Johnquis jerked awake. He gasped and looked up, panting. The blood pool was still. The hallucination gone.
A boy in his mid-twenties, another Eater Blade, stood naked on the other side of the pool.
"You good? You've been in there too long."
Johnquis blinked, breath ragged, hands shaking.
"I… I'm fine."
"You need to strengthen your mind before dipping. Hallucinations happen. This damn eater stone messes with us, takes control. I'm not letting you be an anomaly while I'm bathing. Sheesh!"
"Uhm, sorry. I've just been too tired. A lot's happened lately."
"We all have, let me guess. Unranked? Just got your first skill?"
Johnquis nodded.
"Figured! Listen, using skills burn blood. You use too many, you bleed out without realizing. And drinking it?"
He motioned to the thick red surface.
"It keeps you alive, but it also makes you crave more."
Johnquis looked down at his reflection.
"Being an Eater Blade means giving up your humanity. No food. No real sleep. We don't age the same. Sometimes I wonder if I'm still human at all."
"You're not. Not fully. None of us are. But we're still here. That counts for something."
"Thanks… for snapping me out of it."
"Nah. We Eater Blades gotta watch each other's backs. No one else will."
Johnquis smiled faintly.
"Yeah. You're right."
"I'm Rex, by the way."
The name made Johnquis pause for a second.
"Rex… That name… reminds me of someone."
He answered.
"Johnquis."
"Nice to meet ya. Didn't expect anyone here today. This Bloodpost's usually empty. You can count on one hand how many are left in this south zone. It's where everyone starts, but not many last."
"Yeah… Nice to meet you too, Rex."
"Glad you're still breathing. Most unranked don't last in this dying world. Just unlocked your first skill, huh? That's the turning point. They say that's when you finally become a real Eater Blade."
Johnquis looked at his Eater Stone and said,
"That's why I pushed so hard to get mine… I just hope it was worth everything I lost."
"Skill makes the grind faster. Trust me, it's worth the pain. Still, It's boring as hell here, just fighting Level 1s and rarely a Level 2."
He ran a hand through his hair. Johnquis glanced at the eater stone on the back of his right hand... Steel rank.
"Whoa, you're Steel rank? Then why are you still here? This zone's just for Unranked and Bronze. Once you hit Steel, you're supposed to move on."
"Yeah, I know the rules. After Steel, you're supposed to move up to the next deployment zone. But... My little sister's still Bronze. I'm not leaving her behind."
"So you stayed... just to watch her back?"
"Of course. She's the only family I've got left. What kind of brother would I be if I ran off and left her to die down here?"
"Lucky her… You stayed for her."
"But last night, I left the squad we were both in. Thought she'd come with me, like always. She used to follow me around. But why the hell did she choose some guy she just met over her own brother?! Bullshit! That musclehead looks forty and halfway to bald with that receding hairline!"
"Your sister got hit with love at first sight, huh?"
Rex kept going, his voice cracking as tears welled in his eyes.
"He… he left her big brother behind. I stayed in this damn zone for her! Thought she'd miss me once I left. But no, turns out I'm the one missing her!"
Johnquis shifted awkwardly.
"W-wait, are you okay? Sorry for bringing up your sister—"
"Damn it, Lex! Why'd you do this to me? We used to be like fork and spoon, always together! And now—WAHHH!"
Johnquis's eyes sharpened.
"…Wait. Lex?"
Johnquis looked at the guy again. The way he said her name. The way his voice cracked. The way he cried like a baby and still kept going.
"If I see her again, I'll beg her to come with me. And if she says no, I'll crush that Mars-head with my bare hands!"
Johnquis chest felt tight. The night flashed back, Lex's last scream, the blood, the mess he couldn't stop.
"I've recovered enough. Uh… thanks for the talk. I hope you find your sister. I'll get going now."
He couldn't tell him what happened last night. Not now. Not here. His thoughts kept drifting to the Runner, the one he'd enslaved. The one that killed Lex. And that Runner… was nearby.
Still, Rex kept going, whining and muttering. Words tumbling out between sniffles.
"She used to say I was her whole world..."
Johnquis didn't respond. He was already stepping out of the pool, blood dripping from his skin. Naked.
He left Rex sobbing in the blood pool, alone with his grief. And walked out.
The sterilizing mist swirled around Johnquis as he walked, droplets steaming off his skin. A wet trail behind him.
In the reflection of a wall mirror, he caught a glimpse of himself. Naked, pale, with faint violet veins glowing softly beneath his skin. His eyes were pure white, the pupils sharp and beast-like. He hated this version of himself. But he needed it.
He reached a locker embedded in the wall. Pressed his Eater Stone to the panel. The door slid open with a soft click.
Inside was a folded black bodysuit. A fresh one.
He dressed quickly. The black suit first. Then the utility belt. The cape. The hook holster. Gloves. Finally, he tapped the black core stone embedded in the back of his right hand.
A low hum vibrated through the air.
The suit tightened, syncing to his pulse.
Johnquis exhaled.
"I have to check that Eater."
Johnquis rushed toward the last spot he'd left his slave; the Level 2 High Eater, Runner class.
Johnquis scanning the trees, and whispered,
"Hello? Are you here? Come out, it's me!"
Before he could finish, the Runner shot out from behind a thick trunk, landing lightly on a low branch. Johnquis jumped back, heart pounding.
"WHAAA!"
The Runner tilted its head, watching him carefully.
"I-I'm sorry!"
Johnquis stammered, rubbing his chest.
"I'm just not used to having an Eater with me. You're not going to eat me, right?"
The Runner nodded once firmly.
Johnquis exhaled, relief flooding through him.
"Good. Come on, let's go somewhere no one can see you. I'm good at finding places like that. Places where it feels like you're the only one left in the world. These things stress me out. I need to unwind…"
The Runner crouched and leapt down silently, falling into step beside him.
Together, they moved through the dead world, the dark swallowing them as the sun sank lower.