A World Without Hope

"Haaa~"

Elian sighed deeply.

He was standing right outside the light room on top of the tower, where a giant lantern was fixed. The light room was a small chamber opened to all sides, with its conical ceiling supported by four graceful stone pillars. It was surrounded by a balcony.

Dressed in the very same academy-issued black protective vest and matching combat trousers, Elian's thin frame was leaning against the sturdy metal balustrades of the circular balcony's narrow walkway.

The refreshing sea breeze was playing with his tousled hair as he was locked deep in thought.

Before long, it was already time for daybreak.

As the moon yielded to the rising sun, the sky was painted in hues of scarlet and gold, creating a mesmerizing display of colors that heralded the start of a new day.

Elian felt a twinge of discomfort as the luminous light of the radiant sun basked him in a brilliant glow, but he also felt a faint hint of joy at the back of his mind.

He had survived one day in this world. Despite very closely brushing shoulders with death once, he was standing here on top of this lighthouse, alive.

He somehow managed to not die on the very first day.

God, that would've been embarrassing.

No disrespect to those who already died, though.

Yet, beneath the facade of a subtly happy surface, a wave of melancholy tugged at his heartstrings. He had just finished reading the letter downstairs, and what he read left him feeling more than a bit mournful.

"Huh? And here I almost thought I forgot how to feel sad for others."

The dead body hanging from the ceiling on the floor below actually belonged to the keeper of this lighthouse, Ducan.

He inherited this building from his late father. He was also the one who wrote that letter so that someday someone can find out about them.

That zombie tied to the metal drum was his wife, Tara.

Ducan was actually a doctor. A very skilled one, from what he claimed in his letter.

Their world was plagued with diseases and monsters even centuries before the zombie outbreak. It just happened to be that the zombie outbreak dealt the final blow to their civilization.

Before their world collapsed, Ducan used to live in a small village to the north of here. He was in love with his dream girl ever since they were children, and was lucky enough to marry her later after growing up.

While he was intelligent, cunning, and a little cynical, Tara was the complete opposite. She was kind, gentle, and had such a generous spirit.

She was the light of his life. Without her, he was as lost as a ship in the ocean amidst a storm. She made him want to be a better man.

It was not like there were no struggles in their lives.

There were monsters who occasionally broke the defense barrier and rampaged through their village, there were big economic fluctuations that left their village without food and resources for weeks, there were also normal struggles of everyday lives.

But they would get past all those obstacles and find solace in each other's arms, dreaming of a better future every night.

…However, he should've known how foolish it was to dream in a world without hope.

Soon, a tragedy struck when their only child fell ill to an unknown disease sweeping through their town.

Despite Ducan's desperate efforts to save his little kid, he couldn't. He failed – both as a father and as a doctor.

Their son caved in to the illness right in front of their eyes, leaving a gaping wound in the couple's hearts.

Devastated by their loss, Ducan and Tara's marriage began to fray under the weight of grief and despair.

Ducan could feel them drifting apart little by little each day as their once fervent love was now being overshadowed by sorrow and pain.

He was slowly failing as a husband, too.

It was then his medical community alerted him about another plague spreading through the main town beyond the mountain range surrounding their village.

This one was even more horrific than the one that took his son away. Basically, the infected were being reanimated into rabid, flesh-eating beasts after their death.

There was virtually no way to kill those monsters.

Ducan didn't waste a day and left for this lighthouse with his wife. He didn't tell anyone about it in the village as the lighthouse couldn't possibly hold that many people.

His plan was to wait for a ship amidst the incoming outbreak, board it, and leave for the sea. That was another reason he didn't alert the village.

If they all were to aim to get to the ship, there wouldn't have been enough room. But just the two of them – they could easily make it.

His plan was foolproof.

Yes, what he did was far from what an ethical doctor should've done, but no one could blame him. Ducan was prioritizing the safety of his family.

Anyone in his shoes would've done the same!

…But on their way here, a stray zombie bit Tara, infecting her. Apparently, the outbreak had begun and the zombies were already here.

Ducan's heart sank. He didn't have the will to lose the last of his family, his wife… his light. But he steeled his heart and didn't abandon hope. Not yet, at least.

He told Tara that everything was going to be alright. After they settled in this lighthouse, Ducan caught a lost zombie and started experimenting on it.

He started searching for ways to kill them or cure them– anything really.

But within the next two days, the signs of infection started growing visible on his wife.

Tara, sensing Ducan's distress upon seeing her in that state, reassured him.

She told him that she had lived a full, beautiful life. And while there were some moments of sadness, she would live it all over again if given a chance.

All she asked him was to be with her in her last moments.

But Ducan was still not ready to let her go. He couldn't give up on her. He couldn't! He just couldn't!

What was the point of all that medical knowledge that he so painfully gained if he couldn't save even one person he held dear his life?!

So, he continued his research… but to no avail.

On day five, Tara succumbed to the undead illness right in front of him. The light in her eyes was stolen by something grotesque and sinister, leaving behind only a perverse semblance of the woman he once knew and loved with all his heart.

…He had failed again.

Finally, Ducan gave up. He tied Tara, penned down a letter addressing whoever may find them in the future, stored his research in the bedroom, and hung himself beside the love of his life, knowing full well that he will never reunite with her even in the afterlife, as he was doomed for hell while she was made for heaven.

"What a tragic love story."

What a tragedy, indeed. But then again, which love stories aren't tragic? In fact, that's what makes them beautiful.

Elian read Ducan's research papers and learned quite a lot of useful information.

First, the undead were impervious to any harm.

They couldn't feel physical pain, and worst of all, they had no qualms about self-preservation. They lost that instinct after dying once. Ducan didn't know whether any mental attacks could inflict any damage on them, but he doubted it.

Second, they seemed to have above average strength.

The tests Ducan ran showed that while their flesh starts to wither, their bones grow exponentially stronger, making him believe that these zombies were actually evolved beings rather than simply risen dead.

What a weird thought. If that was what evolution looked like then Elian didn't want it.

Regardless, Elian could shatter their bones with his bullets, so the infected weren't THAT strong, that he was sure of. Maybe they were just strong compared to this world's technology and average individual strength.

Riftwalkers were supposed to be far stronger than average humans after all.

Moving on, third, these undead were virtually immortal. There was no way to kill them… aside from using fire to burn them down to ash.

That's how Ducan killed the zombie he was experimenting on. Understandably, though, he didn't have the heart to do that to his wife. Or the thing that his wife had become.

So, in his letter, he implored the reader to do him a favor in exchange for all the knowledge and resources he had left behind and cremate his wife. Give her mercy.

"Tch! What a troublesome man. Burn your wife yourself."

But Elian was kind of going to use all the resources here. Even the information he learned was really going to come in handy.

The least he could do was fulfill the man's last wish.

In the end, Elian couldn't help but sigh once again. "Fine, whatever."