Catch A Breath

As the sun dipped below the horizon, long shadows stretched across the panicked throng, the air humming with desperate energy and whispers of fear mingled with ragged breaths. The stampede, fueled by the blind urge to survive, had left a grim trail in its imprint. Crushed bodies littered the ground, silent testimonies to the day's tragedy. A quarter of the tens of thousands who had hoped for sanctuary lay still, their dreams swallowed by the stampede's fury.

Meanwhile, the source of their terror, the tide of unleashed animals, had carved its own path through the human mass. Roars echoed in the distance, punctuated by the chilling screams of those caught in the path of the beasts. Nearly half of their number lay scattered and lost, swallowed by the chaos the animals had wrought.

Zephyr and his group managed to survive, but their condition was not good at all. Everyone was out of breath but still tried to run. On top of that, they were injured due to animal attacks and strenuous terrain.

Especially Zephyr, he was the one who suffered the worst. His whole body had bruises. Blood dripped from several spots on his body, accompanied by heavy breaths. The cloth bandages used to cover the wounds on his palms were gone. That made it difficult to distinguish whether his hands were covered in other blood or his own.

Young-Jae and Jae-Sik have witnessed Zephyr's struggle amidst this gloom. They could no longer count how many animals had fallen in Zephyr's hands because they were amazed by Zephyr's will and trickery to survive. But thanks to that, they could be safe and sound now.

In the end, Young-Jae and Jae-Sik asked to take a break from their seemingly endless running. It might seem unreasonable while danger loomed behind them. But they arranged it because they noticed Zephyr's condition, which they thought seemed to be becoming less aware of his surroundings.

"L-Let's take a rest." Young-Jae pleaded hesitantly, voice raspy from exertion.

"You're pushing yourself too far." Jae-Sik chimed in, etching worrying lines on his face.

Zephyr raised a trembling hand, his muffled voice grim. "Adrenaline," he rasped, "keeps us on the razor's edge. Stop, and we slip." His eyes, usually flint-sharp, glazed with exhaustion. "We can't afford to slow down our pace."

Young-Jae's face drained of color, mirroring Jae-Sik's. Zephyr's words hung solemnly in the air, and a cold stone dropped in their guts. Silence reigned, broken only by their ragged breaths, heavy with the weight of their mistake. They exchanged a glance, both seeing the same truth reflected: they'd screwed up big time if they succumbed to their desire.

The adrenaline that had kept them going, masking the aches and pains, was wearing thin. Fatigue, thick and heavy, settled in their bones. Thirst clawed at their throats like a wild beast. Wounds they'd ignored before, mere souvenirs of their journey, now screamed for attention. Every breath sent a jolt of agony through Jae-Sik's shoulder, a bit of blood blooming dark on his shirt. Young-Jae winced, his mouth iron-tasting, as he gingerly touched the oozing, angry bite on his arm.

Zephyr dropped his two worn kitchen knives on the ground, trying to calm his tense arms. So he could regain his vigor even a little. "We are close to the destination." He said, trying to smooth over the other's reluctance.

After all, what he said was not wrong. Their current position was far on the left side of the snow-capped subpeak of Stormbreaker Mountain. Lush meadows and emerald forests adorn the valley floor, while waterfalls cascade over sheer rock faces and small streams complete the landscape. It was the new region of the Apex World, the Valleys of Torak. A home for a shelter called the Fortress of the Divine Light.

It was a shame that this exquisite site couldn't be enjoyed because the air and climate were unbecoming for humans who had not received the vaccine. Apart from that, the animal's rampage had not thoroughly subsided either.

Meanwhile, Zephyr opened his duffel bag and took out two new kitchen knives. "We're going. There's no luxury of stopping." He said commandingly. He acted decisively amidst the doubts of Young-Jae and the others. Even though he ordered it, he did not enforce it. Whether they wanted to or not, he didn't care.

Then, did he feel it was a waste of expending so much effort to save them? Not at all.

He didn't even regret having decided to immediately head to the shelter covered in blood, sweat, and tears. It was his decision all along.

Why?

Because Zephyr knew if he did the same as in the past, he would probably be safe. But only for a while. Even though he survived, that awful event was hard to reprise safely without depending on the goddess of luck. And he had had enough of relying on it.

On top of that, there was absolutely no chance of survival without Exo-suits when the Sentinels emerged. Also, arriving ahead would give him many advantages in becoming a Legion.

Zephyr trudged forward, legs heavy with fatigue but heart ablaze with purpose. The journey to the shelter stretched before him, a daunting path he refused to abandon.

Young-Jae and Jae-Sik, along with Jae-Sik's three siblings, followed in Zephyr's wake, mirroring the grim determination with their own weary steps. What began as a walk had morphed into a slow jog, fueled by a desperate need to escape the dangers closing in behind them.

Not long after, the scattered remnants of other groups from all directions began to appear in the same direction as them. Everyone wore faces of dread and atrocity that they had never experienced before. Even the players were no exception.

Zephyr looked around in the middle of his jog. Even though his eyes felt sober and began to dim, his sense of hearing made him very sensitive to his surroundings.

'Human stampedes may not occur and be as chaotic as before because the terrain is no longer narrow and crowded with trees. Apart from that, the animals that went berserk are also starting to be seen less frequently because we are getting closer to the Fortress of the Divine Light.'

So far, everything seems under control despite the large group of people running roughly.

But Zephyr started to become more alert. Even though he didn't experience the same things as in the past, he didn't underestimate the information and stories he had heard from his Legion comrades about the beginning of the Apex World, where the hazard wouldn't disappear even before the shelter.

Suddenly, Zephyr's head whipped around, ears flat against his skull. "Increase your speed!" he snarled, the words tearing from his throat.

His urgency sent a jolt through the group and other humans there. No more playful banter, no stolen glances – just raw terror etched on every face.

Raw and primal roars sliced through the air, each one closer than the last. Not a single lion, but a pack, their voices an unholy chorus rising from the darkness.

Legs pumped, lungs burned, but the ground seemed to stretch endlessly before them. Thorny bushes ripped at clothes, and jagged rocks tore at the skin, but stopping meant becoming prey. Behind them, the earth pulsed with the thunderous rhythm of approaching paws. These weren't ordinary lions. Those were nightmares cloaked in fur and bone, their eyes burning with unnatural fire, their claws honed to lethal daggers. This wasn't a hunt. It was a massacre in the making, and their only hope was to outrun the inevitable.