The main road of Lieren City echoed with the moans of the undead, their mangled forms seemed to be wandering aimlessly through the drizzle. In the middle of the chaos, a body lay sprawled on the asphalt, its skin faintly glowing green.

Dark clouds choked the sky, and cold rain fell gently, as if trying to hush the cries of the damned. A drop landed on the forehead of the motionless body.

It twitched.

Another drop fell.

Theo’s eyes fluttered open.

A translucent screen appeared before him:

[Rebirth process complete]

[System unlocked]

Host has gained rewards for successful rebirth

[3 new skills gained]

Theo blinked. He tried to rub his eyes, but by the time his hands reached his face, the screen had vanished.

Rain poured heavier now, soaking into his torn clothes. His head throbbed faintly, and his vision wavered as he struggled to sit up. The cold bit at his skin.

His shirt hung in tatters, claw marks slashed across it like he'd been mauled. He barely noticed. His feet shuffled forward as he staggered toward the nearest shelter.

Cars littered the road like forgotten toys—some crashed, others with doors hanging open. No drivers. No movement.

Except for them.

Figures. Human-shaped, but wrong. Their limbs twisted unnaturally with every sluggish step, like puppets pulled by invisible strings. They wandered aimlessly, unseeing.

They didn’t notice Theo.

Or maybe… they thought he was one of them.

Theo didn’t stop to think about it. He wasn’t focused on them. He wasn’t focused on anything but shelter.

The rain soaked through his shirt. He shivered.

A small house came into view. A bent street pole leaned in front of it. He grabbed it for support—and it groaned under his weight.

Creak.

Theo quickly let go, not wanting to fall. He stumbled toward the front door.

He reached for the door,but didn't notice the haggard moans coming from inside.

Theo forced his way into the house, breaking the door open when he found the lock jammed. He stumbled inside, glass shards crunching beneath his torn boots. Leaning against the wall, his back scraped against the rough surface as he struggled to sit down. With a shaky breath, he buried his face in his hands, trying to piece together what had happened.

His eyes widened as realization dawned. How was he still alive?

The last thing he remembered was the searing pain—those mangled faces of the undead looming over him, tearing at his flesh, ripping him apart limb by limb. Before his consciousness faded, a strange screen had appeared in front of him:

[Rebirth process will begin once host’s heart stops beating]

At the time, he thought it was a hallucination—his mind playing tricks on him as he slipped into death. But when he woke up and saw another screen, it felt all too real.

Had that screen... saved him?

Since the start of the apocalypse, Theo had felt powerless. Useless. He didn't have the strength to save the ones he cared about from dying. And he couldn’t even find his little sister—the one person he had sworn to protect. The one promise he made to his mother before she died. And he had failed.

Everything had begun to fall apart a year ago.

After their mother died, Theo dropped out of school and took on a full-time job to care for both him and Emma, his ten-year-old sister. He had chosen her future over his, determined to give her a normal life despite everything. Their father had left them long ago—even before Emma was born. It was just the two of them now.

That day—the day the world ended—had started like any other.

It was 7 p.m. at the café where Theo worked part-time. All the customers had left, and only three people remained inside: Theo, Jack—an older guy who never stopped staring at his phone—and Lily, a girl Theo used to know from school. She’d stopped coming to class one day, and months later, he found out she was working here.

After his mother died, Lily had helped him get the café job. She was kind, even though they’d barely talked before.

“Finish up already, Jack,” Lily called, clearly annoyed. “You’ve been glued to your phone all day. This place won’t clean itself.”

“Alright, just one more level,” Jack replied, eyes never leaving the screen.

“A little help here, Theo?” Lily waved to get his attention. Her blonde hair was tied into pigtails, and her mocha skin seemed to glow under the café’s dim lights.

“Jack, you heard her. Let’s finish up so we can leave early. My sister’s waiting at home,” Theo said, trying to coax some effort out of Jack.

“Yeah, yeah. One more second,” Jack muttered, fingers tapping furiously.

“You know,” Lily said, resting her elbow on the table Theo was cleaning, “you could bring your sister here after school. She could help out instead of staying home alone.”

“That’d just be more trouble,” Theo replied, not meeting her gaze. “Besides, she won’t let me get any work done.”

“Alright, how about—” Lily paused. Her eyes narrowed at the front of the café. Purple smoke had started seeping through the cracks around the door.

“What the fuck?” Jack muttered just as the smoke flooded the café, swallowing them whole.

Then, as quickly as it had come, it vanished.

