Date: 27/02/2027
Time: 1:30 PM
The afternoon sun hung mercilessly overhead, bright and unforgiving. Heat pressed down on the empty road, boiling his thoughts as much as his skin. Not a single soul moved in any direction—only silence and sunlight.
Blood streamed down the left side of his face. His breathing was ragged, uneven, and his eyes trembled with a fear he had never known before—a raw mixture of pain and panic.
His gaze locked onto the creature standing before him.
It had the big mushroom on its back, yet nothing about it felt natural. The thing towered nearly ten feet tall, its body swollen with grotesque muscle, as if it had lived its entire life on nothing but raw strength and protein. The shape of its body was unmistakably feminine, though its face held no beauty—only menace. Still, the curve of her chest left no doubt.
Man… this is the first time I've ever seen a woman's bare chest, he thought bitterly. And of course, the timing, the place, the situation—everything is wrong.
A voice rang sharply inside his mind.
System: Hey, pervert. Stop staring and start fighting, or you'll be dead.
The mushroom head lunged, her massive fist cutting through the air. He leapt sideways just in time, the punch missing him by inches and cracking the road where he had stood.
System: Thank God she takes ten seconds between attacks. Otherwise, you'd already be finished.
"I know," he muttered, wiping the blood from his face and pushing his hair back, forcing his vision clear. Throw his bag aside.
The shock etched across his expression slowly twisted into something else—joy. Excitement. A wild, almost forgotten thrill.
Since the apocalypse, this was the first time a mushroom head had fought back. The others had been simple—mindless. He would grab their legs, trap them in pits, burn them alive. Effective. Efficient. Repetitive.
For a year, survival had been easy for him—too easy. While the world burned, while families fell and friendships dissolved into ash, he remained untouched. His family was gone. His friends were gone. Everything was gone.
He didn't complain—but it felt as if he no longer belonged to the world at all.
It was as though Mother Nature herself had locked him inside an invisible box, separating him from pain, from people, from purpose.
From time to time, he would stare out from his lonely refuge, aching for human warmth, for connection. But isolation clung to him like a shadow. Days blended into one another, a colorless cycle that made him question the meaning of living.
Until now.
So this is it, he realized. Life the one wins, lives . The one who reaches it survives.
A laugh escaped his throat, echoing down the deserted road.
"Hehe… hahaha… finally. Just finally." His voice trembled with madness and delight. "A mushroom head that can fight me. One that can run at me."
He spread his arms slightly, smiling wide.
"Wonderful. Truly wonderful. Thanks to Mother Nature—and to God—for creating such a creature… and bringing it to me."
Best birthday ever.
He inhaled deeply.
"Let's finish this. Om Shri Agni Devaya Namah Swaha."
Flames erupted around his hands, roaring upward until they reached his shoulders, heat dancing in violent waves.
The mushroom-head creature charged once more.
And this time, he charged back—grinning like a man who had finally remembered what it meant to feel alive.
The mushroom-head swung her arm like a falling pillar, the air screaming as it tore past. He ducked low, feeling the wind shear against his scalp, then rolled forward, flames trailing from his hands like burning ribbons.
Heat washed over her chest and shoulder.
The creature shrieked—a wet, distorted sound—and staggered back, thick skin blackening where the fire touched. The smell hit him next: scorched flesh mixed with something damp and rotten, like fungus left too long in the rain.
"So you can feel pain," he said, teeth bared in a grin.
She roared and charged again, faster this time. Her fist smashed into his ribs before he could fully evade. Pain exploded through his side, hurling him across the asphalt. He skidded, sparks and dust flying, his back slamming into a broken streetlight.
His breath left him in a sharp gasp.
System: Warning. Internal damage detected. Be more careful.
He laughed through the pain. "Good. That means this is real."
The creature loomed over him, shadow swallowing the sunlight. She raised both fists, muscles bulging grotesquely, preparing to crush him into the road.
