Vincent stood, frozen. Words failed him.
His eyes trembled. Heart pounded.
"W-What have I done?"
He stumbled backwards, his voice breaking.
His legs shook, unable to support his weight.
Thud!
He collapsed backward.
His eyes glued to the dread before him.
Dozen humans walked the street, disoriented.
Their movements sluggish. Their feet scraped the ground.
Grey skin, bulged veins, decomposing bodies reeking of rot, just a glance was enough to know. They were not human. Walking corpses - zombies.
"Ughh..."
Vincent vomited.
Nothing came out - just air.
Weakness washed over him.
His face turned pale.
Thud!
Gathering his last remaining strength, he stood up and slammed the door shut.
"Aghhh...ahhh..."
He grabbed his hair, pulling as his back slid down the wall.
A headache attacked him.
His wails filled the dark room.
Fragments of his memories flashed before his eyes. Fragments of the sight he saw through the door.
A sight continuously flashed before his eyes—a single zombie.
The zombie crawled on the ground.
It's lower body thorn.
Intestines dragged, coated in green blood, rotting.
They had unfolded, stretching behind like a rope.
Chunks fell out, part rotting, part cut on stones, leaving a trail.
Vincent rested his head on the wall.
His heavy breaths filled the rotting room.
His heart pounded, mind racing.
No longer did the urge to vomit trouble him. No. It gave way to a far more powerful emotion. Fear.
Vincent's body trembled.
'I-Is this all my doing?' A thought crossed his mind.
The system messages he agreed to. The blood around. Marin's missing corpse.
It took no genius to figure out the source of the rot outside.
The fear shrouding his heart rose.
Fear of himself.
What he caused was beyond what he could handle, what he released into the world. Destruction.
How did he possess such power?
How could a few meaningless replies cause this?
What did he cause? He didn't entirely understand. How he caused it? He didn't know.
"AGHhh..."
Vincent slammed his head.
He wrapped his palms around his head, pulling his hair.
Tears streamed down his face.
"How could this happen?" His breaking voice broke the silence. "Why did this happen? Why! WHY!"
Badum!
His heart skipped a beat. Expression froze, eyes widened.
A question rose.
A terrifying question - with an even more terrifying answer.
Did he have control over this power?
Both answers made him tremble.
If he didn't...he didn't want to imagine.
And if he did.
Was he still human?
Can a human cause this to another human?
"UGHHHH..."
Vincent's eyes widened, pupils trembling.
Pain assaulted him.
He grabbed his stomach.
Hunger!
Hunger like he has never felt before. Almost as if he has a hole in his stomach.
[Notice]
A red system window flashed before his eyes.
[Your hunger grows]
[Please satisfy your hunger]
[Time remaining: 3days 19:43:27]
A reddish hue, barely noticeable, appeared in Vincent's eyes.
The sensations of human flesh resurfaced in his mind.
His mouth salivated.
No sense of disgust or repulsion.
It felt normal, as if he had eaten a regular burger.
The world grew still.
Vincent's breath stopped for a moment.
His eyes trembled in terror. A realization befell him.
His body gave him clues. Enough to understand what changed in him.
He craved human flesh.
"I-I'm..." His words stuck in his throat, unwilling to come out. "I'm not human anymore,"
A whisper escaped his mouth.
The whisper broke the silent room, bouncing off the walls.
Vincent's head buzzed. His whisper ringing in his ears.
[Notice!]
[Notice!]
[Notice!]
Several blue status windows flashed before his eyes, replacing the red window.
Again, the world fell silent.
Vincent's breathing stopped—only loud heartbeats.
His eyes landed on the dreadful system windows.
[10 beings successfully infected]
[You received: 0.5 attribute points]
[50 beings successfully infected]
[You received: 0.5 attribute points]
[100 beings successfully infected]
[You received: 1 attribute points]
[500 beings successfully infected]
[You received: 1 attribute point]
[1000 beings successfully infected]
[You received: 2 attribute points]
[1 awakened being successfully infected]
[You received: 1 attribute point]
The dread of the situation far exceeded his wildest imagination.
