To understand a city, it's easiest to ask how people there live, love - and how they die.

Springvale City used to be a place of history and culture, standing tall through ages of war. Now it's a broken ruin.

Above, swarms of black mosquitoes the size of palms buzzed thick in the sky. Below, centipedes three to four meters long crawled across cracked roads, ruined storefronts, and rusted car husks, scraping and whispering as they moved.

Every corner of the city was wrapped in massive spider webs, each one stretching seven or eight meters wide. At the center of each, squatted spiders as big as washbasins. They weren't catching bugs. They were hunting humans.

A convoy of a dozen vehicles crashed into the ruined city. Leading the charge was a modified Warrior - its front end rigged with old car doors, ramming through debris until it jammed up and stalled. A woman jumped out.

"Move it! We've got two hours," she barked. "Teams one and two spray the repellent. Team three, hold the line!"

The woman wore full gear - tactical jacket, climbing boots, a motorcycle helmet, and a white towel around her neck. She was armed to the teeth.

Doors slammed. Twenty, maybe thirty female squad members filed out, geared up like soldiers.

"Thirty seconds! Light your torches, check your mags! Team one, air watch - team two, ground sweep! Get moving! We're running outta time!"

Her voice was sharp, commanding. Then she reached into her chest pocket, pulling out a fire crystal roughly the size of an egg, glowing red.

"Magnus - front line's yours today. No complaints."

"No need," Magnus Specter replied coldly.

The only man in the Ice Regiment, he cradled a long military blade in both hands and stepped to the front without another sound. His girlfriend, Sarah Quinn, had taken her own life just the day before. And standing behind him, the one who pushed her over the edge - Emily Ward.

"What do you want from me?" Emily stormed over, shoved him. "Yeah, I screwed up! I killed that bastard with my own hands - the one who hurt her! And last night, I gave myself to you - body and soul! That was my price to pay! What else do you want from me?!"

*****

Last night.

Emily shoved Magnus against the wall first, lips bloody from biting her own rage down. He grabbed her waist and spun her around, slamming her chest to the table. Her pants were gone in seconds - she never remembered how.

He didn't waste time. No words. No warning. Just his cock slamming into her soaked cunt in one violent thrust, burying itself to the hilt.

Emily gasped, then growled - half pain, half need. He grabbed her hair, yanked her head back, and fucked her like he was trying to break her in half.

"Still think you're in control?" Magnus snarled, hips pistoning into her, the sound of skin slapping skin echoing through the cabin.

She laughed breathlessly, fingers clawing at the table.

"I gave you everything," she spat. "So fucking take it."

He did.

He slammed into her harder, deeper, until her legs shook and her moans turned into ragged sobs. He leaned over her, biting her shoulder, his hand sneaking down to rub her clit with merciless fingers.

Emily came with a scream, her pussy clamping down on him like a vice.

Magnus didn't stop.

He kept thrusting through it, riding the spasms, his growl turning primal.

And when Magnus came - it was brutal. A full-body shudder, cock pulsing deep inside her, spilling heat in thick surges that left her shaking and filled to the brim...

*****

They locked eyes. Magnus finally looked away, his anger easing just a little. He grabbed the last fire crystal from her hand, studying it - egg-sized, smooth, webbed with blood-red lines.

With a deep breath, he squeezed it in his palm - and crushed it.

Yesterday, Sarah kept her dignity. Today, he'd kill for her life.

A hot surge flooded his veins. Pain, rage - it all exploded. He threw back his head and howled, then burst forward without waiting for a command, straight into the nest of centipedes.

He was an Awakened. That meant he was twice as fast, twice as strong as a regular human - and more importantly, he could use crystals.

The fire crystal coated his body in a thin red flame. Harmless to him. Deadly for anything from the End Days. It wouldn't burn clothes, wouldn't scorch skin - but it turned monsters to ash.

Blade flashing, he slashed and stabbed - cutting down five or six creatures in mere seconds.

They feared fire, sure. But corner a beast, and it'll still bite back. The giant centipedes on both sides of the street arched their bodies like snakes. As Magnus approached, their hind legs snapped forward, stabbing at him. But the moment they touched the scorching heat on his body, they pulled back in pain.

The female squad members rushing up from behind finished them off, their blades slicing through the air with a screech like shattering glass.

