Slowly, I opened my eyes.

  My head throbbed, my thoughts were fuzzy.

  'What happened? Where am I? Did I die..?'

  I looked around.

  No one. Nothing. All was black.

  I looked down, I saw nothing. Where was my body?

  'Who am I?'

  ...

  I took a step forward, then another, and another...

  Before I knew it, I started walking. Aimlessly through the endless darkness.

  Another step.

  'Why am I walking?'

  It doesn't matter. I did not stop.

  Another step.

  Then... light. Appearing gradually, it did not blind me. It felt soothing and comfortable, making the darkness vanish.

  But I did not stop walking.

  Forward, another step.

  Still aimlessly, I walked.

  A change, the sky was forming itself. Slowly, surely, the blue ceiling covering the world was created.

  I looked up. 'It's beautiful...' I looked forward.

  And I kept walking.

  Step after step.

  Then, the floor shifted. Stone, gravel, sand, dirt.

  Around me, trees started growing and vegetation sprouted from the earth.

  And I kept walking on the newly formed land.

  I never stopped.

  Stepping forward...

  Soon, heat came.

  The Sun radiated brightly through the clouds.

  But I still walked, bathing in the sunlight.

  The whistle of the wind, the chatter of the birds.

  I looked up, winged animals flew high in the sky.

  Freedom.

  And I walked, purposeless.

  One step after another.

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  Then I heard them.

  tap.

  tap.

  tap.

  I looked down. I stopped. My eyes met my feet.

  I felt... the ground, the wind, the warmth.

  I brushed my hair with my hands. The flowing silver cascaded over my bare body.

  Surrounding me, I saw animals. Bunnies, foxes, deers, antelopes, tigers, lions.

  Then I sat down, to rest.

  I closed my eyes, and slept.

  But this time, there was no darkness.

  ...

  Slowly, I opened my eyes.

  My head was clear, I felt calm and soothed.

  The clothes on me were soft and comfortable.

  I felt alive.

  I looked around.

  A mesmerizing scenery unfolded. A world full of colors met my eyes. There was life and light.

  The animals, nor predators, nor prey, simply living together, were basking in the same peace as I was

  I stood up, to fully engrave this sight inside me.

  I drew one step forward.

  crack—

  That wasn't the expected sound...

  Yet I took another step.

  Crack!

  I looked down. The ground was shattered, a hot glowing red liquid spurted from below.

  For some reason, I felt despair.

  A soft chime rang out inside my head. But I disregarded it.

  I looked around.

  Chaos unveiled, blood and death reigned. The world was dyed red, every creature killing each other.

  'Why?'

  The previous order and comfort vanished.

  'Why are you doing this? It was better before! Stop it..!'

  I clenched my head with both hands, legs trembling, I walked forward.

  I heard thoughts that weren’t mine, felt emotions without feelings.

  The despair was fading away, in its stead was madness.

  Insanity consumed me.

  Vision darkening, face melting, and skin slowly turning dull grey.

  I craved for destruction.

  Ding!

  Another chime rang out.

  I stopped.

  _ _ _

  [Unique monster: The Shepherd of Order. Scenario started, Where Chaos reigns.]

  [At the beginning, there was nothing. Then the world was created, and Order governed it. However, the Order wasn't just, some were stronger than others and sought power, thus enveloping the world in an unending swirl of chaos.]

  [To survive, you will need to bring into completion the will of the Order before madness takes over your body]

  Sanity:

  100%———75%——— ——— ———0%

  _ _ _

  As soon as I read the system prompt, all my previous negative emotions faded and I regained control over myself.

  After recomposing myself, I started putting the pieces together. That hunched figure was the Shepherd of Order, and what happened then was probably the introduction of the scenario.

  But I wonder... what if I hadn't the system with me... would I still be controlled by the madness?

  That thought sent shivers down my spine.

  Then further increasing my Mental Fortitude was more important than I thought.

  But are all Unique monsters like this? If so then I clearly understand why Isaac told me they weren't to be messed with...

  Recalling the dread I felt and my body shaking uncontrollably just by seeing it, I simply had one thought: to flee as far away as possible.

  Shaking my head intensely, I refocused on the current matter. 'It is of no use to think about it now'.

  The scene of destruction around me remained unchanged and I still had limited time. First, I needed to find the Federation guys. I had a feeling that the ashen-haired boy had resisted the madness too.

  Around me, all the animals in existence were in a frenzied slaughter, killing as if there was no tomorrow. The ground, shattered and lava spilling from it, accompanied by the billowing smoke and the steel scent from the blood that permeated the air. But I ignored it, and rushed toward where I could see less chaos.

  I sped up, going as fast as possible.

  *

  Soon, I could distinguish the silhouette of multiple humans. I discerned black hair and black clothing. That was Gaspard, along with two other soldiers I didn't quite recognize. The former appeared to be sleeping, while the two others in a daze, eyes glowing in a dark red hue. It seemed that madness had unfortunately already taken over them.

  Suddenly, they pounced on the sleeping Gaspard. However I was already prepared for something like this happening, so charging at max speed, I swiftly disposed of them by piercing their neck with both hands, decapitating them in the motion.

  Warm blood splattered all over me, dying my clothes in a bright red, but I didn't care. Oddly, killing a fellow human being didn’t repulse me that much, on the contrary, it almost felt natural.

  I then calmly walked towards Gaspard, then I gently shook his shoulders, trying to wake him up.

  Soon, he opened his eyes. But I noticed that they were darker than usual and a slight red glow emanated from them. But fortunately, I could still discern some clarity left in them.

  He looked straight at me, eyes shaking, then spoke in a somber voice, "Oh, it's you Rebecca..." He paused, and just before I could talk he added, "..You should leave me here. I can't hold on much longer."

  I stood still, mouth half-opened, cut in what I wanted to say. I fully understood what that meant, so I knew that reasoning him would prove fruitless, or even harmful to me.

  So closing my eyes in understanding I simply...

  "Sure."

  ..left.

  I took unhurried steps forward. And soon, I heard a gunfire resounding behind me, followed by a small thud.

  But I still had to survive, so I kept going forward, without looking back.

  _ _ _

  Sanity:

  100%——— —60%— ——— ———0%

  _ _ _

  __ __ __