Single Wish: Rise Of The Omniscient Paragon Chapter 6 6: Apocalypse

BOOOM!!!!

The entire planet shuddered as twelve distinct locations across the globe underwent violent, cataclysmic transformations. Inside his dormitory, Corey felt the building heave under the force of the sudden earthquake.

"Shit!" Corey spat a curse, narrowly dodging a falling hunk of ceiling. Scrambling for safety, he bolted toward his wardrobe and shoved himself inside, knowing it was the most reinforced spot in his small room.

The dormitory continued to vibrate violently for several seconds before the tremors finally died down. Corey remained huddled in the dark for a moment longer, ensuring the danger had passed. Once he was certain the floor wouldn't collapse, he crawled out, only to find his living space reduced to a pile of wreckage.

"Arghhh!!!!"

Just as he moved to survey the damage, a piercing shriek erupted from outside. He rushed to the window to investigate, but the sight that met his eyes turned his blood to ice.

"Help me!! Somebody help me!!"

"Stop!! Stay back!! Get away from me!!"

"Arghhhh!!!"

"Jake, what’s wrong with you?! Why are you doing this?! Arghhh!!!"

"My leggg!!!"

Pandemonium reigned!

Pure chaos!

From his vantage point, Corey watched in horror as students tore into one another. At least a hundred people had gathered in the courtyard, and now every single one of them was locked in a brutal, fratricidal struggle.

Death was everywhere!

Agonized screams and desperate pleas filled the air.

Corey stood paralyzed, absorbing the carnage for five long seconds before his survival instincts finally kicked in.

He lunged toward his bed and began frantically tearing through his bag, cursing under his breath the entire time.

"I knew it! I fucking knew it! That wish screen was a trap, a goddamn evil piece of shit."

He rummaged through the bag, tossing aside textbooks and other academic supplies like they were trash.

Ever since his sister revealed that her wish had been granted, Corey hadn't trusted the wish screen for a second. He had been mentally bracing for a world gone mad. But while others might have asked for superpowers, he had foolishly chosen wisdom. Now, in the face of physical slaughter, he had no way to protect himself.

'Maybe if I hadn't cut myself off from everyone, I would have realized everyone was getting a wish. I wouldn't have wasted mine on something like wisdom.'

Corey shook his head, forcing the regretful thoughts away. He focused on the task at hand and, moments later, pulled out a pair of kitchen knives.

"This has to be enough to keep me alive," Corey whispered. His thoughts drifted to his sister, who had actually wished for combat capabilities.

"Oh, I'm so fucking dead," Corey groaned. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves, tucked one knife into his waistband, and pulled his t-shirt over the handle to hide it.

The screams echoing from the hallway told him that staying put was no longer an option. His room was a death trap; he had to move.

Creeping toward the door, he dropped to his knees. He peered through the gap at the bottom, checking for any shadows or movement in the corridor. Seeing nothing, he stood up, gripped his knife until his knuckles turned white, and stepped out.

The sight in the hallway made his stomach churn and his heart race. Corpses were strewn across the floor. The narrow passage was a nightmare of blood, torn flesh, and shattered debris.

Corey inhaled sharply, trying to soothe his fluttering heart.

"You can handle this, Corey. You predicted this would happen. You’ve prepared for this. You’ve got this!" Corey muttered, trying to psych himself up. He raised his hand and delivered a sharp sting to his own face.

PA!

"Ow! That fucking hurt."

He was rubbing his throbbing cheek when a low, gutteral sound vibrated from behind him.

Grrrr!

He spun around unsteadily, and the sight nearly stopped his heart. One of the bodies on the floor was rising, its movements jerky and unnatural. The fact that a corpse was returning to life was terrifying enough, but the details were worse.

What truly horrified Corey was the geometry of the creature.

The corpse's head was twisted 180 degrees to face backward, and a hole the size of a fist gaped in its chest!!

Its dead, milky eyes were locked onto Corey, even though its back was turned toward him.

Corey stood frozen, his mind racing but his body refusing to move. He was terrified—utterly consumed by fear. He had no idea how to fight something like this.

He realized the corpse had once been a female student. Then, the creature smiled at him, a sight so grotesque it sent a chill down his spine. Just as he prepared to bolt, the situation shifted.

A door behind the monster crept open without a sound. A scrawny teenage boy stepped out, clutching a baseball bat. He began to sneak toward the creature with predatory focus.

The corpse, focused entirely on Corey, remained oblivious. Corey saw the boy gesture for him to stay still and keep the monster's attention distracted.

