A Second Chance in a Doomed World

The thing in the shadows let out another guttural growl, its red eyes glowing like embers in the darkness. Leo and Lisa stood still, their weapons drawn, watching as the creature slowly emerged from the rubble.

It was humanoid—but only barely. Its skin was charred black, cracked like burned wood, with veins pulsing an eerie crimson underneath. Its fingers were unnaturally long, tipped with jagged claws. The moment it fully stepped into the open, the air grew hotter, as if the very presence of the creature was affecting the environment.

Lisa muttered under her breath, "Yeah. That's definitely not human."

Leo didn't waste time talking. He shifted his stance, gripping his blade tightly. The creature twitched, then suddenly lunged at them with unnatural speed.

Leo barely dodged in time. He twisted his body, the creature's claws slashing through the air just inches from his face. Without hesitation, he brought his sword down in a clean arc, slicing into its shoulder.

The blade cut deep. But no blood spilled.

Instead, fiery cracks spread from the wound, glowing brighter as if heat was leaking out of its body. Then, with an ear-piercing screech, the wound sealed itself almost instantly.

Leo cursed under his breath. "Regeneration."

Lisa fired two quick shots from her pistol. The bullets struck the creature's head, but they barely did anything. The thing barely flinched, its red eyes narrowing as if annoyed.

"Of course bullets don't work," Lisa muttered. "Why would they?"

The creature lunged again. This time, it aimed straight for Lisa.

She barely managed to roll away as its claws slammed into the pavement, leaving deep, smoldering gouges in the concrete.

Leo moved without thinking. He drove his blade into the creature's side, this time twisting the blade as he yanked it out. Again, no blood—just those strange cracks, glowing hotter.

But something was different this time. The cracks didn't fade immediately. Instead, the creature let out a distorted screech and stumbled back, as if something was interfering with its regeneration.

Lisa noticed it too. "Did that actually do something?"

Leo didn't reply, but he had a hunch. Instead of attacking again, he took a step back and observed. The wound was still glowing, but it was pulsing erratically now, the light flickering in uneven bursts.

The creature staggered. Its breathing was ragged. Then, for the first time since appearing, it did something unexpected.

It turned and ran.

"What the.." both couldn't believe what they just witnessed.

Leo and Lisa exchanged a quick glance before taking off after it.

The creature was fast, darting through the ruined streets like a wild animal. It vaulted over debris, its movements eerily fluid despite its monstrous form. But something was wrong. It was slowing down. The more it moved, the more unstable the glowing cracks on its body became.

Lisa smirked. "Looks like it's breaking down."

Leo didn't hesitate. He pushed forward, closing the gap, and with one powerful swing—

He severed its head.

The creature didn't scream. It didn't thrash. It simply collapsed, its body crumbling into ash before it even hit the ground.

Lisa stopped beside him, lowering her gun. "Well. That was something."

Leo didn't answer right away. He stared at the pile of ashes, frowning. "Is it already started? Impossible"

Lisa nudged the ashes with her boot. "Think we'll see more of these?"

Leo exhaled slowly. "Probably."

Lisa sighed. "Great." She holstered her gun and glanced at him. "We should move before something else finds us."

Leo nodded, though his mind was still focused on what just happened. 

A notification suddenly popped up in his vision, glowing faintly

[You have slain a monster.]

[+300 XP]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have reached level 3]

Lisa sighed "So. What's next?"

Before Leo could respond, a sound. It was faint, barely audible, like a whisper carried on the wind, but there was something unsettling about it, something that didn't feel natural. 

Both of them froze, their senses sharpening as the air seemed to grow heavier with an unspoken threat.

Lisa's hand moved slowly, almost instinctively, toward her gun. "Did you hear that?" she asked, her voice low, her eyes scanning the shadows around them.

Leo nodded, his jaw tightening. The whispering continued, soft and elusive, like the rustling of leaves, but there was a wrongness to it.

Leo took the lead, his movements silent and deliberate, each step calculated to avoid making noise. Lisa followed closely behind, her breathing steady despite the rising tension. They moved like predators, cautious and alert, their senses heightened by the eerie atmosphere that clung to the crumbling walls and broken streets.

As they turned a corner, the source of the sound came into view, and both of them stopped dead in their tracks. 

There, sitting on the cold, cracked floor, was a woman. Her back was pressed against the wall, her long, tangled hair falling in wild strands around her face. She wore a torn jacket, its fabric frayed and stained, and her arms were wrapped tightly around her knees as if she were trying to hold herself together. Her eyes were closed, but her lips moved incessantly, whispering words that were too soft to make out, repeating them over and over.

Lisa's body tensed, her hand hovering near her gun. "Is she—?" she began, but the question hung unfinished in the air, heavy with unspoken dread.

Before she could finish, the woman's eyes snapped open, and the sight of them sent a chill down Leo's spine. They were bright red, glowing with an unnatural intensity, like twin embers burning in the darkness. 

Leo's grip tightened on the hilt of his blade, his knuckles whitening as he braced himself for whatever came next.

The woman's gaze locked onto them, her expression unreadable. She blinked slowly, as if waking from a trance, and then, in a voice so soft it was barely above a breath, she spoke.

"They're watching."

Lisa swore under her breath, her voice laced with nervous energy. "Oh, that's not creepy at all," she muttered, her sarcasm a thin shield against the growing unease.

Leo didn't move, his eyes fixed on the woman. "Who's watching?" he asked.

The woman just stared at them, her red eyes unblinking, as if she were looking through them rather than at them. Then, without warning, she slammed her hands over her ears and let out a scream—a long, agonized, desperate sound that echoed through the city. It was a scream of pure torment, raw and unfiltered, as if something inside her was tearing her apart.

Leo's instincts kicked in, and he grabbed Lisa's arm, his grip firm and urgent. "We need to go. Now," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument. 

The woman's screams still echoing behind them as the whispers in the ruins grew louder and more red eyes started glowing like embers in the shadows.