“They’re all dead. Gone, forever. Day after day, I searched for anyone without those glaring ruby eyes that haunt every night. But there was no one out there, and as ti passed, even our blazing star dimd until all light left my ho. Darkness cos for everyone, and it seems my turn has finally arrived.”
–Unknown diary, Cycle of Despair, 16th Outbreak
The door creaked open, and Leo thanked whatever deities were listening that Gibsons loved to spend hours outside their house and rarely locked their backdoor. He didn’t fancy breaking another lock when he was out in the open.
Almost tiptoeing, he entered a familiar hallway that connected the front and back of the house. Shadows surrounded him from every side, and the stench of blood and death instantly filled his nostrils.
He grimaced. Not good.
The grip on his dagger tightened.
When he found his father’s husk, he didn’t sll a thing. And even though he wasn’t paying much attention to such details back then, he could have never forgotten the overpowering scent of blood, not after that night…
Taking a deep breath, Leo stalked forward, his glowing hand acting as a glorified lamp. He really needed to find a better light source than his own limb.
He hugged one of the walls with his back and peeked into the living room, his eyes scanning the dimly lit area. With no monsters in sight, he entered, passing so old furniture as he neared the entrance to the kitchen.
Like before, nothing awaited him inside aside from so fruits lying on the cupboard.
He quickly snatched one of the apples and frowned. For sothing that was supposed to be fresh, the fruit had a disconcerting amount of white mold covering it.
This doesn’t seem right.
Whenever Mrs. Gibson wasn’t bothering her neighbors with small talk, she worked hard to make everything around her house pristine. That or she strong-ard her husband into doing it for her. Everybody in the area knew that.
As such, it seed impossible for the fruit to achieve such a state and still remain in Gibson’s household. No, there had to be sothing wrong with this entire situation. Just like with the sudden growth spurt of so of the smaller plants and grass outside.
How long was I trapped inside my soul?
Leo had no way to answer this question. The clone certainly forgot to ntion how much ti passed in the real world during the Awakening. However, with all of the changes caused by the Outbreak, there could be a different reason for the molding than the passage of ti. After all, his food was in the sa state as when he left it—though he only ever bought stuff that could last at least a week.
It’s not important now. He shook his head, retreating to the hallway, the apple left forgotten.
For the next few minutes, he stalked around the house’s ground floor, his heart rate picking up with every opened door. Crouched at all tis, he was ready to bolt out of the building at any mont’s notice.
Soon, with every room cleared, only the stairway remained, looming over him as the scent of blood assaulted his nostrils once again, now stronger than ever. He gulped and set his feet on the first step.
The wood creaked, and Leo stilled, breath catching in his throat. For a mont, the world stopped too, waiting for a signal to move—a signal that arrived swiftly in the form of a blood-chilling screech that filled the entire house.
As if soone slapped him in the face, he moved, almost flying back to the living room.
Heart thundering, he leaned against the wall just next to the entrance and forced his Essence to obey for a mont longer. The defensive barrier, as uncomfortable as it was, still provided him with the advantage he needed.
Leo gulped as another screech reached his ears, this one louder and accompanied by the groans of the wooden stairway. He took another deep breath and pushed the glowing arm behind his back as his dagger rose.
Please don’t fail now.
Another growl, almost next to his ear, had him moving in a flash. He pushed the dagger into the arch leading into the living room, forcing tal to et cursed flesh. There was so resistance, but he paid it no mind as he spun around, his claws already descending at the growling monster.
Black blood spilled all over his face as three long gashes appeared on Voidling’s neck. Not that the damage stopped the monster. Its crimson glare t his eyes, and the creature sailed forward, sharp nails going for his face.
“Fuck!” Leo raised his deford arm and blocked the attack. More blood flew in all directions, but just like the monster, he struck back, the broken dagger sailing at the beast’s chest where its heart should be.
He stabbed once and yanked the blade back, punching the monster in the face with his human hand. The Voidling snarled as it stumbled back. Despite all of its wounds, the creature recovered fast, bending its legs and jumping back into the fray.
Leo jerked away, avoiding a swipe of the Voidling’s wicked nails. The dark creature followed. Its arms reaching forward. Yet it was too late, as suddenly his Essence, or maybe instincts, began to whisper into his ears.
Take a step back.
Correct your hold.
Bend your knees.
Arms just a bit higher.
Those short pieces of advice continued flowing into his mind, slowly providing him with the advantages he needed.
Is it the Dagger Mastery? It must be.
Despite his improvent and the nurous cuts the Voidling collected in their exchange, it never slowed down. The monster just pushed on, attacking with more ferocity after every gash Leo left on its skin.
Die, you piece of shit! He snarled, blocking yet another swipe of the beast’s fingers. Two stabs in the heart, dozens of cuts, a ripped-out throat—and yet this thing still stood.
