't seem to notice the tension. She picked at the threads of her sleeve with a relaxed, almost predatory grace. Zareth, however, leaned forward slightly, his gaze heavy but nonchalant.
"We're from around here," he said at last, his voice casual, almost too casual.
Rae didn't buy it.
She opened her mouth to press further, but something in Zareth's gaze warned her against it. A cold, calculating look. She knew better than to push.
She nodded, pulling her knees to her chest.
She didn't ask again.
Not yet.