The morning after the slaughter smelled of smoke and rust.
The streets were quiet again — not peaceful, just empty, like the world itself was holding its breath.
Ash fell like snow over the cracked roads.
Kai walked slowly, every step echoing too loudly in the dead city.
Each sound felt dangerous, like it could wake something that should have stayed asleep.
He kept one hand on the hilt of his sword, the other clutching the faintly glowing blue locket around his neck.
The light inside it flickered weakly.
"Running low again…" he muttered. "Guess even light gets tired."
He passed a wall covered in missing-person posters. The faces were faded, the words half-burned.
He almost laughed when he saw one that said "Stay Inside, Stay Safe."
"Yeah, sure," he said under his breath. "That worked out great for everyone."
A sudden metallic sound cut through the silence.
Something scraped against stone.
Kai froze instantly.
His hand tightened around his sword.
Then a voice came — soft, trembling, human.
"Don't move."
Kai turned slowly, ready for anything.
A girl stepped out from behind the rubble.
She couldn't have been older than sixteen — her face was smudged with dirt, her hair tangled, and in her shaking hands, she held… a frying pan.
Kai blinked.
"If you were planning to kill me, you really picked the wrong weapon."
"You're not infected?" she asked, eyes wide.
"Do I look like one?"
She studied him suspiciously.
"You… look like you haven't slept in weeks."
Kai smirked.
"That's just my natural charm."
The girl didn't laugh. She didn't even blink. Her fear was too real.
But her hands stopped shaking just a little.
"You shouldn't be out here," she said quietly.
"They hide when the sun rises… but sometimes… they forget."
Kai tilted his head.
"You've seen them in daylight?"
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Once. It didn't end well."
"What's your name?"
"Aiko."
"Aiko, huh? Nice to meet you in hell."
She frowned.
"You talk too much for someone who's still alive."
"That's probably why I'm still alive."
Before she could respond, a wet dragging sound came from the alley behind her.
Aiko's face went pale.
"It's too early," she whispered. "They shouldn't be out now…"
The shadow beside the wall began to move.
It stretched and twisted, peeling itself away from the bricks like something being born.
Two cracked glassy eyes blinked inside the darkness.
"Human…" it hissed, the sound thick and wet.
Aiko stumbled backward.
Kai stepped in front of her, raising his sword. The metal caught the sunlight and shimmered faintly blue.
"Stay behind me."
"I can fight!" she protested.
"Not with cookware, you can't."
She hesitated, then obeyed, clutching the pan close to her chest.
The creature lunged forward with an animal scream.
Kai dodged sideways, his blade cutting across its neck.
Dark blood hissed and smoked as it hit the ground.
The monster shrieked, collapsing—
then its wound began to heal.
Kai gritted his teeth.
"They heal faster now…"
"You're joking, right?" Aiko's voice cracked.
"Wish I was."
The creature roared and lunged again.
Kai ducked under its claws and drove his blade through its throat.
The locket flared, channeling light into the steel.
The creature convulsed, its body glowing blue for a heartbeat before it melted into black smoke and vanished.
Aiko stared, her eyes wide in disbelief.
"You… killed it."
"No," Kai said quietly, sheathing his sword.
"It'll come back when night falls."
Her shoulders trembled.
"Is there anywhere safe left?"
Kai looked up.
The faint black ring of the eclipse still lingered in the sky, swallowing the sun's warmth.
"Maybe," he said finally. "But not for long."
Aiko looked at him, confused.
"Then why fight?"
Kai's expression softened.
"Because someone has to."
The wind howled through the empty street, carrying the faint scent of iron and ash.
Aiko shivered.
"You really think we can stop them?"
"I don't know," Kai said.
"But if we stop trying, we've already lost."
She stared at him for a moment — then smiled, small and shaky, but real.
"You're weird."
Kai sighed.
"I've been called worse."
They started walking — one tired fighter, one terrified girl — through the haze of smoke and broken light.
And high above them, the eclipse flickered faintly again,
as if watching.