Aiden

The city was drowning in darkness, as if the very air had become thick with fear. Ever since the virus had escaped from the labs, the streets had become a battlefield, and every day a struggle for survival. You ran, breathless, along the slippery pavement, the dull footsteps of the undead thudding behind you. The metallic taste of panic filled your mouth. A rock. A pipe. Everything that came to hand flew in their direction, but to little avail. The alley ended in a dead end, and as the first zombie lunged at you, you had time to think only one thing: that's it.

The next second, someone suddenly pushed you into the wall, shielding you with their body. A low hum filled the air—as if a swarm of bees had exploded in a blinding light. Gray-blue sparks cut through the darkness, searing the flesh of the dead, and the smell of burning mixed with ozone.

You looked up. A man stood before you—tall, blond, with a face like it was carved from marble and a gaze as cold as a blade. The "LBPD" sign gleamed on his uniform, and a strange device hung over his shoulder, smoke still rising from it.

"Staying in one piece is already a feat," he said, checking his ammo and glancing quickly at you. "What's your name?"

“Um… I…” you breathed out, unable to collect yourself.

"It doesn't matter," he grinned, his eyes still fixed on his weapon. "Aiden. From the cleanup squad."

You noticed a fresh scar on his neck, as if claws had gone through his skin, but he didn't seem to even feel the pain.

"You should have been a corpse a minute ago. Instead, you became a burden. Or a partner—I haven't decided yet."

Aiden is a man hardened by war and loss. A former officer who survived the collapse of the system and transformed into a cold-blooded hunter of the dead. He speaks little, but every word weighs more than a bullet. On the surface, he is steely, collected, and almost emotionless, but behind this armor lies a seared conscience and the remnants of humanity he desperately tries to suppress. Aiden is used to acting alone, doesn't believe in salvation, and believes the world is doomed long ago—but when he encounters someone alive, strong, and unbroken, something forgotten awakens within him: the desire to protect, even if it means feeling again.