He even attempted to activate Reinforcent to overpower the monster, but the skill refused to form, Essence suddenly abandoning him. Only Identify worked, and apart from letting him know that this Cursed Human was already Level 2, he didn’t gain any new information.
However, out of nowhere, Leo caught a glint of silvery glow on the left side of the Voidling’s abdon. He had almost missed it because of the crimson light coming from the monster’s cracked skin.
As such, frustrated by the lack of progress, he just went with the flow. He ducked underneath another wild slash and cut the monster across the glowing area. The Voidling howled, stumbling over its own feet.
Not questioning what the hell even happened, he kicked the creature for good asure and tackled it to the ground. This ti, stabbing sothing the monster hopefully couldn’t live without.
Its brain.
The rusty blade impacted the side of the Voidling’s skull, and he scread, pouring every bit of his strength to pierce the bone. Yet the tissue held at first, and the Cursed creature used this ti to add a few more bloody scratches to his side.
Leo grunted and pushed even harder. At last, a loud crack echoed through the room as the dagger finally slipped into the beast’s skull. The Voidling stilled, its arms falling to the ground as the crimson glow left its eyes.
He rolled off the monster and lay next to the corpse, his chest heaving up and down.
I won. Holy shit, I won. He coughed, trying to close his eyes, only for a few lines of text to pop up in the corner of his vision.
Is a minute too much to ask for? Leo groaned and pushed himself up to lean against an overthrown armchair.
Cursed Human (LVL: 2) slain | Experience awarded | 1 Ether gained
Level 2 reached. Class attributes distributed. Please assign your 2 free attributes.
Really? Do I need to do it now? Receiving no answer, he cursed and closed his eyes montarily, thinking about his options.
He didn’t need any more Grace and Vision. He had enough of these from his class. Might seed like an obvious choice considering all the injuries he had just sustained. So pure strength also couldn’t hurt…
Then there was Mind and Soul. Both attributes related to Essence. Having more doesn’t sound like a good idea when I can’t even control the amount I already have.
Yeah, Might and Mind it is. Leo nodded, accepting the choice.
The instant the thought left his mind, his gaze blurred, muscles spasming. Instinctively, he curled into a ball, a silent scream leaving his mouth. The blinding pain threatened to consu him, yet in a matter of seconds, it faded away, like it didn’t just rearrange his insides.
Damn. He gasped, opening his eyes.
Despite the pain he had just experienced, Leo had never felt more refreshed, more alive. It was almost like he had spent all of his life underwater, and the level-up pulled him out, all the while pumping him with shots of adrenaline. Hell, even the world around him beca just a bit clearer, the darkness notwithstanding.
Wait a mont…
Stiffening, he reached within himself, observing his raging Essence. There, he barely felt any changes. Only upon touching it did he notice the slightly friendlier response from the mysterious energy.
That’s sothing, I guess.
With a sigh, Leo sprung to his feet, imdiately marveling at the ease of the movent. He took a few steps to experint, and it really felt like so weight was taken off his shoulders. Even so of the aches faded away.
And then reality ca crashing around him as his eyes landed on the corpse and the blood staining the wooden floor. He flinched, realizing that the sudden burst of strength almost made him forget why he was even here.
Grimacing, he crouched next to the Voidling and let his cursed arm cast so light on the monster’s form.
Leftovers of gray hair clung to the monster’s wrinkled, round-shaped face, an inherited trait of the Gibson family.
Leo turned away, refusing to look at another person he knew well. Yet, despite that, a sudden idea entered his mind as he glanced at his cursed limb. It seed obvious, but the rising guilt held him back.
He was dead a long ti before this, fool… I need to know how this works. How to survive. He tried to reason, the clone’s words coming back to haunt him.
“If you ever hesitate, you will be left behind, consud by the never-ending Void.”
The clone warned him, and Leo would have to be stupid not to listen after everything that had already happened today.
“Forgive . I must do this,” he mumbled, his head hung low. “May you find peace, Charles Gibson.”
His claws descended, sinking into the Voidling’s abdon.
The glowing veins on his arm shone brighter as Essence moved, rushing right into his claws. Not even a minute passed before his neighbor’s body collapsed, leaving only a pile of dust behind.
Pure Void Essence absorbed. Satiated status extended to 10 hours.
Not as much as before. Leo frowned, watching the glow of his arm dim a bit. No matter how hard the guilt of desecrating his neighbor’s corpse weighed on his shoulders, deep inside, he knew that this had to be done. Now I know I can drain them even if they are dead, and that’s all that matters.
Standing up, he took a final look at the living room and walked back into the hallway and onto the stairway. He still had to loot most of the house, but for now, he had to find out what happened upstairs. No matter how much his stomach twisted at the idea, he needed to understand what those monsters were capable of.
He stopped right next to the only open door on the upper floor, the stench of death almost overpowering his senses. Holding his breath, he peeked into the room and imdiately backed off, bile rising in his throat.
