Cristian’s father was trapped between the jaws of a giant creature as his lion clawed furiously at its feet. The monster didn’t even seem to notice the lion’s presence as it bit down hard on his father. People were screaming, running to avoid being trampled or caught by other monsters. Then a lioness jumped into view, joining the lion in its efforts. His mother suddenly came into view shouting something over the screams.[Human?]He paid no mind to Fenrir as his eyes remained glued to the video, watching as the lioness was lifted into the air and tore into two. Blood and gore splattered everywhere as his mother was abruptly stomped under foot by another monster. The lion was kicked aside, flying into a nearby building. His father was abruptly snapped in two by the monster, and the two sides of his body fell with a sick sound.So this was how his family met their end. In his last life, he had always wondered how they were doing before eventually assuming they died when he couldn’t find

Cristian’s eyes narrowed at the sight of a person’s figure trudging through the snow. He hadn’t expected to encounter anyone willing to brave through the dangers, especially on their own, and shifted to get a better look at them. As they grew closer, he tensed, ready to act at a moment’s notice. That’s when the wind blew off their hood, revealing their face.He couldn’t believe his eyes. It was Miranda. She was someone who had helped him out in the early days of the apocalypse before she was killed. He had never expected to see her in this life, not this soon.[Why are you acting so strangely? Is it someone you know?]Cristian glanced down and asked, “You don’t recognise her?”[Do you expect me to remember every human we’ve met?]When Fenrir put it like that, he could see that the wolf had a point. However, this was Miranda, the woman who helped them out when they were in trouble.“Don’t you remember the woman who gave us food in the last life?” Cristian asked, trying to jog the wolf’

Cristian blinked, thinking he might have misheard as Miranda continued, “It happened out of the blue. One moment we were minding our own business; the next we were being attacked. I ended up separated from everyone else and was wandering outside until I bumped into you.”So he hadn’t misheard her. She had really been attacked by someone or something instead of being betrayed by her group. He wasn’t sure which was worse for her.“Can you tell me about who or what attacked you?” he asked, leaning forward with interest.Learning more about whoever or whatever attacked her group could help him in the future if he ever encountered them. If it were a monster, he would probably have more knowledge than she did, but it would still be good to know what kind was in the vicinity. If it were other people, then he could keep an eye out for those people and know to avoid them.Her expression turned odd before she said, “I don’t know.”Confused by her answer, he asked, “What do you mean?”“I mean th

Cristian stared down at the monsters with a grim expression as they smashed headfirst into the stone wall. Despite there being an open entrance they could rush through, they chose to claw at the section of the stone wall right at their feet.He couldn’t decide if it was because they were too stupid to realize that there was an easier way to get in or that they were too furious to care.“What do we do?” Miranda asked as she clung to the stone wall to keep herself from being knocked off her feet.Cristian glanced up at the empty sky before saying, “We’ll have to retreat.”“Retreat? To where?” she asked.“Further into the castle,” he said and threw one more grenade to distract them before grabbing Fenrir and running off.“Wait,” Miranda called after him, struggling with the heavy gun in her arms.Realizing her situation, he paused for a moment to send the gun back into the dimensional space and freed her hands. Then he continued running with Miranda limping after him.[It seemed that you

Miranda stared up at the ceiling and asked, “Is it safe to go outside?”“Let’s wait a little bit longer before stepping out,” Cristian said, taking a seat.“Alright,” Miranda said, petting Fenrir, who had a pleased look on its face.Cristian raised an eyebrow at Fenrir, but the wolf didn’t even notice, continuing to lie in Miranda’s lap. He pulled water and snacks from the dimensional space and offered some to her. She accepted them graciously and nibbled on the food. They sat in silence, not moving from their spots.After some time passed, Cristian got to his feet and said, “I think it’s safe to take a look now.”Miranda didn’t say a word. She simply stood up with Fenrir in her arms and followed him out of the secret room. When they exited the secret passage, they froze at the sight before them. There was a gaping hole in the wall, revealing the exterior. They could see the damaged castle walls ahead of them, allowing them a partial view of outside the town.They stared in silence be