I have no excuse. I've just been down in the dumps lately. Things happen IRL. Sad things happen IRL. Sometimes, nothing happens at all but you still feel like shit.......SURPRISE! I'm finally back! Ugh, I didn't think it would take so dang long. I literally wrote this entire chapter in an hour and thirty minutes today. That's how much procrastination can hurt you, peeps. And hot damn, this trap version of Agni Kai (Last Airbender for the fans out there) is boss. The bass is soothing, the violin is perfect...oh man, writing this chapter while listening to this was a breeze. (As requested, Link to song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tePvnj1166E )

EDIT: Don't think that because of how this new character acts is because of me IRL. Nope. Don't worry, peeps. You'll be seeing me in the future.

Anyway, enjoy! Comments are always appreciated! And yes, the new..."character" will definitely be seen in the future...

________________________________________________________________________________________

After entering the apartment, Kyte heard the sound of voices coming from the big room. He looked around and felt a sense of comfort.

It’s good to be back.

Kyte breathed a sigh of relief as he continued in the apartment. He saw a head poke out from the big room, and…

“Kyte’s finally done!” Jol exclaimed.

“Yep, finally. It took a bit longer than I expected, but I benefited quite a lot from it.” Kyte said as he arrived at the room.

He saw everyone sitting around on the furniture just like the time when he woke up from unconsciousness on the couch. The memories of that time drifted through his mind before disappearing.

“Go ahead and sit wherever, Kyte.”

“Alright.”

Kyte sat down on the couch alongside Jol. It was just like before as everyone had their own seats.

“So, now that I’m here, what are we going to talk about?” Kyte asked.

“Well, we’re going to listen to what Dan has to say about what happened on the surface. Dan?” Akina said.

“Alright! Well, first things first, welcome back everyone. I can see obvious improvements, especially with Shadow and Kyte.”

“”Thanks.””

“Anyway, about what happened. It’s quite difficult to explain, but I’ll try my best. The first thing that happened was the enormous explosion. Windows shattered, buildings shook, the earth cracked. Then came a wave of energy. It didn’t hurt, but it definitely felt weird. As far as I know, it passed through everything. I don’t feel any noticeable changes within myself, but after a few minutes I felt as if something was trying to infiltrate my body. I stopped it before it did, but...it wasn’t the same for normal people.

I saw them all change into monsters. The began to just...slaughter each other. It was as if they were completely overtaken by demons as they devoured one another without a second thought. I could see the ones that devoured grew stronger. It may have not been a significant increase, but it was noticeable. The more they devoured, the larger they became. More limbs sprouted from their bodies. The stronger grew stronger as the weaker ones were slowly being left behind.

Right now it’s not that much of a threat. The strongest one I’ve seen has only been at the C rank in power. However, it’s only been less than a day. Who knows how much more they can grow. It’s only a matter of time before Guardians aren’t the only ones we have to worry about.”

Silence gripped the room as everyone fell into thought. If what Dan said was true, then there could be an entire army of abominations that would only grow in strength the more they devoured. And, if it’s not limited to humans….animals could be transformed into monsters and devour each other as well. Imagine giant bears as strong as an S ranker. Eagles the size of small planes, primates that are three times the size of a normal gorilla, all the while having no remorse as they’re transformed into killing machines. That could be even more terrifying than Guardians, mostly because natural evolution has always proven to be more lethal than artificial.

“Then, this is quite great for me. I can go out and slaughter however much I want without holding back. I can ruthlessly experiment all I want. It’s not like they’re human anymore, right? Who knows if they even feel pain anymore.” Kyte exclaimed.

“That may be so, but it’s still dangerous. Who knows what could be hiding out there? Not only that, but there are Guardians scouting around as well. The Guardians have been avoiding this area because there’s a dense population of Gifted around here. There’s also three S rankers now, which is you two and someone else.” Dan explained.

“I don’t care. Dan, you don’t know how much power I’ve actually obtained. I can easily defeat an S rank Guardian. I have a few tricks up my sleeve, too.”

“Is that so? Good for you. If you’re confident enough, then I won’t stop you. Plus, I understand that your power allows you to absorb blood from pretty much anything, so I won’t disagree with what you’ve said. If you want to go, then go.”

“Hahaha, alright! I’ll leave right now then, actually. I know that we need to catch the train, but we have two weeks, right? Let me farm for a little bit, then we’ll go.” Kyte said as he enthusiastically stood up and looked toward Akina.

“...I’ll allow it. We’ll stay for three days, no more than that. I’m sure you’ll have cleared out a majority of the abominations in the area by then anyway.” Akina said.

“Yes! Then, I’ll see you guys later.”

Kyte quickly walked across the room, however, he abruptly stopped at Dan’s side. He bent down and whispered into his ear:

“I want to ask you something later, if that’s alright.”

“...Sure?”

“Good!”

Kyte then walked out of the room and the apartment. He looked out over the surrounding buildings, noticing various abominations jumping around and eating whatever flesh they could find. They would immediately attack if they saw another, and the winner would devour the loser. It was quite a brutal scene.

“They’re definitely not human anymore...Heh….neither am I.”

Kyte jumped off the apartment building and onto the street where he began to effortlessly and mercilessly slaughtering anything he saw.

________________________________________________________________

(First Person POV)

Leaning back in my chair, I stared up at the ceiling fan as it rotated around and around just like it always does. My computer screen dimly illuminated my room, though it was still quite dark. I popped my back and finished stretching my tight muscles before going back to my game. I quickly peeked at the time displayed at the bottom right of the screen.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

It’s 2:50?! How did time go by so fast today…

Looking back at my game, I lazily saved and exited it. It was a singleplayer game, so it’s not like I was playing with friends or anything. If I had any.

