PROLOGUE

April 10th 2025,

Saturday Morning,

Est: 10:30am.

"Everything’s the same. Day in, day out just noise. Nothing matters, really. No one even notices I’m here, so why should I care? I’m like a shadow. Not even that, because shadows move when the light hits. People just walk past me, like I don’t exist.

Why does it all feel so... hollow? Even when I try to care, it slips through my fingers, like sand. And them they don’t care either. Not about me, not about anything real. It's all fake smiles and empty words.

But maybe... maybe this is the moment something changes. Something big is coming. I can feel it, like a weight in my chest. Maybe this is how it all ends. Or maybe just maybe this is where it starts." A student from kyoto highschool, Elias Gray, his thoughts echoed, empty and distant.

Meanwhile a worldwide emergency alert transmitted to everyone;

"This is an emergency broadcast. A deadly virus has spread worldwide, infecting individuals and causing them to turn into violent, zombie like creatures. Authorities are urging all citizens to evacuate immediately and seek shelter in safe zones. Do not engage with the infected. Follow all evacuation instructions and stay alert. This is not a drill."

Elias Gray looks outside through the windows of their class which was 4 floor high and sees People running in all directions, some paralyzed by fear, others desperately trying to escape the looming threat. The country turned into a scene of utter panic. In the distance, screams echoes as infected individuals now mindless, zombie like creatures lurched toward the living, and the crowd scatters in terror.

Amid the madness, a few individuals pushes forward with clear intent: to flee. They are a part of the evacuation wave, determined to reach the safety zones as ordered by the authorities. They grabbed whatever belongings they could and rushed toward crowded, makeshift transportation routes. Traffic is gridlocked, and the air is thick with confusion. Those on foot moved as quickly as they could, some pulling children along, others helping the elderly, their faces etched with fear but driven by the need to survive.

But not everyone had the same focus. In the midst of the mayhem, opportunistic looters took advantage of the panic, breaking into stores, grabbing supplies, and shoving their way through the growing crowd. The fear of the unknown and the shortage of resources fueled this lawlessness, as desperate individuals turned to theft in hopes of securing food, water, and weapons for what was shaping up to be a long and uncertain survival.

The sense of security once taken for granted had shattered, and in its place is only the frantic rush to escape, the scramble for supplies, and the instinct to survive at all costs. Some tried to calm others, while others only cared about reaching the evacuation zones, knowing that time was running out.

As the city descended into chaos, it became clear: the world as they is coming to an end. Though Elias is witnessing this chaotic madness, his emotions about the situation is still uncertain. Everyone at the school started running and evacuating themselves in a split second the school is already empty But just then, something made Elias Gray turn. He didn’t know why, but his gaze caught on a figure at the far end of the hallway. She is standing alone, not running like the others, but instead staring out of a window, her back slightly turns to him.

Her name is Ava. Elias has seen her around school, but never like this never with such a stillness that seemed out of place in a world unraveling at the seams. She stands with a grace that contrast the frantic energy of the situation. Her long hair, dark as the storm clouds gathering outside, cascades over her shoulders, and her clothes simple, yet somehow perfect for the moment flutteres lightly as the wind from the open window catches them. Her eyes, however, are the most striking, wide and deep, full of emotion he couldn't place, as if she, too, was struggling to understand the world collapsing around her.

For a brief moment, everything else seems to blur into the background. Elias feels something stir inside him, a spark of warmth in the midst of the cold uncertainty that has consumed him just seconds before. His chest tightens, not from fear, but from something else something unexpected and powerful. It's like an anchor, tethering him to something human, something real, in a world that is suddenly anything but.

He shakes his head, realizing how ridiculous it seemed. People are fleeing for their lives, and here he is, standing in the hallway, feeling something for a girl he barely knows. But he couldn't help it. She has a quiet strength that makes him feel less lost, and in the midst of a crisis, he finds himself drawn to her, inexplicably.

For the first time since the alert had sounded, Elias finally makes up his mind. He didn’t know what would come next, or whether running is the right choice. But one thing was clear: he isn’t going to face it alone.

With a final, deep breath, he takes a step toward her, the world around him still in chaos, but somehow, in that moment, his world seems to make sense.