The ground split open beneath Ethan's feet. He jumped backward and pulled Mary with him as a deep crack tore across the street, sending pieces of broken concrete flying into the air. The survivors around them screamed and scattered in every direction.Ethan looked up. The massive shadow above the clouds was moving, and for several seconds nobody understood what they were seeing. Then something enormous pushed through the dark clouds, and Ethan's body went cold. This was not a monster like the Shadow Eaters. This thing was far larger. Only part of its body was visible, but Ethan could make out what looked like a huge black hand pressing against the clouds, a hand larger than several buildings put together.Victor slowly lowered his weapon. "We need to leave."Ethan looked at him. "What is that?"Victor didn't answer right away. His face had gone pale. "I don't know."Claire stepped closer to Ethan. "You said the System warned you about an unknown entity."Ethan nodded, and the blue scr

Ethan ran through the burning street with Mary beside him as the timer continued counting down. 00:38:56. Three kilometers separated them from the Safe Zone, but the distance meant nothing compared to what stood behind them.The Seeker's avatar was following, and Ethan couldn't hear its footsteps, which frightened him more than anything else that night. A creature that powerful should have made the ground shake with every step, yet it moved through the city almost silently.Claire ran beside Ethan. "Do you still feel it?"He glanced behind him. "No."Victor looked at him. "That is worse."Ethan understood what he meant. If his Danger Sense couldn't detect the creature, then the Seeker was either moving beyond its range or deliberately hiding from it, and neither possibility offered any comfort.They reached an intersection where three roads stretched ahead of them. The main road was filled with Shadow Eaters, the road on the left was blocked by overturned buses, and the road on the ri

Ethan could not breathe. The voice beneath the Safe Zone had called him by his name. Not Player Zero. Not Subject Zero. Ethan. Then it had called him something even more impossible: my son.His eyes remained fixed on the cracked ground."Dad?" The word came out barely louder than a whisper.Mary stepped toward him. "Ethan," she began, but he turned to her before she could say more."You knew," he said. "You knew he was alive?"Mary's face tightened with pain. "I don't know if he is alive.""Then who is speaking?""I don't know."Ethan shook his head. "No more lies."The ground shook again, and several guards fell as cracks spread across the floor of the Safe Zone. People screamed and rushed away from the center. Victor grabbed Ethan's shoulder and told him they needed to move, but Ethan pushed his hand away."I need to know," he said."Knowing will not keep you alive," Victor warned."Neither will running forever."A deep vibration passed beneath them, and then the voice returned. "Et