The Voidfang's corpse hadn't even fully dissolved when Luis noticed him—a shimmering figure leaning against the alley wall, visible only in his peripheral vision. When Luis turned his head, the god was suddenly right in front of him, grinning like a gambler holding a losing hand.
"Surprise!" Zyx said, flicking Luis's forehead. "I'm your divine plus-one!"
Luis stumbled back. "You—other people can't see you?"
Zyx rolled his eyes. "Obviously not. You think normies get front-row seats to the apocalypse?"
Across the street, a woman in a torn business suit was shouting at empty air. "Who are you?! Stop—stop laughing at me!" Her hands burst into flames as she screamed.
[HOST IDENTIFIED: PYROKINETIC CLASS]
[PATRON GOD: IGNIS, LORD OF WILDFIRES]
A teenager nearby clutched his head, whispering frantically to someone only he could see. "No, I don't want to drown them! I just—oh god, make it stop—" Water swirled around his ankles against all laws of physics.
[HOST IDENTIFIED: HYDROKINETIC CLASS]
[PATRON GOD: NYREA, WHISPERER OF DROWNING DEPTHS]
Luis's breath came faster. "Every Host has... their own god?"
"Yep!" Zyx plucked a floating notification only Luis could see:
[GLOBAL HOST POPULATION: 997,441]
[ELIMINATIONS: 2,559]
"One million minus the dead," Zyx said cheerfully. "And every survivor's got a backseat deity whispering in their ear. Some are helpful. Most are... not."
A delivery van screeched around the corner—then lifted off the ground, hovering ten feet in the air as the driver inside shrieked. A spectral figure with too many arms floated behind him, visible only as a warped reflection in the van's windows.
[HOST IDENTIFIED: TELEKINETIC CLASS]
[PATRON GOD: VORTAN, THE GRAVITY MOCKER]
The van suddenly crumpled like a soda can, blood spraying through the seams.
[HOST ELIMINATED: 2,560]
Zyx clicked his tongue. "Vortan's always impatient. Gets his hosts killed by Day 2."
Luis turned to run—and nearly collided with a sobbing girl. Her eyes were pure white, her fingers digging into her scalp as she begged: "Please, I don't want to see it anymore! Make the visions stop!"
Behind her, a translucent woman in a blindfold traced prophetic runes across the girl's shoulders, whispering directly into her mind.
[HOST IDENTIFIED: PRECOGNITIVE CLASS]
[PATRON GOD: THE THREE-EYED WHISPER]
The girl's head snapped toward Luis. "You!" she gasped. "Your god is different! He's—"
A sniper round took off the top of her skull.
[HOST ELIMINATED: 2,561]
Luis hit the ground, bile rising in his throat. On the rooftop across the street, a WHI operative reloaded with mechanical precision. His eyes glowed faintly gold—and for half a second, Luis glimpsed the spectral figure behind him: a towering knight made of shadows, pressing a finger to its helm in a mocking salute.
[HOST IDENTIFIED: OPERATIVE CLASS]
[PATRON GOD: KRATHOS, THE SILENT GENERAL]
Zyx yanked Luis behind a dumpster. "That one's bad news. Krathos only picks soldiers. They always make the top 100."
The global counter ticked down again. [997,440...]