A Universe of Bloody Evolution

"Broken families. Dead loved ones. No light at the end of the tunnel… All of those things are just synonyms for the Outbreak. Survivors always want to hold onto the hope that everyone they care about is alive and well. Still, deep down, everyone knows it's impossible. Some are lucky to have their whole family survive, while others fall into despair when the truth finally settles in their hearts. After all, loss is inevitable. This is the truth, the only constant truth about the Void."

~ Lone Traveler, 32nd Outbreak

---

Maybe another ten seconds passed. The screeches of the Voidlings became a whisper, barely carried that far by the wind, while the growls of the Runner sent chills through Leo's spine.

A quick peek over his shoulder confirmed that Leo's burst of speed didn't do much apart from draining even more energy from him and leaving the horde in the dust. The Runner was still faster, easily matching and pushing past Leo's speed. As its name suggested, the monster was made for this situation.

Leo had already accepted that, using the fast few seconds of pursuit to find anything to make this fight quick and painless. There was only one such thing in Leo's arsenal. Reinforcement was a skill that had previously refused to form, but now, with even more points in Mind, it just might work.

Please.

With only a tiny part of Leo's consciousness focused on running, he again touched his small Essence reserves. The response was much more welcoming than in the past. The energy didn't try to escape Leo's grasp and instead only poked his phantom hand as if checking if it was safe to follow.

Thanks to this newfound control, Leo grabbed his Essence and mimicked what he felt during his fight against Edward's husk.

At a snail's pace, Essence followed Leo's command, spreading through his body and entering every possible muscle, bone, or organ it could find. On the outside, his body lit up like a Christmas tree, power spreading through his veins.

And then, just when the Reinforcement almost settled down, the glow disappeared. The Essence escaped Leo's grasp as he tumbled to the ground, the Runner flying above him.

Shit. Almost. Leo groaned as he pushed himself off the ground and instantly had to block an incoming swipe of sharp fingernails. The monster didn't even waste a second after its initial attack and jumped forward, saliva flying from its lipless mouth.

Metal and inhuman nails met in a struggle without a winner. Leo tried to push the monster away, but the Runner held firm, never giving up. Evenly matched in strength. Noted.

They kept pushing, both attached to the shovel's shaft, neither wanting to give the other any ground at the beginning of this battle. Although Leo mostly did that to try and activate Reinforcement once again. Currently, he didn't have to concentrate too much on fighting.

The Voidling growled, as if sensing a trap, and released the shovel. Leo cursed, almost barreling forward as he used his weapon to stay upright and jerk away from a clawed foot that flew towards his exposed side.

Okay, so you're smarter than your friends and know how to throw a kick. Just great.

The Runner never stopped its offensive and attacked with everything it had. Hands. Clawed feet. Hell, the Voidling even tried to bite Leo's hand when it got particularly close.

After every attack, Leo tried to throw a counter or gain some advantage, but the monster just wouldn't let him. Even the silvery glow that erupted on the monster's torso when Leo drew his first blood couldn't give him an advantage in this battle.

The creature's strength might have been at Leo's level, but even with all the points he had in Grace, the Voidling was still a bit faster. Always recovering a second quicker. Always jumping away when Leo's shovel got a bit too close for its comfort.

And so Leo blocked or dodged, watching as with every strike, the metal on the shovel's shaft was chipped away, piece by piece. The tool served Leo well, but he knew it couldn't endure much more abuse.

Then another kick came, and even though Leo could dodge it, he blocked, the shovel snapping in half. The Runner snarled, trying to follow with another swipe. Leo quickly reacted and threw the shovel's handle at the monster's face.

Sweat running down his brow, Leo smirked as he heard the monster hiss and jump away just in time to avoid the projectile. With the sliver of time bought, Leo pushed the remaining part of the shovel into the ground and dug out a handful of wheat connected to a block of dirt.

The Runner howled and jumped at Leo. Perfect, he grinned wider and threw the shovel with all its contents at the monster. The block spread in the air, creating a broad wave of dirt and wheat that flew straight at the Voidling.

Take that.

The monster indeed took it straight in the face. The Runner howled, crying tears of blood as it began to claw at the eyes that consumed a handful of dirt. Not as bright as I thought. Leo smirked as the broken dagger slipped into his fingers.

The Voidling didn't try to dodge or attack as Leo neared. It just continued to thrash around in the same place, almost collapsing to the ground. Leo took the first opening in minutes without question, ready to end the fight.

His claws sank into the monster's neck while the dagger entered its brain through the back of its skull. The Voidling stilled, and Leo yanked his hands back, the dead body dropping to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Cursed Runner (LVL: 3) slain | Experience awarded | 2 Ether gained

The doubled amount of Ether just confirms that this isn't your normal Voidling. Good to know for the future. Leo scowled as he sat down on a bed of cut wheat a few feet away from the body. His back burned with renewed intensity, and his breathing had become labored halfway through the run. Given that the horde was nowhere in sight, some downtime couldn't hurt.

Leo threw his backpack to the side and removed his blood-drenched shirt. Even with the wounds on Leo's back, the piece of clothing didn't have any spot that wasn't wet, be it from blood or sweat.

"I really have enough of this shit," Leo mumbled, the shirt sailing through the air as he took a brief look over his shoulder.

The bandage covering the upper half of his body didn't have any white surface left. For a moment, Leo considered changing it for a new one, only to instantly discard the idea, knowing that it was just a waste.

Taking a few calming breaths, Leo slowly laid down, the remains of wheat softening the ground just enough to stop his back from aching even more. He needed a moment to slow down after the fight and his adventure on the road.

