Apocalypse System: I Evolve by Devouring Everything

The Broken Reflection

Thick smoke and cement dust blanketed the utterly destroyed street. Jonathan coughed, waving dust away from his face as he crawled out of the debris. In front of him, a massive crater gaped open, and atop one of the writhing tentacles, that figure stood arrogantly.

"Damn it... how can there be someone with my exact face?" Jonathan muttered, wiping blood from his temple.

"You're asking why? Hilarious. Shouldn't I be the one asking why trash like you got the system, not me?" the figure smirked, his voice identical to Jonathan’s but far sharper and filled with hatred.

"Jon! Are you okay?!" Emma shouted from a distance. She was hiding behind a wrecked bus, her face pale as a ghost.

"Emma, stay there! Don't come out!" Jonathan yelled back. He stood tall, staring at his own reflection with wildly glowing purple eyes. "Hey, who the hell are you? Stop playing games!"

"My name? I don't have a name. I am all the failures you threw away when you got that system. I am the Jonathan trampled by Reymond, the Jonathan betrayed by Sienna, and the Jonathan who should have died on that wet asphalt!" The figure leaped down from the tentacle, landing lightly without a sound. "That system split your reality. You took the power, and I took all the suffering."

"So you want revenge on me? Because I got strong?" Jonathan laughed bitterly. "That's rich. You should be happy I'm kicking their asses!"

"Happy? Look at my body!" The figure tore his shirt open, revealing blistered skin covered in strange symbols pulsing red. "Every time you evolve, I feel the pain a thousand times over! You get the pleasure, I get the hell! HAND OVER THAT SYSTEM, YOU BASTARD!"

[WARNING! Synchronization Dropping: 22%]

[Anomaly Detected: 'Mirror Fragment' Attempting Database Overwrite!]

"System, what is this?! He can take my authority?!" Jonathan screamed internally, panicking as he felt his power being sucked out.

"I don't just want your system, Jon. I want your life!" The shadow charged with speed Jonathan’s eyes could barely track. A solid punch slammed into Jonathan’s gut, sending him flying into a concrete wall.

"Cough! Bastard... too fast..." Jonathan tried to get up, but the giant tentacle behind him began to move, locking his movement.

"Come on, where's your Alpha Predator power? Where's that arrogance when you beat up those thugs?!" The shadow grabbed Jonathan by the neck, lifting him into the air. "In front of me, you're just a thief caught red-handed!"

"Jonathan! Jon!" Emma ran out from her hiding spot, throwing a piece of metal at the shadow. It bounced off harmlessly.

"Emma, I said don't come here! Run!" Jonathan struggled, his hands starting to glow purple again.

"This girl... she's the one making you feel human, right?" The shadow glanced at Emma with bloodthirsty eyes. "How about I destroy her right in front of you? So you know what it feels like to lose everything, just like I did!"

"DON'T TOUCH HER, YOU DEMON!" Jonathan slammed his hand onto the shadow's chest. A point-blank burst of purple energy forced the figure to release its grip.

Jonathan fell to his knees, gasping for air. His body shook violently. "You can hate me, you can want to kill me. But if you dare touch Emma... I’ll make you regret ever existing!"

"Ooh, so scary. I'm terrified," the shadow mocked, dusting off his shoulder. "But you forgot one thing, Jon. The Great Mother beneath us... she didn't come for me. She came to feast on your system core."

The ground shook violently again. The giant mouth in the center of the hole opened wide, letting out a roar that felt like it shattered eardrums. Thousands of small tentacles began creeping out of the hole, spreading in all directions like starving worms.

"Jon, the ground is sinking!" Emma screamed as the asphalt under her feet cracked and collapsed.

"Emma! Hold on!" Jonathan dashed, grabbing Emma's hand right before she fell into the dark pit filled with sharp fangs.

"You two want to play romance in the middle of the apocalypse? Disgusting!" The shadow appeared above them, kicking Jonathan’s hand gripping the concrete edge.

