Clenching his bleeding fist, Min-ho made his way onto the broken cobblestone-like streets, where the rays of the evening sun flooded his eyes.
Above him, shadows fell on the streets, cast by the Spectors flying overhead.
There were a multitude of them, each flying off, ignoring Min-ho and Savior.
As he watched the Spectors, Min-ho wished he could say that he didn't know why they were ignoring him and Savior, but he knew all too well.
The Fog was coming.
Ignoring these thoughts, Min-ho pushed forward, fighting back the pain eating away at him while trying to keep up with Savior.
He held off on buying anything—it would cost attention he couldn't spare—but he kept the screen open just in case.
They made their way across the broken down streets, past several ruined buildings, strange architecture and bridges. All the while, they kept an eye out for threats.
Luckily for them, there was none. Every living inhuman danger to them had run away, hiding in one building or the other, seeking refuge from the Fog.
Looking into the distance, Min-ho could finally see it. A mighty cloud that ate through the city, covering building after building in a matter of seconds. The Fog converging around the city was like a snow-globe placed in the middle of the sea, in which its dome had shattered, and the sea was given free reign to destroy everything in its path.
Out of the corner of his eye, Min-ho could see several others. Z-Streamers racing for a Safe Zone. Their Z-Eyes floating behind them, indifferent to the fear permeating the environment.
The number of Z-Streamers grew by the second, each of them coming out of every corner like rats.
Focusing on the terrain ahead, Min-ho finally saw the Safe Zone. It didn't look like the other ruined buildings.
This one resembled a temple of sorts. It was enormous with multiple windows and towers outcropping from the sides of the building.
What was even stranger was the fact that the entire building was built upon an elevated platform that looked like a pedestal. Except like everything else here, said massive pedestal was in shambles. The stairway that once lead to the entrance of the temple was now gone.
What was left was an archaic pile of large stones which needed traversal to get to the entrance.
And with the Fog closing in on them, this pile of stones could mean the difference between life and death.
Turning his sights to the top of the building, Min-ho's heart pulsated when he saw a number at the top of the building. This number was what indicated this building was a Safe Zone, yet Min-ho couldn't help but dread it, because what he saw, was the number 2.
'There's only enough room for two more.' Min-ho thought, then he turned his sights to the Z-Streamers all around him.
There were more than two dozen, and counting.
Once this realization struck, Min-ho could feel his heart beat into his ears.
Of course he knew all of it, he knew what entering the Tower would entail and he knew what he needed to do to survive... but suddenly, it all felt too real.
As Min-ho found his conviction wavering, a sudden flash pulsated in his mind.
A small child on a sick bed, Min-ho's little sister In-hae. The sole reason Min-ho was doing all of this. Upon seeing the image of his sister cry out from pain, Min-ho jolted awake, and almost at once, his heart turned to stone.
Increasing his speed, Min-ho caught up to Savior, who also had her gaze dead set on the incoming Z-Streamers.
Out of the corner of Min-ho's right eye, he could see a projectile zooming toward them. Acting quick on his feet, leaped toward Savior, gripping her tight as they crashed into the ground.
Absorbing the brunt of the fall, Min-ho gritted his teeth as the pain coursing throughout his body intensified.
But just then, he saw a dagger flash across the sky, directly overhead them.
Not wasting any time, Savior freed herself from Min-ho's grasp and helped him onto his feet before continuing their dash.
Min-ho did not care for gratitude as he was too focused on the task at hand.
They were the closest to the Safe Zone, the Fog was closing in on all sides and so were the Z-Streamers.
Behind them, Min-ho could hear struggles. The Z-Streamers had begun fighting themselves.
Looking over his shoulder, Min-ho's eyes widened when he saw several Streamers beating one Streamer into the ground.
They slammed his head with a rock, bursting it open so his brain matter fell to the ground in a pile.
Min-ho's stomach lurched, but he kept going. He pinned his gaze to the path ahead and on the Z-Streamers behind him.
Reaching the Safe Zone, Min-ho wished the worst was over. But the climb had only begun.
Leaping onto the first stone like it was nothing, Savior was the first to begin the ascent.
She leaped from one stone to the other like a gymnast, barely pausing from time to time to let Min-ho catch up.
He on the other hand climbed as fast as he could, but he was no gymnast.
Up close, the climb was much steeper than it looked.
Ten meters still stood between them and the entrance, not to mention the Fog was closing in.
Screams erupted behind Min-ho. Though every fiber of his body told him not to look back, he still did.
Behind him, Min-ho could see several Z-Streamers getting outpaced by the Fog. Once they fell in, blood and entrails exploded forth like rain, so fast the scream that came after fell like an echo.
Several Z-Streamers failed to outrun the Fog, some tripped, others were thrown to it, but it never once slowed its pace.