"Everything was going so well, until…." Leo sighed, the image of the dead girl curled in the trunk again coming to the forefront of his mind. Probably even a worse way to die than being killed by Voidlings.

The girl most likely hid there as soon as she awoke after the Outbreak. Or maybe she had been there even before that. Leo didn't know which option was worse.

Don't think about it. Nothing good will come out of that.

Leo nodded. He really had to get used to sights like this one or suffer the consequences, both mental and physical. After all, he almost died today because he couldn't handle seeing a dead child.

As I shouldn't. Nobody should.

Leo shook his head. So many things to adapt to if he even wanted a tiny chance at survival. Killing, blood, fighting, death, and so much more. With every minute, Leo felt less and less lucky to survive the Outbreak. And it was just the beginning.

Whatever. Leo thought, trying to force his—

"Fuck!" Leo hissed as pain spread from his right forearm.

Acting on instinct, Leo's claws stabbed the ground next to his arm, a high-pitched shriek following soon after. A notification flashed into existence in front of Leo, and his eyes widened, seeking to understand what the hell he had just killed.

Scavenger (LVL: 1) slain | Experience awarded | No Ether gained

A mouse, or rather a monster that resembled an oversized mouse, hung from Leo's claws. It had almost no fur, only smooth gray skin without cracks or glowing parts. The remaining fur looked like it was replaced by a hedgehog's spines, thin and sharp. The rest of the Scavenger's body wasn't much different from a mouse, though Leo could bet that its teeth were sharper than they should be.

"Bloody rodent," Leo grumbled, glancing at the small chunk of skin missing from his forearm. "Another one to the collection."

Switching his glare to the new Voidling, Leo consumed its Essence in seconds, not even batting an eye when the timer only added a few minutes. No reason to be even more annoyed than he already was.

Leo shuffled over to the Runner's corpse and muttered, "I guess that's a clue that I should move if even something so weak felt it could eat me."

Like always, Leo's claws entered the dead body, transferring the Essence he needed to survive. Unlike with any other corpse, Leo stood there for more than a minute as he watched the body collapse into dust. Leo's brow furrowed when the last portions of its chest collapsed, a gentle glow emanating from within the dust.

Again? But the body didn't give out any light after death.

Leo reached into the pile of dust and removed a familiar ruby crystal. Even if the shape was a bit different, Identify told him that just like the crystal in his pocket, this one was also an Unattuned Crystalized Essence.

I guess common is common. Leo shrugged, putting the crystal in another pocket. If it continued, he would soon need a better method of carrying his things.

Sighing, Leo reached for his bag and quickly looked around to find the correct path and check if anything was trying to follow him.

Only seas of cut wheat surrounded him, and from what Leo noticed, he still had a few hours of sunlight left to find another shelter.

Just please, no more surprises today.

---

There were no new surprises for another ten or so minutes. At least there wasn't if Leo didn't count the appearance of a Voidling that probably evolved from a deer. It was too far to Identify, and the thing ran away as soon as it noticed Leo. Still, he at least managed to get a look at its antlers, which had evolved into a lovely tree of very sharp bony blades.

After that short encounter, nothing spectacular happened as Leo trekked up a slight slope. Sometimes an occasional squeak traveled through the wheat, but Leo never even caught a glimpse of another Scavenger.

But now, as Leo finally reached the end of the slope and looked at the remaining farmlands, he had to rub his eyes just to ensure his vision was working correctly.

It is just one thing after another. Leo sighed, scanning the large structure, maybe a hundred meters away.

To put it simply, it was a square gate made out of black material that Leo had never seen before. Leo could take a truck and drive through the gate with plenty of space left as it had no doors. Hell, even the wheat and ground around the structure weren't spared. Instead, they were turned into the same black material, creating a perfect circular platform with the gate in the center.

Just check what it is, and then get the hell away from here. Leo nodded and covered himself in stealth. Feeling the imperfections in the skill, Leo vowed to work on them after he investigated the gate.

He walked for another few minutes, only to stop a few steps away from the gate's platform. Now closer than ever, Leo could tell that the material wasn't purely black.

Hundreds of dark violet lines had formed throughout the platform and the gate, pulsing with an almost unnoticeable glow. The lines crossed over each other in several places, resulting in images that were tough to comprehend.

"What the hell are you?" Leo muttered and used the one ability that could give him an answer.

Planetary Gateway of the Void:
Or simply called a Void Gate by the population of the Void and the survivors. Planetary Gateways are used to travel between the planets of the same Universe. In contrast, Dimensional Gateways can be used to journey into one of the almost infinite dimensions inside the Void.
During every Outbreak, thousands of Gateways grow on every planet. Made out of living material from the Void, it cannot be destroyed by anything weaker than an A-ranked User. Upon destruction, a Gateway will attempt to grow back in another place.
Current Status:
This Gateway is still charging and won't activate for another: 27 days, 12 hours, and 37 minutes.

Leo just stood there frozen as he read the description again and again. With every reading, more and more questions appeared inside his mind.

The population of the Void? We are talking about Voidlings, right? And you can travel to the Void? What the fuck is going on!? Leo screamed internally, his heart rate picking up.

The clone always talked about the entire Universe, not only Leo's planet. And now, the final proof of the clone's words stood right in front of him.

No, no, no. That's not even that important, you knew that already. Focus Leo! Those things can bring even more Voidlings here. Fuck, what if they transport things that are worse than Voidlings?!

Leo took a few deep breaths as the last thought repeated in his mind. No matter how outrageous it sounded, he had to calm down and try to accept the information for what it was.

Another motivation and a warning. Voidlings might be dangerous, but now, Leo would also need to fight against time.

I have to go.