‘Inspect.’ Rancour focused on the purple lake water, trying to conjure his interface.

The System which guided him, his family, and his entire country to prosperity didn’t respond.

‘Well, fuck me with the Commander’s morning star.’

“Commander’s Morning Star” is not in your inventory.

Rancour tried to punch the newly appeared interface. As his fist passed through it, he stumbled into the lake, dying his pants to a lovely shade of lavender.

This really isn’t his day…

----------------------------------------

Elle named her bowling ball Anne Bowlin’. Crouching on a house’s rooftop, she watches Anne Bowlin’ smash into the skull of a corrupted bear. Black blood splatters the street.

Its roar shakes the nearby trees’ branches. When the bear rears its head back in fury, Elle opens her inventory above it again and drops glass down its gullet.

However, the beast shakes off the pain and looks around the area. Then it turns to her and opens its maw, light gathering in the back of its throat. Shit.

She imagines the beast’s neck bending to reveal her inventory. Mentally grasping at it, the young woman yanks, and the space ripples.

The bear falls silent as a gash severs its spine, and her aura drops significantly. More black blood pours onto the street as its main body finally starts turning into smoke. Collapsing onto the cracked pavement, the original bear’s corpse thuds on the ground, innards exposed where the monster had burst from it. It also begins to smoke and crumble, albeit at a slower pace.

Elle dislikes using that attack because of its immense aura cost, particularly when casting it upon a living creature. She’s used it twice today, so she only has three chances left.

Releasing a deep breath, she closes her dark, hooded eyes as a bit of her aura restores with the monster’s death. It’s not enough to remove the soreness in her muscles, but it reduces the burn. Letting the bowling ball drop into her inventory, the university student feels the regained aura drain away, but at least opening her inventory in empty air costed less than an attack.

At least putting things into the storage space cleans them. When Anne Bowlin’ enters her inventory, she grimaces as the usual copper taste floods her mouth before it gradually fades away.

Elle squeezes Pointy the javelin in her right hand as she leaps to the next rooftop. The yellow javelin serves as her melee weapon and retrieving it from her inventory would take too long in an emergency. After the first rifts appeared, she bought Anne Bowlin’ and Pointy from her local sports store.

In the past, her fraying camo-coloured jacket would feel warm in the early autumn air. After waking her aura though, she never overheats. Elle also wears running pants and shoes, unable to purchase anything better with her low funds and the low stock from all the panic-purchases.

With the cooler weather and cloudier skies, she’s glad that she no longer has to ration sunscreen which stores have stopped selling due to supply issues. Without it, more freckles would appear on the plentiful splash across her nose bridge.

A light breeze rustles through her undercut bob. Elle flits her gaze between the suburban houses, keeping her ears trained for any threats.

Four months ago, she unlocked her aura when the rifts appeared and let monsters onto Earth. Her aura boosted her strength but didn’t improve her coordination. Consequently, she’s managed to build up her overall athletic ability by learning to cycle aura through her body. However, online videos for combat training aren’t quite as helpful as an actual trainer, so there have been some uncomfortably close calls with monsters.

Her attempts at training her spatial manipulation powers have gone even worse. She tried to open a portal to the other side of the room and almost lost a foot when it suddenly collapsed on her. Without other people’s knowledge or experience to draw upon, her efforts have been stymied.

Despite the risks and her inexperience, Elle refuses to give on her patrols when so few people manage to unlock their aura. Even the military with their protective equipment couldn’t escape transforming into monsters.

After so many people succumbed to the plague, most decided to quarantine at home and avoid the monsters. The beasts tend to be drawn to more densely populated locations. Precisely why Elle has decided to patrol this particular route. If the Hunger infected the trees lining the streets, people will die.

A shiver runs down her spine. She jumps to the side as wind rushes past her face. There’s nothing there.

She swipes her javelin in a circle. It hits something hard. Then Elle can see the monster.

A white, red-eyed crow slams into the ground and screeches. Its original black-feathered body dangling off its back cushions its fall.

