“Unc..what are you doing here?” Hui looked at the person he called ‘Unc’ with a mixture of rage and gloominess. There was bad blood between them, even though they were related. As now within a sudden surge of anger, he got up and went to unsheath his katana.

The uncle stared at Hui going to unsheath his katana, the gun cocked and it pointed at Hui’s forehead, “Listen Hui. You better not do anything dumb.” The uncle wasn’t afraid of pulling the trigger, letting the bullet fly right through Hui’s head. “I saved you without knowing it’s you. You better be grateful your heart is still beating inside your chest and not inside this ‘thing.’” Now, the uncle stomped on the dead ‘thing’s’ head.

Hui now stopped his movement, his eyes were shaking. He didn’t want to get shot so he stopped moving. Hui didn’t say anything, he was still very angry at his uncle for his past. “Damn you. I have to get along with you for now.” Hui now grabbed the fabric he wrapped his katana with. It was on the couch, so he just rewrapped the katana. He then put the strap that was on the fabric onto his chest so the katana would rest on his back. “What’s going on right now?”

Then the uncle sighed, “It seems the news cut out before the blackout happened. But the information everyone’s gathered so far is the following.” The uncle explained.

“One. We guessed that about 40% of Esperantina has turned into these monsters through the infection the news anchor was talking about earlier. Because, many people showed symptoms of the infection last night.”

“Two. We have found these monsters that are outside of the complex. Some of them are quite odd, some have elongated heads with fungus and acid burns all over their face. Some have ripped off skin. Then there’s some like this monster here. But, then there are the true monsters. The ones the news anchor was talking about. Apparently people who have become so prideful in their own skill, they use it as a money making machine, they show it off, they become absorbed into it..they become a monster because of that skill. Like art, music, and more. Their appearance is even based on that skill, while others who don’t have that pride. Turn into these random zombie-like things.”

“Three. True monsters have communication skills. They will be able to talk to you and have their own decision making skills. They will attack you if you can’t meet your requests or something they don’t want to hear out of your mouth. But that’s all we got so far, some people I sent out got too scared and ran back without the true monsters noticing their movements. But after some time, we all came up with a name for these true monsters. We call them ‘Dead Talents.’ The reasoning is because of the infection, they start to decay and die. Then as they die their body mutates and makes them look like a monster based on the skill they pride themselves off of.”

Hui was listening, his head down. As now he decided not to tell his uncle about the symptoms that have occurred for him. The nosebleed from earlier. He didn’t normally get them, he’s only gotten it once throughout his life. That was the day he heard about the symptoms of the possible virus infection that he had caught. Hui then walked past his uncle, pushing him aside with his shoulder, as now he asked, “Will the elevators still work due to the blackout?”

The uncle shook his head, “I was chasing that monster up here through the stairs. It seems it was smart enough to run up the stairs. These aren’t your everyday fictional zombies whenever they don’t have a skill they pride themselves off of. They seem to be random in nature. There’s no telling what these things can do or will do.”

As soon as Hui heard this, his eyes trembled as he ran. That woman from earlier, she must’ve most likely been in the elevator still, waiting for help. But there was no help coming, no one knew she was in the elevator after all. Luckily, the blackout happened while the elevator was closed, so she had to be fine. How could those monsters get into the elevator? It’s not like they had super strength. But then this thought worried Hui. Did they have super strength? What if there was a monster out there who became a dead talent off of their pride of bodybuilding. Would this cause a dead talent with super strength to be born?

Then Hui now looked around, grabbing a random wooden plank. He was desperate to open this elevator door by any means. Attempting to open the elevator door, but then the wood broke. It was wood after all, it couldn’t have enough force behind it to pry open a heavy elevator door like this.

The uncle now walked over looking down at Hui, “What's the matter? Why are you trying to pry it open like you’re desperate? What are you so desperate for?” The uncle’s eyes were intense and terrifying. It was something you thought you would see out of a psychological show, that type of look he gave Hui. Then the uncle asked him again with a louder voice, “WHY..are you..trying..TO PRY OPEN THE ELEVATOR DOOR?!”

Hui now grit his teeth as he yelled, “She’s stuck in the elevator! The woman who followed me up here left around a minute ago inside the elevator. Meaning that due to the blackout. The elevator stopped moving, the only light she has is the emergency lights like us.

Then the uncle nodded. “Alright, there’s no need to pry it open.” This caused Hui’s eyes to widen with anger as now before Hui spoke he pointed to the floor. “On the fifth floor below this one. Floor three to be exact. There is an emergency key. Modern elevators have keys to unlock the elevator doors in case of an emergency like this. While you get it. I’ll find rope so you can go down the shaft and get the girl out.”

