The world did not end all at once.
It began… quietly.
The first thing I remember was the sky.
It was clear that day. Too clear.
A deep, endless blue stretched above the city, untouched by clouds.
The sunlight reflected off the glass buildings, making everything look clean—perfect, even.
People walked past me like nothing would ever change.
Cars moved. Screens flickered. Voices overlapped into a familiar noise that made the world feel alive.
Normal.
That's what we called it.
I stood at the edge of the crosswalk, waiting for the signal to turn green.
In my hand was a small paper bag—warm from the bread inside. I had just come from the corner bakery, the one that always smelled like sugar and butter.
I remember thinking…
It's peaceful today.
Then my phone vibrated.
A notification.
"Verdant Genesis Project enters final phase. Scientists claim breakthrough in sustainable bio-growth."
I stared at the headline for a moment.
Everyone had been talking about it.
Plants that could grow faster. Crops that could survive anything. A solution to hunger, to climate collapse—maybe even to war.
A miracle.
That's what they called it.
The light turned green.
People began to move.
So did I.
Halfway across the street, something felt… off.
I stopped.
Just for a second.
The air felt heavier.
Thicker.
Like something unseen had settled over the city.
Then—
A scream.
It came from somewhere behind me.
Sharp. Sudden. Wrong.
People turned. Confusion spread like a ripple through the crowd.
"What was that?"
"Did something happen?"
"Is it an accident?"
I turned around.
And that's when I saw it.
At first, I didn't understand what I was looking at.
It looked like a person.
Standing in the middle of the road.
Not moving.
But something was… wrong.
Their body was twisted.
Not broken.
Not injured.
Twisted.
Something moved beneath their skin.
A slow, unnatural shift—like something was crawling inside them.
Someone stepped closer.
"Hey—are you okay?"
The moment their hand reached out—
It happened....
The person's body burst.
Not violently.
Not like an explosion.
But like something blooming.
Vines tore through their skin.
Green—too green.
Wet.
Alive.
Flowers bloomed from their shoulders.
From their neck.
From their face.
And then—
Silence.
For a moment…
No one moved.
No one understood.
Then the screaming started.
The thing that used to be human lifted its head.
Slowly.
Its eyes were gone.
Replaced by something hollow.
Something empty.
And yet—
It looked.
At us.
At me.
I couldn't move.
My body refused.
My mind was trying to understand something it couldn't accept.
"This isn't real…"
Someone whispered.
Then the vines moved again.
Faster.
They shot forward—
Wrapping around the closest person.
A scream cut through the air.
Sharp.
Short.
And then—
Nothing.
The body dropped.
Empty.
Drained.
That's when everyone ran.
The world shattered in that moment.
People pushed past each other, panic breaking through every sense of order. Cars crashed. Glass shattered. Sirens began to wail somewhere in the distance.
But it wasn't enough.
None of it was enough.
Because it wasn't just one.
Across the street—
Another body fell.
Then another.
More of them began to change.
Vines.
Roots.
Flowers blooming from flesh.
The ground itself began to shift.
Cracks spread across the pavement.
From beneath—
Something pushed upward.
Plants.
But not plants.
They grew too fast.
Too violently.
Breaking through concrete as if it were nothing.
Buildings trembled.
The air filled with the scent of something sweet—
Sickeningly sweet.
I ran.
I didn't think.
I didn't look back.
But even as I ran…
I could feel it.
The world was no longer ours.
Behind me—
The city was being consumed.
Not by fire.
Not by war.
But by something alive.
Something growing.
Something that had been waiting.
And as the sky slowly dimmed—
As the screams faded into something
distant—
A single thought echoed in my mind.
This is just the beginning.