Before it can get up, Elle channels aura through her javelin and pierces its body. She focuses on the area behind her back and wrenches her inventory open and then shut.

She hears screeches get abruptly cut off, and she knows what these are. The short woman sprints toward an abandoned house down and around the block’s corner.

According to r/Hunger_Plague and Twitter, animal-turned monsters tend to have similar powers within a single genus. It’s not a strict rule though, and even common powers can be applied differently by individuals.

‘Invisi-crows’ hunt prey in packs, dive-bombing their victims and overwhelming them with sheer numbers. Elle needs to find cover before she’s completely swarmed.

A sense of danger pricks her left side. She dodges right, but an invisi-crow manages to clip her. Elle grimaces as the sharp wing scrapes against her aura hard enough to make her arm ache. Her aura drops below half.

As Elle turns the corner, the woman lands on the house with a blue roof. About a week ago, she taunted a monster into crashing through the door and then dropped a rack of bikes onto it. Pulling the same trick isn’t an option here, but at least the garage will force the crows to attack from one direction.

Leaping to the ground, she avoids another attack. The impact of the fall is barely noticeable to her enhanced body, not needing extra aura to absorb the force. Elle dashes into the garage without missing a step. She sees various tools, bikes, and a bear’s skeleton lying on the ground.

A sense of alarm washes over her back as Elle crosses the threshold. She wrenches the space behind her open and shut again, feeling even more aura drain away. More bisected bodies thunk to the floor, but the gym-locker sized attack doesn’t catch all of them. One slams into her left shoulder where she’d been hit before.

Her remaining aura evaporates. The exhaustion in her muscles weighs heavier now. Her usual awareness of the space around her vanishes like someone muffled her ears.

Elle stumbles from the blow but manages to pivot back upright. Her desperate javelin swing hits the inviscrow and smashes it into the wall.

To her relief, just enough aura returns for her to use her senses. She drops into a roll and ends up near a collapsed shelf. She picks up a hammer and closes her eyes.

When she uses her inventory power, Elle always knows if she’s opening it in empty space or not. She focuses on the space in front of her without trying to manipulate it. ...Four disruptions in the air.

Elle whips the hammer at the one farthest to her left. It smashes the beast into the opposite wall. As the other three invisicrows close in, she pours aura into her javelin and slashes in an upward arc, sending two flying into the ceiling. The sound reverberates through the garage.

She leaps to the right as the last beast rushes past her. Turning on her heel, she thrusts the javelin through the invisicrow’s body and into the wall.

With all those kills, Elle can feel her exhausted aura rise slightly. The woman pants as she spreads her ‘inventory-sense’ past the garage door. Her heart drops as she counts the crows. ...7, 8, 9, and God knows how many beyond her 110m limit.

Elle takes a deep breath and readies her javelin. There’s not enough aura to use her inventory again, but she’ll be damned if she doesn’t go down fighting.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

A sudden pressure pushes down on her shoulders and causes her knees to shake.

“Please excuse my late arrival, dear.” A feminine voice cuts through her dark thoughts, soothing in tone like a murmur yet loud enough to cause her ears to ring.

The battered woman leaps back from the entrance with sheer instinct. Vines materialize out of thin air, wrapping around what appear to be empty pockets of space. They tighten around the area until Elle can see black smoke erupt from them. Crow corpses entangled in vines drop to the ground in quick succession.

From these deadly vines, white flowers begin to blossom. Elle stares at the morning glories in morbid fascination, entranced by the vines’ similarities to burial shrouds.

She startles as warmth fills her body, aura levels rocketing back up to full. An embarrassing gasp leaves her, and she slaps her hand over her mouth.

“My apologies for surprising you, but I thought it would be best to heal you without delay. Do you have a moment to spare?” The melodic voice starts off loud but quiets as Elle winces.

This woman saved her, so she shouldn’t be an immediate threat. Glancing at the corpses on the floor next to her, the university student hurries out of the garage. Where the clouds once hid the blue sky, the sun shines bright enough to hurt her eyes.

