Aren made the choice without a fuss since time wasn't with him.
He focused on the category, and quickly selected what he wanted or what he thought was good for him at the moment.
Trickster-Type.
The panel simply shifted,
[First Slot Initialized]
[Framework: Trickster (Incomplete)]
[Compatibility: Stable]
Something moved through him.
Pressure and a little kind of relaxation as something cooling his nerves….
Like his body had been adjusted slightly out of alignment and then forced to settle again. His muscles tightened, then relaxed. His breathing changed deeper, it felt steadier.
His heartbeat slowed just enough that he noticed the difference.
Aren stood still, waiting for something dramatic to happen.
Nothing did.
Another line appeared, smaller than the rest.
[Physical Output: Half-Peak Mortal Range]
[Sensory Enhancement: Minor–Moderate]
He frowned.
Half-peak....
The words felt deliberately chosen and Somewhere awkward in between.
He tested it without thinking, gripping the edge of the table and lifting, The wood creaked under his fingers, a little lighter than it should have felt, but it came up effortlessly.
His body felt denser; more responsive, Like the delay between intention and movement had shortened.
He took a step. Then another as he tries to feel his body movement.
No blur, No speed burst he just felt Better awareness around him, He could hear things he couldn't before distant footsteps in the hallway, the hum of electricity in the walls, voices outside layered beneath the wind.
He didn't feel like a normal human anymore .
The system didn't explain anything further.
[First Slot Active]
Aren didn't waste time testing limits.
He grabbed his phone.
First, his mother.
The call rang longer than he expected. Just as he was about to hang up, it connected.
"Aren?" Her voice came through strained but clear enough. Background noise bled in immediately raised voices, something metallic clattering, an alarm he didn't recognize.
"I'm here," he said quickly. "Are you okay?"
A pause, then some noise in the background ,
"I don't know," she admitted. "I'm not hurt. But… things aren't normal. They've locked parts of the building. Security is telling us to stay inside. I can hear things outside."
Not good...
They were Stuck???...
"Don't go anywhere," Aren said. "Please. Just stay put I will be heading to your area mum"
"I wasn't planning to," she replied, forcing a steadiness that didn't quite land. "Have you heard from your brother or Your sisters?"
Aren swallowed.
"No."
Silence filled the line, thicker than the noise behind her.
"They were at school," she said
Another sound in the background as someone shouting, followed by a sharp bang. His mother inhaled sharply.
"I have to go," she said. "They're moving us."
"Wait—"
The line cut.
Aren stared at the screen for half a second before locking it and shoving it into his pocket.
Next, his siblings.
Nothing…..
It rang but no one answered entering voicemail his messages didn't deliver.
But the last texts were still there.
"We're still at school.
They said not to leave
Network's acting weird"
It seemed they were in the same location and same place, it may be all of them there tho…
That meant they were alive when they sent it.
That was enough.
Aren moved quickly…
He pulled on a jacket, shoved essentials into a bag of water, a power bank and a small first-aid kit his mother insisted on keeping stocked. He hesitated, then grabbed a metal rod from the corner of the storage rack. It was weapon...well Not really.
Better than nothing.
As he reached the door, the world changed again.
The thunder struck, it felt heavier than the last two.
It cracked through the air...as it slammed through the sky like something tearing open. The building shook violently, lights flickering once,twice,then dying.
Total darkness.
Aren froze as the floor vibrated beneath his feet.
From somewhere far above, glass shattered.
Then the mist came.
It seeped in through cracks in the windows, under door frames, through ventilation like it had been waiting for permission. Thin at first. Almost harmless-looking. Pale and slow-moving.
Aren covered his mouth instinctively, his heart hammering.
He remembered the videos.
Remembering people laughing it off because it looked like early morning fog.
The growl cut through the hallway.
A scream followed, raw and immediate then cut off too abruptly.
Aren stepped back from the door, every sense sharpening at once. He could hear movement now. Dragging footsteps. Uneven. they were Too many.
Something slammed into a door down the hall.
Once.
Twice.
Wood cracked.
Aren's grip tightened on the metal rod.
This wasn't a drill….
