Chapter 8 -Resurgence

I decided to rest after that disaster. No one's going to judge me for it. Not after what we've seen. People don't just die when they're hurt by those things—they change. They twist, morph into something monstrous. Little by little, this is turning into some kind of zombie-apocalypse nightmare.

One week ago, if you had told me I'd be fighting for my life today—killing hellish things just to survive—I would have walked away without a second thought. Maybe I wouldn't have laughed, but I sure as hell would've called you insane. Now, I'd give anything to go back. Back to when this was just a bad joke, not my reality.

Barely fifteen minutes had passed since I lay down to rest when the commotion started at the entrance. The sound jolted me upright, and I was moving before I even had time to think—forcing my legs to go faster, pushing through the weight of exhaustion. I'm not physically tired, not really. But my mind? It feels heavy, sluggish. Like it's drowning in everything I've seen.

When I got there, Gideon's men were unloading round after round into those things, desperately holding the line. For now, they were holding—but barely. I could see it in their faces. The exhaustion. The fear. Some looked tense, gripping their weapons like lifelines. Others just stared ahead, their expressions hollow, drained, as if they had already accepted that this nightmare would never end.

For now, only the small ones are after us. They don't bother me much. But the ones Gideon warned me about? The bigger ones? They're the real problem. The ones that don't just kill you—they change you, transformed you into those smaller creatures. So far, I haven't seen them. And honestly? I'd rather keep it that way."

Earlier, the only thing to fear was getting hurt or dying. But now, after learning what those things do to you, there's a whole new level of danger. Just a single scratch could kill you—no, twist you into something else. And that's probably worse than death. The thought of being trapped in the process, feeling yourself slip away, only to keep moving as one of them... it's unbearable.

But… what's the difference, really? I'm not even sure if I'm still human. I don't feel human at all. My actions, my body—none of it is normal anymore. I want to get tired, to feel exhaustion weigh me down like it used to. I want my legs to burn, my breath to come in ragged gasps. But no matter how much I move, how much I fight, it never comes. And my thoughts? I'm certain some of them aren't mine. This fearlessness… this detachment… that's not me.

I rest for another fifteen minutes before deciding to stop overthinking and start being useful. I look around, observing everyone. As far as I can see, their expressions range from fear to complete resignation—far worse than when I first got here. We need to do something about this. Fast.

"Where do you think you're going?" Gideon asked, his tone was serious.

"To kick some ass," I answered confidently. What's wrong with me? Where is this confidence coming from?

"Take this, then," Gideon said with a smirk, handing me an axe—the one I had been using before. The one I was sure I had left behind in the ruins after my fight with the war god. How did he get this? What's going on here?

Stop overthinking right now, Ariane, I told myself and promptly pushed the thoughts out of my head.

I left the infirmary without any clear destination. For now, I would just observe and listen. I figured I'd follow the sounds of trouble—or anything that indicated life. 

The first sign of trouble came from the storage area. I made my way toward the noise, slow and cautious. The air felt too still. No bodies, no corpses—nothing. Earlier, that would have reassured me. But now? After learning what happens to people, the emptiness felt worse. It made my skin crawl, my breath deep. Like something was missing. Or hiding.

There were at least a hundred people in the warehouse the first time Nixie brought me here. Only a couple dozen made it to the infirmary. Are all those people dead? I could only hope some were just hiding. But the thought that most of them were gone made my heart sink. And the thought that all of them had died—only to turn into those things? That was a nightmare.

But if the worst-case scenario happened, and a hundred of them had transformed into those monsters, how were we supposed to fight that many? I was sure Gideon's men were running low on supplies—especially ammo.

And Nixie? Where the fuck is that woman? Is she still at the entrance? I'm pretty sure she's alone back there. Should I go get her?

But there was no time to think about her now. I could hear scratching and tearing inside the room. The sign read Storage Unit 1. If I wasn't mistaken, this room contained all the basic necessities for the warehouse—food rations,bottled water, and spare clothing.

I need to secure this place as soon as possible. Even if we manage to fend off this attack, without those supplies, we'd basically just be sitting here, waiting to die.

I slowly opened the door, carefully trying not to draw the attention of the monsters inside. There were at least half a dozen of them, all busy tearing apart the boxes containing the supplies. They hadn't noticed me yet. I saw this as an opportunity.

I immediately unloaded my gun on the monsters until it was empty. Two instantly dropped to the ground, twitching, while the rest staggered, disoriented from the bullets tearing through them. Without hesitation, I rushed in, my axe splitting flesh and bone, the wet crunch of every swing drowning out their growls. I didn't stop until the room was silent—until nothing moved but the blood pooling at my feet.

