The Road to the Unknown The Weight of Survival

The world outside the city was an abyss waiting to devour us.

The decision to leave had not been an easy one. The fortified city, with all its corruption and hidden horrors, at least offered shelter. But shelter built on sacrifices and false security was nothing more than a beautifully decorated coffin.

I couldn't stay in a coffin.

We needed to find the Divine Crystals. The first one I held in my hands pulsed like a beating heart, resonating faintly, whispering of others like it. But the deeper I let its power seep into me, the more I felt a side effect.

It drew monsters to me.

They could feel it—sense the raw energy, like blood in the water. The crystal called to them, and they answered with hunger and rage.

Which meant we had to be ready.

Before leaving, we scavenged everything useful from the city. Zhao Yue and I raided the governor's storage, looting food, purified water, medical supplies, and whatever ammunition we could find. Yusheng and Jiang Chen went through the armory, picking out the best weapons. Lin Hua and Mei focused on practical survival gear—tents, extra clothes, maps, and fire-starting tools. Chen Rui handled rations and set up alternative routes, in case we needed an escape plan.

But the most surprising help came from Ning.

A quiet girl, reserved and almost forgettable—until now.

She had been part of the resistance, moving in the shadows, gathering information. She wasn't a fighter like us, but she was resourceful. Smart. Ruthless when needed.

"I know the safe routes," she said, pulling out a crumpled map. "There's a way out through the collapsed tunnels underground. The city leaders don't use them. Too unstable, too dangerous. But for us, it's a risk worth taking."

She was right. Leaving through the front gates was suicide.

With everything packed, we moved quickly.

Through the Underground

The tunnels reeked of damp rot and death. Rats scurried along the edges of the crumbling walls, their glowing eyes watching us like ghosts of a world long gone.

We moved silently, weapons drawn. My grip tightened around Shusui, and the Divine Crystal hummed in my inventory, pulsing like an unrelenting beacon.

Then we heard them.

A low, chittering sound. Claws scraping against stone.

"Ghouls," Zhao Yue whispered, voice tense.

I felt their presence before I saw them. The crystal had called them here.

Then they emerged. Twisted humanoid forms with elongated limbs, bodies stitched together from hunger and darkness.

They lunged.

I met them with steel. My blade cut clean through the first ghoul's neck, black blood spraying against the tunnel walls. Yusheng swung his war axe, caving in a skull. Zhao Yue moved beside me, her daggers flashing.

Then she hesitated.

I saw it. A brief flicker in her eyes—uncertainty. Fear.

"Zhao! Move!"

A ghoul leapt at her, jaws unhinged.

Then something snapped inside her.

A spark of light burst from her fingertips.

Not just light—power. A thin beam shot forward, piercing straight through the ghoul's skull. It collapsed instantly, twitching before going still.

Zhao stared at her hand, breathing heavily.

"Your ability…" I murmured.

She swallowed hard. "It awakened before, but I—I held back. It felt like I was losing myself."

I stepped closer. "But you just controlled it."

She looked at her trembling fingers. Then she exhaled, steadying herself. "Yeah."

She turned, raising her hand again. The next shot was deliberate. Controlled. Deadly.

She had found her strength.

The last ghoul screeched and fell, its head bursting like overripe fruit.

We reached the tunnel's exit by dawn. The ruins of the old world stretched before us—broken highways, shattered buildings, remnants of a civilization that once stood tall.

"We're really doing this," Jiang Chen muttered. "Leaving everything behind."

"No." I shook my head. "We're moving forward."

I pulled out the Divine Crystal, feeling its resonance. A direction. A path.

But along that path would be blood, monsters, and revenge.

And I welcomed it.