Just as Nick was deciding that he would have to break through the middle of the window after all, he found what he was looking for. A square panel of glass that had been knocked out of its brackets, leaving only shattered remnants hanging from the corners.

The cleared space was a few inches wider than his shoulders and pack, barely enough space to squeeze through. Complicating his entrance, the opening was a good ten feet off the ground and at a tricky angle to boot.

But Nick didn’t hesitate. He knew that this was his last chance of living to see the sunrise. That it was time to go all in and pray that his hand would win.

Betting his future on the growth he had undergone since the System had arrived, he leaned on every point of strength and dexterity he had accumulated. As his boot passed the ten-foot mark, he poured his final dregs of stamina into his legs, took aim, and then leapt for everything he was worth.

Faster than thought, Nick sprang, soaring through the air hands first, like a diver at the start of a plunge. His life hanging in the balance, bathed in the fell light of the blood moon, Nick pulled his shoulders closer together, making his body as compact as he could.

Ahead, the great glass wall was approaching at blinding speed. Behind, a pair of eldritch horrors were emerging from the deep earth, eager to begin their hunt.

Five feet until impact. Nick’s prayers rose to meet the crisp night air, certain that the next sensation he would experience would be his body smashing through the vast plates of glass.

Although he wanted nothing more than to watch his destiny approach, the wind resistance caused him to blink. Fighting down the urge to yell, Nick felt a line of pain erupt along the tip of one thumb.

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He opened his eyes just before the world turned black. He flew through the gap with millimeters to spare and soared into the building, falling toward whatever was waiting for him on the far side.

He only had a heartbeat to take it all in. But in that state of frozen focus, he was able to process what he was seeing much faster than he normally could. At his best guess, this building was some manner of church after all. There was an altar standing on a raised dais on the far end of the enclosure. Rows of decaying pews lined the center, slowly being eaten away by bugs and mildew.

But none of that mattered now. All that mattered was landing without breaking his neck or making a racket. Judging his trajectory, Nick tried to determine where he was going to land, and what he needed to do in the final second before he hit the ground.

While the interior of the building was littered with rotting furniture, the floor below his body was relatively clear, the ground revealed by the light of the blood moon before it was obscured by his shadow.

Half a heartbeat later, his state of intense concentration dissipated. Fortunately, Nick didn’t need it for what came next. He already knew what he needed to do. Judging the distance and angle of approach as best he could, he tucked in one shoulder while covering his head with his hands to protect his skull.

A bare second later, Nick hit the ground hard, landing between a row of pews instead of crashing into their bulk. His preparations allowed him to roll with his momentum, lessening the shock to his flesh and bones… until he collided with a pillar fifteen feet of tumbling head-over-heels later.

There was an incredible impact. He felt a surge of pain, but not nearly as much as he had expected considering the circumstances. Better still, he had managed to break his impetus on stone instead of wood, muffling the sound of the impact.

Nick was stunned and badly bruised. He had knocked the wind out of himself, but thanks to his impressive dexterity and heavy investment into toughness, nothing seemed to be ruptured or broken. He lay there, breathing as quietly as he could, palpating his injuries while recovering from the fall.

After turning his head and sticking his hand into a spreading beam of moonlight, Nick learned that the pain in his thumb was from a fragment of glass catching his flesh as he fell through. It seemed that his gamble had paid off in the end, now it was time to find out if it would be enough to save him.

The dislodged shard fell to the floor a heartbeat later with a faint, musical tinkle.