Ten seconds.
He counted them in his head.
Three… four…
Flames surged higher around his arms, no longer just fire but something heavier—denser—burning white at the core.
Seven… eight…
She brought her fists down.
He vanished.
In the instant before impact, he rolled between her legs, coming up behind her in a smooth, practiced motion. His hands slammed onto her calves, fire pouring into her body like molten veins.
The creature screamed again, staggering forward as flames crawled up her legs, eating through flesh and muscle. She tried to turn, to strike him, but her movements slowed, joints stiffening, body cracking as heat invaded every inch.
He didn't let go.
He pressed his palms harder, chanting under his breath, voice steady and reverent.
"ॐ श्री अग्नि देवाय नमः स्वाहा…"
(Translate:- "Om Shri Agni Devaya Namah Swaha.")
Fire erupted outward.
Her body ignited fully now, flames climbing her torso, engulfing her chest, her arms, her head. The fungal crown blackened, shriveled, then burst apart, scattering burning spores into the air like dying stars.
She thrashed, stumbled, and finally collapsed to her knees.
The scream faded into a gurgle… then into silence.
Within seconds, the towering monster was nothing more than a blazing figure hunched in the road. And then even that fell apart—muscle crumbling, bones glowing red before turning to ash.
The fire died down.
Only scorch marks remained, carved into the asphalt like scars.
He stood there, breathing heavily, flames fading from his hands, the afternoon sun beating down on him once more. Sweat ran down his face, mixing with dried blood, but his eyes were alive—burning brighter than they had in a year.
System: Target eliminated, well done Amitesh.
He looked at the ashes, then up at the empty sky.
"So," he said quietly, a small smile forming, "the world finally decided to fight back."
He turned and walked down the road, footsteps echoing through the silence—no longer alone in it, no longer untouched.
For the first time since the end, he felt like he belonged.
Just as he began to believe it was over, something stirred at the edge of his vision.
Movement.
His eyes lifted.
Across the scorched road, crawling over the cracked asphalt like a living wound, was it—the same mushroom. Not a warrior. Not a monster. The source. Its thick, pale roots dragged behind it, writhing like terrified snakes as it fled from him, desperate, panicked.
The very thing that had brought the apocalypse.
His eyes snapped wide open.
Then he smiled.
A slow, widening smile—one filled with satisfaction so deep it bordered on madness.
"Well… well," he murmured.
In a single stride, he closed the distance. His hand shot out and clamped around the creature's core, gripping it tight. The roots thrashed violently, scraping against the ground, but it was useless. He lifted it effortlessly into the air.
The mushroom twisted and shuddered in his grasp, silent yet screaming in its own way.
"Well, well," he said again, staring at it with burning eyes.
"So this is it. The thing I've spent a whole year killing…"
His grip tightened.
"And now you're running from me."
A familiar voice echoed inside his mind, colder and clearer than before
.
System:
Devourer Detected
Grade: Infinity
Status: Unlocked
Special Skill Activated: All-Devour
You may now consume any target completely.
Absorb its essence.
Gain power power after consuming it.
The mushroom trembled harder, roots curling inward as if trying to hide from fate itself.
His smile widened.
"So," he whispered, flames flickering faintly along his fingers,
"even you can feel fear."
The road stood silent once more, the sun watching from above—
as the hunter finally faced the origin of the end.
The mushroom writhed violently in his grasp.
Its roots coiled and twisted, scraping against his arm, the ground, the air—searching for escape where none existed. A low vibration pulsed from its core, not sound, but fear. Pure, ancient fear.
He stared at it for a long moment.
This thing had ended the world.
This thing had taken everything from everyone.
And now it fit inside his hand.
"Run," he whispered calmly. "That's what prey does."
His fingers tightened.
"All-Devour."
He waited.
Ten seconds passed.
Nothing.
Twenty seconds.
Still nothing.