Tears streamed down his face, hatred flashing in his eyes.
Hatred for himself.
Grief engulfed his heart.
And Fear shrouded his mind.
"I...I..." Tears uncontrollably flowed out, a stone stuck in his throat. "I am the cause of all this..." His voice broke.
"I KILLED A THOUSAND PEOPLE!"
His roar shook the room.
'You are not the cause. You did what you had to survive...'
A whisper-like thought crossed his mind.
"Shut up!"
Pam!
Vincent slammed his head, closing his ears.
His fingers dug into his head, nails piercing his scalp.
A silence engulfed the room—torturing silence.
"W-What now?" His whisper escaped. "What will happen now? People will continue dying."
Just a moment of rage. Just a thought of revenge caused all this.
"WHAT NOWWWW!"
He roared, waiting for someone to reply.
No, he asked himself, but he had no answer.
"CAN YOU CONTROL IT!? WHAT IF YOU CAN'T!? AND If YOU CAN, CAN YOU STOP IT?!"
The scenes of the outside world flashed before his eyes.
"What have you done, you monster..."
His voice turned begging.
As if begging for an answer. Begging for a solution, begging for a savior to salvage the situation. To salvage the innocent people.
This sin...He couldn't bear it.
It was too heavy.
'You are a monster...Accept it.'
His mind kept whispering.
'Devil. Devil. You would repeat everything all over again if it means you'll survive...'
"No,"
Vincent's eyes widened.
His heart skipped a beat.
"No! I would not repeat it!"
His heart trembled. As he refuted his thoughts, his heart trembled.
'See? Deep down, you know you will repeat it.'
"No, I won't..." Vincent muttered in disbelief. "Impossible...This isn't me..."
'It's you. It's you. Monster. Monster. Monster...'
His inner voice kept whispering, kept mocking.
"Shut up! Shut up!" He curled into a ball, hugging his knees.
Vincent rocked back and forth.
"SHUT UP!"
No matter how he refuted it, in his heart, he knew the answer.
This was the rotten humanity.
This was reality, not fantasy.
No hero existed—no one intended to sacrifice himself for others.
In the face of death, everything becomes secondary. Only survival matters. Survival at all costs. Even if the cost is the world itself.
In this dying world, humanity rotted.
No!
They just showed their true face.
...
Time passed in silence.
Night fell.
The hungry howls of the monsters carried through the city.
Vincent sat on the floor, motionless.
His tears had dried up.
His eyes dull.
As if a part of his emotions had faded.
[Notice]
[The zombie virus spreads]
[1500 beings successfully infected]
[You received: 2 attribute points]
[You have: 8 allocation points. Do you wish to allocate them?]
Vincent's status window appeared before his eyes.
[Status Window]
[Name: Vincent]
[Race: Human (Carrier of the zombie virus)]
[Race: Progenitor (Conditional)] - [Time remaining: 3 days 13:06:23]
[Level 1] - [Exp: 0/100]
[Stats:]
[Strength: 6]
[Stamina: 4]
[Agility:6]
[Perception: 8]
[Mana: 10]
[Skills: (Contract) ; (Command) ; (Probe)]
Vincent raised his dull eyes.
Swish
His hand passed through the status window, dispersing.
It quickly reformed.
'Strength?'
[Strength: 7]
The moment Vincent even thought of the strength stat, an allocation point went into it.
He could control it with his mind.
"Hmph..." He scoffed.
Allocating points he got from killing humans?
What an irony. What a damn irony.
[Notice]
A red window emerged.
[Time remaining: 3days 12:59:59]
[Your hunger grows]
"Aghh..."
His dull eyes shot open.
The hunger assaulted him again.
Hunger took over his mind.
'Allocate. Allocate...'
His breathing turned rapid, mouth salivated.
[Strength: 8]
[Stamina: 8]
[Agility: 8]
With a thought, he equalized his stats.
