Ethan Cole had always been good at not living.
Wake up.
Commute.
Stare at a screen until his eyes burned.
Go home too tired to care.
Five years passed like that.
He used to tell himself it was temporary—that one day he'd quit, pack a bag, and finally see the world outside office windows and cracked sidewalks. He kept a list of places in his phone: coastlines he'd never touched, cities he'd only seen in photos, mountains he dreamed of standing on just once.
That morning, something in him finally broke.
He stood in front of his manager's desk, resignation email already sent, heart pounding harder than it ever had during any deadline.
"I'm done," Ethan said quietly.
His manager barely looked up. "Make sure you return your badge."
That was it.
No speeches.
No congratulations.
No one asking where he was going.
Ethan walked out of the building with a strange, weightless feeling in his chest. The city felt louder than usual—horns blaring, people shouting, construction rattling the street. He took a deep breath and pulled out his phone, opening the notes app.
First destination.
He smiled.
The sky flickered.
At first, Ethan thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. The clouds rippled, like a glitch in a video. Then the ripple became a tear.
A裂—an open wound in the sky.
People slowed. Someone laughed nervously. A few phones were raised to record.
Then something fell out of the tear.
It hit the street with a wet, bone-cracking sound.
The thing twitched. Stood up.
Gray skin. Clouded eyes. Jaw unhinged far wider than any human's should be.
A scream cut through the air.
The creature lunged into the crowd.
Panic erupted. People ran in every direction, crashing into each other, dropping bags and phones. The scream didn't stop—it just… ended.
More裂 tore open across the sky.
More things fell.
Zombies.
Not the slow, stumbling kind from movies. These moved with brutal speed, muscles warped by something dark and unnatural. One vaulted over a car. Another tore through a glass storefront like it was paper.
Ethan's body froze.
This couldn't be real.
This had to be some kind of mass hallucination.
A nightmare he'd wake up from at his desk.
A zombie slammed into a man beside him, teeth sinking into flesh.
The world snapped back into focus.
Ethan ran.
He ducked into an alley, heart hammering so hard it hurt. Trash bags burst under his feet. His breath came in ragged gasps. Behind him, footsteps scraped against concrete.
Something dropped from above.
It landed between him and the alley exit.
The zombie straightened slowly. Its muscles bulged, veins pulsing with faint dark light. It was stronger than the others. Faster. Its gaze locked onto Ethan with a hunger that felt almost aware.
Ethan stumbled backward until his back hit brick.
"I just wanted to see the world…" he whispered.
The zombie lunged.
The air exploded.
A violent gust erupted from Ethan's outstretched hand, slamming into the creature and hurling it down the alley. The zombie crashed into the wall, skull splitting with a sickening crack.
Silence.
Ethan stared at his hand, shaking. The wind around his fingers twisted unnaturally, like it was alive.
His phone buzzed in his pocket.
The screen lit up on its own.
[Awakening Detected]
Ability: Wind Manipulation – Level 1
Status: Human – Awakened
Nearby Threat: Zombie – Level 2
Core Available Upon Kill]
The zombie twitched once… then went still.
Something faintly glowing rolled out of its chest cavity and clinked against the ground—a murky, crystal-like core.
Ethan didn't want to touch it.
Every instinct screamed at him to run, to get away, to pretend none of this was happening.
But the city behind him was burning.
And for the first time in his life, running away meant dying.
He picked up the core.
Cold energy surged into his body, like wind rushing through hollow bones. His vision swam. The air around him tightened, sharper, more responsive.
[Core Absorbed]
Wind Ability Strengthened]
Ethan dropped to one knee, gasping.
Sirens wailed in the distance. Buildings burned. Shadows leapt across rooftops. Far away, something massive roared—a sound that made the smaller zombies howl in response.
Ethan looked at his trembling hands.
Five minutes ago, he'd been planning his first trip.
Now the world had ended.
And somehow…
The wind had chosen him to survive it