Fuck.
The image rushed to the forefront of his mind, and Leo bent forward, hurling what was left in his stomach. The massacre waiting inside even brought back a particular mory from that night, and he barely stopped himself from throwing up again. The disgusting sll in the air only made this situation worse.
Still coughing, he pulled a piece of his ruined shirt over his nose and took a few deep breaths.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Back against the wall, Leo stood frozen for what felt like an hour. Over and over, the images played in his mind. They taunted him with their horror, laughing at his weakness.
To hell with it, he growled, gritting his teeth as he stepped into the cursed bedroom.
What should have been a small and holy room turned into a scene straight out of high-budget horror. The Voidling he had just killed made sure of that.
Splatters of blood covered almost every surface, be it horizontal or vertical. Then there was the bed, just as bloody as everything else, not that it held his focus. No, that privilege fell to the body lying on the bed.
Once again, Leo had to stop himself from hurling as his gaze fully settled on the mutilated corpse of Mrs. Gibson.
Most of the top of her head seed fine, apart from all of the blood. Her jaw was another story, though. Ripped out and barely attached to the maw with bits of sinew. Going lower, he ignored the snapped neck and rested his eyes on the torso.
A massacre. He shuddered, his eyes going from one half-eaten organ to another. The woman’s torso didn’t even resemble a human’s body anymore. If it weren’t for the fairly undamaged head, he wouldn’t even be able to guess the woman’s identity.
Enough. Leo averted his gaze, teeth grinding against each other. He quickly grabbed a discarded blanket from the floor and threw it over the bed, covering most of the horrifying sight.
Just as fast, he left the room, shutting the door, the handle almost snapping in his grip. Maybe when his mind cleared a bit, he could co back there. For now though, he just didn’t have the ntal strength to do it.
With the images still fresh in his head, Leo returned downstairs. Food, weapons, and dications. Food, weapons, and dication. He repeated it over and over again, forcing his mind to obey.
In the end, he didn’t find anything useful in the Gibson household aside from so additional food and gardening tools, which he could use as a weapon—a very crude one, but a weapon nonetheless.
Identify graded the tools at broken quality, describing their durability as ‘leaving much to be desired’ thanks to the steady flow of Void Essence in the air. Apparently, almost no pre-Outbreak item could withstand this corrosive energy for too long.
With that in mind, Leo only grabbed a tal shovel, hoping its sharp edge could make a difference when it mattered.
After that, the looting continued, becoming almost chanical as his thoughts often strayed to the body lying in the bedroom. The mory alone made him dizzy, so he always forced his thoughts to go in another direction.
Like the fight against the Voidling. Which, in hindsight, didn’t go that well.
He wanted to finish the monster fast, just like an assassin should. Stagger it with a stab to the chest and then cut its throat open. Of course, that particular tactic didn’t work, and he had to engage the beast in a head-on battle.
A battle that would have lasted forever if the System hadn’t guided him through the basics of using a dagger. And the less said about the silvery glow, the better. He had no clue how it even worked, but at least it gave him a taste of the final skill in his arsenal.
Vital Strike (Common):
Since ancient tis, people have tried to find ways to defeat their enemies with a few swift strikes. Now, one of their abilities is yours to wield.
Effects:
After drawing blood from your enemy, you have a chance to spot one of their weak spots. The efficiency of this skill improves with your Vision and Mind.
“Drawing blood” was all the System offered. It gave no instinctual knowledge of how the skill worked and no explanation why in the bloody hell it required Vision and Mind.
Whatever, Leo grumbled as he locked the backdoor of Gibson’s house. This place had nothing left to offer, and staying in there any longer wasn’t good for his sanity. His foster parents’ house awaited.
The crimson sun still shone upon the small neighborhood, providing him with just enough visibility to shuffle along the building’s walls. His house might be closer, but the thought of sleeping where Edward died just didn’t sit well with him. Not after a day like this.
With his shoulders stiff from the backpack’s weight, Leo stopped just where the wall ended. Stealth once again covered him in an invisible blanket, and his eyes scanned the entire neighborhood for any signs of movent.
The beating of his heart echoed in his mind as he forced himself not to jump when a powerful gust of wind rustled so plants in the distance. The reappearance of typical weather did nothing to calm his nerves.
At last, Leo took a deep breath and sprung forward, dashing across the road. Not once did he look back as he neared the two-story house of his foster parents.
With speed he didn’t possess just a few hours ago, he unlocked the door and jumped inside. The darkness welcod him again, and he smiled for the first ti today.
“Safe for now.”
Almost as if soone was listening, a ssage appeared in front of his eyes, freezing the blood in his veins.
Night is coming. Find a secure shelter or prepare to fight for your life. Nightmares are waking.
Bonus experience and Ether awarded during nightti. Good luck.
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