Bobby stepped out into the hallway, his senses on high alert. The tremors had subsided, leaving an eerie silence in their wake. Dust motes danced in the dim light filtering through grimy windows, giving the corridor an ethereal quality.

"Right," Bobby muttered, adjusting his backpack. "Let's find some food before we get out of here. I'm starving."

Rem cautioned.

Before Rem could finish, another tremor shook the building, stronger than before. Bobby stumbled, catching himself against the wall.

"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed. "I thought it was over."

Rem's voice was tense.

As if to emphasise Rem's point, a deep, ominous groan emanated from the very foundations of the library. The walls vibrated, and small pieces of plaster rained down from the ceiling.

Bobby's heart raced as he looked around frantically. "Which way to the exit?"

Another violent shake nearly knocked him off his feet. Cracks spider-webbed across the walls, and the sound of shattering glass echoed from somewhere nearby.

Rem urged.

Bobby sprinted down the left corridor, dodging falling debris. The floor beneath his feet bucked and heaved like a living thing. Bookshelves toppled behind him, their contents spilling across his path.

"What the hell is happening?" Bobby shouted, leaping over a fallen painting.

Rem replied, his voice tense.

As if on cue, the entire building shuddered. The tremors intensified, no longer feeling like random quakes, but more like rhythmic impacts.

Bobby stumbled, nearly losing his footing as the floor beneath him undulated. "Deliberate? What do you mean?"

Rem trailed off.

A deafening crack split the air, and Bobby watched in horror as a fissure opened up in the floor ahead, stretching from wall to wall. The gap widened, revealing the floor below.

"Rem!" Bobby yelled, backpedaling. "We need an exit! Now!"

Rem shouted back.

Bobby spotted it - a grand window at the far end of the corridor. It was their only chance. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he knew would be a mad dash.

Just as he was about to sprint, an otherworldly screech pierced the air, so loud it seemed to shake the very atoms of the building. Bobby clapped his hands over his ears, pain lancing through his skull.

"What the fuck was that?" he gasped, eyes wide with fear.

Rem's voice was barely audible over the ringing in Bobby's ears.

The ceiling caved in, raining debris and dust. Bobby didn't need any more motivation. He sprinted towards the window, dodging falling chunks of plaster and wood. The floor cracked and splintered under his feet with each step.

As he neared the window, he could see flashes of something enormous moving outside, casting massive shadows across the glass. Whatever it was, Rem was right - it was big, and it was hunting.

Bobby didn't slow down. With a burst of speed, he lowered his shoulder and crashed through the window, glass shattering around him as he leapt into the unknown.

As he crashed through the window, time seemed to slow. Glass shards glittered around him like deadly diamonds in the fading light. For a heart-stopping moment, he was airborne; the ground rushing up to meet him.

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Just as panic set in, Bobby's trajectory brought him crashing through the branches of an old oak tree that had somehow survived the urban development around it. The thick, gnarled branches slowed his descent, scraping and bruising him but breaking his fall.

He tumbled through the layers of foliage, his body pin-balling off the sturdy limbs. Leaves and twigs whipped at his face as he fell, disorienting him further. Finally, he dropped the last few feet, landing with a thud on a thick bed of ivy that had overgrown a long-forgotten flowerbed at the base of the tree.

Winded but alive, Bobby lay there for a moment, his heart pounding in his ears. The dense ivy cushioned his landing just enough to prevent serious injury, though he knew he'd have some impressive bruises and cuts later.

Rem's voice cut through the fog of adrenaline.

"Yeah," Bobby groaned, sitting up gingerly. "Somehow."

He looked up at the broken window he'd just leapt from, then at the tree that had saved him. It seemed almost impossibly placed, its presence a stroke of incredible fortune amidst the urban landscape.

Bobby stumbled to his feet, grimacing at the pains that now filled his body. He turned to face the library, and his jaw dropped. The once stately building was now a crumbling ruin. Huge chunks of masonry had been torn away, leaving gaping holes in the walls. The roof had partially caved in, and plumes of dust billowed from the wreckage.

