My Overpowered Bunny Girls

The party walked for hours through the dead city.

Nathan watched the buildings pass by. They were all the same. Grey stone. Broken windows. Collapsed roofs. The ash on the ground was thick and soft, and it muffled their footsteps. The only sounds were their breathing and the occasional creak of a loose door swinging in a wind that did not exist.

The sky did not change. The light stayed grey and weak. Nathan could not tell if it was morning or afternoon or evening. Time felt strange here. Like it had stopped.

Garrett walked beside him. Red was next to Garrett, his wool soft and grey from the ash. "This place gives me the creeps," Garrett said. "It’s like walking through a graveyard. A really big graveyard."

"It is a graveyard," Smithy said. He was walking behind them with his Void Eel. "The whole world is a graveyard. We’re walking on the graves of an entire civilization."

Dillon looked at a building to his right. It was a house. The door was open. A child’s toy lay on the doorstep, covered in ash. "That’s dark, Smithy."

"It’s the truth."

Nathan kept walking. They passed through a large square. The buildings here were bigger. Government buildings. Shops. A market. The stalls were empty. The signs were faded. Nathan saw bones on the ground. Human bones. Animal bones. He did not point them out. Everyone could see them.

Elise walked next to Nathan. She was quiet. Her staff lit the way. Nathan noticed she stayed close to him. He did not mention it.

They stopped to rest near a collapsed fountain. The stone was cracked and dry. Nathan sat down and pulled out his water bottle. He drank. Then he poured some water into his hand and let Mirko drink from it. She was in bunny form on his shoulder.

’This place is wrong,’ Mirko said through the link. ’It feels empty. But also not empty. Like something is hiding under the surface.’

’I feel it too,’ Kuro said. She was in Nathan’s jacket, a small black shape. ’The silence is not natural. Something is suppressing the sounds of this world.’

Shiro was on Nathan’s other shoulder. ’The Young Lord must be careful. This world has been consumed by the Shepherd. His influence may still linger.’

Nathan looked at the sky. The grey light was fading. Or maybe it was his imagination. He could not tell.

"We keep moving," Nathan said. "The Sunken City is still a day away. We need to find shelter before the light goes completely."

The party stood up and continued walking. The city stretched around them. The buildings grew taller. The streets grew wider. And Nathan noticed something. The ash on the ground was thicker here. Deeper. Like the city had been buried under a layer of grey snow.

Then he saw it. A shape in the distance. A building that was different from the others. It was taller. Darker. Its walls were smooth and black, and it did not look like it belonged to this world.

"What is that?" Garrett asked.

Nathan used [Hunter’s Insight]. The building was far away, but he could see it clearly now. It was a tower. A black tower made of smooth stone. It rose from the ash like a spear.

"That’s not part of the city," Elise said. "The architecture is different. It’s... wrong."

"It’s a Tower," Smithy said. "A Babel Tower. Or what’s left of one."

Nathan stared at the black tower. It was maybe ten miles away. It stood alone in the grey landscape, surrounded by the ruins of the city. "Maybe it’s the center of the World. Maybe the Sunken City is near it."

"Or maybe it’s where we need to go," Dillon said.

Nathan looked at the map again. The Sunken City was marked as a large circle. The black tower was not on the map. "We need to investigate. But first, we find shelter. The light is fading."

They found a building near the edge of the square. It was a large hall with thick walls and a solid roof. The door was missing, but the interior was dry and empty. Nathan posted a watch rotation and the party settled in for the night.

Nathan sat near the door, Moonlight across his knees. The grey light outside was almost gone. The shadows were deep and dark. He could hear the others moving inside the hall. Garrett was checking his equipment. Dillon was feeding Cloudy. Elise was reading the books they had taken from the library. Smithy was sitting in a corner with his Void Eel.

Mirko was in humanoid form now, sitting next to Nathan. Dragon’s Fang was across her knees. "You should sleep, Master. I will watch."

"I’m not tired."

’You are lying,’ Kuro said. She was in the shadows, barely visible. ’Your body is exhausted. Sleep. We will keep watch.’

Shiro sat on Nathan’s other side. "The Young Lord needs rest. Tomorrow we will find the Sunken City. Tomorrow we will face whatever is inside. You must be strong."

Nathan looked at his summons. They were all watching him. Their eyes were bright in the darkness. Mirko’s pink eyes. Kuro’s dark eyes. Shiro’s golden eyes. They were all ready to protect him.

"Fine," Nathan said. "But wake me if anything happens."

He lay down on the stone floor. It was cold and hard. But he was too tired to care. He closed his eyes. The darkness came quickly.

---

Nathan woke to a hand on his shoulder.

He sat up fast, reaching for Moonlight. Elise was crouched beside him. Her face was pale in the grey light. "Something’s outside," she whispered.

Nathan stood up. The party was already awake. Garrett was at the door with Volcan. Dillon was near the window with his katana. Smithy was in the corner with his Void Eel. The summons were in their small forms, alert and ready.

Nathan moved to the door. He looked outside. The grey light was back, but it was still weak. The street was empty. The buildings were still. But there was something in the ash.

Footprints.

Large footprints. Not human. Too big. They led past the hall and disappeared into the ruins. And they were fresh.

"Something walked past us during the night," Garrett said. "Something big."

Nathan used [Hunter’s Insight]. He scanned the street, the ruins, the shadows. Then he saw it. A shape at the edge of his vision. It was standing in the shadow of a collapsed building. It was tall and thin. Its skin was grey, like the ash. Its eyes were black. And it was watching them.

Nathan drew Moonlight. "Contact," he said quietly. "Straight ahead. Fifty meters."

The party moved into position. The shape did not move. It just stood there, watching. Then it opened its mouth and made a sound. A low, grinding sound, like stones rubbing together.

And then more shapes appeared. Dozens of them. Grey-skinned figures emerging from the shadows of the ruined city. They moved slowly, their bodies twitching. Their black eyes fixed on the party.

"The inhabitants," Smithy said. "The people of the Ashen Expanse. What’s left of them."

Nathan nocked an arrow. "Formation. Defensive. We don’t attack until they do."

The grey figures kept coming. They spread out across the street, surrounding the hall. Their twitching grew more violent. Their mouths opened. And the grinding sound grew louder.

Then the first one charged.

Nathan fired. The arrow hit the creature in the chest. It did not stop. It kept running. Nathan fired again. The second arrow hit its head. The creature stumbled. It fell. It did not get up.

"They’re not invincible," Nathan said. "Head shots work."

The party engaged. Garrett swung Volcan and a creature shattered. Red charged another and crushed it. Dillon’s katana flashed. Elise’s mana bolts exploded. Smithy’s Void Eel phased through bodies and disrupted them. Shiro’s fists shattered skulls. Kuro’s daggers flashed in the grey light. Mirko’s Dragon’s Fang blazed.

The creatures kept coming. They were slow and clumsy. They did not use weapons. They just grabbed and clawed and bit. Their bodies were fragile. A single good hit could destroy them. But there were dozens of them. Then more. Then more.

"They keep coming!" Dillon shouted.

Nathan fired [Starfall Barrage]. The arrows rained down. Creatures fell. But more appeared from the ruins. The street was full of them.

"We can’t stay here!" Nathan called. "We need to move! Toward the black tower!"

The party broke formation and ran. The creatures followed. They were slow, but they did not stop. Nathan turned and fired as he ran. The others did the same. The street was a chaos of grey bodies and flashing weapons.

They reached the edge of the square. The black tower was still far away. But the creatures were behind them. Nathan looked back. They were still coming. Hundreds of them now. A grey tide of bodies.

"Keep moving!" Nathan shouted.

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