Aiden couldn't sleep.
Not because he didn't want to—his body begged for it, every muscle aching from adrenaline, pain, and the sudden, brutal awakening of the world.
But outside, something was coming. And it was getting closer.
> [WORLD EVENT: NIGHT TIDE - WAVE 1 ACTIVE]
Estimated Hostiles: 54 nearby
Elite Variant: 1 Confirmed Presence
Time Remaining Until Boss Spawn: 01:04:02
The church trembled again.
Malik had finally passed out beneath a pew, curled up like a kitten under a torn jacket. Tasha sat on the opposite end of the church, sharpening the broken handle of a mop with a rock, eyes hollow and jaw clenched. Her system screen blinked faintly behind her pupils.
Aiden sat near the main doors, watching the cracks in the stained glass as red moonlight oozed through. The knife in his hands was sharper than anything he'd held before—but it still felt small compared to what was out there.
His system pulsed again.
> [Skill Upgrade Available: Endure → Grit (Rare Variant)]
Description: Once per 12 hours, survive fatal damage and gain +20% damage resistance for 60 seconds. Activates Fear Suppression during effect. Upgrade?
He tapped [YES].
> [Skill Upgraded: Endure → Grit]
His heart thumped.
It was happening again. He was evolving—not because he was strong, but because he refused to die.
A noise snapped his thoughts.
Footsteps. Wet. Slow.
He peered through the crack in the door.
The street outside was bathed in pale red light, and crawling with monsters.
Ten. No, more. He counted over two dozen figures.
Some walked upright like humans, but their movements were wrong—like meat puppets tangled in broken bones. Others crawled like spiders, their limbs doubled and sharp. Glowing pustules throbbed on their bodies, giving off a sick green hue.
Worst of all, one of them was talking.
Sort of.
It repeated a single word in a garbled rasp:
"Joiiinnn...usssss…"
> [Entity Identified: Echoed Husk – LVL 6]
Description: Semi-aware infected host. Can mimic human voices. Uses illusion-based aura.]
Aiden's stomach turned.
But that wasn't the worst part.
Above them, on the rooftop across the street, stood something far taller. Humanoid, yes—but far too tall, with a crown of twisted antlers and a robe of shredded flesh that trailed behind it like a shadow. Its face was a smooth plate of bone with glowing red holes for eyes.
> [ELITE DETECTED]
Name: "Crowned Seeker" – Level: 10
Affix: Fearmonger | Class: First-Born Servant of the Wound
Threat Level: High
It stopped moving.
Its head turned slowly—toward the church.
Aiden jerked back. Tasha noticed.
"What is it?"
"Elite," he whispered. "Ten o'clock. Watching us."
Her face paled. "Shit."
The Seeker didn't move closer—but the pack of monsters began spreading. They weren't charging the church, not yet, but they were hunting around it.
"It's testing us," Aiden muttered. "Seeing if we're worth flushing out."
"What do we do?"
He opened his map fragment.
The only other shelter-class zone within a five-mile radius was an elementary school across a small forest trail.
Tasha followed his gaze. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
He nodded. "We can't stay here forever. Once the boss spawns, this place becomes ground zero."
"We're three people, one of us a kid."
"I'm not leaving him," Aiden said. "And neither are you."
She didn't argue.
That's when Malik's voice cut through the silence.
"I can help."
They turned. The boy was awake, gripping his toy robot like a totem.
"I leveled up," he said softly. "I got a skill."
Aiden and Tasha blinked.
> [New Party Member: Malik – Class: Bonded Soul | Level 2]
Unique Skill: Guardian Link – Once per day, attach to one target and reduce incoming damage by 50% for both parties. Passive aura calms allies within range.]
Aiden's jaw slackened.
Tasha muttered, "What the hell kind of class is that?"
Aiden stared at the boy. Then nodded.
"Good," he said. "We'll need it."
The plan was madness. But it was also their only chance.
Step one: Tasha would create a noise distraction using broken glass and a burning pew at the back of the church.
Step two: Aiden would lead the charge through the front entrance, directly past the monsters—but not at them.
Step three: They'd cut through the alley, enter the woods, and make it to the school.
"Hope you're fast," Aiden muttered as he tightened the straps on his scavenged armor.
Tasha lit the makeshift torch with one of the monster's pus-sacs (they were flammable, disgustingly). The moment it roared to life, she smashed stained glass on the opposite side.
> [Passive Skill: Instinct – Hostiles Repositioning]
The monsters howled. Several skittered toward the sound.
Aiden gritted his teeth, motioned to Malik, and burst through the doors.
The night air hit him like a slap of cold iron.
A claw grazed his side, but Grit activated—he pushed through the pain and slashed back. His blade sank into something soft, and black liquid sprayed his cheek.
Tasha followed, screaming a war cry as she speared one of the smaller crawlers through the eye.
Malik stayed close—his presence like a calming pulse in Aiden's chest. The Guardian Link shimmered between them, a golden tether that sparkled with deflection energy.
> [Damage Mitigated – 50% Absorbed]
[Bond Level: 1/10 – Temporary Buff: +5% Damage Resistance]
They ran.
Through streets smeared with blood.
Through alleyways filled with burning cars.
Through a world that had already ended.
The edge of the neighborhood ended with a chain-link fence—Aiden vaulted it, turned, and helped Malik over while Tasha fought off a tailing crawler.
They plunged into the woods.
The path was overgrown but walkable. And most importantly, silent.
No monsters followed.
Not yet.
Aiden doubled over, panting. "We made it."
Tasha collapsed onto a log. "Temporarily."
Malik looked up at them both. "You're heroes," he said.
Aiden met her eyes.
"No," he said. "Just survivors."
The night was far from over.
And above the treetops, the red sky pulsed again—
> [BOSS ENTITY ARRIVING: 00:04:57]