The moment Ethan blocked the window, the Stage D zombie woman in the black dress let out a furious snarl and lunged straight at him.

Ethan's grip tightened on the barbell bar. He swung hard, aiming for her skull.

But she was fast—too fast. Her body blurred, slipping past the strike, and then her foot slammed into his chest. He hit the floor hard as she spun and crashed through the window, glass shattering around her.

She almost made it out.

Almost.

Ethan, flat on his back, reached out and grabbed her leg in a desperate lunge, yanking her back into the room with sheer brute force.

She shrieked in rage, twisted around, and opened her jaws wide, aiming to tear into his throat.

But Chris had been waiting.

He struck from the shadows, his fire axe cleaving down onto her skull.

The blade didn't split her head, but it buried deep, wedging into bone.

The zombie shrieked again, this time in pain, and lashed out with a clawed hand. Chris didn't have time to dodge—her talons raked across his chest, carving five deep, bloody gashes that went straight to the bone.

Then she kicked Ethan off her and made another break for the window.

Chris, gasping through the pain, gritted his teeth and copied Ethan's move—he dove forward and wrapped his arms around her leg, dragging her back once more.

"..."

The zombie woman looked like she was about to lose her damn mind.

What the hell is wrong with these humans and grabbing my leg?!

She raised her hand to crush Chris's skull—but Ethan was already on her again, tackling her to the floor.

He yanked the axe from her head and, without hesitation, brought it down again.

Thwack!

She howled, thrashing beneath him, but Ethan and Chris held her down with everything they had. Wounded as she was, she couldn't break free.

Ethan raised the axe again and slammed it down.

This time, the blade sank deep into her skull, splitting through bone and brain.

Her struggles weakened.

Ethan didn't stop. He pulled the axe free and hacked again.

And again.

Only when her head was nearly cleaved in two did he finally stop, panting, arms trembling.

The zombie woman lay still.

"...Hahhh…"

Both men exhaled, long and shaky.

That had been brutal.

Killing a Tier 6 zombie—no, a Stage D—wasn't just hard. It was damn near suicidal.

If Ethan had gone in alone, he might not have made it out.

The gap between Tier 5 and Tier 6 was a canyon.

Ethan didn't waste time. He reached down and dug the crystal core out of her ruined skull.

It was red, so dark it shimmered with a violet hue. He held it in his palm, eyes wide with awe.

Totally worth it.

Chris leaned in, still clutching his bleeding chest. "So that's a Stage D crystal core… damn, it really does look different."

"Yeah," Ethan said, voice low with excitement. "Let's see what it does."

He didn't hesitate. He swallowed the core.

A surge of energy exploded inside him—massive, overwhelming, unlike anything he'd felt before.

In his mind's eye, the constellation map flared to life. The first star—Alkaid—blazed bright, finally fully ignited.

And then, everything around him faded.

His consciousness drifted into a vast, silent void.

A space filled with countless points of light, like fireflies suspended in the dark, stretching out in every direction.

"Where… is this?" Ethan muttered, completely thrown.

The space around him was pitch black—pure, absolute darkness. No walls, no floor, no ceiling. Just an endless void, scattered with countless glowing specks of light, like stars or fireflies suspended in the air.

He didn't dare move. It felt like one wrong step and he'd fall forever.

He stared at the lights ahead, then instinctively activated True Sight.

His eyes widened.

The glowing specks weren't just lights—they were abilities. Powers. Each one radiated a distinct signature: ice spikes, fireballs, lightning arcs, wind blades, super speed… dozens, maybe hundreds of them, all floating in the dark.

"What the hell…"

"Is this… a reward for lighting up the first star in the constellation map?" Ethan's heart pounded. "Do you get to choose a special ability every time you light one up?"

If that was true, then reaching Stage D wasn't just about physical upgrades anymore.

This—this was evolution.

Everything before this point had just been strength training. Conditioning. But Stage D? This was where real power began.

Maybe that's what it meant to be truly Awakened.

Those born with abilities had always seemed like anomalies. But now, Ethan realized, they were just early bloomers. Once the rest of the Enhanced reached Stage D, the playing field would start to level out.

Sure, Awakened still had the edge of an extra innate ability—but it wasn't the insurmountable gap it used to be.

Ethan deactivated True Sight. The lights turned back into indistinct white dots, impossible to tell apart.

"So… everyone else gets a random one, but I get to choose?" he whispered, a grin tugging at his lips.

He didn't know why he had that privilege, but he wasn't about to complain.

Questions could wait. First, he needed to find something good.

He reactivated True Sight and began scanning the lights, searching for something that clicked.

Most of the abilities seemed basic—but even the basics, in the right hands, could be devastating. For a normal Awakened, any one of these would be a game-changer.

There were so many, though. His head started to spin just trying to process them all.

Then, just as he was narrowing down a few favorites, he felt it—a tug, like something was pulling him out of the void.

Shit. Time was running out.

He quickly locked in on his shortlist. Any of them would double his combat power, easy.

But none of them felt quite right.

One last glance across the field of lights—and then he saw it.

His eyes lit up. "That one."

He focused on the glowing speck, locking onto it with everything he had.

But… now what?

Before he could panic, the light moved. It shot toward him, streaking through the darkness and slamming into his forehead.

A wave of dizziness hit him like a truck.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the room.

Chris was crouched beside him, face pale with worry.

"Ethan! You're awake—thank God!" Chris let out a breath he'd clearly been holding.

"How long was I out?" Ethan asked, blinking.

"Not long. Five minutes, maybe. But you were just sitting there, eyes closed, not moving at all. Scared the hell out of me."

"Only five minutes?" Ethan exhaled in relief. He'd been worried time passed differently in that void. If he'd been out for days, Sean and the others downstairs might've been zombie chow by now.

Chris leaned in, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "So? What's it like? Stage D?"

Ethan smiled faintly. "Completely different. Like stepping into a new world."

He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the changes in his mind. Something new was there—something powerful.

That was the ability he'd chosen.

And more than that, he could feel his original power had evolved too.

"My ability leveled up," he said, surprised but not shocked. He'd suspected this might happen at Stage D. What he hadn't expected was that strange void space.

He focused, activating True Sight, and looked at a nearby table.

With a thought, the table began to rise off the ground, floating steadily in the air.

"Telekinesis," Ethan murmured. "So that's what it is. Now let's see how strong it really is in practice."

Chris's jaw dropped. "E-Ethan… the table… it's flying!"

Ethan chuckled. "Relax. Just a little side effect of my upgraded ability."

He stood, rolling his shoulders. "Come on. Let's go help Sean and the others. Once we've cleared the rest of the horde, I'll fill you in. Stage D changes a lot more than I expected."

Chris nodded, still staring at the floating table like it might sprout wings.

"Right. Let's finish this."

...

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