Just as I was about to get out of my chair…

-BOOM-

My entire room quaked as the windows shattered. My computer screen shattered as well, which sent pieces of glass into my face. It hurt. It hurt so bad. Having glass shot into your eyes and cheeks was not a good feeling. I fell to the floor and screamed. It was a bloodcurdling scream, mostly because it hurt. Did I mention that it hurt?

I had never felt much pain before. I was always a very careful person. I never played sports and I never took chances. I never had a broken bone and the only scars I had were from when I was a little kid. This was the first time I had ever felt so much pain. I couldn’t even see anymore because glass had shredded my eyeballs. I wish I could’ve said that I defended my face with my hands, but let’s be realistic here. There’s no way a skinny, malnourished, nonathletic guy like me could react that fast. Besides, who would expect to have glass shot into their face?

That wasn’t even the worst part. That sound had blown my eardrums straight to high Heaven. I could feel blood dripping down my cheeks and as I reached my hands up to my ears, I felt blood spread across my finger tips.

This was not a good situation. I was blind, deaf, and all I could feel was pain. I swear glass from my window made its way into the rest of body as well. But if it did, it wasn’t as painful as my face. I wanted to die the pain was so bad. If I could commit suicide right now, I would. Not like I had anything to live for. I didn’t have a reason to die, but I didn’t have a reason to live either. Wait a minute...isn’t that the perfect reason to die?

Ah, I digress.

My mind is a lot calmer than my physical body right now. I wonder why that is? Maybe I’ve just been desynthesized to life. Regret and depression had their way with me, and this is what I’ve come to.

Well, it’s not like I didn’t deserve it. I didn’t even try to do anything about it. I let myself be eaten away by my depression. I wallowed in self pity and loathing. Strangely, I liked it. I would lay in my bed for a good hour every day just thinking about how worthless I am. It’s my fifth year of doing that. I can say that I’m addicted to it. Strange, right?

I don’t know when it started. I never got over my highschool sweetheart. I don’t love her anymore, that trash emotion was replaced with lust. I swear, if I could, I would fuck that bitch for days on end. She was a beauty. But I let her slip through my fingers. I think about her everyday and about how badly I fucked up. I fucked up, I fucked up, I fucked up. Ah, here I go again...

I’m such a dumbass. This physical pain isn’t making it any better. I should’ve killed myself years ago. Shit, I’m going back to my self loathing again…

Well, I never thought I would die such a horrible death. I didn’t even know what happened. Everything is black and I can’t hear shit. Is this what it’s like to have your head stuck up your own ass? I’ve always wondered how those douchebags handled it. Good times, good times…

Anyway, it seems as if my situation isn’t getting any better. I should really just make my way to my window and jump out. I’m on the eighth floor so I should die on impact, right? Right? I sure hope so. Well, I’m not going to get a better time to do it, so why not now.

I slowly made my way over to the window as I dragged my hands across the wall to guide me. I felt the beginning of my window and felt the gap that was created since it exploded. I felt the air rushing in a lot more than I did before.

I wonder if people were experiencing what I am. This pain. I wonder how many have tried to commit suicide already. I wonder how many have been successful. I wonder how many have been unsuccessful, writhing in pain on the ground because they thought their eighth story apartment room height would be able to kill them.

Shit, now I’m scared. I’m nervous. I’ve gotten closer than this trying to kill myself years ago but every time I try, I’m overcome with nervousness. That horrible feeling in your stomach when you know you’re about to do something you’re not supposed to do. It’s working overtime whenever I try to kill myself. It makes me wuss out when I get enough courage to get halfway. Not like anything would’ve changed if I had killed myself years ago.

Anyway, I was getting cold feet standing in-front of the window. I could feel shards of glass against my hands as I felt around me. This should be the right side of my room, facing the opposite apartment complex. Fuck those guys, they kicked me out when I couldn’t pay rent. Thank goodness that whore gave me a job at McFonald’s, otherwise I wouldn’t have been given my current room. At least I fucked her. I didn’t get an STD and she didn’t get pregnant so it was worth it. She was hot.

Is my mind trying to distract me from the thought of suicide? I think it is. Scumbag brain, the Hell is wrong with you? I’m trying to end our pain but you won’t let me. I tried to cry but all that came out were tears of blood. Probably because my eyes have fucking glass stuck in them, stupid. Who are you calling stupid?

Shit, stop talking to yourself. Let me commit suicide in peace, will ya?!

I breathed out a large breath of air. I thought back to all the things I had done. All the things I regretted. All my missed opportunities. I had no purpose. I understood the moment that diploma touched my hand. I had no future. I still smiled that fake smile I always do. I laughed that same fake laugh I always do.

I briefly glanced over that girl who silently smiled at me. It’s not like we hated each other, we were friends. But in my mind, there was no mistake. I would never get over her. I lusted after her so much. Instead of porn I would just use my mind and think of her. I never attempted to do anything to her. I wasn’t that type of person. Regardless of my lack of empathy, I still had my baseline morals.

I faked everything. Even my family had no idea about my despair. They never would. I never told anyone. Maybe that’s the reason why I became what I am.

Now, I can rest assured that I won’t have to feel this pain anymore. My pain and suffering was caused by me and me alone. And now, I have the power to end it all. With one single action, I can finally take a rest from this horrible thing known as life.

I climbed over the opening in my window, and fell. It took a few seconds, but I fell. After a loud crunch, my consciousness blacked out.