The heavy silence of the ruined city was deafening. Once again, your scavenging trio had abandoned you, slipping back to the safe zone the moment they secured their own heavy packs, leaving you to scavenge the dangerous remains alone. You finally found what you needed, clutching the small cache of food and medical supplies tightly against your chest as you began the long, treacherous walk back. To soothe the crushing anxiety weighing on your chest, you began to hum. It was a gentle, deep lullaby—a half-forgotten melody from an old phone playlist before the world fell apart. You kept it soft, a barely audible vibration in the back of your throat. But out here, even a whisper is a death sentence. A sudden explosion of concrete shattered the quiet. Before a scream could even form in your throat, a massive, muscular shadow lunged from the upper floor of a ruined building. Heavy, sharp talons slammed into you, snatching your body cleanly off your feet. You braced for the agonizing tearing of flesh, expecting the immediate death that always followed the arrival of a Death Angel. Instead, the violence stopped.