A Faint Breath in the Dark was all that was heard. Inside a decrepit house in Sukayu City, a woman and her daughter huddled within the suffocating confines of a closet. Their backs pressed against a wooden wall, breath shallow, eyes wide. Old coats and scattered boxes offered what little concealment they could muster. But outside—something started to move..
Heavy footsteps thudded against the ruined floorboards. A scraping, wet sound accompanied it, as if sharp ragged claws dragged across the walls. A low and eerie guttural clicking echoed through the corridors. The house trembled under the weight of unseen horrors.
Then—silence.
The mother barely had time to cover her daughter's mouth before a terrible impact shattered the door to the adjacent room. The thing outside moved frantically, tearing apart furniture, ripping through walls as if peeling away layers of flesh. The mother's heartbeat pounded in her ears.
A moment passed. Then another.
A shadow loomed at the thin slats of the closet door. Something watched them. Something with eyes they could not see but felt burning into their very souls. Then, the presence retreated. Heavy footsteps faded down the hallway.
The mother dared to exhale. But then, the daughter's trembling gaze drifted behind them. The mother turned—only to find darkness. A darkness that moved. Whispers curled in the air like smoke. Figures without form, shapes without names, stretched and slithered from the void itself. A wretched, suffocating cold gripped them. The mother opened her mouth to scream, but the shadows were faster.
A sickening crack. Flesh tore. Jaws were wrenched apart, and then—nothing. The city claimed two more souls.
Meanwhile…
Jinishi sat in the passenger seat of the car, his expression unreadable as he studied the road ahead. He had sensed it—the man had dialed emergency services when he wasn't paying attention. He could tell from how calm and relaxed the man was all of a sudden. Jinishi's claws flexed. "Damn you…" he muttered.
Before the driver could react, Jinishi ripped the car door off its hinges and threw himself out, rolling onto the pavement.
The driver, pale-faced and trembling, didn't hesitate. He slammed the vehicle into reverse, tires screeching against the cracked asphalt. In an instant, he was gone, leaving Jinishi alone on the outskirts of Sukayu City.
Jinishi pushed himself to his feet, dusting off his clothes. He then exhaled sharply. "Great. Now what?" His gaze lifted toward the city ahead.
At first glance, Sukayu City looked untouched—its towering buildings stood tall, neon signs flickered in the twilight, distant cars idled at intersections. It seemed... normal. Then, Jinishi took a step forward.
The instant his foot crossed the city's threshold, the world shifted.
His senses screamed. The vibrant cityscape before him shattered like glass peeling away to reveal something rotten underneath. The buildings now stood in ruin, their skeletal frames jagged and broken. The neon lights flickered erratically, bathing the streets in sickly hues. The distant sound of bustling life was gone, replaced by eerie stillness and the distant echo of something... slithering.
Jinishi turned. The road behind him—gone. Only darkness remained. A formless void stretched beyond the city's borders, as if the rest of the world had ceased to exist.
"What the hell…?" Jinishi muttered, eyes narrowing. He raised his clawed gauntlets and swung them forward with all his might.
The air hummed. Sparks flew as his claws raked against an invisible forcefield. A barrier of unknown origin separated him from the outside world. "...Trapped." Jinishi exhaled, steadying himself. "Fine. No choice but to look around." He turned and began his patrol.
Jinishi walked through the ruined city, his every step echoing against abandoned pavement. Cars lay overturned, their windshields shattered. Some still had their doors open, as if their passengers had fled in a hurry. Blood smeared the sidewalks in irregular patterns—drag marks, like something had pulled bodies away.
He stepped over a discarded shoe, its owner nowhere to be found. A faint sound reached his ears. A door creaking open.
Jinishi tensed. He slowly turned his head down an alleyway, his sharp eyes catching the sight of a decrepit storefront door swaying in the wind. The interior was shrouded in darkness. He took a cautious step forward.
Then—
Thud.
A massive shadow moved within the building. Jinishi's breath hitched. His instincts screamed at him to prepare for battle, but instead—he froze.
This thing… it wasn't like the spider creature that had first killed him. No. It was worse.