"Move! Keep up!"

Emily jogged a few steps to catch up with Magnus, leading the team around a corner onto the main road. Gunfire, screams, and chaos filled the streets - over a hundred people running in panic, trying to find cover. But the moment someone kicked open the door of a shop, giant spiders and centipedes poured out. Others were caught by webs and melted by acid.

Everyone wore white towels around their necks - they were all from the Emberleaf Legion, stationed in Springvale City. But just over thirty minutes ago, a meteor shower had hit the city center. Of their 3500 Awakened, more than half were wiped out.

That's why the Ice Regiment had come. Every crystal mankind had found - Fire, Water, Metal, Earth, even the rare Life Crystal - had all come from inside these fallen meteors. Today, they were here to find the Life Crystal and bring Sarah back.

"Stay calm," Emily said, brushing the white towel at her throat. The whole Ice Regiment was disguised as Emberleaf. With the chaos, chances were no one would notice.

"And..." she squinted her eyes, continuing, "if any Emberleaf try to join up, let them. Then, when the moment's right, take them out. Magnus, you keep charging forward. Let us handle them."

The Ice Regiment and Emberleaf were mortal enemies. A month ago, Emberleaf ambushed over a hundred of their sisters, killing or capturing more than sixty. There was no forgiveness for that.

"Emily, there's a squad up ahead!" A female member pointed toward a corner of the street. About a dozen Emberleaf men were surrounded by centipedes and spiders. The leader, waving a torch, shouted, "I'm John Bailey, 3rd Battalion Leader! Which unit are you from? Get over here and help!"

"Magnus, we take them out," Emily ordered.

Magnus gave a slight nod, took off his backpack, and pulled out a beer bottle filled with gasoline. A cloth stuffed in the neck. He lit it and hurled it into the swarm of centipedes. With a burst, flames split the horde apart.

"John! Behind you!" Magnus shouted.

In this world, no one trusted easily. But actions spoke louder than words. After seeing him throw the Molotov first, John and his men didn't doubt him. Every last one of them turned their heads.

"Bang bang bang!" Gunfire ripped through the air - twenty Ice Regiment women fired in unison. John and his men dropped instantly.

"Now! Go!" Magnus barked.

While the bugs swarmed the corpses for a feast, the squad dashed right past them.

The fallen meteors had kicked up thick clouds of dust. The closer they got to the impact site, the thicker it got. After ten more minutes of weaving through the fog, visibility had dropped to less than three meters.

Magnus led the way, suddenly halting. He raised his right hand and said grimly, "No mosquitoes in the air anymore. Check your fronts - groups of three, pace it slow, back-to-back. Keep two meters between each unit."

After more than 100 meters through choking dust, Emma Doyle jogged up beside him. "Magnus, look up there - think it's the meteor?"

He took her flashlight, beamed it forward. Sure enough, a massive meteor lay right at the center of a crossroads. Buildings around it were all reduced to rubble.

"Hold this position and guard," he said. "I'll go take a look."

Magnus moved carefully toward the meteor, keeping his guard up. At this point, it wasn't the beasts he feared - it was people. The secret of the crystals hidden in meteors wasn't a secret anymore. Anyone who'd survived this far would be after the same thing.

"Watch out!"

Emily's sudden cry snapped his attention back. A hard shove landed on his back - then came the sound of her scream, sharp and desperate.

"Emily!"

Magnus spun around and charged toward the sound. A thick, waist-sized tail lashed through the air, coiling around him in one vicious sweep. Flames flared around his body - his Fire Crystal kicking in. The tail recoiled with a screech. Magnus lunged, gripped the tail with both hands, and slung it over his shoulder, dragging it back with all his strength.

"Move!"

A sharp cry cut through the chaos. A heavy Yamaha slammed into the beast, sending it staggering. The rider, dressed in all black, flipped off mid-motion, knives already drawn. She landed behind the creature, both blades punching deep. The monster howled, dropping Emily from its jaws.

"Rat beast!"

The other women rushed over, unsure whether to shoot in the poor visibility. Firebrand torches waved as they circled closer.

"I got this! You people move!"

With a yank, the woman pulled her knives free. She vanished in a blink, reappearing under the rat's neck like a wraith. Blades plunged in again, deep and deadly.

