There was peace in the darkness around.

It held Mateo with the warmth of a sweet lover, all the while whispering to his ear to just let it all be, and let everything fade away. It was tempting. Like the sweet voice of a succubus.

But then there's this other thing–a voice, screaming at the back of his head. A raging will.

To survive.

And all the while, the darkness nags at him. Haven't you had enough?

* * *

"He's up!"

Mateo turned to sit, pushing against the floor with clumsy hands as a burning sensation burst out of his stomach. He lurched to his side, with hands on both ends, facing the floor to puke out black liquid. His eyes cried black tears, with the same black ooze running down his nose.

The liquid pooled into a puddle underneath. He struggled to breathe, gasping for air as his eyes, nose, and mouth ran and ran. It was as if eternity came and passed before the flowing liquid finally started to slow down. As soon as the last of it was out, he turned to sit again, taking in deep breaths as he let his head hang back.

He felt lightheaded, as if he just woke up from a night's out drinking. He stayed like that for a while, staring at the hole bored in the ceiling as his senses made a hot restart.

Through blurry vision, he could only make out a few things. The caved ceiling, the gray sky, the snow, and another thing sticking out, a giant thing piercing through the clouds that wasn't there before.

A colossal tower.

"What–what is that?"

"You okay bud?" Hans waved a hand in front of his face, blocking the view. "How many fingers?"

"I can't count if you wave them like that." Mateo shoved his hand away.

"I guess he's fine." Jan said.

After a couple more breaths, Mateo finally calmed down with the beating in his chest stilled. He turned his gaze, with Hans and Jan crouched next to him opposite each other. He was inside Hans' shop, as he was, before passing out.

"What happened back there?"

"You blacked out," Hans said. "Along with Jan."

"Jan too?"

"Yeah." He sighed before standing up, pointing to the sky. "After that came out."

Mateo trailed Hans' finger, from the point of his index to the hole in the ceiling then to the sky where the tower pierced the sea of clouds. It stood over everything, like a skyscraper a hundred times the height of the Eiffel Tower. It glowed white, with silver fine lines radiating at the edge of its silhouette like an aura.

Mateo could sense something emanating from the tower, weaving through the air around it like a bubble. "You know what it is?"

"Nope." Hans said.

"Then–" A sharp pain nicked the back of Mateo's head again. He flinched, shutting his eyes closed thinking he was about to black out like last time, but when the feeling didn't come, he opened his eyes back, but this time there was a white orb floating in front of him.

The orb then shimmered, letting out a magical hum before it then dashed, darting in the air in short zigzags while leaving a white trail behind. Once it finished, it left a text bubble floating midair.

Body reconstruction complete. You have gained three Elder Fractal slots.

—

Status

Name: Mateo De Leon

Race: Human

Rank: Unranked

Strength: G

Dexterity: G+

Constitution: G-

Mind: G-

Soul: G-

Fractals: None (0/3)

Magic: None (0/10)

Relics: Magic Node

"Any idea what this is too?" Mateo waved a hand in front of him, trying to grasp the letters. But as soon as his hand grazed past them, they turned to dust, dissipating into thin air like nothing.

He then turned to the orb, humming a magical tune beside him as it followed him around. "And what's this? A fairy?"

"I think so?" Jan said, closing her eyes before pausing. She then snapped her fingers, which summoned another orb to her side, an exact replica of the orb beside Mateo. "When I woke up, this little thing appeared in front of me. It showed me the same thing you saw."

"Wait, how did you do that?"

"Right." Jan said. "I woke up a lot earlier than you. A day earlier, actually. I tried–but failed–to find out what this orb was. All I got from it was how to make it disappear and reappear again."

She then snapped her fingers, with the orb vanishing back into thin air as if by magic.

"Hold on." Mateo shook his head, his mind now dizzy from all the gears churning with everything going on. After taking in a deep breath, he bit his lips. Grandma always said that whenever he's stuck on something, just stop, breath, and think things through one thing at a time.

"Let me get this straight," Mateo turned to Hans. "After the earthquake, that tower appeared, which made Jan and I both pass out."

Hans nodded.

"Then how long was I out?"

"Three days, bud. As Jan said, she woke up before you, also throwing up… whatever the hell that black liquid was."

Hans glanced to the pool on the ground, his face clear with disgust.

"Three days." Mateo mumbled before a sudden thought then took over.

"Ana!"

He stood up, pushing against the ground with frantic arms before rushing to the double doors in front of the shop. But there were no doors. There was only a barricade made of riveted panels and bars, barring every opening around the shop.

"Don't go!" Hans pulled him away from the barricade. "They're outside."

"What's–"

Bang. A thud against metal resounded in the cold air. It came from the other side of the barricade–outside the shop.

Bang. Bang. "Let me in!"

A voice. A person's voice. He was shouting, his voice rasp and heavy as if deprived of water. Mateo turned, crouched, then peeked through the gaps in the panels. Through the heavy snow, it was hard to make out who it was, but its silhouette was too human to be anything but a person.

"Hey, there's somebody outside." Mateo whispered to Hans. He didn't answer, only pressing his lips shut. Jan did the same. Mateo turned to peek again, the person outside still banging at the barricade. "What's… wrong with him?"

"Don't listen to it bud." Hans brought a finger to his lips. "And don't make any fuss. They're all around us."

"You're not making any sense. I have to get going, it's been three days since–"

"You don't get it, Mateo!" Hans snarled, keeping his voice down but his emotion clear in his tone. "That person out there? Believe it or not, that ain't a fucking human being. You just can't waltz your way out of there!"

An awkward silence filled the air. For a while, none of them dared to say anything, Mateo fearing it'll only worsen the situation.

"My bad." Hans sighed, covering his face with his ears beat red.

"It's fine." Mateo flashed a slight grin. "Sorry for not listening earlier. It's just… I need to know if my family's safe."

Hans nodded.

"I've tried going outside. Once." He stood up, raising his jeans to reveal a frozen foot, blue like permafrost with hoarfrost protruding from the skin. There was also something else underneath the layer of tissue, something squirming.

Worms.

"Hans tried to get us to a hospital." Jan placed a hand over his shoulder. "There was no signal for an ambulance, so he walked back home a couple blocks away to get his truck."

"Then the sun showed up. It hit me. The pain was unlike anything I've experienced before. I hurried to find cover, but by then my foot had already turned into this."

Hans then side-eyed to the person outside, still banging on the barricade like a kid throwing fits.

"Those dickheads came after." Hans brought up his tank top, showing off deep grazes and slashes all over his chest and torso. "I managed to shake them off in the trees, but I had to come running back with my tail between my legs. I could hardly outrun them, let alone fight back with the way my leg is. I'm not going to be eaten by some rip-off White Walkers from Game of Thrones."

The air whistled by. The banging from outside stopped. The three shared glances, with Mateo turning, crouching, then taking a peek through the eyehole again. There was a pair of dead blue eyes, staring right back at him just inches away from his face.

"Fuck." Mateo stumbled back, pushing against the ground on all fours. That thing wasn't a person. Not even close.

"You weren't kidding."