The afternoon sky burned a pale, sickly yellow. Smoke drifted lazily between the buildings, carrying the smell of scorched metal and something far fouler. The world had gone quiet again — too quiet, no chatter, not even the distant wail of sirens. Only wind, and the steady uneven rhythm of Eva's heartbeat.
Two days had passed since everything fell apart. Two days since the world was swallowed by chaos.
Her eyes burned from lack of sleep. Every few steps, she'd glance at the cracked phone in her pocket, still hoping to see a signal. There never was one. Her hands gripped the pipe tighter as she walked down the hallway of the girls' dorm. The walls were smeared with black ash and streaks of dried blood. Luna padded beside her, the large dog's breathing ragged but steady. It had been two days since everything began, two days since the world fractured and she stopped being a student.
Now she was just a survivor.
She had tried to stay put at first, hiding in one of the classrooms, waiting for help. But help never came. Her phone was dead. And outside, the screams had faded one by one until only silence remained. It was Luna who forced her out. The dog had grown restless, pacing, ears twitching at every sound, until finally Eva had followed her.
She swallowed hard, forcing the memory down. "It's okay," she whispered to Luna, as if saying it could make it true. "We'll find food, and… and maybe someone's still…"
A loud thud cut her off.
Her blood ran cold. The sound came from ahead, from the open hallway that led to the main common room. Luna stiffened, fur bristling. Then came another noise — heavier, slower. A dragging shuffle followed by a wet, gurgling hiss.
Eva pressed her back against the wall and peered around the corner.
Four figures lumbered through the wrecked lounge, no, not four. Five. They were big. Much bigger than any she'd seen before. Their skin was swollen and pale-blue, stretched too tight over their bodies. They moved with a disturbing rhythm, their movements slightly faster, more deliberate than the slow staggering ones she'd killed with Luna before.
Her heart skipped
She started to back away slowly, but her boot caught a loose can on the floor. The metallic clink echoed through the hall.
All five heads snapped toward her at once.
Their skin was gray-blue and cracked, their eyes faintly glowing. These were no longer the clumsy, sluggish dead she'd fought before. Each step they took sent gravel scattering across the floor.
Luna growled louder, hackles raised. Eva gripped her rod tighter, heart pounding against her ribs.Her brain screamed at her to run, but there was nowhere to go. The path behind them was blocked.
They were trapped.
"Okay…" Eva whispered, steadying her breathing. "We fight."
Luna bolted forward before Eva could stop her, a blur of white fur and fury. She slammed into the first one's leg, dragging it down, teeth sinking into the exposed tendon. And Eva used the distraction. She ran forward and swung her rod with everything she had.
The iron connected with a wet crack. The creature's head snapped sideways, not enough to kill. The creature reached to her. She ducked, barely avoiding its grotesque fingers, and drove the rod into its knee. It collapsed. She raised the rod again and smashed it down, again and again, until it stopped moving.
One down.
She turned, another was almost crashing onto her. She jumped back, tripped over a loose chunk of concrete, and hit the ground hard. The rod flew from her hands, clattering out of reach. The zombie lunged.
Luna came from the side, tackling it mid-air. Her jaws clamped around its throat, shaking violently. Blood sprayed across the asphalt. Eva scrambled for her weapon, fingers brushing it just as a third reached for her.
Without thinking, she swung the rod from the ground and jammed it upward through its jaw. The body jerked once, then went limp.
Two.
The remaining three advanced, their footsteps heavy, measured. Eva was shaking, her arms heavy as lead. Luna limped now, blood matting her fur, but she still stood in front of her, growling.
"Luna… don't you dare die on me."
The next one lunged. Eva swung again, missed. Its claw tore her sleeve, missing her by an inch.
"Only a scratch and I'm dead," She whispered. Panic clawed at her chest.
She swung again, the rod slipped from her sweaty palms. And in blind desperation she kicked, her boot hit something soft. The creature stumbled. She saw her chance — the rod, still close enough. She dove for it, rolled, and as it turned toward her, she swung upward with all the strength terror could give.
The rod split its skull open.
Three.
The fourth charged at Luna, slamming her against the wall. She yelped — the sound pierced Eva's heart.
"No!" Eva charged.
The zombie turned just in time to see her coming. She rammed the rod into its neck, the impact sending a shock up her arms. Luna twisted free and lunged, biting its face, tearing until it fell.
Four.
The fifth, moved slowly, deliberately. It stood taller than her by half a meter, its chest a mess of black veins and pulsing red light. Its head tilted, studying her. Eva tightened her grip, trembling. Her vision blurred with exhaustion, but she stood her ground. Luna limped beside her, ready to die if she had to.
The creature charged. Eva didn't think. She ducked low, sidestepped, and let its momentum carry it past. Then she swung with both hands, striking the side of its knee. It fell to one knee. She raised the rod and smashed it again, then again. The sound was wet and final. The zombie twitched once and stopped moving.
Silence.
Eva collapsed to her knees, gasping for air. Her arms felt like lead, her heart hammering in her chest. Luna stumbled over, pressing her head into Eva's shoulder, whining softly.
Eva laughed — a broken, breathless laugh. "We did it… we actually did it…"
{You have slain a level 15 zombie...
You have levelled up
You have levelled up…}
Then, she saw something. A scroll Eva stared at it. Cautious, she reached out and picked it up. The parchment was warm to the touch, thrumming with energy. Her retina flickered with text:
{Phantom Weaving lv 1: Active Skills; Sensory manipulation. Uses the imagery of light threads to create illusions. They don't just affect sight, but also sound, touch and even smell. At later stages it can affect space and reality.
Passive Skills; Sensory Filtering. Affects the Weavers own senses, allowing them to filter out non-essential information and focus intensely on their immediate surrounding. Makes it easier to detect other flaws in other illusions or even resist them completely.}
Eva blinked in disbelief.
"A… skill?" she murmured.
The scroll dissolved into motes of light, sinking into her chest. A pulse of energy ran through her.
Luna nudged her side, and she smiled weakly, brushing her fur.
"Guess we're not done yet, huh?"
The 'Weave' had whispered in her ear, she was now level 16. She was getting stronger and so was Luna.
But now, for the first time, Eva didn't feel like prey.
She felt like something was changing inside her. And whatever it was…it had just begun.