POV
….
In the distance a few kilometers east. A squad of ten Metas sprinted across a broken boulevard, weapons glowing, powers burning bright.
Kite Ember ran at the rear, her azure fire trailing behind her like a comet. Ahead of them, the street was already crawling with zombies, not a dozen, not a hundred, but hundreds. Walkers and Runners mixed in between.
They moved with a terrifying rhythm, not the usual chaos of the undead. At the rear of this horde was a particular zombie. It stood alone with it petite body that was fully clothed, it eyes shone with intelligence which most zombie lacked. This particular zombie did not charge. It simply raised one clawed arm, and the horde surged forward as one, like a tide obeying the pull of the moon.
On the broken boulevard, the ten Metas fought for their lives. Azure flames, lightning, ice, and molten heat tore through the night, but their powers were swallowed by the tide. Hundreds of zombies pressed forward in perfect formation, not the mindless chaos of the infected but the disciplined ranks of an army.
"Why are they moving like this?!" Kite cried, her blue flames cutting a corridor through charging Runners. Normally, zombies swarmed like beasts. But these ones… they flanked, they circled and they anticipated their moves.
Varric molten fists smashed a Walker aside, his voice tight with realization and dread.
"It's a abomination Lord. It's controlling the flow of the fight."
As if to prove him right, the Lord raised its arm. Immediately, the swarm split into two groups. One cut off the squad's retreat, forcing them into a narrowing kill-zone. The other pressed from the front, pushing them toward collapsed rubble.
Mira ice wall shot up in desperation, but a coordinated charge of Walkers shattered it like glass.The Lord didn't stop there. Its eyes shifted toward Kite the brightest flame on the battlefield. It pointed at her, and a wave of Runners broke away, ignoring the others, diving straight for her.
"They're targeting me!" Kite shouted, blasting them back with a surge of azure fire.
"That's the point," Varric coughed blood, staggering under the weight of his burns.
"It's not just throwing bodies. It's trying to break us piece by piece."
And it was working. One by one, their formation cracked. A lightning-wielding comrade was dragged into the tide, electrocuting dozens before being ripped apart. Another Meta unleashed a storm of blades, only for the Lord to redirect some zombies to absorb the damage, sacrificing pawns to preserve its army.
Kite chest burned with despair. "We can't win… we are going to be worn out then be killed. We cant even approach the lord." she said to her comrades
"No," Mira whispered, her face pale but steady. "We can assist you to escape, you are the youngest amongst us, so you should live. Heh!"
The squad eyes turned toward her, they always treated her like their junior sister, so this ember was worth protecting. The strongest and most youngest of them. So she had to be the one to escape.
Before Kite could protest, the Lord made its next move. A section of the horde pulled back, deliberately opening a narrow corridor. For a heartbeat, Kite thought it was trying to show mercy, then she realized it was a trap, a funnel to separate her from the others.
Varric seized her arm,and fling her so far into the distance, his molten hands scorching her sleeve. "Go! We'll hold it here. You're the only one who can break through later!" He said.
"NO! I won't" she shouted as her body was disappearing into the distance.
But her words drowned in the screams of her comrades. Mira froze the ground to slow the tide, sacrificing herself as claws tore through her body.
Another Meta lit his own body with lightning, exploding in a suicidal charge that burned a hundred zombies to ash. Their sacrifices weren't random they were coordinated each death so as to buy her more seconds, carving an escape route before the Lord could close it again.
Kite tears blurred her vision as she disappeared into the darkness, flames still trailing behind her. As she plummet unto the ground she stand up and ran looking back. Because she couldn't.
Behind her, the Lord glowing eyes followed from the shadows. It didn't bothered to chase, it just smiled as it watched her shadow disappear from it sight.
Kite fled alone into the dark, the last member of her squad.
POV
….
….
Damian wiped dried ichor from his claws, his minions trailing obediently behind him. The echo of the explosion still rang in the air, shaking the broken buildings.
He tilted his head toward the plume of smoke. "Well… that doesn't sound like a collapsing wall. That sounded like something big."
"Warning! Significant energy fluctuation detected. Source unknown."
Damian arched a brow. "You don't know either? Hah. About time you admitted you're as blind as me."
"Correction: System is highly efficient. However, current data insufficient. Recommend Host should investigate. System is… curious."
Damian smirked, wiping black fluid from his lips. "So even you're nosy, huh? Fine, let's go see who's making the city rumble."
He moved cautiously, weaving through cracked asphalt and ruined cars, his pack of four Runners and one Walker trailing behind in eerie silence. The scent of fire thickened the closer he got.
Then, in the distance, he saw movement. A figure, sprinting and stumbling as flames trails faintly in the gloom. This is not the jerky gait of a zombie. It was too fast.
Then he tensed , it was a human.
Damian narrowed his eyes, his rotten lips curling into something between a grin and a snarl.
"Well, well," he muttered. "Looks like someone's running from the party."
The system chimed in again.
[Human detected. Strong energy signature. Classification: Meta.]
Damian claws flexed as the figure drew closer. The survivor face came into view, streaked with blood and tears, her eyes burning with fury and grief.
For a split second, Damian froze. A human? Out here? His eyes widened in shock for a moment, he almost forgot the stench of ichor in the air.
She was… pretty. Not the gaunt, hollow-eyed kind of survivor he expected. Her face still carried softness beneath the dirt and blood streaks, her features sharp yet youthful, too young to already wear grief in her eyes.
Her long hair, dark but streaked with ash, whipped behind her as the heat around her body shimmered. The blue flames licking her arms painted her in a fierce glow, making her look less like a prey but more like some fiery spirit clawing its way through the apocalypse.
Drawing himself quickly back to reality, Damian stepped forward, claws lowered, forcing his face into something almost like a grin. His rotten voice rasped as he called out, "Hey…. don't worry, I don't bite. Names …"
But before he could finish, the girls eyes blazed as the azure fire erupted from her hands and she launched an attack straight at him.
"Whoa, Whoa!" Damian leapt back, barely dodging the flames as they scorched the cracked pavement. His grin turning into a frown "Am just greeting."
"Threat detected" the system chimed.
"No kidding.." Damian said. His gaze narrowed as her stat appeared in his in mind.
Name: ??????
Level 15 Human
Meta: Azure Flames
HP-100/500
STG-105
DEF-95
AGI-60
END-45
INT-70
But before he could ponder anything else she attacked again.