Dawn in Quilpué brought no peace.
It only cast light on the ruins, dried blood… and fear hiding in every corner.
The women and children we had rescued were finally asleep, resting for the first time in days.But the rest of us?We didn't rest.
The information we gathered the night before was clear:
A group of former criminals had grown stronger since the apocalypse.Now they ruled parts of the city like it was their personal empire.They kidnapped.They murdered.They believed themselves untouchable.
But now… we were hunting them.
—How do we track them? —one of the captains asked.
—Easy —Pablo said, crouching beside a fresh footprint—.We hunt monsters.They're no different.
The tracks were obvious:heavy footsteps, dragging marks, tire prints,and something else—dark smudges of corruption.
That darkness wasn't normal.
—Something else is fueling them —Romina muttered—.They're not just powered-up humans.They're… connected to something deeper.
Patricio nodded. He didn't have to say a word.He had sensed it first.
We advanced through narrow streets and shattered buildings.
With each step, Quilpué felt more like a forgotten battlefield.
Then, from the rooftop of a nearby building…a bullet whistled past and hit a shield I raised just in time.
—Ambush! —I shouted.
Crossfire erupted instantly.
From windows. Rooftops. Behind debris.They fired crude weapons—but also cast magic.
Black fire.Arcane bolts.Explosive runes.
—Since when do these rats use spells?! —Pablo growled, dodging a blast.
—They're trained! —one of the captains called out—. This isn't random!
But neither were we.
Romina summoned a containment field.I launched cutting waves in counterattack.Patricio shattered a wall with one strike, burying two enemies beneath it.
Pablo charged ahead, laughing through the chaos, and took down the enemy leader with a clean blow.
In under three minutes—the fight was over.
Ten enemies neutralized.Three captured.One… still breathing.
I handled the interrogation personally.We didn't need torture.We just needed truth.
—How many of you are there?—Who leads you?—Where's your base?
At first, he spat nothing but hatred.Until Romina activated a truth rune.
Then he spoke:
—There are many of us…We've taken this city…And the next will be Viña del Mar.
—Who's your leader?
The man trembled—Not from fear of us,but from memory.
—He has no name.They call him… The Hollow One.An awakened like you…But different.
He said it like the word itself was heavy.
—Different… because he gave up his soul.
Silence struck us.
And I understood instantly.
A corrupted Awakened.Someone who had embraced the darkness—and had been rewarded for it.
—Where is he? —I asked.
The prisoner smiled, lips cracked.
—He's waiting for you…
Then, he killed himself, activating a self-destruction rune we couldn't stop in time.
—We're not backing down —I said, watching his remains burn.
—We never do —Pablo replied.
The squad regrouped.
The hunt had begun.And this time, we weren't just here to save lives.
We were going to burn every shadow they hid behind.
Because if the world had fallen…then we were the ones who would rise to lift it—
even if it meant walking through every flame of hell to do it.