They remained frozen, stunned.

“What was that just now?” Theo finally asked, breaking the silence.

“Maybe... it’s the air conditioner?” Lily offered, clearly unsure.

“Since when do air conditioners do that—” Jack’s words were cut short by frantic banging on the door.

All three jumped at the sound.

“We’re closed! Can’t you read?” Jack shouted.

“Hey, no need to yell. I’ll check it out,” Theo said, trying to calm him as he approached the entrance.

The moment he opened the door, his entire body went stiff. What he saw didn’t make sense.

“Theo? Who is it? Why aren’t you answering?” Lily called as she walked up behind him.

When she reached the door and looked out, her voice caught in her throat.

There was blood. So much blood.

Theo stood frozen at the sight before him.

An arm—ripped from someone's body—lay just a foot from where he was standing. A blood trail revealed the direction of the horror playing out. Though he couldn’t see the faces of the crouching figures ahead, he had no doubt what he was seeing: blood had stained the road just steps from the café’s pavement.

Could they be... no, that can’t be.

Theo’s mind had begun spiraling out of control. His thoughts screamed for him to run, but his body refused to respond. His hand trembled as his heartbeat quickened, sweat dripping down his face.

Lily had been calling out to him, but he hadn’t answered. How could he, when it felt like his heart might leap out of his throat at any second? She walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder and pushing the café door open slightly to see what had him so entranced.

The moment her eyes met the scene, she too fell into the same trance. Words caught in her throat, stuck there as if her brain was warning her not to make a sound. She didn’t want to attract the attention of whatever those things were.

“Hey, guys, who is it?” Jack called from inside, noticing how still they were.

Theo and Lily were yanked back to reality by Jack’s voice— which, unfortunately, had also caught the attention of one of the crouched creatures. It turned toward them, giving them a clear look at its twisted face.

Its skin was pale grey, the areas around its eyes completely black. Its eyeballs were pure white—no iris, no pupils. Blood ran from the sides of its mouth, trailing down to its distorted torso.

Theo and Lily froze again. This time, their minds did tell them to run—and oh, how they tried— but their bodies wouldn’t budge.

The creature began a slow but deliberate walk toward them, its bloodied arms swaying unnaturally.

It was the first time Theo had seen what would bring about the end of the world— and the beginning of the apocalypse.

“Why aren’t you guys answering? And what are you staring at like that?” Jack’s voice echoed through the café as he walked up behind them.

“I said, why aren’t you saying anything?” he asked again, placing his hands on their shoulders and turning them slightly toward him.

“And what are you guys even looking at?” he added, brushing past them and stepping out the door toward whatever had left them speechless.

Maybe it was the fading evening light, or maybe Jack simply didn’t pay attention to his surroundings— but he kept walking closer to the predator. Too close. Until his face was just inches away from the creature’s.

That’s when he saw it.

But it was already too late.

His eyes met the creature’s dead, white gaze, freezing him in place. The monster swung its arm in a brutal arc at his neck.

“Arghh!” Jack cried out in pain, his body finally reacting as he was hurled back by the force of the blow.

He crashed onto the café pavement, writhing in agony as blood spilled from his neck onto the still-warm ground. The creature crept closer.

The shock snapped Theo and Lily out of their trance. Theo turned at the groaning sound behind him and saw Jack— a bloody mess on the floor, clutching his neck.

“What happened to you?” Theo asked, kneeling beside him.

“That thing... attacked me,” Jack muttered, trying to look up at the creature, but wincing at the pain.

“Lily, come help me over here!” Theo called. He remembered the horror he saw when the café door had opened and didn’t dare look again. Instead, he focused on helping Jack.

“Shut the door!” Theo rasped, as they pulled Jack back inside and laid him on the café floor. He collapsed beside him, breathing hard.

“What are those things?” Lily asked, her voice trembling. Her eyes visibly shook.

“I don’t know... maybe cannibals?” Theo replied.

“You can’t be serious. They’re definitely... argh... zombies.” The voice came from beneath Theo, as if trying to make light of the mood. It was Jack, his face now pale from blood loss.

“I’m trying to be reasonable here,” Theo said.

“But they match the look…” Jack mumbled weakly.

“Lily, we have to get him cleaned up,” Theo said urgently.

“Okay, there’s some—”

A loud thud from the café’s front door cut her off.

The entire room went silent.

Lily and Theo’s faces went pale. If Jack’s face could’ve gotten any paler… trust me, it would have.