The road remained silent. The mushroom twitched weakly in his hand, roots dangling uselessly.
"…What the hell is this skill?" Amitesh snapped.
System: Why are you shouting?
Amitesh stared at his palm. "The skill isn't working."
System: Define 'not working.'
"I said All-Devour," he said slowly, as if explaining to a child, "but nothing happened."
There was a brief pause.
System: What exactly were you expecting?
Amitesh gestured vaguely with his free hand. "You know—dark portals opening, shadowy hands coming out, dragging the thing into the abyss. Something dramatic."
Another pause. Longer this time.
System: …Seriously?
System: How many novels and manhwa have you consumed?
Amitesh frowned. "That's not the point."
System: First, you are not powerful enough to tear reality open with cinematic special effects.
System: Second, that is not how this skill works.
Amitesh blinked. "Then how does it work?"
System: Just eat the mushroom.
Silence.
Amitesh looked at the System.
Then at the mushroom.
Then back at the mushroom again.
"…What?"
System: Eat it.
His face twisted in disbelief. "You want me to eat this disgusting thing? This thing almost destroyed my planet!"
The mushroom squirmed slightly, as if agreeing.
He stared at it, horrified.
But the moment the idea settled in his mind, something shifted.
Hunger.
Not normal hunger—not from his stomach, but from somewhere deeper. His eyes darkened, pupils narrowing as his gaze locked onto the mushroom. His body leaned forward without permission.
His mind screamed stop.
His instincts screamed eat.
"Wait—no—this isn't me—"
Before he could finish, his teeth sank in.
The taste was awful. Bitter. Earthy. Like chewing burnt soil soaked in rot. He gagged, but his jaw kept moving, chewing relentlessly. Bite after bite. Root after root.
The mushroom writhed helplessly as he devoured it, its form shrinking rapidly.
Within moments, it was gone.
Gone completely.
Amitesh froze, mouth still moving for a second longer—then stopped.
He swallowed.
"…I hate this skill," he muttered.
System: Devouring complete.
The world around him blurred. The road, the sky, the sun—all of it dimmed as something vast flooded his body. His heartbeat thundered, each pulse heavier than the last. Heat surged through his spine, not burning, but expanding—like his body was too small to contain what was entering it.
He dropped to one knee.
Veins glowed faintly beneath his skin, patterns branching like roots made of fire. His breath came slow and deep, not from exhaustion—but from adjustment.
surge rippled through his body, sharp and euphoric. His senses sharpened violently—he could hear the wind scrape across broken buildings miles away, feel the heat inside the earth beneath the road, taste spores lingering in the air from creatures not yet born.
Power poured in.
His flames reignited without command—this time different. Deeper. Denser. The fire did not flicker; it obeyed.
System:
Power level recalibrating…
Strength increased beyond measurable limits.
Regeneration unlocked.
Fire affinity evolved.
Biological resistance: Absolute.
He stood slowly, rolling his shoulders.
The world felt… smaller.
System:- skill use all devore
Grade:- Infinity
The world felt… smaller.
"Explain," he said quietly.
The System responded instantly, its tone no longer mechanical, but reverent.
System:
Infinity Grade is not a rank.
It is an exception.
All known grades exist within limits—measured, balanced, restricted by the laws of this world.
Infinity exists beyond them.
Images flashed through his mind: timelines branching, worlds collapsing, species erased and reborn.
System:
An Infinity Grade entity does not grow by leveling.
It grows by consuming existence itself.
There is no cap.
No ceiling.
No final form.
The road beneath his feet cracked slightly as his presence pressed down on reality.
System:
By devouring the special evolution Mushroom, you have inherited its authority.
You are no longer merely surviving the apocalypse.
A pause.
Then—
System:
You are now a variable capable of ending it.
He looked at his hands.
They were steady. Calm. Human.
Yet something infinite stirred beneath his skin.
A slow smile returned to his face—quiet, dangerous, complete.
