A spine-chilling shiver runs down Yaryu's nape. This unnatural darkness squeezes knots in her stomach.

"Alright, I think we should head inside. Maybe it'll go back to normal soon-"

The city blooms to life again, brightening like a mechanical constellation. The sound of traffic and nightlife returns as if nothing happened.

They cover their eyes, readjusting their returned vision.

Yaryu exhales, shakier than she expected.

"Phew, see? Just a weird blackout. No big deal."

She turns to guide them inside.

"It's here."

Anaki's voice glues them mid-step.

He can feel it in the abnormal cold. He walks to the edge of the terrace, staring down at the city streets below.

The others follow, drawn by an anxious curiosity. The streetlights barely lighten the swallowing darkness.

"There's nothing there," Orion mutters, but he flinches, feeling Eli's cold fingers tighten around his hand.

He can't deny that something feels ominous.

Anaki's face crumples, his voice dropping into a hushed, dreadful whisper.

"It's begun."

Yaryu reaches out for Anaki, she opens her mouth to respond-but stops.

A low, rasping noise catches her attention from the alley below.

She squints into the shifting shadows. The shapes writhe in unnatural directions.

What... is that?

She bends closer.

From the alley's depths, an elderly couple stumbles into view, bickering.

She sighs relieved.

"My goodness, for a second I thought-" she laughs, shaking her head. "Alright, enough of this. Anaki, let's go inside."

She reaches for him.

He pulls away.

Yaryu is dumbstruck. Anaki, normally so docile, avoids her touch entirely. A heavy, sinking dread curls in her stomach.

"Anaki?"

He finally looks at them. His dark eyes, once filled with quiet warmth, now stretch void-like, an emptiness that makes their skin crawl.

"We're all going to die."

It catches them off guard.

"-What?"

The old man drops to the ground, clutching his chest. Gasping and writhing in pain.

Yaryu quickly reaches for her phone. Is he having a heart attack?

Anaki doesn't move, he watches in an uneasy silence. It made Orion shudder. What the hell is happening?

The old man convulses, choking on his own saliva. His skin darkens, flushing an ugly red. Then, he stills.

Eli and Orion gasp, unconsciously stepping back.

The old woman screams.

She stumbles onto the alley floor, clutching her face in shock. Her shaking hands reach out-

"Dear? Dear, what's wrong? Somebody help, my husb-"

A ragged snarl. The old man lunges.

His hands crush her throat.

She shrieks, flailing, fingers clawing at his arms and face. But he doesn't stop even when she bleeds.

Yaryu shields the children, "Th-The cops! We need to-"

A sickening crunch drowns out her words.

Her eyes go wide.

The old man's nails and teeth rip into his wife's flesh.

Her screams die, swallowed by wet, choking gurgles. Blood pools onto the pavement. Above them, the streetlamp flickers a dying red.

Color drains from their faces.

Her body twitches once-

Then falls limp.

And yet, it doesn't end there.

The old man lifts his head, staring at the air like a predator. His eyes are a ghostly white, his veins bulging grotesquely beneath his skin. He turns.

His thirst spills into the street. With a savage hunger, a feral desperation no human should possess.

People run. Scream. Those who are too slow, he is on them in an instant.

And he's not the only one.

The once-familiar street erupts into chaos. The whole city is in an uproar-screams, explosions, fires, wails, and accidents all swirl in the cloak of this mysterious darkness.

Orion's legs give out beneath him.

He watches, frozen, as the infection spreads before his eyes. People collapsing. People rising. People turning.

What is with this monstrosity?

His pupils shrink, his throat tightens. His voice barely makes it past his lips.

"This can't be real..."

Eli stands beside him, motionless. Eyes filled with the same terror.

He feels the vibrations of bodies slamming against the pavement, the tremors of an explosion rippling through his chest like an earthquake inside him-but he hears nothing. His world is silent. And that silence is more terrifying than any noise could be.

He feels cold, sweat trickle down his temples, and a sickening churn twists his stomach.

Then, he sees her.

A corpse.

Twitching.

Shaking.

A broken neck, twisted grotesquely to the side. She should be dead. She was dead.

Yet, she's walking, dragging her battered body along.

White, empty eyes fixate on her victim: a mailman, standing paralyzed in horror.

She thrusts herself onto him.

He doesn't even manage a scream.

She was dead only moments ago, killed by that 'turned' human, and yet after dying, she's become one of them.

Eli bites onto his lower lip, muffling his sobs.

This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't-

A hand grabs his.

"Eli!"

Orion grabs him tighter. His fingers shake, but he won't let go.

"I-I don't know what's happening," Orion chokes on his own tears. "But it'll be alright."

Who was he kidding? Orion is terrified and he knows that it's a lie.

Nothing is alright.

And yet, he grips Eli tighter, desperate to keep him here. To keep them both here.

Because they made a promise.

Because he can't lose everything again.

He forces down his own rising panic, swallows his fear like a burning lump in his throat, and pulls Eli closer.

"Eli," he whispers. "No matter what happens, you stick with me."

Eli doesn't answer.

His trembling lips part, and at last, a whisper breaks free.

"I want to go home."

Tears spill in chunks, soaking into his hoodie. Orion follows, but he muffles it.

Yaryu startles, snapping out of her daze with a violent shudder as it crashes down upon her. She stumbles upright, her legs barely holding her weight.

"I-what is happening?" Her voice wavers between disbelief and terror. "You children must go downstairs, immediately!"

She fumbles with her phone, her fingers slipping over the buttons, shaking too much to dial.

"I need to call the school. The police. I-I don't-"

Anaki watches her.

Watches them all.

It's exactly like his vision.

He shuts his eyes remembering it well-by now, in his vision, they were already running.

He parts his lips, hesitating. Where to start? What to say?

They wouldn't believe him, not yet. They need to see more. More of the surreal. More of the impossible. More of the horror that will follow.

He grips his pant leg, swallowing back the weight of everything he knows. For him, the terror is familiar. A premonition played on repeat. He's had time to accept it.

For them?

This is the first moment of the end. A horrifying new world opening its jaws to swallow them whole.

And so, when he finally speaks, his voice is calm. Cold and certain.

"How isn't the right question."

Their gaze meets his. His eyes harden.

"The question is: What now?"

Yaryu winces, confused.

Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupts from a nearby apartment.

Yaryu embraces the children, shielding them from the blast. It sends a shockwave through the air, shattering windows and scattering debris.

A fiery orange plume bursts into the sky, casting eerie shadows over the streets, the sounds of panic and despair fill the air.

Screams of terror mix with the wail of sirens and the frantic shouts of people trying to escape the chaos. Cries for help and the clamour of rushing footsteps create a cacophony of fear.

Yaryu bends lower, the heat scathing at her shoulders.

In her arms Eli clenches hard onto her and Orion onto him.

He stiffens. There's something unreadable in Anaki's expression-not fear, not panic, but something eerily... sure.

How is he not affected by all this? Did... he know?

Anaki looks at the flames consuming metal and concrete.

This moment is a blessing in disguise-a chance to avert the fates he had foreseen.

Whether it was reincarnation, rebirth, a second chance, or a miracle-he is resolved to defy the end.

With a voice, inaudible to all but his soul, he makes a promise that burns with the weight of his newfound purpose.

The promise that changes their fates.

"Don't worry." Anaki mutters to himself. "I won't let you die."

And in a whisper, "not like before."