I Awakened the Apocalypse System

Survive Until Midnight

Ethan ran as fast as his legs would carry him, rainwater splashing around his feet as he rushed through the empty streets while his heart pounded loudly in his chest and every sound around him made him too afraid to look back. He still did not understand what the woman had become, and he had no idea what the strange blue screen truly was, but one thing remained perfectly clear in his mind. He had to get home before midnight, because his mother was still alone in their apartment. He tightened his grip on his phone and pushed himself to run even faster.

The blue screen appeared again in front of him.

TIME REMAINING: 00:12:31

Ethan nearly stopped in his tracks. “Twelve minutes?” His apartment was still far away, and when he looked around desperately for a car or a bus, he found the street completely empty, with several vehicles abandoned in the middle of the road and others crashed into one another. Distant screams echoed through the air as the entire city continued sinking into chaos.

He turned into a narrower street and kept running even as his legs began to ache, refusing to let himself slow down. Then he heard something behind him, a slow and deliberate set of footsteps that made his whole body go cold. He did not want to look back, but the footsteps kept coming closer, one after another, until he finally forced himself to turn his head, only to find that the woman was nowhere in sight. For a brief moment he felt a wave of relief, but it vanished the instant something landed directly in front of him, causing him to stop so suddenly that he nearly fell.

The woman with the black eyes stood only a few meters away, her clothes soaked from the rain and her long fingers hanging loosely at her sides while dark smoke curled slowly around her body. She smiled at him, and Ethan took a step back. “What do you want from me?” he asked, though she offered no reply. Her head tilted slowly to one side before her mouth opened and released the same terrible sound as before, forcing Ethan to cover his ears against the pain it caused inside his skull.

Then the blue screen reappeared.

HOSTILE CREATURE DETECTED. NAME: SHADOW EATER. LEVEL: 1. WEAKNESS: FIRE.

Ethan glanced around in confusion, wondering where he could possibly find fire in the middle of the street, but before he could think further the creature lunged toward him. He managed to dodge just in time as its long hand swept past his face and struck the wall beside him hard enough to break part of it, making it clear to Ethan that this thing was far stronger than it appeared. When it attacked again, he turned and ran, rushing down the street with the creature close behind while he searched desperately for anything that might help him survive.

That was when he spotted a small restaurant at the end of the street with its front door standing open, and he rushed inside without hesitation. The place was empty, with several chairs knocked over and broken glass scattered across the floor. Ethan quickly locked the door behind him, and only a second later the Shadow Eater slammed into it, causing the glass to shake violently. When it struck again, the glass began to crack, and Ethan frantically searched the restaurant for anything useful, suddenly remembering the word from the system message. Fire.

His eyes shot toward the kitchen, and he ran inside to find it empty except for several cooking stoves still standing along the wall. He rushed to one and turned the gas on, but nothing happened no matter how many times he tried. Behind him he heard the sound of breaking glass, and he knew the creature had made its way inside. Spotting a lighter near the counter, he grabbed it just as the Shadow Eater appeared in the kitchen doorway. He tried to light the gas, but the lighter refused to work, and with the creature slowly advancing toward him, Ethan backed away until his shoulders pressed against the wall, his hands trembling as he whispered to himself, please work, and tried once more.

A small flame finally sparked to life, and Ethan quickly held it against the stove, igniting a large burst of flame that made the Shadow Eater freeze in place. For the first time, something that looked like fear flickered in its black eyes, and Ethan realized immediately that the creature was afraid of fire. He grabbed a burning cloth from beside the stove and held it out in front of him, causing the creature to scream and stumble backward as he advanced. “That’s right,” he said, “stay away from me.” But the creature suddenly vanished from sight, and Ethan’s eyes widened in alarm as he looked around the now empty kitchen.

A moment later he felt something cold behind him, and when he turned, the Shadow Eater was already there, its long fingers closing around his arm and sending a sharp pain through his entire body that made him cry out and drop the burning cloth. As the creature pulled him closer, Ethan struggled with everything he had until he caught sight of the flame still burning on the stove, and with all his remaining strength he shoved the creature directly into it. The Shadow Eater screamed as dark smoke poured from its body, and Ethan fell to the ground and scrambled away as the creature’s body began to break apart. The smoke grew thicker and thicker until he could barely see anything at all, and then, just as suddenly, everything went quiet and the smoke cleared, leaving no trace of the creature behind.

Ethan remained on the floor for several seconds, breathing heavily and unable to move, until the blue screen appeared once more.

HOSTILE CREATURE ELIMINATED.

Another message followed shortly after.

REWARD RECEIVED. YOU HAVE GAINED 10 EXPERIENCE POINTS. YOU HAVE RECEIVED ONE SYSTEM POINT.

Ethan frowned in confusion. “What is a System Point?” The screen responded with an explanation, stating that such points could be used to improve his body and abilities. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, noticing the wound on his arm where the creature had grabbed him, and as he examined the injury another message appeared before him.

NEW ABILITY AVAILABLE. ABILITY: DANGER SENSE. THIS ABILITY WILL WARN YOU WHEN DANGER IS NEAR.

He did not fully understand what any of it meant, but there was no time to think it over, because his phone began ringing again and his heart jumped the moment he saw his mother’s name on the screen.

“Mum?”

“Ethan, where are you?”

“I’m coming home.”

“Something is outside.”

Ethan’s breath caught in his throat. “What did you say?”

“I heard something outside the apartment.”

His entire body went cold. “Did you open the door?”

“No.”

“Don’t open it.”

“Ethan, I’m scared.”

“I know. I’m coming.”

He ended the call just as the blue screen appeared once more.

TIME REMAINING: 00:05:14

Five minutes remained, and his home was still far away. He ran out of the restaurant into the falling rain, only to find the streets eerily quiet, with no people and no cars moving anywhere in sight. He pushed forward toward his apartment, but a sudden sharp pain shot through his head, forcing him to stop as the pain continued to intensify.

A new message appeared.

DANGER SENSE ACTIVATED.

He looked around and saw nothing, but when he took another step the pain grew even worse, warning him that something was close, dangerously close. Slowly lifting his gaze toward the roof of the building beside him, Ethan froze completely at the sight of several dark figures standing above, watching him in silence. He could not make out their faces clearly, but he understood instinctively that they were not human.

The blue screen appeared one final time.

WARNING. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

He glanced at the timer and saw that only four minutes remained. Then the figures leaped from the rooftop all at once, and Ethan turned and ran with everything he had left, fully aware that reaching home safely was no longer going to be easy.