For a split second, Corey considered alerting the monster to the boy's presence, but he discarded the thought. He wasn't that cold-blooded, and if the boy could take the thing out, it was better for everyone.

Once the boy was within range, he hoisted the bat high and, with every ounce of strength in his thin frame, brought it crashing down on the creature's skull.

PA! PA! PA!

The boy didn't stop. He hammered the head repeatedly until the monster stopped twitching and its skull was a pulp of bone and brain matter. Corey watched, jaw dropped, stunned by the sheer brutality displayed by someone so frail-looking.

"Hahh, Hahh, Hahh."

Corey heard the boy’s heavy breathing and took a cautious step forward.

"Are you okay?" Corey asked. The boy didn't answer at first. Then, a second later, he broke into a manic laugh.

"Hahahahahahahaha!!!"

"This is exactly like the novels! The apocalypse starts, people turn into zombies, and zombies give experience points! I’m going to be the protagonist. I’ll do whatever it takes to be the strongest! No one will ever bully me again! I’ll have a harem of women just like in the stories, and I’ll be a King!! Hahahahaha."

"But that shitty universal system cheated me! I demanded a system with free lucky roulettes, but the damn thing claimed IT IS THE SYSTEM! It only gave me one free spin! I have to pay for the rest! And all I got from my one spin was a pill that boosted my strength and agility by 1 measly point! What a fucking scam!!"

As the boy continued his delusional rant, Corey stared at him with a mixture of pity and concern.

'Great, one of those delusional shut-ins,' Corey thought. He started to move toward the boy to calm him down, but he suddenly stopped dead, witnessing something that made his skin crawl.

A faint, translucent mist drifted up from the mangled corpse and flowed toward the boy. Lost in his own rambling, the boy didn't notice as the vapor sank into his skin.

"Arghhh!!!"

"Help me! Help me!!"

The boy began to convulse, his screams turning into desperate pleas. He reached out toward Corey, begging for assistance, but Corey was too terrified of the unknown phenomenon to move. Instead of helping, he instinctively retreated.

The boy’s agonizing shrieks lasted a few more seconds before fading into silence. He remained standing, but his head hung low, casting a shadow over his face.

Unsure of what he was witnessing, Corey kept his distance and tightened his grip on his kitchen knife.

"Uhmm. Hey. Are you… uhmm… alright?"

As Corey spoke, he saw the boy’s fingers twitch. Corey took another step back, his instincts screaming that something was fundamentally wrong.

As he backed away, the boy finally lifted his head. At first glance, he looked normal, but Corey’s internal alarm bells went off instantly. The boy—or whatever occupied his body—was wearing the exact same twisted smile the corpse had displayed.

"Uhmm. Hello and…"

Before Corey could finish, the boy’s jaw unhinged, opening far wider than humanly possible, and a deafening roar erupted from his throat.

Roarrr!!!

"…Goodbye."

Corey turned and ran for his life. The monster that used to be a student was hot on his heels!

Crash!

Bang!

Roarrr!!!

Corey kicked over trash cans and shoved whatever furniture he could find into the monster’s path, desperate to slow it down.

He was terrified, his lungs burning as he gasped for air.

The creature was gaining on him, which wasn't surprising—Corey wasn't an athlete, and he certainly didn't spend his time at the gym.

Ahead, he spotted the stairwell leading to the top floor. Knowing the hallway ended in a dead end, he veered toward the stairs and began to climb.

The monster followed, its roars echoing with primal fury.

Heart pounding, Corey tried to think of an escape plan as he ascended. His pace was flagging, and the monster had dropped to all fours to scramble up the steps, rapidly closing the gap.

Desperate to live, Corey pushed his aching muscles to the limit. Reaching the top landing, he lunged for the nearest door, hoping to barricade himself inside before the beast caught up.

But as he crossed the threshold, he froze instantly.

Four monsters stood inside.

One had a mass of tentacles for a chin and was wearing a chef's apron while brandishing a spatula. The second had a forehead covered in eyes and a long tentacle where an arm should be. The third was a massive, hulking brute in a suit with tiny, beady eyes. The last one looked like a tangle of tree roots and human intestines with a distorted face; it was seated at a table. On that table sat a cake with three flickering candles.

Birthday decorations hung behind them, and a banner on the wall read "Happy Birthday."

Corey stared at the monsters in a daze, and the monsters stared right back.

"Uhmm... Wrong room," Corey whispered. He began to back out slowly, closing the door with agonizing care.

Roar!

BANG!

The moment the latch clicked, the door shook under a massive impact. Terrified the wood would splinter, Corey bolted down the hall with a look of pure misery.

"Who the fuck told me to wish for wisdom?!!"