The streets of Earth-10 were no longer familiar. Rubble littered the avenues, shattered lampposts leaned precariously, and the distant screams of humanity—or what remained of it—echoed like a dirge across the empty plaza. The Awakener survivors had formed pockets of resistance, but the five mutated leaders, now orchestrating a full-scale assault, were proving deadly in their coordination. Lesser zombies streamed behind them, forming waves that devoured the streets with relentless hunger.
Kairis Ash stood amidst the chaos, calm. His hair was wind-tossed, eyes glinting violet, his coat ragged from previous clashes. Sweat ran down his jawline, mixed with blood, but his expression remained unbroken.
Vrythar, the leader of the mutated echelon, had fully transformed. Its body, grotesquely fluid and bone-laced, now towered over Kairis, wings of jagged sinew spread wide, claws like serrated scythes glinting under the moonlight. Its golden eyes, now fully crimson, burned with predatory intent.
"You…" Vrythar hissed, voice distorted as its jaws split and reshaped mid-sentence. "You've survived… but only barely. This time… I will end you."
Kairis smirked, tightening his grip on his graviton blade. "I've barely started."
He pivoted, and the world around him seemed to slow as he activated his Master of Gravity affinity. Every step, every movement, was precise. Gravity became a tool in his hands—compressing, bending, pulling. Rubble and debris lifted into his orbit as he readied himself for the first strike.
Vrythar lunged, wings snapping violently. Kairis responded with Graviton Blade, a dimensional slash that bent space itself, carving a path through the mutant's ribcage. The slash cut deeper than mere steel could, leaving a glowing fissure where reality seemed to warp.
The creature screeched, lashing its extra limbs, and Kairis reacted instantly, spinning midair with Gyro-Telekinesis, hurling chunks of street debris that pierced the wing membrane. Black matter streaked through the night like meteors, but Vrythar adapted quickly, swinging with brute force that shattered stone barricades and sent the Awakeners nearby ducking for cover.
Around them, chaos raged. Mutated zombies and evolved creatures moved with intelligence, coordinating attacks against Apostles and hunters. A pair of Apostles wielding elemental affinities—one with lightning, the other with fire—clashed against a mutated hound pack. Every strike was calculated, yet the monsters' intelligence made them formidable.
An Abyssal Apostle in full armor fought a three-headed zombie wyvern, dodging the snapping jaws with teleportation-based techniques, while a human hunter backed by a squadron of Awakeners fired precision shots enhanced with kinetic amplification to take down the flanking mutated infantry.
The streets had become a living chessboard of death. Kairis's gaze flicked to the larger battlefield, assessing the moves before returning to his primary target.
Kairis knew the limits of his power. As a True Apostle of Void, he could now summon a Black Hole up to three times—but each deployment drained a portion of his HP proportional to its size. He had already exhausted his stamina, but this fight demanded more than mere skill—it demanded survival.
Vrythar lunged again, talons aiming for Kairis's chest. The strike would have been fatal had it landed.
Kairis's mind raced. I can't survive this with just skill alone… I need to finish this now.
He extended his hand, the air bending violently as the gravity around him coalesced into a dark sphere. His heart pounded in rhythm with the void, and as Vrythar's claws closed in, he whispered:
"Black Hole… Maximum."
Reality bent, compressing toward the point of singularity as Vrythar's form was pulled with unstoppable force. The mutant leader roared, claws flailing, wings tearing through the warped air, but the gravitational collapse was absolute. Kairis's blade merged with the singularity, slicing through Vrythar's form as the void consumed everything in a brilliant, horrifying light.
When the energy dissipated, nothing remained of Vrythar. No limbs, no wings, no trace—only the scorched air and shattered debris. Kairis staggered, his chest heaving, blood dripping from multiple wounds. Yet his violet eyes shone with unyielding confidence.
The other mutated leaders had been watching, their coordination faltering without Vrythar's command. Some scattered, retreating into the shadows of the city. The lesser zombies, confused without a commanding intellect, were slaughtered by the combined forces of the Apostles and Awakeners.
Kairis's system pulsed:
[Quest Complete: Defeat the Ebon Leader]
[Experience Gained: 5,000,000]
[Level Up: 21]
[New Abilities Gained: Gravity Crush—Compress massive area with extreme gravity pressure; Void Infusion—Enhances next gravity attack with void energy.]
The plaza was silent save for the crackling of fires from destroyed buildings and the occasional groan of retreating monsters. Kairis, bloodied but upright, surveyed the battlefield.
From atop a crumbling skyscraper, he saw smaller groups of mutated zombies retreating, some carrying twisted banners of their intelligence rank. Their new hierarchy was already forming.
He exhaled slowly.
"Looks like… the real challenge is just beginning," he muttered, scanning the horizon.
Even as he thought this, far beyond the city, the whispers of intelligence among the undead spread. Some mutants would form squads, hunt with strategy, and become a threat not just in numbers, but in cunning.
Kairis clenched his fist, feeling the weight of his responsibility as True Apostle of Void pressing down on him.
The sun hadn't risen yet, but the light of his resolve burned brighter than any dawn.
And somewhere, unseen, the hierarchy of Black Apocalypse shifted, and the true horrors of the mutated Ebon rank were only beginning to stir.