"So that's it," he murmured.
"The world broke… and now I get to decide what comes next."
Far away, something felt his awakening.
And trembled.
Amitesh exhaled slowly.
"…Okay," he admitted, wiping his mouth. "That was worth it."
System: Next time, read the skill description carefully.
He glanced at his hands, flames flickering calmly around his fingers.
"Next time," he said dryly, "add special effects."
Somewhere deep within him, infinity stirred—
and possibly indigestion.
System: how do you fell now.
Amitesh stood in the middle of the ruined road, power still humming through his veins.
"…Why do I feel," he paused, pressing a hand to his stomach,
"hungry again?"
System: You just consumed an high level evolution entity.
"Yes," he said flatly. "And?"
System: And you are surprised that Infinity Grade metabolism does not run on three meals a day?
His stomach growled—deep, unnatural, like something echoing from inside a cave.
Amitesh frowned. "That didn't sound human."
System: Correct.
He sighed. "Great. I unlock infinite power and immediately get infinite hunger."
System: Correction. You unlocked infinite potential.
System: The hunger is a side effect of growth.
"Side effect?" he repeated. "It feels like my organs are negotiating which building to eat next."
Another growl answered him.
His vision flickered for a moment—just a second—but in that instant, the world looked… different. Heat signatures flared in the distance. Living things glowed faintly, as if marked.
Marked as food.
He blinked hard. The vision vanished.
"…System," he said slowly, "why did do other mushroom head feel appetizing?""
System: Because it carried life.
Amitesh stared at the roaming mushroom heads.
"…I'm not eating a them."
System: Wise choice. You are not yet desperate.
"Yet?" he snapped.
System: Please do not shout. You are the one who wanted Infinity.
He rubbed his face. "You could've mentioned the appetite problem."
System: You could've read the fine print.
Silence.
"…There was fine print?"
System: Yes.
He groaned. "Of course there was."
Before he could argue further, the air changed.
The wind stopped.
The sunlight dimmed, just slightly—as if the world itself had taken a cautious step back.
Far away, somewhere beyond broken cities and buried forests, something ancient stirred.
Not in anger.
In fear.
A vast consciousness recoiled, roots trembling beneath the earth, spores freezing mid-air.
It noticed him.
System: Alert.
Amitesh straightened. "What now?"
System: The all great mushroom king has sensed the disappearance of its equal.
Images flashed in his mind: a colossal fungal mass fused with a skyscraper, veins wrapped around concrete, a pulsating core buried deep underground.
Then—
Fear.
Pure, unmistakable fear.
The king began to move.
Not toward him.
Away.
"…Is it," Amitesh said slowly, a grin spreading across his face,
"running?"
System: Yes.
His hunger flared again—sharp, focused, excited.
"Oh no," he whispered, smiling wider. "Don't do that."
The ground beneath his feet cracked as flames curled around his legs.
"Running just makes you look edible."
System: You are enjoying this far too much.
He took a step forward.
"I waited a year for the world to touch me," he said softly.
"Now it's flinching."
Somewhere far ahead, the mushroom king burrowed deeper, panicking.
And Amitesh started walking.
He suddenly raised his hand and slapped his own cheek.
Smack.
"Get it together," he muttered.
"I need to stay in my senses."
System: Hey. Remember what we talked about on the road? I gave you this skill so you wouldn't be consumed by others.
"Stop that crap already," Amitesh snapped, clenching his fists.
"I'm not losing myself."
He took a slow breath, forcing the heat in his chest down.
"Tell me how to control this hunger."
There was a pause.
Long enough to make him nervous.
System: Very well.
System: Hunger suppression is possible.
His eyes narrowed. "I'm listening."
System: Infinity Grade hunger is not physical. It is instinctual.
Images surfaced in his mind—predators waiting patiently, oceans pulling tides, stars devouring fuel to survive.
System: You are not meant to eat constantly.