"Agh!"
Pain assaulted him.
The veins in his arms and legs bulged up.
A stinging rushed through his body, eyes, and ears.
Still, the pain paled in comparison to what he felt before.
And now, his mind was overwritten by hunger.
'Allocate the points so I can hunt humans,'
He jumped to his feet.
"Ughhh..."
Vincent slapped his palm across his face.
He lost control of his body for a second.
"Just what is happening..."
He struggled to control his thoughts.
'Go outside. Go outside and eat. Hunt!'
His body moved on its own.
'That's right, go outside and forget about all the humans you slaughtered,'
Another voice rang in his mind.
Vincent froze.
Thud!
He slammed his head on the wall.
A single line of blood flowed down his forehead.
He used the pain to clear his head. To stop the war of his thoughts.
"This is..."
His eyes widened.
The rotting smell of blood amplified.
Footsteps reached his ears from outside.
Vincent's senses improved.
"I can feel my body is stronger." He muttered.
"Aghhh..."
He gritted his teeth, conflicted.
"Let's see what this system is."
He sat on the ground again.
His will for survival won over his grief and regret.
He would use everything to survive.
'It seems I have skills.'
With just a thought, another system window appeared.
[Skill: Contract - Using blood as a medium allows the user to form a contract with an undead creature. Once the contract is formed, it cannot be broken unless the undead creature dies] - [0/3 - [Cost: 40 Mana]
[Skill: Command - As the creator of the zombie apocalypse, the zombies won't attack you] - [Passive] - [Cost: None]
[Skill: Probe - Allows the user to see the status window of entities not exponentially stronger than himself] - [Cost: 10 Mana]
[Notice: The user is the Progenitor of the undead. The humans are creatures of light. The skill doesn't work on humans]
A frown appeared on Vincent's face.
'Creatures of light? More like devils,'
"Ughh..." Vincent shook his head, fighting his dark thoughts.
'What is a Progenitor? Why do I have two races?'
A status window emerged.
[Race: Human (Carrier of the zombie virus)] - [You carry the zombie virus]
[Race: Progenitor (Conditional)]
[Notice: The Progenitor is the first zombie. The source of the apocalypse]
[When the hunger grows to the maximum, the conditions are met. The host transforms into the Progenitor, an undead creature]
[Notice: All stats: 10x]
[Skills: Restricted]
[Please note that when you turn into the Progenitor, you lose all reason and control of your body. Your body moves on instinct and its desire to consume human flesh to satisfy its hunger]
[Please consume human flesh and satisfy your hunger]
Vincent's face froze.
His intestines turned upside down.
He deduced it before, but now he got the confirmation.
He had to consume human flesh.
'Eat! Eat! Eat!'
"Ughh..."
He started losing control again.
He stood up.
Creeak!
The door screamed.
Fresh air hit his face, playing with his hair as moonlight shone through the door.
The three moons hung in the sky, in their full phase, brightening the night.
The dimensional rift hung in the sky.
By now, it has become the new normal.
He raised his foot, ready to step outside.
Swish!
His eyes widened.
In the corner of his eye, he noticed an object.
A knife.
His brows furrowed.
'If I can't undo my sin, I must remember it!'
With no hesitation, he walked to it and picked it.
The moonlight shone, reflecting off the knife,
The distant howls ceased.
The night grew still, as if the world itself held its breath.
"This shall serve as my reminder,"
Vincent grabbed the knife blade in his left palm.
"My sin is irredimable. Unforgivable."
"Thousand died for my selfish desires. And I am too cowardly to end my life."
"This shall serve as a reminder. Reminder of my sin!"
SHLUCK!
The knife slid out of the palm.
A sharp, burning pain set in.
Fresh, violet blood dripped from the tightly clenched fist.
"THIS IS THE SCAR I HAVE TO BEAR!!"
Swoosh!
He swung, opening the palm.
Violet blood splashed in the air.
Vincent walked forward, never looking behind.
He stepped into the rotting world—his own creation.