Blood.
That scent choked my nose. My vision blurred with red dripping from my forehead, my chin, my entire body. The world spun—like I was drunk, trapped in a nightmare with no end. I kept moving, attacking, clawing, tearing like an animal that had lost its mind.
My hands were full of wounds. My legs dragged as I ran, my body pelted with bullets without mercy.
[HP: 690/5600]
I could still stand. But each step felt heavier, and I almost collapsed but instinct dragged me forward.
One more soldier. Then another. I brought them down with the sound of cracking bones, screams, and splashes of blood.
Then another shot struck my back.
[HP: 310/5600]
I dropped to my knees. My entire body felt like it was being pierced from the inside. Heat burned from the wounds that hadn't had time to heal.
[HP: 180/5600]
My hand clawed the concrete floor, scraping it until my nails broke. I tried to stand but this body... it could no longer keep up.
They kept attacking the roar of tanks. the screams of commanders. All of it echoed at once. But none of it was clear anymore. The sound in my ears began to fade... replaced by the deafening thump inside my head.
I was no longer the calm Sylvia.
I was just… a wounded creature, cornered.
[HP: 10/5600]
And at that moment… something inside me exploded.
I didn't know what I was thinking.
All I knew was…I didn't want to die here.
I didn't want to die
[Phantom Dash Lv 5 Activated]
I poured everything I had left into it. I didn't even know how many times I forced my instincts to activate it, over and over. That skill… it didn't stop. My body shot forward. Then again And again.
It felt like I wasn't touching the ground.
Like I was passing through space.
Like...
"I'm disappearing…"
The world around me shifted—Light, Shadows, Darkness, Ruins, Roads, Forests. I didn't know It was all a blur.
I didn't know how many times I jumped Five? Ten? A hundred?
I only knew I was moving away from death.
Away from them.
From the tanks, the bullets, the people who wanted to destroy me.
Until finally—darkness.
I fell I don't know where my body hit hard ground but I felt no pain only cold.
The night wind blew gently wet leaves clung to my face. Far from the sound of machines and far from human voices.
I couldn't move my body anymore. Even my eyelids felt heavy. But I was aware…I was still alive.
That alone was enough.
Then, through the fog of what little consciousness I had left, I heard a voice.
Cold.
Mysterious.
As if it came from the darkness itself.
[New Skill Acquired – Void Step Lv 1]
[Description: A step that passes through the void. Allows for instant relocation within a certain distance. Overuse may cause disorientation and physical damage.]
I wanted to laugh But only a weak breath came out ragged and broken.
How ironic, to gain a new power in the middle of death.
But I was too tired.
Too broken.
I felt afraid of death, even though I had already died once and become a zombie. Still… it was terrifying. I was lucky to survive this time, but maybe not the next.
And as the peace and quiet wrapped around me, my consciousness slowly faded.
The world went black.
And I fell asleep—even though I was a zombie.
And just before I completely lost consciousness, I heard a soft but cold voice:
"What an interesting girl. I'll give you a gift."
I didn't know what the gift was, or who the voice belonged to—because by then, I was completely asleep.