1 Chapter 1: The Bubbles

A monster or a human– have you ever wondered what you are?

Most would answer 'yes' because they have fooled themselves that they are more than what they are.

Some would answer 'yes' because they think they have this deep darkness inside them.

And then there are those that answer 'no'– completely knowing that they are, in fact, monsters.

There is, however, another that would answer that he doesn't know.

He wished to be human, but what does that really mean?

…And would you, the Readers of Fate, allow him to be one?

***

Monsters. It was the year 2020 when they appeared.

It started with a Bubble. Giant bubbles that popped out in different parts of the world– more than thousands of them in each country. The world thought that it was just some sort of natural phenomenon– like the Earth releasing some sort of chemical.

Their size, ranging from the size of a car to an entire ship.

No one could explain what they were. And before anyone could, the Bubbles began to pop– and just like that, there was chaos.

Monsters started emerging from the Bubbles. Sometimes there was one, and sometimes there were many in one single bubble. The larger the Bubble was, the greater the monsters.

The humans tried to fight back, they really did. But when a beast the size of a bus could move even faster than a sportscar, there really was only so much they could do.

They thought of nukes– but where do they fire them, exactly? The entire planet was already filled with Bubbles.

Abandon all hope.

That was the only thing the humans could do at that point.

But on the very same day, the humans found another type of Bubble; it was a soldier that found it first– a small Bubble the size of a fist.

The soldier poked it with her knife, hoping to kill whatever was in there before it pops. But then, she found herself suddenly being swallowed by the Bubble; her entire body, being wrapped in this sort of soapy membrane… and slowly, it entered her pores.

She thought that she was dying, but the opposite happened– she felt more alive than she ever did in her entire life. It almost felt like she could now outrun a car going 100 miles per hour…

…and she did.

And it was only a matter of time before she wasn't alone. People began to awaken through these… Power Bubbles. Some gained the ability to control the elements, some gained an unfathomable strength; they were all different from each other.

But one thing was for sure– they all fought back.

That was the birth of a new breed of humans– the Slayers.

"G… god fucking damn it!"

And now 10 years later, one such Slayer was currently running for his life.

Nathan Baker– an F-class Slayer that was famous for one thing…

…being a bait.

Many types of monsters emerged from the Bubbles. Deformed beasts, monsters that could only be found in legends, humanoid predators…

…The Undead.

Vampires, Living Skeletons, Wraiths–

But amongst these monsters, there was one that was the hardest to deal with. Not because of their strength, not because of magic…

…but because they could have been someone you know. It could be your wife, your husband, brother, sister– or just anyone you care about.

It could even be you.

Zombies– the most cursed of the Undead. More akin to a plague than a monster, really.

And right now, Nathan Baker was running away from a horde of them.

Nathan Baker thought that he would be able to change his life when he found a Power Bubble. But alas, the only thing he received from it was a small increase in durability.

He was a skinny man; his snot, sweat, and saliva were all mixing inside his mouth as he screamed for his life. The Jobs he could accept were extremely limited due to his rank. And right now, he was acting as a Bait for a group of Rank-D Slayers tasked to exterminate the horde that was currently chasing him.

The horde was from an abandoned building just a few blocks away from a settlement. Everything was fine, it was just supposed to be an easy job.

He has, however, been running for more than half an hour now… and yet there was still no sign of the Slayers that hired him. This was supposed to be a high-paying job, enough money to allow him to live for months without even accepting anything else.

He should have known that something was wrong. How could a job like this reward that much? If only it wasn't for his dream of becoming rich…

But alas, perhaps that dream now ends as he stepped on a bottle of whiskey that was littered on the ground.

"S… shit!"

Nathan's stuttered screams echoed throughout the street as the shards of glass managed to pierce straight through the cheap shoe he was wearing and straight through his skin. So much for added stamina and durability.

He wanted to run, he truly did– but the pain was not allowing him to do so. If only he could reserve the adrenaline; but no. He had already spent it all trying to run for his life from the horde of zombies that was only a few meters away from him.

"F… Fuck!" Nathan could only let out a loud whisper as he grabbed the gun hanging on his waist. But instead of pointing it towards the horde, the muzzle of the gun touched the temple of his head.

Nathan's finger began to tremble; hesitating to kill himself to spare him from the torture of being devoured by these mindless beasts.

He was about to pull the trigger. But alas, he shouldn't have hesitated. Because now, a zombie was behind him.

And unfortunately for Nathan, the first thing that the zombie bit was his hand, causing him to let go of the only thing that could spare him from the pain that was about to come.

"N… no, no–"

And before he could even finish his screams, the rest of the horde caught up to him– their jaws, gnawing through his body from every angle possible.

Why?-- Nathan thought as the sound of his flesh and bones being torn apart whispered into his ears. There was supposed to be a group of Slayers waiting around the corner to kill the zombies… and yet he could not even see a hint of their shadow.

Was the team that recruited him… perhaps just played with him?

Was that it? Was his life just something for the strong to play with? Just because he was an F-Rank?

…Because he was weak?

Why?-- Nathan once again thought. Maybe– just maybe. If there was ever a chance that he would survive this, then he would definitely get his revenge. And if he doesn't survive– then at least he would be sure to take revenge as a zombie.

But alas, it was not that kind of story. Or rather, it was not his story at all. How could it be, if there was no part of him left to even have a story to tell?

And soon, the last bit of his flesh was devoured by the zombies– they all left one by one; returning to their aimless and mindless lives. First, there were 30, and then 15… 10…

5…

…and then, there was one.

One who remained on top of Nathan's remains. The zombie was just… standing there. Its cheek was completely decayed; its exposed teeth, still holding a part of Nathan's flesh.

The male zombie then turned its grey and dead eyes towards the skies… almost as if it was looking at something that only it could see.

[Rise, ye' undead.]

And it did. It was seeing something that only it could see. What they meant, however, was not something that the mindless zombie could understand.

[You have been blessed by the Readers of Fate for completing your quest: Devour a human 10/10]

More appeared in front of the Zombie, and it could only tilt its head.

[Congratulations, you have earned your first Skill: Skill Absorption.]

[Proceeding to Absorb the last devoured's skill…]

[...]

[.....]

[Skill: Speech, Gained!]

The Zombie began to growl. And soon… the grow became a howl.

And then, the howl turned into words–

"F… Fu… Fuck," stuttered the Zombie; repeating the last words that Nathan uttered,

"N… No… No."

And so, begins the story of what it means to be human.

***

I have led the story in its beginning. But soon, you-- the Readers of Fate, would be asked to participate. And who knows...

...our little Zombie might just listen.

And for those who are late, worry not-- this might just become the best adventure you will ever read in your life.