Ashes Know the Light

[Two male leads, Kai/Jugglus Juggler pairing, apologies for OOC characterization]

Jugglus Juggler never imagined that an ordinary afternoon would become an ending, or perhaps a beginning.

When a rift in space burst open beneath his feet and dragged him into a dying world of gray and white, Red Kai tossed aside his gummy candy and sprinted barefoot down the hallway, grabbing Juggler by the wrist at the very last second. They plunged into the abyss together and were bound to a strange “Savior System”: kill parasitic zombies and find the source of the mutations.

The air in this world was sickly sweet. Hollow human shapes, infested with gray-white matter, wandered the wasteland. Every time one was killed, a faint sound like a sigh rose from its shattered shell. Juggler's hands never trembled, but each of those sounds sank into his chest, one by one, heavy enough to hurt.

Then they met Mikoto. Black eyes, pale skin, and few words, yet she could always see through their most secret thoughts. She was like a mirror, reflecting the gentleness Juggler had long since lost, as well as the fear Kai never spoke of.

But the truth was the cruelest blade in this world: Mikoto wasn't infected, nor was she a native. She was the source of the mutation, a heart so lonely it could only call for salvation through destruction. And she had known from the start: the people she was waiting for would eventually become the ones who killed her.