"Damn... AHHHHH!" Jonathan and Emma fell into the darkness.

But before they hit the bottom, a net of purple energy formed automatically, breaking their fall. Jonathan hugged Emma tight, shielding her from falling debris.

[Emergency Protection Protocol Active.]

[Energy Consumption: 80% of Remaining Reserves.][Status: Near Empty.]

"Thanks, System... you’re actually useful in a pinch," Jonathan mumbled. He set Emma down on a platform of hard flesh inside the pit. The atmosphere was revolting, the walls pulsating like a giant heart.

"Where are we, Jon?" Emma asked with a trembling voice, her tears dried up from sheer terror.

"We're inside the monster's stomach, Em. Looks like this is the center," Jonathan replied, looking up. Up there, his shadow reflection was staring down with a satisfied smile.

"Enjoy your dinner! The Great Mother loves pure genetics like yours, Jon!" the shadow shouted from above before disappearing behind the smoke.

"Jon, that... what is that glowing thing over there?" Emma pointed at a large lump of flesh in the center of the room emitting a golden light.

[ALPHA ENERGY CORE DETECTED!]

[Warning: Core Contaminated.]

[Suggestion: Absorb Immediately for Status Recovery or Explode with the Entire City!]

"Ten minutes... time is running out," Jonathan stepped forward, but every step was blocked by small tentacles wrapping around his legs.

"Don't go there, Jon! It looks super dangerous!"

"I have no choice, Em. If I don't take that core, neither of us gets out of here alive." Jonathan drew his dimming energy sword. "Stay behind me. Whatever happens, don't leave my shadow!"

Suddenly, a laugh Jonathan knew very well echoed from behind the flesh lump. A man in tattered clothes stepped out. It was Reymond. But his body had changed, half his face fused with the monster’s tissue.

"J-Jon... look... I got power too..." Reymond stammered, drool dripping green slime. "Sienna... I ate her... she was delicious, Jon..."

"Reymond?! You... you became a monster?!" Jonathan’s eyes widened. "You really are trash, even in death you’re still a parasite!"

"I am not a parasite! I am the new ruler! The Great Mother chose me as her vessel!" Reymond roared, and sharp spikes shot from his back toward Jonathan.

Jonathan parried the spikes with his sword, but his strength was nearly gone. "System! Give me one more push! I refuse to die at the hands of a loser like him!"

[Alpha Authority Restricted by Mirror Fragment Presence.]

[Only Option: Forced Synchronization with the Core Ahead.]

[Risk: 99% Soul Death.]

"Only one percent chance of survival? Heh, better than zero!" Jonathan charged at Reymond, ignoring the spikes tearing his shoulder skin. "Emma! Close your eyes! Don't watch this!"

"JON! NO!"

Jonathan plunged his hand directly into the golden flesh lump. A blinding light exploded, filling the entire underground chamber. Reymond’s scream, shattered by pure energy radiation, mingled with The Great Mother’s roar.

"Aarrggghhh! TAKE THIS, YOU BASTARD!" Jonathan screamed.

His entire body felt like it was burning. He could feel every cell destroying and reforming in milliseconds. His mind was flooded with thousands of memories not his own—memories of the destruction of other worlds devoured by this system before reaching Earth.

[FORCED SYNCHRONIZATION: 90%... 95%... 98%...]

[WARNING! BODY CAPACITY EXCEEDED!]

[INITIATING EVOLUTION STAGE 2: LORD ALPHA.]

Jonathan’s body lifted into the air. His bones cracked one by one. The purple energy turned pitch black. Emma stared with trembling eyes.

"J-Jon...?"

Jonathan opened his eyes.

But the light in there was no longer purple.

It was cold red… devoid of emotion.[SYNCHRONIZATION FAILED.]

[ALPHA PERSONALITY TAKING OVER.]

Jonathan slowly turned his head toward Emma.

And for the first time— he didn't recognize the girl. Those red eyes stopped right on Emma’s face.

Jonathan’s lips slowly curled up—not a human smile.