Before Hui heard one more sentence, he ran, the door to the staircase was only a few steps away. Now the door to the stairs opened really fast, causing it to slam against the wall with an intense force. This would cause a loud sound to echo between the top of the stairs at the eighth floor to the fourth floor. Now, Hui now looked down, now jumping over the railing, there was another set that he landed on almost instantly. Due to this he yelled, “You damn keys..COME HERE!” He was now running down the stairs that were leading to the third floor.

The uncle now walked with his gun resting on his waist. He had to look for the rope. As he was walking his mind went back to that time. Yelling, screaming. Rage. Wrath. Anger. Blood. He didn’t know why he had caused that. But, it wasn’t the time for reflection. An apocalypse had started and someone was in danger. He now thought to himself as there could only be one person in this complex that would follow him up the elevator. “God..Zo. What have you gotten yourself into?”

Hui now stopped, breathing in and out due to exhaustion. He expected there to be less stairs, but there were eight floors. What could you expect? Now, Hui now grabbed the door knob, this was the third floor. It was quite obvious since there was a big 3 on the wall. Now, he pushed it open, his eyes widening. “What?” On the third floor he saw 3 more monsters. But they were on the floor dead without heads.

“What the hell happened here?” He questioned, now looking at the cuts. “It seems flawless. Like their necks were soft as butter. That’s the only way a cut so clean could appear. Unless someone heated the blade first? He now bit his thumb. “This is an odd situation, isn’t it?”

Hui now walked amongst the third floor, looking around. “Even though there’s apartments here, there aren’t many. If the key’s are here, that means some type of office room is here or something.” He now put his hand on the strap that connected to the fabric wrapped around his katana, he was carrying the wrapped katana by hand now.

Then as he kept walking, his eyes widened. The door at the very end of the hall opened. He couldn’t tell what that room was. But an odd person stepped out. You could tell it was a human, it had gloves in it’s hands. The hands were the only skin that could be seen. The skin wasn’t turning into a rotting green color like the other monster. It was a human.

This strange person now put their gloves back on. They were wearing a tuxedo without a bowtie or tie. Their white gloves had a red color splattered onto it. Then his mask. He was wearing an odd mask. The mask was half white and half black. The two colors spiraling together towards the center of the mask. Then in the middle of the mask was just a painting of an eye. But the red color of the eye was the same as the gloves which made it somewhat creepier.

“Hey, who are you?!” Hui questioned the strange man. Hui now gripped his katana as now the strange man looked forward, tilting his head to the left. Like he was confused on the question. Now, the man looked at his gloves with the red splattered on and back at Hui. Then the man’s hands turned into a tightened fist. “Found Out.” The strange man said. “Found Out. Found Out. Found Out. Found Out.” The strange man kept repeating as now as he kept repeating the same words over and over. He now put his hands on his head, screaming. “HAVE LOCKDOWN. HAVE LOCKDOWN. HAVE IT. HAVE IT. HAVE IT.” As this man’s creepy actions kept continuing suddenly, the emergency back up lights started to spin. As a robotic voice in the PA system spoke, “LOCKDOWN INITIATED.”

Then Hui’s eyes widened. “What the hell– What did you do, strange guy?” Then the strange man pointed at Hui, “Threat. Threat. Threat.” Then the strange man now dashed forwards. He wasn’t stopping. This man seemed to see Hui as a threat. Were they going to fight?

The strange man now gripped his mask, “Threat to foundation. Since found.” This strange man didn’t speak all that well. But, then Hui then went to unsheath his katana, but then, the strange man quickly sent down an axe kick. He was using the martial arts named taekwondo. “Shit!” Hui yelled out, being forced to use his scabbard to stop the kick from colliding against his face. He needed to find those keys.

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As this was happening the uncle was setting up a knot for the rope he had found so that the rope wouldn’t buckle from Hui’s weight. But then the lights started to spin. The lockdown voice now reached the eighth floor. Then the uncle’s eyes widened, “Lockdown? Damnit. So he had to come out? This apocalypse situation is perfect for them to come out. So they were found..by who though? There should only be two of them. One acting as staff to go into the security room. Then another roaming the halls..wait a minute. Hui couldn’t have..could he?” The uncle then thought and laughed, “No way! It’s not like Hui is that unlucky!”