Six small ones—so far, no big ones yet. Things were going well. I grabbed a huge bag from the storage and filled it with food and water, something I could bring to the infirmary on my way back. I closed the door to Storage Unit 1 as best as I could, then barricaded it with whatever I could find—metal shelves, a toppled filing cabinet, and a heavy crate full of scrap metal. Lifting those things didn't even make me sweat, another thing for me to overthink about.

I left the bag I packed near the barricade, thinking I would just pick it up later on my way back. I then continued on my way—though I had no idea where I was going.

I kept wandering until I heard a familiar voice—he was screaming, and he sounded terrified. I ran toward the sound and saw the man from earlier—the one who carried a frying pan as a weapon, the one who fled and endangered that child.

'I don't need to save that guy, right? He fled earlier when we needed him. It's just karma doing its work,' I thought.

Then I froze.

Was that really my thought? Or someone else's? Or... was it the thing inside me, whispering, pushing?

I hesitated, but in the end, I ran to help him.

"Keep running! Go to the infirmary!" I shouted.

He didn't even glance at me—just kept running. Great guy, that one.

I swung my axe at the monster's head, and it collapsed instantly. I struck it again, just to make sure it was dead.

I wasn't sure if I saw it right, but there was blood on the man's clothes as he ran away. I didn't know if it was his blood or someone else's.

Two more came from the direction that man had been running from. I needed to focus.

I tightened my grip on the axe and stepped forward.

The first one lunged. I drove the blade into its chest, the impact jarring my arms. It writhed, clawing at me even as I hacked again and again, until it finally went still.

The second staggered closer. I swung low, shattering its knee with a sickening crunch. It collapsed, shrieking, its fingers scraping against the floor. I didn't let it suffer long—I raised my axe and brought it down, splitting its skull.

I was slowly getting used to fighting these things, learning their patterns and habits. That was good—because I wasn't exactly sure if they could infect me with whatever was changing those people. Or if I was even immune to it.

I was also getting used to walking alone in this nightmare of a place. The distant sounds, the heavy atmosphere, even the swirling mist choking the air—it barely fazed me anymore.

I continued roaming the warehouse. I had been walking for about twenty minutes, and there was no sign of anyone or anything. The silence was suffocating.

I considered heading back to the infirmary to briing the supplies I had set aside earlier from storage—or maybe checking on Nixie—until I saw him.

The man from my dreams.

His name… I still couldn't remember.

He was struggling against a massive, feral-looking monster. Red mist sip from its skin, contaminating the air like living smoke. The stench of rot hit me before I could take another step, thick and disgusting, crawling into my lungs.

The monster swiped at the man, hitting him directly in the chest. He was thrown against the wall before collapsing to the ground.

The creature readied itself for the final blow, winding up its arm, claws poised to stab the man lying helpless on the floor.

Before I could think, I was already running—desperate to save him. No plan, no hesitation. I threw myself in front of him, raising my arms in a futile defense.

The monster's claws impale through my stomach.

Pain exploded through me as blood filled my mouth. I coughed, choking on it, my body already weakening.

I was going to die this time.

Superpowers or not, I wasn't coming back from this.

I was sure of it.

But then… a familiar feeling hit.

The world twisted, warped—disorienting, nauseating.

When the sensation settled, I was no longer in my body. I was watching it.

Impaled.

I wanted to scream, to move, but I had no control. I was trapped, watching myself become something else.

Just like in the temple. Red mist coiled from my wounds, shifting, darkening—turning black. My face was eerily still. Expressionless.

Then, slowly, it smirked.

And then, it spoke.

The voice was mine—but at the same time, it wasn't.

"Could you please stop dying?" my body said, looking in my general direction.

This time, I could confirm it. The thing inside me could definitely see me, even in this form.

"Fine I'll save you again" it sounded annoyed.

Arianes body starts pulling the monsters claw away from her body

She wince a little bit.

"Ooooh I felt that" it said while smiling. 

When it successfully tore the claw from my body, a fresh stream of blood gushed out, spilling everywhere.I could taste the thick, metallic liquid seeping into my mouth. My vision swam as I watched the blood flowing out of me—even though I wasn't the one currently inside my body. I was growing colder and colder, just watching my blood slowly paint the ground.

My body fell to its knees as the black mist slowly seeped into my wounds, knitting them back together. It was slow—agonizingly slow. But luckily, the feral monster just stood there, watching. It looked afraid, as if it knew something far worse than itself was in its presence.

The entity possessing my body noticed the man I had saved. His face was frozen in terror, his body trembling as he watched the scene unfold before him.

"I told you to be careful, didn't I?" the entity said, addressing me. "You need to be careful, Ariane."

Hearing my own body say my name felt wrong—unnatural, like something that was never meant to happen.

