I could feel the virus surging through my veins, a searing sensation that dulled all my senses. My vision blurred and twisted into a grotesque shade of purple.


    "Aaargghhh!" A tortured scream erupted behind me. I whipped around to see the military man in the throes of transformation. "I... I can''t... that man... that man betrayed..." His voice gurgled, blood pouring from his mouth with each agonized word.


    His muscles strained grotesquely, bulging and turning a sickly gray.


    I was sumbing to the same fate. My eyes felt like they were about to explode, blood gushing from my mouth in a hot, viscous torrent. I vomited the bloodied liquid as I crumpled to my knees, my body wracked with the horrific changes.


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaarggghhh!" I screamed as the virus invaded my brain. I felt it tearing through my flesh, ripping it apart and recing it with a grotesque, demonic tissue. My veins darkened, pulsating a sickly shade of purple, while my hair shifted from the roots to the tips, bing a dark, unnatural shade of purple.


    I fought with everything I had to suppress it. I struggled to stop my thoughts from spiraling out of control. My head shook violently, my teeth clenched hard enough to hurt, and I did everything in my power to hold on to sanity. But it was futile.


    Through my distorted, purple-tinted vision, I watched as the military man''s grip faltered, and the locket he was holding fell from his trembling hand.


    "Ahhh…! Aaaah…! Raaaaagh!" His voice had twisted into a guttural, demonic snarl. His eyes, his voice, his entire body—everything had undergone a grotesque transformation. The sheer volume of the virus coursing through him must have been immense, elerating his change far beyond mine.


    He turned towards me, his eyes glowing with a menacing, blood-red light.


    "Raaagh!"


    He didn''t recognize me as one of the Demon Zombies yet, since my transformation was still in progress. With a primal roar, he charged at me. His massive fist, already formidable when he was human, was now grotesquely swollen. If that fist connected with my head, it would surely send it flying.


    But just before his colossal fist could smash into my face, he abruptly halted. The fist hovered inches away, its massive shadow threatening to engulf me. Then, with a jarring motion, he spun around, his gaze locked on the helicopter soaring above.


    "Grrr….!"


    He stepped back, gathering momentum, and thenunched himself forward. His leap was explosive, propelling him high into the air with terrifying grace. He covered the distance between the building and the helicopter in a single, monstrous bound, vanishing into the sky with ease.


    Before he could reach the helicopter, it retaliated with a barrage from a gatling gun. The relentless bullets pummeled him, but taking down a Demon Zombie with mere firearms was no easy feat. He pressed on, crashing into the helicopter with bone-shattering force. The impact was devastating, sending the helicopter into a fiery explosion that lit up the night sky.


    The wreckage plummeted to the ground, only to erupt once more in a blinding fireball.


    I watched the chaotic scene unfold, the mes painting the night with their violent glow. My vision, now tainted in a sickly purple haze, distorted the view into a twisted, surreal nightmare. I copsed onto my back, the relentless fire casting flickering shadows as Iy there.


    ***


    I had no idea who I was or what I had be. I only knew that I had been walking non-stop, with no sense of where I was headed. It felt like I had been alive for... I didn''t know anymore. Days and years had blurred together.


    Strangely enough, I never felt hungry. I didn''t get tired either. Sleep was unnecessary. I couldn''t speak, and I could only act on my instincts.


    Wherever I was, it was cold. Snow nketed everything around me.


    Suddenly, the silence was shattered by loud explosions. The sts echoed all around, and I felt the shockwaves ripple through the air toward me.


    I could hear nes roaring above—fighter jets, maybe? They might have beening to rescue survivors. But no, that couldn''t be right. The apocalypse had raged on for years. More likely, the remnants of humanity were still locked in a desperate struggle against the demons, trying to fend off the ongoing chaos.


    The explosions were growing louder and closer, each st shaking the ground and sending icy tremors through my body.