The strange man now popped his fingers by tightening them. Then, he dashed again. This time he sent out a jab. Hui was surprised, using his scabbard to block the jab. The strange man sent out a right hook then Hui had to block it with the scabbard. Hui didn’t know what to do. He always could threaten people with unsheathing the katana from the scabbard. But this time, his uncle and this man didn’t seem to be afraid. He never really planned to hurt anyone with this katana.

The strange man seemed to be skillful in different types of martial arts. Hui even knew they would be hurt if they landed. Because of the impact he could feel from the scabbard. Even though it was weakened he could still tell how much it’d hurt. Then Hui nodded to himself, now moving forward first this time. The strange man was caught off guard, he didn’t know what to do. Until Hui pushed the hilt of his katana into the strange man’s stomach and then snapped the hilt back, running off to the side of the strange man. “Office..Office..Where’s the damn office here..”

As he ran through the hall, he looked behind him, he couldn’t believe it as he went faster. The strange man was chasing Hui! It was a terrifying situation, especially under this red light. Then, in Hui’s peripheral vision, he saw a door that was different from the rest. So he grabbed the door’s handle and pushed it open. Closing it as fast as he came in. Then, he heard kicks against the door he had closed. Now walking away from the door.

“Keys..Keys..” He now looked around, forcing open drawers, throwing them out of the desk. He was looking under the chair, as now he slammed his hands on the table. The elevator key had to be here. He then kicked a drawer that was on the ground, as he kicked it. Something clanged against the wall. His eyes widened, he grabbed a keychain that fell out of the drawer. Apparently it was deep under the items he saw. Hui oversaw the fact that keys would be hidden deeper into the drawer. He always thought the keys were on the very top of the drawers. That’s what he saw in the movies anyways.

“Hell, Yeah!” Hui now smiled as he saw the words EL written on the keychain. Which had to mean elevator. Then he put his hand on the door handle that led back to outside, putting the keychain in his pocket, now opening the door fast, thrusting his hilt forward. But the odd part no one was in the hallways. Nothing on the ceilings, walls, it was empty again.

Hui now ran through the hallway as fast as he could. But then he stopped. Looking back at his katana then back all around. There was something odd he hadn’t noticed until now. The fabric he had wrapped around his katana was gone. When did it disappear? He looked around, gritting his teeth. “I can’t care about that now!” He now kicked the door to the stairs in, causing it to open and he ran up the stairs.

The uncle now saw one of his friends walk out of his apartment, they were wearing all black. As the friend now waved, “Heya, Eta.” The friend spoke to the uncle that way. Eta was the nickname of the uncle. His full name was Kakusareta rīdā. Being of japanese origins and all.

His friend’s eyes were wide, as he wiped the blood coming out of his nose. “Eta, problem, problem, problem. I think those two are still here!” The friend was all over the place, scared, terrified. He was a coward after all. He didn’t want to get involved in anything scary like fights or apocalypses.

“I know, otherwise the lockdown wouldn’t have happened. But to think someone from ‘The Eight’ and ‘Eyes of Ordeal’ are here. I didn’t expect them to take action on this complex this soon.” Eta now sighed as Eta’s friend was pacing up and down the hallways with fear in his body. Until suddenly, the door to the stairs of the eight floor suddenly flung open.

Then Eta looked over at Hui. “Great, you’re here. Did you get it?” Then Hui nodded, throwing the keychain as Eta looked at it. “EL, Huh? That must mean elevator.” Then Hui yelled, “That's what I thought too!” Eta now stood up, as threw the keys to Hui, “Get ontop of my shoulders, the hole is on the top right corner. You can put the key there to open the elevator door.”

Hui nodded, jumping onto Uncle Eta’s shoulders. Hui was really well balanced after being trained in balance for years of his life so he could maintain a steady kendo career. But that kendo life has now been turned upside down due to this apocalypse. Then the key fit into the hole in the top right corner of the elevator, now turning it. Then Eta threw Hui off his shoulders, Hui now hitting his head on the ground, “Wh–OWWW!” Hui now rubbed the back of his head as now the elevator doors opened slowly.

Eta now flicked his head to the left, signaling Hui to come over to the elevator doors. Then as Hui understood this, he went to the edge of the elevator opening. Staring down the elevator shaft as his eyes widened, seeing the elevator that Zo was in. “I see it!” He exclaimed, then Eta slapped the back of Hui’s head, “Don’t scream. I’m right here you idiot.”

Eta now tied the rope to Hui’s waist and said, “Save her, I guess. You wanna be a hero too much of the time. Especially back then.” He said as Eta kicked Hui down the elevator shaft. Once he did this, Hui grabbed onto the second rope that was sent down as well so he could slowly climb down the elevator shaft.