The entity reached out its arm toward the man, and black mist slithered from its hand toward him. The mist coiled around his body, swallowing him whole—and then he collapsed.

'Did it kill him?' I thought, a cold dread creeping over me as I stared at what it had done.

"I didn't kill him!" the entity said, as if reading my mind. "I just made him pass out... and maybe a little bit of mind manipulation?" it added with a chilling, almost amused tone.

"Alright, no more witnesses, time to move" the entity said, standing up. I could tell my body was still trying to fix itself, but I could also feel the entity growing bored. 

"I just need to kill this monster, right?" Ariane's body asked her, its voice eerily casual—too casual.

I was too afraid to answer or even think of a response. Could it really move with that barely healed wound? I mean, there was a literal hole in my body just a few moments ago. 

"I'm not hearing a response, girl. I'll just do what I want for now," the entity said. It then grabbed my axe from the ground, admiring it for a moment before walking eerily toward the monster, which was desperately growling at it. 

I can feel the tension in the air building, the fear of that monster growling—I've always thought these monsters were mindless, but seeing it now? There was something disturbingly human about its fear, like it understood exactly what kind of horror was standing before it.

"Hey, you think you can wound my host and get away with it? Oh, you're gonna regret that," the entity said.

Suddenly, it was behind the monster, and the creature writhed in pain. This time, I could somewhat see the movement—I saw her swing as she passed through the monster.

The monster collapsed to the ground, its body convulsing as it struggled to stand up, writhing in agony. The entity walked toward it, slow and deliberate, before driving the blade of the axe into its head with a crunch.

"Tch. That was too fast—didn't even get a real fight," the entity sneered, frustration evident on its face.

Then, suddenly, its expression lit up as if it had just thought of a brilliant idea. "I know—I'll just kill every single one of them."

It was on the move before I could even react—it was on the hunt, out for blood. It moved too fast, with no semblance of caution at all.

The first monster it saw was dead before it could even react. Its head went flying as soon as it made contact with the entity. The body stood there for a moment, twitching, as if it hadn't yet realized it was dead.

The entity sighed, watching the lifeless corpse sway. "Oh, come on. You didn't even put up a fight. Pathetic." It nudged the body with its foot, grinning. "At least have the decency to realize you're dead before you drop."

The second one noticed the entity approaching, but it was powerless to stop it. The entity toyed with it—starting by slicing off one of its legs, then crushing its arms, before finally severing its head. The creature fell to the ground without much of a fight.

The entity tilted its head, sighing theatrically. "Really? That's it? I was hoping for at least a little entertainment." It kicked the severed head aside like discarded trash. "Come on, scream or beg or something—make it worth my time."

It began moving again. For some reason, the entity just knew where to find them. Was it attracted to them? Or perhaps to their essence?

The entity found another one. This one managed to take a swing at it, but the entity simply sidestepped the attack and buried the axe into its back. It was a quick and painless death.

"Tsk, at least try to make me work for it," the entity sneered as the monster crumpled to the ground.

The fourth one wasn't so lucky. The entity used the mist to bind it, stretching it out like a figure on a cross. Then, it began tearing it apart—limb from limb—like it was butchering it while keeping it alive.

The smile on its face was too terrifying—there was something perverse about it. I couldn't bring myself to look, especially since it was my face making that expression.

The entity chuckled, tilting its head as it gripped another limb."Oh, don't look at me like that—you started this. I'm just finishing it... piece by piece."

On the fifth one, the entity noticed that the axe was getting dull, so it dropped it and fought the monster with only its hands. It kicked the creature's legs, forcing it to kneel, then drove an elbow into its face before proceeding to punch its head until it exploded into a million pieces.

As the blood and bone fragments splattered around, the entity flicked its hand, shaking off the mess. "Aw, looks like you're the last one. Kinda disappointing—I was just getting warmed up."

I was speechless as I watched the entity do its thing. Back in the coliseum, seeing it fight without killing was already borderline otherworldly. But now, when it was allowed to kill, it was like witnessing a grotesque yet oddly refined art form—one created solely for destruction. It made me wonder what its true origin was.

"Hey! Stop spacing out and talk to me," the entity shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts. "It's done! No more monsters—well, except for the small ones, but you humans can take care of that, right?" It waved a dismissive hand, sounding almost bored. "I'll go now."

"Wait!" I blurted out, taking a step forward. "What are you? Who are you?" My voice wavered.

I had seen it take control of my body, wield my strength like it was second nature. I had watched it slaughter monsters like it was as simple as breathing. And yet, I still had no idea what it truly was.

The entity tilted its head slightly, as if considering my question. Then, ever so slowly, it smirked.

"You can call me Nyx. Bye!"

Before I could react, the world twisted and warped around me. A sickening, disorienting sensation took over, and just like that—I was back in my own body.