A woman dressed only in a spotted, grey-fur mantle waits on the lawn next to the driveway. Green vines with yellow flowers travel up her long legs, rooting her to the ground. In her left hand, she holds what can generously be described as a staff, but it’s really more of a branch. Her toned arm muscles suggest that she has ripped it directly off a tree.

When Elle tries to focus on the woman herself however, the sight shifts as if continuously moving through a kaleidoscope. The lady’s hair changes from short to long and flowing to an elaborate updo to curls to straight to--

She tears her eyes away from the dizzying image and drops her gaze to the mantle which remains stable. The fur looks soft and cosy, but Elle doesn’t think it suits her personal style. It’s probably uncomfortable against bare skin too.

As if hearing her thoughts, the mantle changes to flowing robes which reveal the woman’s ample cleavage. Elle averts her gaze immediately, “Um, hi! Who are you? What did you want to talk about?” Her words come out too high-pitched and casual than desired.

A gentle laugh causes Elle to blush. “Hello, dear. My name is--”

Buzzing. Roaring winds. Wolf howls. Chimes.

Elle doesn’t realise that she’s stumbling back from the woman until she nearly trips on the driveway pavement. Her ears hurt. “P-please, stop!”

The noise falls silent. “My apologies,” the lady sounds contrite. “I forgot that some mortals are more sensitive to Archaic. You may call me Equinox.”

“Archaic?”

“The language of Old Things as implied by the name. No better sounds are suited for Gods. As for my task here...” She taps the ground with her branch, and the scene around them changes. “...I wish to show you what will become of this world should this current state of affairs continue.”

They seem to float above Tokyo where the first rift appeared and unleashed monsters upon an unsuspecting Earth. Even from this height, Elle can see ruined buildings and patches of rippling black ground scattered around the Yokohama prefecture. Hairs rise on the back of her neck.

Rifts are staying open in Yokohama. The rumours are true.

“...But where are the monsters?” Elle asks, partially to herself.

Equinox shakes her head. “The monsters walk through the rifts in search of prey. Since everyone has evacuated this area, the Hunger has lost interest, but the danger of those rifts remains.”

“Do you know happens to the people who fall into them then?”

“My gaze falls upon many. From my senses, I can discern their path toward the Quantum Graveyard. Sinkpoint is their destination, and this world will follow them as four others already have.”

She has never heard of this ‘Sinkpoint’, but anything called a graveyard can’t be good. “What do you mean by a ‘Quantum Graveyard’?”

“It was once the realm where worlds descended to die and be cleansed before rebirth. Now, the remains of those destroyed worlds do not leave. An unknown force keeps them there.”

“And you want to fix things?”

“Naturally. This strange turn of events is a grave matter.”

Elle bows her head, black hair falling over her eyes. It truly is the apocalypse.

“Do not despair, dear. Hope is not lost yet.” Equinox raises her staff, and it glows bright. Below them, the rifts simultaneously close, leaving no signs of their existence. “I still hold power in this realm, even if my strength wanes.”

Her dark brown eyes widen. “H-how much longer do you have?”

“It is difficult to determine when the rifts grow increasingly common day by day. This is the reason for my proposal, Elle Kuang. I can open a path for you to Sinkpoint like I have done for many others. You might find answers to stop this Calamity there.”

Elle freezes, “Why me? There are stronger people out there.” For the past few months, she’s only been fighting in the suburbs, not the dense Vancouver Downtown or other populated areas.

“Your space manipulation ability has potential. It cannot close rifts at the moment, but perhaps someday, you will succeed. However, you must grow stronger, and I do not believe this world has the knowledge to help you.”

Her rising hope shoves aside all her wariness at the moment. Rifts are rare in the suburbs, but she has tried to close them without a single success. If she’s only failing because she hasn’t figured out the tricks to her powers…

Mind racing with possibilities, Elle responds, “I see, so the survivors in Sinkpoint might have answers. Can I go back and forth, or is this a one-way trip?”