Eta’s friend now exclaimed, “What?! He’ll fall if the rope is just tied there to his waist!” Then Eta sighed, “Listen, the rope I got was very long so I used my pocket knife to cut it in half and used it as a second rope he could climb down. Whenever he grabs Zo, you’ll help me pull them up. You’re stronger than I am, you’re just a damned coward.”

Then Eta’s friend nodded while shaking, Eta scared his own friend, but that is also what he needed to do. Fear was heightened in these types of situations, panic would do no good. So Eta just thought of scaring people into doing what he wanted at this current moment.

Then Hui now landed ontop of the elevator, the elevator shook as now Zo screamed, but then it stabilized as quickly as the shake. “That came from the top..the elevator’s emergency exit..” Zo now looked up, seeing Hui’s face, she was shocked, she didn’t expect that. As now she yelled, “Hui! You came to save my life! You’re a hero!”

Hui looked at Zo, he wasn’t paying attention to her voice, instead thinking of how to open the emergency exit. He then thought to himself. “Got It!” He exclaimed, now unsheathing his katana, Due to the rope tightly on his waist, he was using that as a way to carry his katana. Whenever he unsheathed it, Zo’s eyes widened in surprise of how pretty the blade was. But then Hui put the katana through the emergency exit’s glass, now taking the katana out, sheathing it once again.

“Hey, woman. I don’t know your name, but just grab on when you can!” He yelled out as he now kicked the damaged glass as it shattered, glass fragments falling onto the ground. Zo didn’t expect him to be as reckless as that. “Maybe there was a different way to do it?” She was still uneasy about how much force he was putting on the elevator.

“Couldn’t think of another way!” He said as Zo jumped up to the emergency exit, grabbing onto Hui’s hand. Then he yelled, “UNC! PULL US UP!” Then as Eta heard that his friend grabbed onto the rope that was going to pull up Zo and Hui and Eta and Eta’s friend now pulled on it with all their strength, causing Zo and Hui to be pulled all the way back up to the eighth floor. Hui and Zo were breathing heavily.

Eta then cut the rope off of Hui’s waist, causing the katana to fall off his waist. Then Eta looked at Hui and kicked the side of his head, “Get up, we’re going.” As this happened Zo yelled, “Hey! Why’d you do that?! Aren’t you his uncle! You’re supposed to be kinder with him!”

Then Eta crouched down meeting Zo face to face and he said with a blank face, “Uncle, huh? He’s the only one who calls me that anymore. After all, four years ago I was no longer a part of the family because of what I did. Understand girlie?”

Then Zo grit her teeth as then Hui sat up, causing their face to face meeting to be interrupted. “Alright, let’s go Unc..we have to make sure everyone on the base floor doesn’t panic anymore.”

Then Zo yelled out, “What do you mean Lockdown what’s happening?” Zo was confused and worried as Eta now walked back down to room 830, dragging the ‘thing’s’ corpse back to the elevator. Whenever Zo saw this her eyes widened with fear and disgust. She thought she felt puke come up, but nothing came up her throat. She was simply disgusted down to the core and terrified. “It’s an Apocalypse now, Zo.” Eta told her.

Then Hui looked at his Uncle Eta and then back at Zo, “Wait her name’s Zo?” After he said this Eta yelled at Hui, “THAT’S NOT THE POINT HUI!”

Hui then sighed, “Jeez, fine. Be like that Unc.” He now rolled his eyes as now they walked back to the stairs. Zo was still shuddering from the corpse she had witnessed.

Now Eta looked at Hui, “You sure you’re ready to see the panic of everyone down there?”

“I didn’t know them, I’ll be fine!”

“Whatever you say.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ve been through that, remember?”

Then Eta sighed as now they walked down, surprisingly no monsters had come after them or were in here. Hui was slightly confused by the lack of action. But this was fine to him. After all, he had that meeting with that strange man who just disappeared.

Now they reached the end of the stairs, Eta now attempting to turn the door handle to go into the base level. Eta was annoyed that it was locked so he just raised his foot and so did Hui. They both didn’t realize, but they were both about to kick open the door at the same time, and well, they did. This caused a loud noise to disrupt everyone’s panic.

Now the bright light of the lobby sunk into their vision. Due to the fact it was quite dark up on the eighth floor due to the emergency lights it seems the lobby had the normal bright lights. Hui didn’t know why, but they were lucky. As their vision adjusted they slowly heard people muttering, then screaming nonsense.

“What?” Hui was confused about the yelling.

“What’s Happening?!”

Eta's shirt now started to get pulled by old hands..who was it?