The morning after the battle, the world seemed eerily quiet. Smoke lingered over Eryndor's forests like a permanent haze, drifting in lazy tendrils through the city ruins. Birds no longer sang. The streets that once bustled with life were now littered with remnants of chaos: shattered buildings, twisted metal, and the occasional motionless figure of someone who hadn't survived the first waves.
Kairis Ash stood over the shallow mound of earth he had dug himself, using his bare hands to carefully cover the graves of his parents. Elyra and Aeren stood behind him, their small shoulders tense, eyes wet but wide with curiosity. The siblings had stayed silent all morning, letting him have this moment.
"Dad… Mom… I'll take care of them," Kairis muttered, voice low, hoarse. The wind rustled through the scorched grass, carrying faint ash into their eyes. He brushed it aside, planting two rough wooden markers atop the graves. Nothing grand — no marble tombs, no inscriptions, just the bare minimum to honor them in a world that no longer had time for luxury.
For a moment, the weight of the apocalypse settled on him fully. He had lost everything that day: his parents, his home, the city he'd grown up in. And yet, unlike the rest of humanity, he didn't feel fear. Not anymore. He felt only the constant hum of awareness — the instinct to survive, to protect, and to grow stronger.
It had been eight months since the first portals opened. The initial days were chaos. Humanity had cowered, terrified of the monsters that swarmed from the darkness. Entire cities fell in hours. Civilians ran blindly, their screams echoing across streets, buildings, and forests.
But in the darkness, some had awakened. Ordinary people had received the spark of dark matter, the latent energy dormant within them. They were few at first, perhaps a handful per city, each discovering abilities that defied physics and logic: telekinesis, matter manipulation, elemental affinities, and more.
Those first awakened were humanity's hope. They fought back. They risked their lives to hold territories, clear portals, and protect survivors.
Kairis recalled the first time he saw them: a man tearing apart a tentacle the size of a truck with his bare hands. The creature had lunged toward him, eyes hollow and hungry, and he had lifted it off the ground like it was paper. People whispered about him afterward, calling him the "Titan of the Barricade."
Over time, humanity began to adapt. Cities that hadn't been entirely razed were fortified. Scavengers discovered remnants of old military tech, enhancing their weapons with dark matter-infused alloys. Scientists, scholars, and awakened alike collaborated, creating rudimentary energy shields, long-range detection arrays, and gravity-nullifying vehicles to counter the monsters' onslaught. Humanity was building a fragile, flickering light in the heart of the apocalypse — and Kairis had a front-row seat to watch it rise.
After burying his parents, Kairis returned to the ruins of the battlefield where the zombie dragon had fallen. He surveyed the scorched earth, charred trees, and the blackened crater he had left. He didn't realize at first that the moment had been captured.
Someone had recorded him from a distant ridge using a high-resolution drone, following his every move in the final clash. The system had been offline, untraceable to him, and yet the footage had made its way online — uploaded to the Net-Tube without his knowledge.
Within hours, the video went viral across multiple regions. Comments flooded in:
"That's impossible… a human took down a zombie dragon alone?"
"Dark matter user… unbelievable."
"We finally have a hero."
Despite his usual arrogance and indifference, Kairis couldn't help the faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. Recognition wasn't something he sought — the apocalypse didn't reward humility, and fame was dangerous. But this… this would help his family. The attention drew resources, awakened allies, and connections that would allow him to keep Elyra and Aeren safe.
Even without trying, he had begun building a reputation. Not as a god or savior, but as someone who could cut through impossible odds with sheer skill, cunning, and mastery over gravity itself.
That night, Kairis sat alone in the new fortified house gifted by the Awakeners Association. Elyra and Aeren slept soundly in the adjoining room under Kaiyara's watchful eye. He leaned back in a chair, staring at the ceiling, fingers tracing the edge of the Graviton Edge hilt.
It's only the beginning, he thought. The world will get worse. Stronger monsters, rogue awakened, and gods who look down on this chaos — they'll all come eventually.
The glow of the system interface shimmered faintly before him, reminding him that he had grown stronger — but the growth had only just begun. The challenges would escalate. And Kairis would rise with them.
For now, he allowed himself one rare human indulgence: a quiet moment to grieve, reflect, and plan. Tomorrow, he would hunt again. The day after, he would train. And somewhere in between, he would continue building a safe world for his siblings.
Humanity was fighting back, yes. But Kairis Ash? He was becoming something else entirely. And the apocalypse was about to take notice.
Quest: Slay Zombie Dragon — Completed
Level: 11 → 12
Reward: +1 Dark Matter Affinity, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +5 AGI
New Ability Unlocked: Void Graviton Slash — combines void energy with gyro-telekinesis for a devastating gravity-based strike
Global Recognition: Kairis Ash — "Dragon Slayer" (Viral Net-Tube)
Quests Available: Hunt Mutated Beasts, Scout Strongholds, Rogue Awakener Investigation
The system's interface pulsed faintly. Kairis leaned back, fingers tapping against the armrest. Fame, power, survival — all intertwined. In the apocalypse, nothing came free, and everything exacted a cost.
But he was ready.
And humanity… they were only just waking up.