The wind howled as I forced one foot in front of the other, my vision swimming from the pain coursing through my body. The Wastelands stretched before me—barren, desolate, lifeless. An expanse of cracked earth and jagged ruins, with nowhere to hide. Behind me, the forest was no longer a safe zone. The barrier had been the only thing keeping them at bay.
And now, it was gone.
A deafening crack split the air. A pressure unlike anything I'd ever felt rippled across the landscape, distorting the sky above me. The ground beneath my feet trembled as a wave of unnatural energy pulsed outward. I stumbled forward, barely catching myself on a sharp rock as a monstrous chorus of roars erupted behind me.
They were through.
A deep, guttural sound followed, a chilling mix between a snarl and laughter. My breath hitched in my throat as I turned to see shadows moving through the dissipating remnants of the barrier. Multiple menacing figures poured through the fractured threshold, their glowing red eyes scanning the wastelands. Their silhouettes were monstrous, larger than anything I had faced before.
The Dracus were free.
My body screamed in protest as I pushed forward, forcing myself deeper into the wastelands. The cracked terrain was uneven beneath my boots and I had no choice but to keep moving. Every instinct told not to stop. If they caught me now, there would be no second chance.
Each step sent agony rippling through my side. The wound from earlier burned hotter, something far worse than poison seeping into my veins. I clenched my jaw, ignoring the way my arm felt lighter, less solid. Every few seconds, my hand flickered—phasing in and out like it wasn't fully attached to my body. My breath came in ragged gasps as I slammed my palm against my chest, as if that would force my existence to stay intact.
NULL was trying to consume me.
The realization sent ice through my veins. It wasn't infection. It wasn't transformation. It was something worse.
I wasn't dying.
I was being erased.
A sudden shift in the air sent my instincts into overdrive. I ducked, barely avoiding the sharp claws that sliced through the space where my head had been. The force of the attack sent a gust of wind past me, and before I could react, another Dracus lunged. I twisted away, my foot slipping on loose gravel, sending me crashing to the ground. Pain flared up my side, the wound pulsing as if it were alive.
The first Dracus snarled, stepping forward. Its fanged mouth curled into something that almost resembled a grin. The others slowed, watching, knowing I was too weak to fight back. They had patience. They could afford to wait for NULL to finish what they started.
I grit my teeth and pressed my palm against the ground, trying to push myself up. My body flickered again. My left arm felt like it wasn't even there anymore. The Dracus saw it too. One of them chuckled, low and guttural. They weren't afraid. They thought they had already won.
And maybe they were right, but before they could celebrate any more, a sudden force slammed into the nearest Dracus, sending it flying backward into the jagged remains of a ruined structure.
The impact sent a sickening crunch through the air. My head snapped up just in time to see a shadow move in front of me—fast, precise, lethal. A cloaked figure darted between the remaining Dracus, striking with a weapon that hummed with strange energy. Another Dracus lunged at them, but they were faster, sidestepping the attack before driving their weapon deep into its gut. The beast let out a choked snarl before crumbling to the ground and its soul left its body.
The figure turned toward me. I barely caught the gleam of their eyes beneath the hood before they reached down and grabbed my wrist, yanking me to my feet. "Move NOW."
I staggered forward, still disoriented from the battle, but the urgency in their voice left no room for argument. My body protested with every step, but I ran. The Dracus behind us recovered quickly, their furious roars shaking the air as they launched into pursuit. The stranger led the way, weaving through the ruins with practiced ease. I struggled to keep up, my body barely responding, but I pushed forward. I had no other choice.
As we ran, the landscape around us blurred. My vision flickered—NULL trying to pull me under again. My foot caught on a loose rock, and I tumbled forward, skidding across the ground. The stranger turned, eyes narrowing as they hurried back to me. They knelt, one hand pressing against my wound. A strange warmth pulsed through my body, and for the first time, the burning stopped.
"You're resisting it," they muttered. "That's the only reason you're still here."
I sucked in a breath, my body trembling. "What… what is this?"
The stranger's gaze flicked toward the horizon, where more Dracus were rapidly approaching. "Not now. We have to go."
They helped me up, and together, we ran deeper into the wastelands.
I didn't know where we were going.
I didn't know who they were.
But I knew one thing.
The Dracus had broken the barrier.
And the hunt had only just begun.
We kept up the same pace for an extended period of time before reaching a collapsed building surrounded by many others and then we entered. As I began to survey they area, I was lead to a small duct reminiscent of a bomb shelter cover in the ground.
"get in, NOW"
I didn't argue, I jumped down and began to descend into the underground with the cloaked stranger. Every step down seemed to calm me more and more before finally hitting the bottom. When I finally had both feet on the ground, I looked around and could tell that they had been living here with others.
The cloaked figure looked at me before letting out a deep sign of relief and spoke.
"There is a bed over there, go lay down and someone will be in there shortly to check up on you... Hurry!"
Once again I didn't argue. They had saved my life and I was in no position to mouth off as this was the first time I had encountered another person on Earth since returning. No sooner than I had realized my inner thoughts, I didn't know how to react to this!
Human interaction. This was a REAL person. That meant, there were still humans alive here.
I began shedding layers of clothing and laid on the bed before someone knocked on the door to the room and there she was.
White hair with a tint of purple translucence, 2 different colored eyes and skin that glowed as if the moonlight was emanating from the sheer perfection of her beauty. I gulped slightly as I hadn't seen someone in this world since my revival, but to be met with the gaze of someone so beautiful had my mind racing.
Wasting no time I began to speak but before I could mutter a sentence, I heard another voice. The voice of someone I knew that long term I would grow to despise and even HATE. They were pompous, self absorbed, and ruthless.
"I though I told you guys, NEVER BRING STRANGERS HERE, IS SHE STUPID?!"
"But Ren, we have a duty to prot..."
"I don't wanna hear it, defend her and you'll both receive punishment tonight, YOU UNDERSTAND"
"Yes, sir, I apologize"
No sooner than the conversation wrapped up a man walked in and pushed the girl out of they way, observing me with malice in his gaze.
"Get out"
My mind went blank, and I was taken aback by this. Was this guy about to throw me to the wolves?
"We got no room for a dead man, you got hit by the null, you're as good as dead"
He looked down at my side where I had been slashed and then his eyes began to light up.
"I thought he had been hit, WERE YOU LYING"
"No, I wasn't lying he seems to be fighti..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the man had raised his hand as if he was going to slap her without warning and began scolding her but before he could hit her I spoke up.
"I'VE SEEN ENOUGH, hey, dickhead. Leave the girl alone"
The man stare at me once more before releasing a sinister laugh and walking towards me.
"and what if I don't"
I began to raise up but before I could make a move, I was out... Exhaustion had finally caught up to me and I passed out before I was able to engage in throwing hands with this loser.