System: You are meant to choose.
The pressure in his chest eased slightly.
System: To suppress hunger, you must anchor yourself to identity.
"Identity?" he repeated.
System: Your name. Your purpose. Your restraint.
A quiet warmth spread through him—not power, but clarity.
System: Focus on who you are, not what you can consume.
System: The hunger obeys will.
He closed his eyes.
Amitesh.
A human.
Not a monster.
The gnawing sensation pulled back, like a beast retreating into its cage.
When he opened his eyes, the world looked normal again.
No glowing prey.
No screaming instincts.
"…That's it?" he asked.
System: For now.
He exhaled slowly. "Good."
Then, with a faint smirk, he added,
"Because I will eat every mushroom on earth."
System: An admirable preference.
He rolled his shoulders and started walking forward, steps steady, gaze sharp.
"Next time," he said calmly,
"warn me before giving me god-tier hunger."
System: Next time, read the tutorial.
Amitesh groaned.
But his smile stayed.
"Let's get to work. That's why we're here."
Amitesh walked toward the military vehicle parked crookedly on the road. Up close, it looked less like a truck and more like a reinforced war machine—thick armor plates, spiked edges, and windows darkened beyond recognition.
He grabbed the handle and pulled.
Clank.
The door swung open with a heavy metallic groan. The window are so thick and black no one can see from outside.
The inside smelled of oil, dust, and something faintly burnt—old battle residue. He stepped in, eyes sharp, instincts alert. His gaze swept across the interior: overturned crates, empty weapon racks, scattered ammunition casings rolling softly under his boots.
He unclasped the black case and slowly lifted the lid.
Inside was order.
Not chaos. Not scraps.
But careful, deliberate preparation—everything a soldier would need to survive at the end of the world.
Vacuum-sealed ration packs stacked neatly along one side. Water purification tablets. High-calorie nutrient bars. Emergency medical kits packed tight with syringes, bandages, pain suppressants, and antibiotics.
A compact firearm lay secured in molded foam, alongside spare magazines and a combat knife polished to a dull, practical shine.
There were filters for breathing. Thermal blankets. A solar-powered communicator, its screen scratched but intact. Even fire-starting tools and reinforced gloves, still unused.
Amitesh let out a slow breath.
"…They really planned for the end."
He picked up one of the ration packs, turning it over in his hands. The expiration date had long passed—but the seal was military-grade.
System: Supplies remain viable.
He nodded, satisfied.
For the first time since everything had fallen apart, he wasn't scavenging scraps or improvising survival.
This wasn't luck.
This was preparation meeting opportunity.
"A walkie-talkie." It's was on the front sit.
Beside it lay a folded map.
He spread the map open across the seat. His eyes narrowed. Large sections of the city were marked with red circles. Inside each circle, a number was written—neat, deliberate.
He counted them slowly.
One…
Two…
Three…
"…Fifty."
His expression hardened.
He folded the map, grabbed the walkie-talkie along with whatever supplies remained, and stepped out of the vehicle. The afternoon heat greeted him once more as he shut the door behind him.
He closed the case carefully, securing the locks, and slung it over his shoulder.
"Looks like I won't be starving," he muttered.
System: Statement partially incorrect.
He sighed. "Don't."
System: You will not be starving for food.
A pause.
System: Hunger for power remains.
Amitesh smirked and stepped out of the vehicle, sunlight spilling over him once more.
"Fine," he said, adjusting the strap.
"One problem at a time."
The road ahead stretched long and empty—but now, he was ready to walk it.
He had taken only a few steps forward—
Crackle.
The walkie-talkie in his hand came alive.
A voice burst through the static, tense and urgent.
"Hello? Gauri, are you there? Please respond—copy."
The static hissed.
"Please respond—copy."
Amitesh stopped walking.
His grip tightened around the device.
"…Gauri?" he whispered.
The empty road suddenly felt a lot less empty.