"The final stage of evolution is laziness. True laziness can only be achieved through pain and hard work," the female Grim Reaper declared, her hands resting firmly on the twins' shoulders. Her voice, both ominous and oddly soothing, wove through the dimly lit void surrounding them. "The world I'm about to send you to is riddled with danger at every turn. The only way you'll survive is by overcoming it all."
She stepped behind them, lifting her arms high, her joyous tone rising in fervor. "In that galaxy, there exists only one sun, one moon, and one planet in its entire system. Imagine the adventures you could have—perilous, yes, but adventure is promised nonetheless. The planet itself rivals Jupiter in size, and the humans who inhabit it were not altered differently by evolution. As a result, every single one of them bears black skin."
"I've heard of Jupiter before... from one of our mothers stories ," one of the twins murmured, eyes glimmering with curiosity.
The Grim Reaper suddenly lowered herself onto the ground, reclining against the seated twins. A moment of silence stretched before she spoke again. "Before I send you to this world, you must answer me one question." Her voice softened, almost wistful. "Why do you cling so desperately to life?"
The boy hesitated before answering. "I... I don't know."
"The darkness, brother," his sister reminded him, her voice barely above a whisper.
His eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Yes, I remember now. Mother... before nightfall, she would always light a candle—every single night. She knew our greatest fear was the darkness, and she wanted to protect us from it. We grew up knowing that when we die, we'd be doomed to eternal darkness. That's why we cling to life... because we're afraid."
The Grim Reaper exhaled deeply, as though satisfied with their answer. "It's time."
Above them, a swirling portal erupted into existence, its gravitational pull growing stronger.
As the twins felt themselves being drawn in, the Grim Reaper began to sing—a lullaby, her voice weaving through the air like a distant memory.
The boy's heart clenched. "Wait... wait! That's my mother's lullaby! Do you know where is she?".
The city of Blue Crock was in complete chaos. Fires raged in the distance, screams echoed through the crumbling streets, and the air reeked of death.
"Sister!"
"Yes, brother… I can't breathe."
The two, once conjoined in their past life, now found themselves in a different world as zombies. Yet, in this world, they were still twins, though no longer joined at the body.
They stood facing each other, bodies slouched unnaturally, their limbs stiff, their skin pallid and decayed.
"Sister, I can barely move my mouth to speak… but it seems our telepathic link has followed us here. That's why we can still communicate through our minds." The brother's voice echoed in her head, his words tinged with both wonder and unease.
Between them stood another zombie—one unlike the others. It did not stagger mindlessly like the infected masses around them. No, this one was different. Its eyes burned with hatred as it stared at them, as if it recognized something about them it despised.
Above the pandemonium, a massive blimp drifted through the smoke-filled sky, its engines humming. A giant screen flickered to life on its side, displaying a frantic news broadcast.
"ALERT! ALERT!"
A distressed reporter appeared on the screen, voice shaking as he delivered the grim announcement.
"A mysterious virus has been spreading rapidly, infecting individuals and turning them violent, displaying cannibalistic tendencies. All residents are instructed to head east to the designated safe haven immediately. Evacuate within the next two weeks. To prevent further spread, the following cities will be subjected to nuclear cleansing: Blue Crock, Radgam City, and Led City. If you are in these cities, leave now. You have exactly two weeks."
Before the message could finish, a thunderous roar cut through the air.
A helicopter, spiraling out of control, crashed directly into the blimp.
The explosion ripped through the sky, fire and debris raining down upon the already crumbling city.
The music played softly through the eyepad resting in the twin's ear, defying the carnage that painted the sky in fire.
Happy my mother day,
These men be thinking they dominant until I make my mother the queen of the world,
She held me down through the pain and the flame,
Now I'm stackin' this bread, drippin' in pearls...
The male twin's head turned slowly toward the explosion above, the wreckage of the blimp collapsing in a fiery arc across the city. His dead eyes blinked once—then froze.
A faint chime echoed in his mind.
ALERT!
A glowing notification appeared in front of him like a hologram burned into his vision:
> [SYSTEM INITIATED]
"Welcome, Contender. This is your new life—fragile, temporary, and teetering on extinction."
"You are not alone. There are fifty zombie contenders who, like you, were transferred into this world. A brutal competition begins now."
"Every two months, the five contenders at the bottom of the leaderboard will be executed by Death, one of the Seven Horrors. To survive, you must rise."
"Convert humans. Grow your horde. The more zombies under your control, the further you stay from elimination."
"Only three contenders will remain in the end. The rest will fall."
"To ensure fairness, leveling is available. Your current rank is: Zombie. Below is the progression tree and their abilities."
ZOMBIE RANK SYSTEM
(From Base to Ascended)
1. Zombie
Abilities: None. You are a mindless shell with faint memories.
Weaknesses: Vulnerable to fire, holy relics, sunlight slows movement.
2. Zombie Novice
Abilities: Control up to 2 basic zombies.
Gain: Slight speed increase, partial resistance to pain.
Requirement to Advance: Convert 10 humans.
3. Ghoul Initiate
Abilities: Control up to 5 zombies, including one mutated (stronger, faster).
Gain: Enhanced bite strength, night vision.
New Skill: Ferocious Roar – momentarily stuns nearby humans.
Requirement to Advance: Dominate a human shelter.
4. Ghoul Commander
Abilities: Control up to 15 zombies, command one elite (more intelligent zombie).
Gain: Increased tactical awareness.
New Skill: Pack Coordination – temporarily boosts all zombie movement and aggression.
5. Rotting Lord
Abilities: Control up to 50 zombies, immune to decay.
New Skill: Corpse Bloom – summon fresh undead from nearby corpses.
Aura: Spreads disease in a 10-meter radius.