Whatever had brought this chaos into the world just made his day way worse as it can be ..
He forced himself to breathe.
His siblings were across the city. In a place full of people. Enclosed. Either safer than here or far worse.
Staying meant waiting to be cornered.
Leaving meant walking into whatever this had become.
Another scream echoed from below.
Aren moved.
He unlocked the door and stepped into the hallway, mist curling around his ankles. The air smelled wrong stale, metallic, faintly rotten.
From the stairwell came a sound that made his stomach drop.
Footsteps., some seem to be running and dragging themselves on the pavements…
Then....
A figure emerged from the smoke ahead once a man, now slumped forward unnaturally, skin gray and patchy. Its head snapped toward Aren with a sharp, broken motion.
Its mouth opened.
The growl came again.
Aren didn't wait to see what it would do.
He turned and ran the other way, heart pounding, senses screaming, the system silent as chaos finally caught up to him.
And somewhere across the city, his siblings were still waiting at school.
Aren didn't stop running until his lungs burned and his legs started to protest, and even then he only slowed because the hallway ended and the stairwell opened in front of him, dim and filled with mist that clung to the concrete like it belonged there
The building's emergency lights flickered weakly, painting everything in a dull red that made shadows stretch wrong along the walls.
He was on the second floor.
Below him, the first floor was still intact, at least structurally, but the sounds coming from it told a different story, something heavy moving, something wet dragging across tile, a sharp cry that cut off mid-note
Aren tightened his grip on the metal rod and forced himself to breathe slowly
He could hear more now than he ever should have, footsteps that weren't rushed, voices that didn't sound human anymore, the distant crash of something breaking outside, all of it layering together until his head felt too full
He moved down one step at a time, keeping close to the wall, testing each foot placement before committing, the mist thickening the lower he went, cool against his skin and sharp in his lungs even through his sleeve pulled over his mouth
Halfway down, something slammed into a door nearby, wood splintering, hinges screaming, followed by a sound that made his stomach twist, chewing, sloppy and unashamed
He didn't look
Looking wouldn't help
When he reached the first floor, the lobby was barely recognizable, the glass doors at the front shattered outward, blood smeared across the tiles in wide arcs like someone had been dragged while trying to crawl away
People were running outside, silhouettes moving through the fog, some screaming, some silent, some already too slow
Aren stepped out into the street and froze for half a second as reality hit him all at once
This wasn't a timeto panic anymore
Everything seemed to have collapsed
Cars were abandoned at odd angles, doors left open, engines still running, alarms blaring uselessly into the mist, people sprinted past him without looking twice, faces twisted in fear, clothes torn, hands slick with blood that wasn't always theirs
Through the fog, he saw them
Humans, or what they used to be, clustered together around bodies, hunched low, backs jerking as they fed, hands clawing, mouths red and working, completely uninterested in anything else until someone got too close
One of them lifted its head suddenly, eyes cloudy and unfocused, jaw working as it swallowed something it shouldn't have been able to, then it dropped back down and kept eating
Aren forced his legs to move
The school was too far to reach on foot without preparation, but he didn't plan to walk the whole way
His neighbor had a bicycle, an old one but sturdy, always chained near the corner of the building, Aren had borrowed it before, fixed the brakes for him once, joked about how it would outlast both of them
He headed that way now, keeping to the edges of the street, staying between parked cars, moving when others moved so he wouldn't stand out
The mist thinned slightly near the intersection, enough for him to see what waited ahead
A body lay sprawled near the bike rack
No, not just a body
Two figures crouched over it
One was big, shoulders hunched and wide, clothes stretched tight over a frame that looked swollen rather than muscular, its movements slow but heavy, like every motion carried weight it didn't understand
The other was slim, almost gaunt, limbs too long, head tilting at odd angles as it tore into flesh with quick, jerky motions, faster than the larger one but no less focused
They didn't notice Aren at first
He recognized the corpse before he recognized the face
The jacket did it, the faded one with the torn sleeve and the stitched patch near the pocket
His neighbor
The man who owned the bicycle
Aren's throat tightened
The bike was still there, half toppled, chain snapped or torn loose, its frame smeared with blood where it had fallen
The slim one made a sound then, a low clicking noise in the back of its throat, and lifted its head slowly, eyes locking onto nothing in particular, just scanning
Aren lowered himself instinctively, heart hammering so hard he was sure it would give him away
This wasn't like the movies
They weren't dumb
They weren't loud all the time
They were occupied, but aware
He shifted his weight carefully, metal rod held tight, calculating distance, angles, escape routes, his enhanced senses feeding him information faster than his mind could process it
The big one stood suddenly, jerking upright with a wet sound as something tore free from the body, its head turning toward the street, nostrils flaring as if it could smell him through the fog
Aren didn't wait for confirmation
He moved
Not charging, not sprinting, just fast enough to close the distance before hesitation could kill him, the world narrowing to motion and intent, the system silent but his body responding better than it ever had before
The end of the rod connected with bone and the sound it made was dull and wrong
The big one staggered, surprised more than hurt, swinging an arm wildly, catching air
The slim one screeched, high and sharp, dropping low and lunging
Aren barely dodged, the claws grazing his jacket, close enough that he felt the wind of it, close enough to know that one clean hit would end him
It felt so real now...