Equinox sounds sympathetic, “I am sorry to say that I need to preserve my strength to close the rifts. However, if you succeed in your endeavours, then I will regain the powers needed to open a path home for you.”

“Any way to communicate with you? Ask for help?” Elle waits but hears nothing. “Alright, that’s lovely.” She runs a hand through her hair in contemplation. “What about supplies? Anything helpful you can give me?”

“Your aura provides sustenance. As you gain strength, you will not even need sleep to live. What else is necessary?”

“A machete? Last time I checked, monsters are kind of a problem. Or maybe more than one change of clothes?”

She hears no response.

If she doesn’t go, Earth will fall eventually, and she might die in the process. If she does go, she’s heading somewhere unfamiliar and dangerous. It sounds like this is a one-time offer with a small window of time due to Equinox’s limited energy, so she can’t even grab supplies.

What’s left for her here? Her closest friends have already evacuated east out of town. She hasn’t spoken to her family since graduating high school.

As Elle debates the idea internally, the scene shifts back to the ruined house. A monster broke into the home, but she managed to fend it off and save the residents who then left for the countryside. Seeing the destroyed garage, the young woman takes a deep breath. “May I please say goodbye to my friends before I go?”

“You have a minute before I must disappear. It is too tiring to maintain a physical form.” As if to prove her point, her body flickers like a glitch. The overwhelming pressure from earlier has subsided somewhat.

Elle scrambles to pull out her phone and call her friend. As soon as Jay picks up, Elle blurts out, “Hey, I need to go to a place called Sinkpoint for awhile to try and fix the plague. I wanted to say I love you in case I don’t see you again. Platonically to be clear. And tell Myra I love her too!”

“Elle, what the hell are you talking about?” The tinny phone connection can’t hide her best friend’s confusion.

“Sorry, I don’t have time to explain. I just want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me over the years.”

Jay sighs, “Well, you’re welcome, I guess. Do you need me to come and take a look at your concussion?”

“Jay, I’m being serious. I’m going away, and I don’t know when I’m coming back. If I’m coming back at all.”

There’s a beat of silence. “...I’m not sure I understand what’s going on, but you sound like you’re in a hurry. Are you sure about this?”

“Yes.”

“Then be careful. I love you too.”

“You take care too! Say goodbye to Myra for me as well.”

“I will. You better come back and explain all this.”

After exchanging goodbyes, she puts her phone back into her pocket and faces Equinox. “You said that you sent others. Where can I find them?”

Equinox smiles, “I shall place you where you need to be.”

Elle takes a deep breath and nods. “Okay then. I’m ready.”

“Good.”

An overwhelming pressure falls upon Elle, and her knees shake. The world seems to distort before her eyes, swimming with colours that blur together.

“You have made the correct choice.” Equinox teleports before the young woman, and Elle can see her face for the first time. Her skin and eye colour change tones, unable to settle on one hue. Shifting shapes, her ears go from round to pointed to cat-like to human.

However, no matter which appearance, the former university student can definitively say that this goddess is the most beautiful person she has ever met.

“I am most pleased.”

The inside of Elle’s left wrist burns, and a scream tears out of her throat. However, it’s lost to the howling winds which rake across her body and cause her to shield herself. It feels as though something is pulling at her consciousness in every direction, threatening to tear her to pieces.

Eventually, the winds die down to manageable levels, and Elle lowers her arms. She gasps, barely processing the sight before her.

A rocky valley stretches across the land below her spot on the cliff, almost perpendicular to the rough ground. Just below the grey clouds, giant bird-like creatures –monsters– soar to the looming mountains to her left. They’re too far away to notice the young woman.

Wind slaps her face, frequent at this altitude. She doesn’t care though, choosing to focus on the inside of her left wrist. With a push of her aura, Elle Kuang watches her skin glow.

36.1

That’s all it says.

Jay was right. What the ever loving fuck?