"...Grace?"

Magnus froze in surprise, then dropped the tail and raced forward, cutting his way toward Emily.

Grace Reid - the speed-type Awakened. Four times faster than any normal fighter. She'd left yesterday after a row with Emily over Sarah's death. Took five or six soldiers with her. What were they doing here now? Chasing the Life Crystal too, obviously - same goal, same dead girl to save.

The rat was huge, as big as a jeep, strong and savage as any nightmare. Magnus slashed into its side as he ran, stabbing repeatedly, but the beast only roared louder. It spun and thrashed, and several women with torches were flung back like rag dolls.

"Emily, hold on..."

He finally spotted her, dragged her into a nearby shop. Her body was limp. Panic surged in him.

"M - Magnus... I... I'm sorry..."

Blood bubbled at her lips, pouring out faster than he could wipe it. The rat's teeth had torn straight through her gut - intestines spilled across the floor. A miracle she could even speak. But she was Awakened, after all.

"Don't talk! Stay with me! We'll get the Life Crystal - it'll fix everything. I swear."

Magnus pressed his trembling hands to her wounds, but there was too much. The blood soaked her, soaked him, pooled everywhere.

If not for her, he'd be the one gutted on the floor. Not even the Fire Crystal could've saved him from that chomp.

"M - Magnus..." She coughed, a spray of blood hitting his face. But then she smiled, weak, trembling. "Will... you... forgive me?"

"I never blamed you, Emily. This - none of this - is your fault! Just hang on, damn it!"

Clutching her tight, Magnus kicked the door open and stormed out. His gut twisted with guilt. Yesterday, he'd fucked her - right in front of her brother's corpse. Out of spite. Out of rage. Out of something even darker. What the hell was wrong with him?

Why the hell was I so childish? Why?

He couldn't stop screaming inside. Just as he burst into the street, gunfire rattled out. The rat finally dropped, riddled with bullets, dead at last.

"Emma! Take care of Emily! I'm going to dig out the Life Crystal!"

Magnus found Emma and handed Emily over to her, then turned and dashed toward the massive chunk of the meteor. Without stopping, he yanked the engineer's shovel from his belt and started digging like mad.

The meteor wasn't huge, maybe as tall as a four-story building, about eight or nine meters wide. Most of its surface - almost 95% - was wrapped in a solid shell of unknown material, something no human tool could crack.

But every meteor that hit the ground had some of that hard crust chipped off from the impact. Beneath it was loose soil.

"There's an opening here!" one of the women shouted.

Magnus ran over, shovel in hand, and began digging fast.

"First squad, keep watch! Second squad, help dig!" Grace, panting, dropped to her knees beside him. She and three other women started sorting through the loosened dirt with their bare hands.

There wasn't much time.

Magnus dug like a madman for over half an hour. The team turned up four Water Crystals, one Metal Crystal, and two Fire Crystals - nothing more.

Sweat poured down his face. His whole body was now inside the meteor. Suddenly, his shovel hit something hard - a sharp, ringing clink.

His heart sank. Had he shattered a crystal? Crystals were about as fragile as glass. One crack, and they were useless.

He dropped the shovel, reached in with his hands, and carefully felt around. It was ice-cold - not a Fire Crystal, at least. But the size...

He pulled out a black crystal, about the size of a soccer ball, cradling it in both hands as he crawled back out.

"What the... what is that?" Emma stared at it with wide eyes and stepped back. The others turned too, all with the same stunned look.

In the wasteland, they'd seen every kind of crystal. They were all egg-sized, smooth and oval, no exceptions. Only the colors differed - red for fire, light blue for water, golden for metal, pure white for life.

But this? No one had ever seen a black crystal. And certainly not one this big.

"Whatever it is, we take it back. Maybe it can save Emily and Sarah!"

Magnus was about to move when he noticed something wrong. All the women - Grace, Emma, Liana, Joyce, Taylor... every single one of his teammates - had their guns raised. Aiming at him. Eyes cold. Feet backing away.

He froze.

"What are you doing? Are you insane?! You - "

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Gunfire burst through the silence.

Even as the bullets tore into him, Magnus couldn't believe it. They had fought together through nine long, bloody months in the apocalypse. And now?

No. No way.

Unless... unless it was...