Aren didn't think. Thinking would slow him down.
The slim one came first, faster than he expected, its body folding and unfolding wrong as it moved, feet barely touching the ground before it was already closing the distance again. He twisted sideways, barely avoiding its grasp, the metal rod swinging on instinct rather than aiming and connecting with its shoulder instead of its head.
It shrieked, a sharp broken sound, stumbling but not falling.
The big one recovered quicker than Aren hoped. It turned fully toward him now, chest heaving, mouth hanging open with dark fluid dripping down its chin. It took a step forward, then another, heavy feet cracking the pavement beneath it.
Aren backed toward the bike without looking, every sense stretched thin. He could hear more coming from nearby streets, not close yet, but moving Drawn by sound he made
The slim one lunged again.
This time Aren didn't dodge back. He stepped in.
The rod came down hard, both hands gripping it as he aimed for the side of its head. There was resistance, then a sudden give, like striking wet clay over something brittle. The thing collapsed instantly, limbs twitching once before going still.
Aren didn't stop to check.
The big one roared and rushed him, faster now, anger overriding whatever passed for coordination. Aren barely managed to roll aside, feeling the air move as the creature slammed into where he'd been standing moments earlier.
He scrambled to his feet, breath ragged, and saw his opening.
The bicycle.
He darted forward, grabbed the handlebars, and yanked hard. The chain clattered uselessly, already broken, and the bike came free. He swung himself onto it clumsily, shoes slipping on blood-slick pavement.
The big one turned, slower now, confusion flickering across its ruined face.
Aren kicked off.
The first few seconds were ugly. The wheel wobbled, tires skidding slightly as he fought for balance, his legs burning as he forced them to move faster than panic wanted them to. A hand brushed the back of his jacket, fingers grazing fabric but failing to grab hold.
Then he was clear.
He pedaled hard, chest aching, mist whipping past his face as the street opened up ahead of him. He didn't look back.
He didn't need to.
The city around him was breaking apart in pieces rather than all at once. Some streets were empty, eerily quiet, others packed with chaos, people running in every direction, some tripping, some turning on each other in fear, some already lost and moving wrong.
He swerved around an abandoned car just in time to avoid crashing into it, tires screeching softly. Somewhere to his left, gunshots rang out, short and panicked, followed by screaming that cut off too fast.
The system didn't guide him.
It didn't warn him.
It simply remained active and quiet
Aren pushed harder, muscles screaming, lungs burning, senses feeding him fragments of danger just fast enough to react. He avoided crowds when he could, cut through side streets when they looked clear, trusting instinct more than sight in the thickening mist.
The school was still far.
Too far to reach safely like this.
But stopping wasn't an option anymore.
He glanced once at his phone, mounted awkwardly against the handlebar with one hand, the screen cracked but still working. No new messages. No missed calls.
Just blank.
Aren leaned forward and pedaled harder, jaw clenched, fear settling into something colder and more focused.
Whatever the world had become, he was already in it.
And if he wanted to see his siblings again, he couldn't afford to slow down now.