A deep, resonant rumble emanated from within the structure, followed by the sound of shattering glass and splintering wood. Whatever was inside was still wreaking havoc.

"We need to get out of here," Bobby muttered, his voice trembling.

Rem replied.

Bobby scanned the area, his eyes landing on the familiar stretch of pavement he'd traversed earlier. "Yeah, it's there."

Not needing to be told twice, Bobby broke into a stumbling run. His left leg protested with each step, forcing him into an awkward, limping gait. But fear and adrenaline propelled him forward, away from the devastation behind him.

"Thanks, Rem," Bobby panted as he ran. "I'd be lost without you."

Rem replied, his tone warmer than before.

As he ran, the sounds of destruction grew fainter, but never quite disappeared. The ground still shook with occasional tremors, and an oppressive, electric tension filled the air, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Bobby's lungs burned as he pushed himself onward. He passed abandoned cars and debris-strewn streets, evidence of the chaos that had engulfed the city. To his left, the imposing structure of Lambeth Palace loomed, eerily untouched amidst the surrounding devastation.

Just as he allowed himself to think he might get away, an ear-splitting screech rent the air. It was louder and clearer than before, no longer muffled by the library's walls. The sound was alien and terrifying, a mixture of avian shriek and metallic grinding that set Bobby's teeth on edge.

He stumbled, nearly falling as the noise reverberated through his body. Against his better judgment, Bobby turned around, his heart pounding so hard he thought it might burst from his chest.

The air grew thick with the acrid smell of ozone and decay. Bobby's skin crawled, every hair standing on end as if the very air was electrified. As his eyes landed on the source of the sound, Bobby froze, his mind struggling to comprehend what he was seeing.

Bobby's eyes widened in terror as he beheld the monstrous entity that had emerged from the ruins of the library. The creature was enormous, its body stretching to the length of a city bus, though far more compact in its width and height. It was a nightmarish fusion of organic and metallic components.

Its main body resembled a massive steel slug, glistening with an oily sheen that seemed to shift colors in the fading light. From this base sprouted an array of appendages - some tentacle-like and flexible, others sharp and blade-like, all moving with unsettling purpose.

Rising from the slug-like body was a grotesque, vaguely humanoid torso. It was insectoid in nature, with a carapace that looked both organic and metallic, covered in intricate, swirling patterns that hurt Bobby's eyes if he stared too long.

The creature's head was the stuff of nightmares - a twisted amalgamation of human and insect features. Multiple compound eyes glowed with an eerie, intelligent malevolence, while mandibles clicked and chittered hungrily.

But most striking of all were its wings - two pairs of enormous, wraith-like appendages that resembled those of a butterfly. They were translucent and shimmered with an otherworldly energy, creating distortions in the air as they beat slowly.

As Bobby stared, paralysed with fear, a notification popped up in his vision:

Nex Papilio

Level: ???

The level indicator's inability to display a number sent a chill down Bobby's spine. This thing was so far beyond his current abilities that the system couldn't even quantify it.

Rem's voice was a whisper in his mind,

The Nex Papilio's eyes locked onto Bobby, and it let out another ear-splitting screech. Its wings beat faster, lifting its massive form into the air with impossible grace.

Bobby's survival instincts kicked in. He turned and ran, ignoring the pain in his leg, driven by pure terror. Behind him, he could hear the whoosh of those massive wings as the creature gave chase. To his right, he glimpsed the River Thames, its murky waters looking like salvation.

The whoosh of the creature's wings grew deafening, and Bobby could feel the rush of displaced air on the back of his neck. In a split-second decision, he veered to the right. The Nex Papilio's mandibles snapped shut mere inches from his back, the sound spurring Bobby to push his battered body even harder.

With the last reserves of his strength, Bobby launched himself towards the stone wall bordering the river. He could feel the creature's presence right behind him, its alien screech piercing the air. As razor-sharp appendages grazed his back, Bobby vaulted over the wall and plummeted towards the dark, swirling waters of the Thames below.