---
"Sir…"
"Hmm? Did they contact us again? Agh! I'm seriously tired of this. Just because they fund us doesn't mean they can treat us like slaves!"
"Sir…"
"You stay quiet. Do you know how many times they've called in just two days!? Even my wife doesn't call me this much! And you know what's worse? She thinks I'm cheating on her! Can you believe that!? She says, 'You're always on the phone when I call!' So yes, I have every right to be mad! And the worst part… she cried. And then—"
"Sir… it's not them."
---
Silence.
"…Who, then?"
"No one. I just have a report… about an old accident. One that happened before everything started."
"…Well, that's awkward."
"Yes."
---
The assistant's face remained motionless, like stone. The tension lingered for a few moments before the middle-aged man in the lab chair cleared his throat awkwardly.
He glanced at her, trying to strike a conversation, only to make things more awkward. Before he could try again, she spoke.
---
"Should I state the report, or will you read it yourself later, sir?"
"Ah… Please, go ahead."
---
Rustle rustle.
---
"So wh—"
"Oh wait. Make it short. Just the key points, okay?"
---
Sigh…
The young woman with dark short hair, her glasses veiling her eyes, resisted the urge to smack her superior.
She was used to his lame humor, terrible timing, and his unmatched ability to create awkward atmospheres. But the sigh escaped anyway.
She opened the file, then closed it. Holding it tightly against her chest, she took a stance like she was delivering a speech.
---
**"Eight days ago, in Shiraj—where the outbreak began—two radiation researchers reported seeing a flying, vampire-like creature. Pale skin. Crimson eyes. Long, dark hair. It was flying through the radioactive fog.
"We didn't take them seriously at the time. We thought it was a trauma response. The two insisted, but we ignored them.
"They left after waiting in silence for nearly an hour.
"The next day… they were found dead.
"Covered in scars. Identical bite marks on their necks. And their bodies… were pale. Like ghosts.
"The man who discovered their corpses reported to the nearest PF center. It was evening. While the officer was checking his report—"**
---
"Stop."
---
The room's atmosphere turned cold and heavy.
The man's face darkened. Nature itself seemed to mourn.
He raised a hand.
---
"That's enough. I get the idea. They didn't survive. The report never reached us in time. Great… as if a zombie apocalypse wasn't enough, now we've got vampires?"
---
**"Mmm… sir, some of the recent infected do resemble that vampire creature.
"They don't have wings, but they share similar traits: pale skin, long dark hair, and crimson eyes. Unlike the early ones with grey skin and hairless bodies, these seem… more human."**
---
Exhale.
---
"Another headache. Anything else?"
"Yes. And this… is the main part of the report."
"Wait—that wasn't the main point? Alright. Hit me."
"They've found a clue. A trace of where it came from. And it all points back to us."
---
"…Huh?"
---
**"You remember the sudden underground gas leak that caused the radioactive fog?
"And the tests we ran? The ones that accidentally created the first artificial zombie creatures?"**
---
He stood up, wide-eyed.
---
"Don't tell me—"
---
Even Rime's voice turned grim.
---
**"We might have not eliminate all of them.
"One of our chief researchers, currently at OCRI, dodged one and quietly submitted a report.
"They found two non-human DNA signatures in the infected.
"One matches our failed bio-fusion tests.
"The other… is something new. Likely from the winged creature. The data shows it's incomplete—possibly due to damage during transmission or failed bonding.
"Just my speculation. But the wing structure is missing."**
---
"…Well damn."
---
---
7 DAYS AGO
---
The creature, recently reborn, writhed in torment.
It scratched its own skin—trying to silence the burning urges inside.
Seconds felt like years.
The instinct that once saved its life now pushed it toward destruction.
One part of it screamed to wait. The other—to hunt.
It clawed itself, trying to resist.
Then the sun began to fall.
But it was already too late.
---
Its body… no longer grey. Its eyes… swirling with madness. It ran west, sunlight tearing into its flesh.
It didn't care.
It had no memory of its purpose. Just rage. Hunger. Pain.
It was dying.
And then—it saw something move.
---
---
"Hey Lukas! I surrender, you win! Let's go home, okay!? They said not to go near the forest in the evening!"
---
A little girl's voice echoed, shaking.
---
"Lukas, you hear me!? Don't scare me! I'm already afraid!"
---
The creature stared from the shadows.
---
"I'm sorry! I won't tease you anymore! I'll even give you my lunch, just come out, please! Someone! Anyone!"
---
And someone did come.
But she shouldn't have asked.
---
Swish…
---
Tears blurred her eyes, but hope bloomed in her heart.
---
"Lukas? You dummy! You know how scared I was!? I wa—"
---
Thrust.
---
She never finished.
Her body collapsed.
Her life… gone.
---
The winged creature, its vengeance fulfilled, turned to ash under the sunlight.
---
Thud.
---
Her body blackened, burning slowly.
Then the sun fully disappeared.
Her charred skin turned grey.
She rose again.
Changed.
Taboo.
Unholy.
She began walking toward the city, whispering one name…
---
"…Lukas."
---
[Next Chapter Teaser: Something is brewing within the heart of the city—a presence that calls to the evolved. A name remembered, a memory reborn.]