The morning sky looked murky, covered in thick clouds that never truly left since the world collapsed. The sun left only a faint trace of light, barely piercing through the gray mist. From behind the fortified window of the military base, I, Sofia, stood still. My once messy hair was now tied neatly back, and the special combat uniform issued by the base clung tightly to my body—a light white armor adorned with a golden wing insignia on the chest.
Outside, the undead wandered aimlessly—filling the ruined streets, dark alleys, and collapsed buildings that had become the city's grave.
Inside, humanity struggled to survive. Wounded, fragile, but still breathing.
"Today's target has been confirmed," said a muscular man with a long scar across his cheek—Captain Irvan, our expedition leader. His voice was rough, like stone worn down by time. "South Mall Zone. Plenty of Rank 0 zombies, but reports say there's strange movement. Everyone stay alert."
I gave a slow nod. My left hand trembled slightly—not out of fear, but because the light magic within me was reacting to the dark waves in the distance. It felt like a foul breath creeping into the lungs, even though nothing could be smelled. Since this power awakened—somehow—I could sense undead auras like a stench of death drifting in the air.
"Sofia..." came a soft voice beside me. Nina, a young girl on our team, looked pale, her eyes blinking nervously. "Are you sure you can lead this mission? We've heard... a lot of people died there."
I smiled. Gently, but with confidence.
"If we don't become the light... then who will?"
We moved swiftly. A small team, only five of us. I led the front. A faint white glow enveloped my hand—Holy Light, the name I spoke the first time this magic answered my call. The light was warm. Not burning, but purifying. As if this power wasn't just magic... but hope made manifest.
And... a reminder of the sin I once committed.
Back then, on the first day of the apocalypse—I hit a zombie girl with a golf club in a supermarket parking lot. It was a reflex. But when my eyes met hers... I realized she wasn't like the others. Not rabid, not screaming—just still, with sad eyes that never got to speak.
Is she still out there?
We arrived near the mall. The scent of blood, rotting flesh, and damp air greeted us like a hug from death. But something was off.
The ground... had already been cleared of many zombies. Rank 0 corpses littered the area in mangled states. Some were missing heads. Others were torn apart like they'd been slashed by something sharp—but not by any human weapon.
"This wasn't done by some survivor," one of the squad murmured. "This... was the work of something powerful."
I stepped closer to one of the corpses. The gashes were too precise. Claws? Talons? But too clean to be an animal.
"Be careful. There's something here that's not human... but also not a normal zombie."
And that's when I saw her.
Atop the partially collapsed mall roof stood a female silhouette in a tattered black-and-red dress. Her dress fluttered softly in the dusk, her figure like a shadow carved from a nightmare. She stood still. Motionless. But I knew she was watching us.
Long hair. Familiar movement. Empty eyes that... still held something.
But this time, I was no longer the scared girl with a golf club and trembling hands.
Now I was a light that purifies.
And if she had become darkness...
Then we are destined to meet again.