Ethan Cole had always lived a simple life. At twenty six, he worked every day and earned just enough money to survive, sharing a small apartment with his mother and following the same routine day after day: waking early, going to work, coming home exhausted, sleeping, and starting it all again the next morning.He did not come from a wealthy family, and he had never known powerful friends or expensive things. His life was far from perfect, but he held onto one dream, the hope that he could one day become successful enough to give his mother the comfortable life she truly deserved.That evening, as Ethan made his way home from work, heavy rain poured from a dark sky, soaking through his clothes while he waited at the bus stop among a small crowd of equally tired and impatient strangers. The bus was running late, and everyone around him seemed to be losing patience by the minute.Checking the time on his phone, Ethan realized it was almost ten o’clock when the screen suddenly lit up wit

Ethan ran through the rain without daring to look back, his legs burning and his injured arm aching with every movement, though he knew he could not afford to stop while the timer kept counting down and reminding him that his mother’s life depended on reaching home before midnight. Less than four minutes remained, and behind him he could hear the creatures landing on the street and following close behind. When he glanced back for only a second, he immediately regretted it, because three dark figures were chasing him, appearing human from a distance but moving in ways that were unmistakably wrong, too fast and too fluid, their bodies bending in directions that made his skin crawl.The blue screen appeared once more.HOSTILE CREATURES DETECTED. SHADOW EATERS: LEVEL 1.Ethan kept his eyes forward and continued running, wondering how he was supposed to survive three of these creatures when he had barely managed to defeat a single one earlier. Then a sharp pain shot through his head, and h

Ethan stood frozen in the middle of the apartment, unable to move as the message continued glowing in front of him.PLAYER ZERO HAS BEEN FOUND. HUNTERS ARE COMING.His mother stood behind him, breathing heavily, her eyes still fixed on the broken window where the creature had vanished only moments before. “Ethan,” she said quietly, “what is happening?” This time he could not bring himself to tell her that everything was fine, because nothing about their situation was fine. When he turned to face her, he saw the fear written plainly across her expression, the kind of fear that came from watching something climb four stories up the side of a building and shatter through their window, a sight no simple lie could explain away.Before he could find the words to respond, a loud sound echoed from the hallway outside, a heavy bang that made them both freeze in place. A second bang followed almost immediately, coming from somewhere on the staircase, and Ethan’s Danger Sense flared to life with

The warehouse fell silent for only a single second before the Hunters opened fire without warning. Ethan shoved his mother behind a stack of wooden crates as bullets tore into the metal walls around them, and Mary screamed and covered her head while he tightened his grip on the Beginner Blade. “Stay down!” he shouted over the chaos.Another round struck the crate right beside him, and he moved before he even had time to think, his Danger Sense having warned him just a moment before, saving his life as he rolled across the floor while another burst of gunfire tore through the space where he had been standing only seconds earlier.The Hunters advanced steadily, and it was clear immediately that these were no ordinary men. Each of them wore heavy black protective armor and carried weapons clearly built for killing monsters rather than people, and their commander walked ahead of the group, gripping a long metal weapon that looked far heavier than anything the others carried. “Player Zero,

The lights went out completely, and Mary’s scream tore through the darkness as she cried Ethan’s name. He reached blindly through the blackness trying to find her, but before his hand could close around hers, something struck the floor nearby with tremendous force. Victor shouted for everyone to get down just as the blast tore through the laboratory, sending shattered glass raining across the floor while thick smoke filled the air around them.His Danger Sense flared again, warning him that someone was approaching, and he raised the Beginner Blade and waited tensely as a shadow moved slowly through the smoke. The figure from the doorway stepped forward, and though Ethan could not make out his face clearly in the haze, he could hear the steady sound of his breathing. “You have grown,” the stranger said calmly.Ethan tightened his grip on the blade. “Who are you?” The man ignored the question entirely, his attention fixed instead on Mary. “You were supposed to keep him away from this pl