I Awakened the Apocalypse System

The Hunters

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 a sharp pain shooting through his skull, warning him that something dangerous was drawing closer with every passing second.

“Mum,” he said, keeping his voice as low and steady as he could manage, “go to your room.”

She shook her head firmly. “I’m not leaving you alone.”

“Mum, please.”

“What is outside?”

He glanced toward the front door. “I don’t know,” he admitted, and it was the honest truth.

The blue screen appeared once more before him.

EMERGENCY MISSION UPDATED. PROTECT MARY COLE UNTIL SUNRISE. REWARD: UNKNOWN. FAILURE: DEATH OF THE TARGET.

His expression hardened as he processed the words. Until sunrise. He looked toward the window and saw only darkness stretching outside, meaning they still had many long hours ahead of them before this ordeal would end. Another loud crash sounded from the hallway, closer this time, and Ethan could hear something moving directly toward their door. His mother grabbed his arm tightly.

“Ethan, who is out there?”

He looked into her eyes. “Go to your room and lock the door.”

“Ethan.”

“Mum, please, just do exactly what I say.”

The fear evident in his voice finally silenced her protests, and she nodded slowly before retreating toward her bedroom. Ethan watched until she disappeared inside and heard the lock click into place, and only then did he turn his attention back to the apartment around him, searching desperately for anything he could use as a weapon. The broken chair from earlier was useless now, and the kitchen knives felt far too small for whatever was coming, so he moved quickly into the kitchen and tore through the drawers without finding anything worthwhile. Then his eyes landed on the fire extinguisher mounted near the wall, and he grabbed it despite its weight, gripping it tightly as another knock sounded against the front door, slower this time, three deliberate knocks that made his stomach twist.

A voice called out from the other side.

“Ethan.”

His entire body went cold, because the voice belonged unmistakably to his mother, even though his mother was safely locked inside her bedroom just down the hall. He looked toward her closed door and then back toward the front entrance as the voice called again.

“Ethan, open the door.”

His grip on the fire extinguisher tightened as the System flashed a warning before him.

WARNING. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR.

He took a step backward just as the voice outside shifted into something more desperate. “Ethan, please help me,” it pleaded, sounding exactly like a young woman crying, and his stomach clenched painfully at the sound. Then the crying abruptly stopped, replaced by a deep and unsettling laugh that echoed from the other side of the door. Ethan remained perfectly still and silent, understanding now that whatever stood outside knew his name for a reason, that its presence here was no accident at all. The laughter continued for several long seconds before the hallway fell quiet once again, and he waited there in the darkness while his Danger Sense continued pulsing with warning, confirming that the threat had not left.

Then, without warning, the apartment lights went out entirely, plunging the room into complete darkness, and his mother screamed from behind her bedroom door.

“Mum!”

Ethan ran toward her room, but something slammed hard against the front door behind him, stopping him in his tracks as the wood began to splinter and crack under the force of repeated blows. His mind raced through the impossible choice in front of him, knowing that staying near the door risked drawing the attack toward himself first, while running to his mother risked letting the creature break into the apartment entirely. Another crash shook the door as more of the wood gave way, and he made his decision, sprinting the rest of the way to his mother’s room and throwing the door open to find her standing beside the bed with her hands clasped together in fear.

“Ethan, what is happening?”

He rushed to the window and yanked the curtains aside, staring down at the dark street below, where he could make out at least five figures standing in front of the building, all of them staring upward directly at him. He stepped back from the window immediately, but his mother had already seen them too.

“Who are those people?”

He had no answer to give her. The blue screen flickered back into view.

HOSTILE PRESENCES DETECTED. THREAT LEVEL: UNKNOWN.

A new line followed shortly after.

RECOMMENDATION: ESCAPE.

He stared at the word in disbelief, wondering where exactly they were supposed to escape to when the entire city outside had become a hunting ground for monsters. A loud crash echoed from the living room as the front door finally gave way completely, and his mother gasped in terror while Ethan turned quickly toward her.

“We have to leave.”

“Leave through where?”

He glanced toward the window, remembering that they were still four floors above the ground, before another memory surfaced in his mind. The fire escape. An old metal staircase ran along the back of the building, connecting several floors together, and he grabbed his mother’s hand without hesitation.