    A gnawing dread took hold. Was I destined to be obliterated without ever being noticed? I didn''t want that.


    My body seemed instinctively drawn to the explosive sounds,pelled to move towards them.


    But there was another force within me, a powerful drive urging me to escape. It was as if an invisible hand of self-preservation was pushing me away from the danger. I couldn''t fully grasp why I felt this way, but the intense urge to get away was undeniable and overwhelming.


    Instead of joining the other Demon Zombies and moving towards the explosions, I ran away from them. Even though my movements were sluggish and unsteady, I kept running.


    Behind me, explosions continued to erupt as fighter jets relentlessly bombed the area. I ran and ran, driven by a desperate need to escape, until I reached the edge of a cliff. Below me stretched an ocean of ice, so frigid that the water had frozen solid.


    I was left with only two choices: face the relentless bombing or take a deadly plunge into the icy abyss.


    I jumped off the cliff just as an explosion erupted behind me. It seemed I had made the decision to leap at thest possible moment before being engulfed by the st.


    My body plunged toward the frozen ocean below, and then, with a jarring impact, I crashed into the ice.


    ***


    Jessica''s POV


    I was a scientist, born in the 73rd year of the Ruination Calendar on the ind known as Hope. This ind was humanity''sst bastion, a sanctuary where the remnants of our species had managed to survive the relentless devastation.


    Hope was the final stronghold fighting back against the demons that had waged war on humanity 98 years ago. I dedicated my efforts to developing a cure for the virus unleashed by the ruination, striving to save what was left of our world from the horrors that gued it.


    It was now the 98th year of the Ruination Calendar. Had we stuck with the Gregorian Calendar, it would be the year 2110. The Gregorian Calendar ended in 2012, reced by the Ruination Calendar. Nearly a century had passed since the ruination, and with 98% of Earth ravaged, humanity had been forced to retreat to this isted ind.


    Once barren, the ind had be a beacon of hope. We rebuilt from the ashes, repopting until around 7,500 people called it home. Now, humanity was pushing the boundaries further, creating artificial inds using a specialized sand developed by our team of scientists, of which I was a part.


    With a staggering 1:10 ratio of men to women, harems had be the norm, making polygamy a standard practice in this era.


    Even with this widespread eptance, I remained single. The reason was simple: I couldn''t bear the thought of sharing my love with a man surrounded by a harem of other women. I clung to the monogamous ideals that my parents had taught me. Now, approaching thirty and still without a partner, my colleagues were relentless in their pressure for me to find someone.


    They warned that if I didn''t act soon, I might miss my chance at marriage entirely.


    It was a rule that women should marry before the age of 30. Younger women had higher fertility rates, leading to more children and boosting the chances of ensuring humanity''s future. Moreover, if a man died, the woman was still responsible for finding a new partner to continue producing offspring. This was crucial for maximizing human reproduction and keeping our species thriving.


    "That''s why you need to consider it now before it''s toote," urged my colleague, one of the persistent voices pressuring me into marriage. "You''re a stunning woman, and it would be a shame not to use that. Plus, you''re approaching thirty, right? It''s going to get harder to find a match as you get older."


    "I''m not interested in marrying a man who''s already juggling three other wives, Evan," I replied, my eyes scanning the devastated area where the yers—a group renowned for their Demon Zombie battles—had unleashed their bombsst week. Thendscape was a grim, bombed-out ruin, a stark contrast to how it had looked before the destruction.


    "We''re in the 22nd century now," Evan said, frustration edging his voice. "Why the hell are you still clinging to the idea of monogamy?"


    "Because that''s what my parents believed in. They stayed faithful to each other," I said, my gaze fixed on the screen. Suddenly, something emerged from the sea, drawing my attention. "What is that?"


    "Hmm? What''s what?" Evan asked, peering over at the monitor I was watching.


    The drone''s camera closed in on the strange figure rising from the water. As the image sharpened, it revealed a woman with vibrant purple hair.