Myles crept along the shadowed alley, keeping the hulking monstrosity in his sight as it moved through the ruined street. His steps were careful, his breath barely escaping his lips as he watched the abomination drag itself forward.
Every time it moved the twisted faces fused into its body twitched. Their mouths stretching wide in silent torment. The monster was slow, but the ground shuddered beneath its weight, making the walls tremble.
He paused as the creature let out a deep growl from its head which also formed from mass of human flesh twisted into a crude shape. The sound was low and resonant, echoing off the wrecked buildings and sending a shiver down Myles’s spine.
The noise felt... wrong, like it was vibrating through the air with an unnatural rhythm, digging into his nerves.
Myles’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his knife as he crouched low, his eyes narrowing while he watched the monster. It moved with an awful kind of purpose, its massive arms pushing aside wrecked cars like they were toys. The creature’s strength was terrifying.
Suddenly, it paused, its empty eyes locking onto a trembling figure hiding behind an overturned vehicle.
Myles’s breath caught as he watched the beast reach out. The human screamed but the sound was cut short as the creature’s hand engulfed him. In seconds, the person’s body melted into the monstrosity’s flesh, becoming yet another agonized face in the grotesque tapestry that made up its body.
Myles felt his stomach twist in revulsion. The sight was like something out of a nightmare. So everything it touches immediately absorbed into its body? That’s just make this even better.
His instinct screamed at him to run and get as far away as possible. His grip on the knife wavered for a moment, his hands clammy with sweat.
"Can I really kill this fucker?!" he wondered, feeling the cold grip of fear tighten around his chest. "Or am I just walking into my own a death trap?"
He ducked behind a wall, his back pressed against the cold concrete as he tried to steady his breathing. The image of that poor human being absorbed flashed in his mind again, and his fingers trembled. "Maybe I should just get out of here while I can..."
But then, another thought pushed through the fear.
"High risk comes with high reward." He clenched his jaw, forcing himself to focus. "I’m already Level 2. My strength is higher, my agility’s increased, and I’ve got new skills. I can do this."
He wasn’t the same as he was when he first entered this apocalypse. He had power now.
Slowly, he forced himself to peek out from behind the wall and scanning the area as the creature continued its rampage. The beast was flipping cars, tossing them aside like they were made of paper. It was powerful, yes, but there was one advantage—its size made it clumsy. Its movements were heavy, slow, and predictable.
Myles’s eyes darted around, taking in the details. The ruins of buildings, broken pillars, debris that was barely hanging on. His mind raced, piecing together a plan.
If he could lure the creature into a narrow alley or beneath a section of wall that looked unstable, he might be able to collapse the structure on top of it with his strength now. The rubble would slow it down, maybe even pin it in place long enough for him to strike.
He nodded to himself, feeling a flicker of hope light up inside him.
---
The monster moved with a single purpose only: to consume. Its mind was once a human. But now it had been devoured by the foreign and uncontrollable power of the Etherium coursing through its veins. Now, it was nothing but a slave to that insatiable hunger and instinct. Its purpose was only to absorb and assimilate any living human it could find then turning them into part of its grotesque body.
Once, it had been a person. A soul trapped in the ruins of the city who was desperate for survival. But it hadn’t evolved like it should have. It had failed. The transformation had gone wrong, leaving it stuck in this monstrous form of a chaotic fusion of flesh, limbs, and faces screaming in silence.
Suddenly, its empty eyes locked onto a new target, a lone human standing in the middle of the street. The figure was small against the backdrop of ruined buildings. This one didn’t run or scream or hide like the others. Instead, he stared directly at it.
The monster’s lips parted and growl escaping from the mouths scattered across its body. It didn’t hesitate. The sight of the lone human was like a call it couldn’t ignore. It walk forward to claim another soul.
Myles bolted through the ruined streets. His Agility stats now made it easier to maneuver through the wreckage, weaving around overturned cars and corpses and rubble as the monstrous abomination lumbered after him.
The creature’s guttural growls echoed behind him.
He glancing back briefly to ensure it was still following. The monster’s massive frame smashed through obstacles and scattering debris. Its focus only on Myles.
The narrow alley came into view beside the remains of a burning house. Smoke and flames licked at the shattered windows and the acrid stench of charred flesh of corpses littered arounf it filled the air.
Myles barely spared a glance at the scattered corpses near the wreckage. His attention was fixed on the crumbling wall he had scouted earlier.
Reaching the alley, Myles didn’t hesitate. He immediately leaped onto the weakened wall and using his momentum to climb to the top. His fingers found purchase on the rough surface and he hoisted himself up just as the abomination reached the alley.
The creature halted for a moment, its many eyes locking onto him. A guttural growl reverberated through the narrow space.
Myles crouched on the wall and gave the beast a taunting grin.
"Yeah, you see me now, don’t you? Come and get me!"
With a disturbing roar the monster charged at him with terrifying speed.
Myles waited and watching the monstrosity hurtle toward him.
Closer... closer...
At the last possible second, Myles launched himself into the air, his enhanced agility propelling him clear of the wall. He twisted mid-jump then landing with a roll on the other side just as the abomination crashed into the weakened structure.
The wall buckled, cracks spiderwebbing across its surface before it gave way entirely. Tons of stone and debris collapsed onto the creature and burying it beneath the rubble. Dust filled the air.
Myles straightened, brushing dirt from his clothes as he watched the pile of rubble with a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Not so tough now, are you?" he said, his grin widening as he flicked his knife closed and tucked it into his belt.
The pile shifted slightly, a faint growl emanating from within. Myles tensed, seeing the abominations rising again.
---