Larger. More monstrous. More Dangerous. It was at least 15 feet tall, was all black, and had a long lanky tail reminiscent of that of both a wolf and a snake. It had at least 20 eyes, each glowing red. Its back had black fur, so Did its forearms and tail.but everything else looked like just raw skin. It had a long tongue covered with blood, slime, and goo.and its tongue was at least 25 inches longer than that of a Human's would be. It was a Demon, had to be. Anything else wouldn't be believable.
A suffocating presence wrapped around him like chains. The same fear from before. The same despair.
His gauntlets shattered. His aura flickered and vanished. His body refused to move. "Damn it... I can't move. I'm going to die again, aren't I?" He thought to himself in his panic.
However, just then, The creature lunged forward. At the last second, Jinishi forced his body to breathe. He closed his eyes, exhaling all fear. His aura ignited once more—but this time, it was different.
The green hue was gone, replaced by a white glow edged with flickering cyan. His gauntlets reformed, now glowing with divine light. Jinishi's eyes snapped open, a new power coursing through him. Everything slowed. Every movement of the creature became predictable.
He moved.
With a flash of motion, he vaulted onto the creature's shoulder, pivoted mid-air, and unleashed a brutal backhand to its head. The force sent it crashing through a crumbling wall. But it wasn't done.
A tail wrapped around his leg and slammed him through the floor.
Pain exploded through his back as he groaned, rolling onto his chest. The creature descended, aiming to crush him under its full weight.
Jinishi dodged at the last second, flipping backward. "Damn it… my attacks barely fazed it," he muttered. His sharp mind analyzed the situation. "It has better body structure… higher endurance. I need to—"
Suddenly, the creature curled into a spinning ball. Jinishi barely had time to react before spikes launched from its spine—hundreds of them, flying at impossible speeds.
"Shit—!" He launched himself out the way in an attempt to dodge…but that was the trap. The spinning mass of muscle and bone rammed into him, slamming him against the wall—right into a jagged metal pole.
A sickening piercing sound. Blood splattered everywhere, painting the walls and floor with a vibrant crimson color. Jinishi gasped, his vision blurring. The pain coming from his chest was unbearable. His breathing slowed.
Then—everything went black….
..............
Shortly after, Jinishi opened his eyes.
He was floating in a vast, endless void. "Where am I...?" A voice then abruptly echoed from the darkness. "We finally meet after such a long time…Welcome to where you belong, Jinishi."
A figure emerged—a being of shadows. Its form constantly shifted, as if struggling to hold a shape.
However, Jinishi wasn't prioritized on what the figure looked like, and more so on something else. "Who are You and Where Am I? Why Am I Here?!"
The figure simply stood there in what seemed like eternal silence…before then, "There is no need to answer such meaningless questions, not now at least." The figure now extended its arm forward, the arm constantly shifting and elongating before stopping right in front of Jinishi, its index finger pointing directly in his face. "We are reaching the End. I can save you. I can make you stronger. But power comes with consequences. Choose wisely—your time is short."
Jinishi clenched his fists tightly, a drop of blood leaking from his hand. He didn't want to make a random deal out of nowhere, especially with such a random entity…however…considering his situation…He had no choice. "...I'll do it."
The entity's faceless and emotionless expression now turned into one that grinned with malicious intent, with the figure uttering only two words. "Good choice."
A flash of white light occured—and Jinishi returned.
Now, as the creature prepared to devour him, Jinishi's eyes snapped open, glowing with a dark malice. His hair grew significantly longer and flowed in a bizarre craze. His aura erupted—purple and black, streaked with crackling red lightning.
Jinishi kicked upward—obliterating its tongue in an instant, causing blood to launch out of its mouth. He then landed, cracking his knuckles. A sadistic grin formed on his face.
"...Let's see..how would you feel if I gave you a taste of your own medicine.."
The creature let out a blood curdling screech, one so loud that it ruptured the very barrier of sound.and from the surrounding area, hundreds of creatures quickly arose and made their way to their location.
Jinishi's eyes narrowed, his sadistic grin turning into a murderous glare. He wasn't feeling well at all, he felt consumed by anger. He didn't care about saving or helping anyone anymore…he just planned on doing one thing. "I'M GOING TO SLAUGHTER EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!" He shouted out as He rushed towards all of the creatures.
And so, the hunt began.