6. Death Warden
Abilities: Control up to 150 zombies. Immune to all non-magical damage.
New Skill: Viral Plague – infects entire buildings.
Gain: Begins to emit death aura, able to reanimate fallen enemies.
7. Lich
Abilities: Control up to 300 zombies, create permanent undead generals.
New Skill: Soul Anchor – bind your soul to an object, preventing true death unless it's destroyed.
Gain: Mastery of necrotic magic, partial skeletal transformation.
Aura: Mind manipulation over weaker humans and zombies.
8. Phantom Lich (Hidden Evolution)
Abilities: Control unlimited undead, phase between realities.
New Skill: Night March – teleport entire undead legions across great distances.
Requirement to Unlock: Kill a Seven Horror or consume the soul of a rival Lich.
"Here is the list and current rankings:"
1.God
2.amjusthereforfun
3.Zidok
A cruel laugh echoed as the system's voice dripped with mockery.
"Hahaha! Did your weak ass actually think you'd land in the top three? What a joke."
It continued without mercy.
"Not only were you the last one to be transferred into this world, but you also spawned in the weakest continent — the one filled entirely with humans."
Then the system's voice dipped, twisted with a smirk of contempt.
"Oh, and if you were a racist in your previous life — not that I care which pathetic world you're from — I've got some bad news for you: everyone in this world is Black."
The young man narrowed his undead eyes.
You have quite the personality, he thought.
"Who are you talking to, brother?" his sister asked through their telepathic link.
"Wait... you can't see this notification sister?"
"No ."
"Why did you call that zombie 'sister'? And... why does it appear to have consciousness?"
A pause.
"Stranger still, she's not even registered on my list of contenders. Something's definitely off..."
Another pause.
"Do I report it? Mmm... Nah. I hate those arrogant higher-ups anyway."
Then, with venom:
"Anyway — you've got two hours to consume a human brain, or you die. That's it. Game over. Bye, you weak fuck. I'd be shocked if you make it out alive."
The message blinked out, leaving a heavy silence behind.
"No... I can't die. Not after everything we've been through," the boy whispered, his voice trembling as desperation began to take hold.
"Sister, we have to eat a human brain — before the two hours are up."
As if summoned by fate, a battered vehicle screeched through the street, careening wildly through hordes of zombies. A wild-eyed young man leaned out the window, screaming:
"I LOVE THE APOCALYPSE!"
From another direction, a family darted through the chaos. Zombies were slow — but fear was faster. Then, tragedy struck: a little girl in a pink dress stumbled and fell right in front of the twins.
"Mooommyyy!" she wailed, reaching out as her mother turned back instinctively.
The father grabbed her arm, eyes wide with terror.
"Leave her! We can always have another child — just run!"
Torn, the mother hesitated... but obeyed. They disappeared into the dark, leaving their daughter behind.
The little girl sobbed, curled on the ground, trembling.
The boy twin stepped forward, slow and heavy, each motion burdened by pain and necessity. He crouched, staring into her terrified eyes.
"I'm sorry, little girl... but I don't want to die."
"I… I couldn't do it. I just couldn't bring myself to eat this girl's brain," he thought to himself, his voice a gravelly rasp as he cradled the little against his chest. He ducked into an abandoned barbershop, its shattered windows veiled by cobwebs. His twin sister shuffled beside him, her movements eerily fluid, while behind them trailed a hulking, ashen-skinned zombie whose sunken eyes burned with silent hatred.
Inside, the boy laid the girl gently on a cracked leather chair, its faded red upholstery peeling like old scars. The twins froze as their reflections wavered in the grimy floor-to-ceiling mirror. The boy stood at an average height for a teenager—around 5'8"—with locs the color of burnt caramel spilling over his brow, partially obscuring milky-white eyes. His sister mirrored his sharp cheekbones and full lips, but her own eyes were voids of obsidian, swallowing the dim light. Both wore baggy, streetwear-inspired clothes: his a faded hoodie and cargo pants splattered with dried mud, hers a cropped denim jacket layered over a torn graphic tee. Their skin, a warm mahogany hue, bore the ashy pallor of the undead.
"She looks like Mother," the sister said, tilting her head. Her voice, though similarly rough, carried a softer cadence.
The girl stirred, her eyelids fluttering open. "Hi! I'm Melina," she chirped, swinging her legs. "What's your names?"
The twins' jaws twitched, but only guttural growls escaped. Melina giggled. "Oh! You can't talk? That's okay—I'll name you!" She pointed at the boy. "You're… Lion!" Her finger shifted to the sister. "And you're Lona!" She wrinkled her nose at Ron, who lurked in the shadows. "And grumpy over there is… Ron!"
Outside, rain began to drum against the pavement, its rhythm steady and hypnotic. Lion limped to the fractured storefront window, Lona trailing close. Rivulets streaked the glass, blurring the ruins beyond.
"Sister… the rain," Lion rasped, tilting his face as if to catch droplets through the pane.
"Yes," Lona murmured. "It's… soothing. We've always loved the rain."
For a moment, the siblings stood silent, their warped reflections rippling in the glass.
"Sister."
"Yes, brother?"
"That lullaby the soul reaper hummed… it was Mother's. The one she sang ." His clawed hand flexed. "That *thing* knows where she is."
Lona's black eyes narrowed. "Then we survive. We grow stronger. This second life… it's a thread we can't waste."
"What a joke—alive yet dead. Does this even count as living?"
"Does it matter?" Lona's gaze hardened. "We find Mother "Besides… you've always wanted an adventure."
In the corner, Ron watched, his rotting fingers curling into fists. His time-traveling mind—still human, still furious—screamed a question his zombified lips couldn't form: "Why cant i kill them?"