As Min-ho watched, the hair on his body rose, a shiver went up his spine and a cold sweat ran down his back. He immediately froze up, as he watched in terror as Z-Streamer after Z-Streamer turned to nothing but a pile of guts and echoes of screams.
"Min-ho." Savior's voice resounded, pulling Min-ho from his daze.
Looking up, he could see Savior, her hand outstretched.
"Let's go," she said, her voice and the look on her face, almost... remorseful.
Hesitating a bit, Min-ho steeled his nerves and pushed all his fear away. He grabbed her hand and eased into her pull.
They continued the ascent, while the Fog continued encroaching.
Other Z-Streamers made it to the tower, each of them beginning their ascent.
Some slower than others, some... much faster.
Though Min-ho and Savior had done a good job making it more than halfway up, a couple of Z-Streamers had reached the same distance in half the time.
Looking back, the Fog was getting that much closer. By his estimation, Min-ho guessed it was now just five meters away from them. His heart pulsated, but he did not let it get to him.
Returning his sights to the path ahead, Min-ho froze for a moment when he saw two Z-Streamers attacking Savior.
Her along with the others had made it to an outcropping long slab of stone that was wide enough for them to stand on.
The two Z-Streamers were attacking Savior with daggers, each swing came so close, Min-ho swore she'd lose her head.
Not waiting to see how it would all play out, Min-ho made it to the slab of stone.
Just as he was about to pull himself onto the slab, a dagger came down upon him.
In an attempt to dodge the attack, Min-ho lost his grip on the slab. Yet as he was about to descend, he grabbed onto his assailant's arm.
"Ahh!" his assailant screamed as he tumbled off the slab, only catching himself in the last minute.
Hanging on for his life, Min-ho gripped the man's hand, which still held a dagger.
"Let go you idiot!" the man screamed, trying his best to keep his grip on the slab.
Looking up, Min-ho saw the man's grip slipping. He turned to the wall and lunged for a crevice—he had to grab it before the man lost his grip.
Though he tried to reach, it was an inch beyond his reach. Yet he tried still.
Letting go of his assailant, he lunged toward the crevice in a gambit to grab it or fall.
Reaching into the crevice, Min-ho latched onto it with both hands.
As he did so, he bit his lip, so hard that he could feel himself breaking the skin.
The edges of the crevice were as sharp as a semi dull blade. Once Min-ho grabbed it, he could feel his skin tearing open. Yet he couldn't let go.
Just then, he felt a massive tug on his leg, which I turned caused the sharp crevices to bite deeper into his fingers.
"Ahhh!" Min-ho screamed, before looking down.
His assailant was now holding onto his leg. Dagger completely gone. As he clung to Min-ho's feet, a vivid expression of fear was written all over his face.
Apparently, he had no problem taking peoples lives, up until it came to his own.
Feeling the crevice bite deeper and deeper into his skin, Min-ho knew that if he kept this weight any longer, he would lose his fingers. And then fall to his doom.
Without much hesitation, Min-ho looked down, then... he pulled his right leg up and slammed it down.
"Hey... what the fuck?!" the man screamed as Min-ho's foot slammed into his face.
Min-ho did not stop, he pulled his feet up and slammed it into the man's face yet again, causing him to loose his grip and fall lower. Yet he still held onto Min-ho's shoes.
"You want to fucking get rid of me?!" the man screamed, then, he held onto Min-ho with one hand and outstretched his left hand. In that same hand, a dagger manifested from smoke.
"I'll fucking take you with me!" the man screamed and pulled back his arm. Yet before he could attack Min-ho, a foot came down onto his face, and he fell.
He didn't look back, he just felt a flicker of relief as the weight vanished.
The crevice no longer deepened the cuts, but it still tore at him.
Now, blood was dripping down Min-ho's hands in spades.
Like a cynical machine, his Z-Eye zoomed in on his bleeding hand.
Biting deeper into his lip, Min-ho began to reach for a small outcropping piece of stone.
Once he grabbed it, he at once let go of the crevice.
He didn't let the relief slow him down and began to ascend toward the slab.
Savior was still locked in combat—he needed to help her.
Once he had gotten onto the slab, Min-ho could see the assailant above her, dagger in hand.
He was trying to impale her, but she held onto the blade, holding it back from her throat.
Quickly turning his sights to his surroundings, Min-ho found a piece of rock. Once again, he did not hesitate.
He snatched the rock with his bloodied hand and rushed toward Savior's assailant.
He slammed the rock into the assailant's head, making him jerk to the side.
Capitalizing on Min-ho's efforts, Savior bolted upright. She wrenched man's dagger free and rammed it into his throat.
Min-ho watched with wide eyes as she pulled the dagger back and impaled him once more.
The man barely struggled before going still. Then he froze in place, now a corpse.