Lucien's eyelids fluttered slowly, they opened to the sunlight hitting his surroundings and dust floating in beams. This scene made him recall his past self, where he would wake up to his own instincts and play EVE like there was no tomorrow.

He brushed at his eyes, other than feeling a little sleepy, he was in a terrific mood.

But when he tried to recall the night before, he had no clue as to what happened.

The realization left him faintly unsettled. It felt unlikely that the night had passed without incident, especially the conditions in the room he was lying in, as it couldn't even be called a complete room.

Three walls and a ceiling leaned overhead, a wide crack splitting one side. The fourth wall was gone, leaving him vulnerable to the dangers outside.

The only hint he has of something unusual happening last night was that, instead of feeling weak and parched, he felt satiated and full of life.

He patted his bottom off of dust and stood up straight, stretching his arms high and leaving the place without a second thought.

Although he could have pondered about what might've happened, it wasn't on his top priority list, as he thought about his safety and shelter first.

Lucien made his way south, the military base was up north, the mall was in the east, and he had a bad feeling about going west.

The last conclusion sounded like a complete sham, but trusting his gut never made him regret things.

So he walked, and walked, and walked.

Across a children's playground, a pharmacy, and tons of buildings.

Until he finally found a decent sized settlement, where people were lining up at front and a lady and a man in protective gear asked them questions before they were redirected to another area which appeared to be an interview segment.

Lucien breezed through their questions until he reached the interview part.

The man across from him had a perfectly straight back; his shirt clung onto his torso and showed his form. He held a clipboard in hand and was writing down a few things.

His face was youthful, but he appeared unnaturally still while others were stretching and moving about even slightly.

The man finally looked up to see Lucien.

Lucien didn't seem to notice, as his eyes were locked onto the decorative button pin on the man's crossbody bag.

Is that.... What I think it is!

The man followed his line of sight and when he realized a small grin let out from his lips. 

"You play that game too?"

Lucien stuttured in excitement,

"O-of course! Who wouldn't!! Hey.. what's your username? I might recognize you!"

The man was startled with Lucien's erratic behaviour but was still quite calm, and gently replied.

"It's MoonShot, I play a female character by the way."

Lucien's wide smile shattered into a thousand pieces.

M-m-oon, shot? 

His eye twitched.

"What's yours? It's quite refreshing to find somebody with the same interests as me."

The man's guard went down significantly, and his previous demeanor turned much milder.

Ahh-!! Wait a second Lucien! Before you ruin this moment, you have to remember this is your only shelter for the night! Think! How do i overcome this situation and not make it obvious that he's my adversary!!

Lucien took a deep breath and he finally got his answer.

"My username is KillSwitch! It's nice to meet you!"

Lucien straightforwardly took his hand and shook it, trying to seem as casual as possible.

Now, it was the other person that was acting strange. When he heard Lucien say his username he stilled and and was stiff as a statue.

A few moments paused, and just before Lucien could awkwardly try and save the conversation the man finally replied.

"It's an honor to meet you, mister KillSwitch."

Hum? Lucien felt something was off.

"Actually, i really wanted to tell you some things. Come, won't you like to accompany me on a walk? We're heading towards your place for the night."

"O-oh? I was accepted? Um, alright." 

Just like that?

Lucien's suspicion grew worse with every passing second.

The pair walked on the stone bridge, underneath was dirty sewage water and the mild smell of zombie corpses.

The man began by introducing himself, "I'm Marshall, by the way. I don't tell my real name to others so easily but since it's you, the KillSwitch i know, then it's really no problem."

"What do you want to say?" Lucien went straight to the point.

"About that, Mr. KillSwitch did you ever receive my message? I believe I sent you one about my proposal to become a team. I know you're a busy man and the second top on the server, but still, i didn't want to pass that chance."

Lucien raised an eyebrow, feeling even more curious, he nodded.

Marshall smiled at the gesture, his genuine joy showed on his face.

"Really? That's amazing! I know that playing EVE is no longer applicable now, but maybe, just maybe, we could team up and fight together in the future when society has returned to normal again."

Lucien was lost in what his words meant, when a light green leaf fell from his view and caught it in the palm of his hand.

Society.... Returning to normal?

It was a thought that never brushed pass his mind until now, for all of it was on the sole thought of surviving.

Not realizing it, he spoke his mind in a light voice.

"Society back to normal again? No... It seems impossible..."

Marshall saw his listless expression and gently reached out and held his two shoulders facing towards him.

"Don't worry about that! I'm sure that things will turn out fine Mr. KillSwitch. Look at the progress that humanity has made, the world won't always just be about zombies and dying."

"I mean, look at all the bases that had emerged since the first day. Even our base—no, my base, is progressing quite smoothly."

Marshall paused, then smiled.

"Can you tell? Im fond of you Mr. KillSwitch. Not that silly, stupid BloodReign_666. His name even sends shivers down my spine on how disgusting he sounds. It doesn't matter if he's top one, because.... You'll always be the number one for me."

Marshall's speech almost made the tears in Lucien's eyes want to let out like a waterfall, when that last bit made him remember what made him hate him so much.

Lucien's nerve almost burst in anger and made him want to cough up blood. Too hateful, he was.

Before he could rack up all his pent up anger and reply in the most horrible way, a tall looming shadow made it's way behind him.

Every step overshadowed him bit by bit.

And it didn't stop when it should've. Lucien's instincts kicked in when he saw it was only a few inches a way from him.

A big hand was placed on his shoulder.

Before he could turn, a few words were uttered into the air.

"You are...."