The street had gone quiet.
Too quiet.
Even the air felt still.
Like something was holding its breath.
Bodies lay scattered across the asphalt.
Twisted.
Broken.
Still.
Alice stood among them, her breathing uneven.
Shallow.
Unsteady.
Only minutes had passed since the fight—
But it felt longer.
Much longer.
Ryan crouched beside one of the corpses.
Studying it.
Carefully.
Dark veins pulsed faintly beneath gray, lifeless skin.
Corrupted mana.
Thick.
Unstable.
Wrong.
Alice forced herself to look.
Even though every instinct told her not to.
"They used to be human…"
Ryan nodded.
"Yeah."
Her voice trembled.
"And now they're just… monsters?"
Ryan wiped his hand against the creature's torn jacket.
Smearing away blood.
"In the beginning…"
He stood.
"People called them a lot of things."
Alice looked at him.
"What kinds of things?"
Ryan's gaze drifted down the street.
Farther.
Beyond the bodies.
"Corrupted... Infected... Monsters..."
A pause.
His expression hardened.
"But eventually…"
Alice followed his gaze.
Back to the corpse.
"…everyone settled on one name."
"What name?"
Ryan's voice lowered.
Colder now.
"The Fallen."
The word lingered.
Heavy.
Final.
Alice swallowed.
The word settled heavily in her chest.
Fitting.
Too fitting.
They had fallen—
From life.
From humanity.
From everything they once were.
Ryan stepped over the nearest body.
"We need to move."
Alice looked around.
At the destruction.
At the silence.
"Move where?"
Ryan didn't hesitate.
"My parents."
Alice blinked.
"They're still alive?"
Ryan nodded once.
"They live in a town about an hour outside the city."
Alice hesitated.
"So… we're leaving?"
Ryan glanced toward the skyline.
Smoke curled upward.
Dark.
Rising in multiple places now.
Distant screams still echoed.
Faint.
But constant.
"This place…"
His voice was quiet.
"…is about to become a graveyard."
Alice shivered.
Ryan extended his hand.
"Come on."
Alice took one last look behind them.
At the city—
And everything they were leaving behind.
She took it.
***
A few minutes later—
They reached the car.
The streets were worse now.
Vehicles abandoned mid-road.
Doors left open.
Engines still running.
People ran past them.
Carrying bags.
Supplies.
Anything they could grab.
Another scream echoed somewhere behind them.
Alice climbed into the passenger seat.
Ryan started the engine.
The familiar sound felt almost… out of place.
Normal.
In a world that wasn't.
"So your parents…"
Alice spoke quietly.
"They'll be okay?"
Ryan didn't answer immediately.
In his previous life—
They hadn't survived the first week.
The memory flickered.
Brief.
Sharp.
Unwelcome.
But this time—
Everything was different.
"They will be."
His voice didn't waver.
Alice noticed.
Didn't question it.
Ryan pulled onto the road.
The city slowly began to fade behind them.
For a while—
They drove in silence.
Then—
[You're nervous.]
Ryan kept his eyes on the road.
Of course I am.
[I remember a different Ryan.]
That Ryan failed.
A pause.
[You didn't fail.]
Ryan didn't respond.
The road stretched ahead.
Long.
Empty.
Too empty.
Most people were still inside the city.
Or already dead.
Alice lifted her hand slightly.
"Ryan."
He glanced at her.
"Yeah?"
A faint thread of green mana wrapped around her fingers.
Soft.
Controlled.
"I think I'm starting to understand it."
Ryan smiled faintly.
"Good."
"Because you're going to need it."
Alice frowned.
"That doesn't sound reassuring."
Ryan slowed.
Something felt off.
Then—
He saw it.
The road—
Was torn apart.
Deep gouges carved through the asphalt.
Like something had torn through it.
Alice leaned forward slightly.
"What… did that?"
Ryan's expression darkened.
"Something that isn't human."
He brought the car to a stop.
The engine idled.
Low.
Uneasy.
Ryan opened the door.
Alice looked at him.
"Why are we stopping?"
He didn't answer immediately.
He stepped out.
The air felt different here.
Heavier.
Still.
Then—
He saw them.
Hoofprints.
Massive.
Deep enough to crack the asphalt beneath them.
Ryan crouched beside one.
His eyes narrowed.
That's early.
Alice stepped out of the car.
"What is it?"
Ryan stood slowly.
"An awakened beast."
Alice's eyes widened.
"A what?"
Ryan didn't look at her.
His gaze shifted toward the forest beside the road.
The trees stood still.
Too still.
No wind.
No sound.
No movement.
"No more Fallen," he said quietly.
A pause.
"From here on…"
He cracked his knuckles.
The sound sharp in the silence.
"…things get worse."
Deep inside the forest—
Branches shifted.
Something large moved between the trees.
Not rushing.
Not hiding.
Watching.
A low breath echoed from the trees.
Slow.
Heavy.