“Come with me.”

They hurried out of the bedroom and through the kitchen at the back of the apartment as the sounds from the living room grew louder and closer, confirming that something had already made its way inside. Ethan refused to look back as he threw open the back window, letting cold rain pour into the kitchen, and his mother stared out into the storm with wide, frightened eyes.

“Ethan, no.”

“We don’t have another choice.”

The fire escape looked narrow and worn with age, but it held steady beneath their weight as Ethan climbed through first and turned to help his mother out behind him. Just as her feet touched the metal platform, something appeared in the kitchen window behind them, and Ethan caught its reflection in the glass, a tall figure far too large to be human. His mother screamed, and he pulled her away immediately.

“Run!”

They rushed down the metal staircase as the creature climbed through the window in pursuit, the sound of shaking metal echoing above them as it followed close behind. His mother nearly lost her footing at one point, but Ethan caught her hand in time and steadied her.

“Keep moving!”

They continued their descent, and by the time they reached the second floor, Ethan’s Danger Sense had intensified sharply enough to stop him in his tracks.

“Mum, wait.”

“What is it?”

He looked down toward the stairs leading to the ground and saw that they were no longer empty. Three figures stood waiting there, their faces obscured completely by darkness, and his heart sank as he realized they were now trapped between the creature above and whatever waited below. The three figures slowly lifted their heads in unison, revealing eyes that glowed a deep, unsettling red. His mother clutched his arm tightly.

“What are we going to do?”

He looked around desperately for any way out, and the System responded almost instantly.

SURVIVAL OPTION AVAILABLE.

His eyes widened as a new message followed.

USE SYSTEM POINT TO UNLOCK SKILL.

He remembered immediately that he had already spent his only point earlier that night. “I don’t have another one,” he muttered. The screen remained silent for a moment before a different message appeared in its place.

SPECIAL CONDITION DETECTED. PLAYER ZERO PRIVILEGE ACTIVATED.

For a brief moment he forgot entirely about the creatures closing in around them as a new screen opened before his eyes.

CHOOSE ONE TEMPORARY ABILITY.

Three options appeared in sequence. The first, Shadow Step, promised the ability to move a short distance instantly. The second, Iron Body, would harden his body for three full minutes. The third, Fire Hand, would allow flames to burst from his hands for a duration of five minutes.

Ethan did not need even a moment to consider his choice, since fire had already saved his life twice that night. He focused his attention on the third option, and the screen confirmed his selection.

FIRE HAND SELECTED.

A strange wave of heat spread through his entire body, and when he looked down at his hands, small flames were already flickering to life around his fingers. His mother stared at him in complete shock.

“Ethan.”

He met her gaze steadily. “Stay behind me.”

The creatures below began advancing up the stairs while the one above drew closer with every passing second. Ethan raised both hands in front of him, and for the first time that night he realized he was no longer searching for a weapon, because he had become one himself.

The first creature lunged up the staircase toward him, and Ethan thrust his hand forward, sending a burst of fire directly into its path. It screamed as the flames engulfed its body, stumbling backward and crashing into the others behind it, and Ethan did not wait to see the outcome. He grabbed his mother’s hand and continued their descent as the remaining creatures pulled back from the flames in obvious fear, giving them just enough time to reach the ground floor.

“Run!”

They sprinted behind the apartment building and into the narrow street beyond it, and Ethan did not stop running for several long minutes, only slowing once his mother could no longer keep up the pace. They found shelter beneath the overhanging roof of a small, closed shop, where his mother bent forward, gasping for breath while Ethan scanned the surrounding street, which had fallen unnervingly quiet.

Then his mother slowly lifted her head to look at him. “Ethan, tell me the truth. What are those things?”

He said nothing, unsure of how to even begin.

She stepped closer to him. “And what happened to your hands?”

He glanced down and saw that the flames had already vanished, the five minutes having run their course. Before he could attempt any kind of answer, his phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out slowly to find a new message waiting from an unknown number.

You should not have used your power in front of her.

A chill spread through his body as a second message arrived almost immediately after the first.

Now, we know where you are.

Ethan looked around the empty street just as his Danger Sense exploded with pain, and the blue screen appeared before him one final time.

WARNING. THE HUNTERS HAVE ARRIVED.