Darkness enveloped him, and Irvin found himself standing in a void, his body reduced to a mere silhouette. Five dark holes gaped within his form, and two shimmering orbs circled around him, casting an eerie glow.

  As he stared at the holes, a surge of knowledge flooded his mind.

  Augments: 2

  Head [Intelligence] 0

  Heart [Charisma] 0

  Hands [Spirit] 0

  Belly [Strength] 0

  Legs [Agility] 0

  [Congratulations. Your race have become one of the few capable of connecting with our dimension.]

  [Anomalies have been detected requiring adjustment for seamless integration.]

  [Please get into safe place and prepare for your worlds integration into the system.]

  [Once again, congratulation on your achievement.]

  Irvin's mind kicked into gear as he surveyed the surreal landscape around him. "Another wild ass dream," he mused, a wry smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Well, let's enjoy it while it lasts."

  He studied the floating orbs with detached curiosity, noting how they cast dancing shadows across the void. The holes in his silhouette intrigued him most - each one a gaping maw of potential. He reached out, his fingers passing through the emptiness where his belly should have been.

  Irvin reached for the floating orbs, observing how they reacted to his movements. They settled into his palm beckoning him towards the empty spaces of his body.

  Without much hesitation, he pushed both of the orbs into his belly. As the orbs settled into place, a rush of energy surged through his body. The emptiness filled with a newfound warmth, and Irvin couldn't help but gasp at the sensation.

  With the warmth coursing through him, a hollow, cold feeling lingered in the rest of his body. The other attributes remained untouched, leaving him with a sense of incompleteness.

  "I wish this wasn't a dream."

  Irvin bolted upright in bed, his heart pounding. The explosion outside had jolted him from his strange dream, leaving him disoriented and confused. He stumbled to the window, his bare feet cold against the floor.

  Looking out over the main road, Irvin's eyes widened at the mayhem unfolding below. Vehicles had crashed into each other, buildings, and streetlights. Whatever just happened had turned the streets into a mess.

  People poured out of their homes, confusion etched on their faces. Irvin's eyes scanned the chaos, not focusing on the people, as much as on the dead cars and unlit streetlights.

  Glancing at his clock, it was frozen at 6AM.

  "What the hell is this?" Irvin muttered. Grabbing his phone, it didn't turn on, same for his laptop or the lights in the room.

  Irvin pulled on his jacket and shoes, his mind racing with questions about the chaos outside. He took a deep breath, steeling himself before opening the front door of his apartment. As it swung open, he was met with an impenetrable darkness that made his stomach clench.

  The hallway, usually bright and welcoming, had transformed into a black void. No emergency lights flickered, no sounds of neighbors stirring reached his ears. The silence pressed in on him, amplifying the pounding of his heart.

  Cold sweat trickled down Irvin's back as he peered into the darkness. He hated this, the inability to see what might be lurking just beyond his reach. His logical mind struggled to reason with his fear of dark places.

  "It's just a power outage," he muttered, trying to convince himself. "Nothing to be afraid of."

  But as the words left his lips, a low, guttural growl echoed through the hallway. It was close, far too close for comfort. Irvin dashed back into his apartment pulling the doors with him.

  But before he could close it, something heavy slammed into the door behind him. The impact send dread down his spine as he stumbled backward, desperately trying to force the door shut. But whatever was on the other side was strong, pushing against his efforts.

  Panic surged through him. Without a second thought, Irvin abandoned the door and bolted for the kitchen. His feet barely touched the ground as he sprinted across the apartment, slamming the kitchen door behind him.

  The momentary relief was short-lived. Another crash shook the kitchen door, and the sound of shattering glass filled the air. Irvin's eyes darted towards the broken door frame a pair of glowing red eyes locked onto him. He recognized those eyes, but they belonged to something far more sinister than the annoying little dog from next door.

  The creature that emerged was a twisted version of his neighbor's pet. Its body had grown to knee-height, its head grotesquely enlarged with razor-sharp teeth protruding from a blood-stained muzzle. Irvin's mind reeled at the sight.

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  "What the hell happened to you?" he whispered, backing away slowly.

  The transformed dog growled, low and menacing. Irvin's survival instincts kicked in. He lunged for the kitchen counter, his hand frantically searching for a weapon. His fingers closed around the handle of a cleaver just as the beast launched itself through the broken door.

  Time seemed to slow as Irvin saw the creature's muscles bunch, preparing to spring. He barely had time to think, before he threw himself to the side.

  The sudden movement sent him crashing into the kitchen table. He stumbled, struggling to keep his footing as the beast's jaws snapped shut where his feet had been a moment before.

  Panic surged through Irvin's veins. He swung the cleaver wildly, in front of him. The blade whistled through the air, missing the dog by inches.

  "Fuck, fuck, fuck," Irvin's mind raced. He swung again, putting all his strength behind the blow. To his shock, the cleaver buried itself deep into the wooden table next to him, lodging firmly in place.

  "How the hell?" Irvin gasped. He tugged at the handle, but the blade refused to budge. "No, no, no, not now!"

  The dog circled him, its red eyes never leaving Irvin's face. Saliva dripped from its enlarged jaws, mixing with the blood already staining its fur.

  Irvin's world exploded into chaos as the mutated dog slammed into his chest. The impact knocked the wind out of him, sending him sprawling on the floor. Before he could react, the beast lunged for his throat, jaws snapping.

  Irvin threw his arm up, a desperate shield against those sharp teeth. Pain exploded through his arm as the dog's fangs sank in. He cried out, the sound more of a desperate call for help then anything else.

  The agony in his arm was intense, but something else surged through his body - raw survival instinct. His free hand clenched into a fist. Without thinking, he began hammering it against the dog's skull, again and again.

  "Get. Off. Me!" Each word punctuated by another blow.

  The first punch connected with a sickening thud which made the dog's grip loosen. But in Irvin's desperate frenzy he kept on pummeling the mut. As his fist connected, he felt the creature's skull give way beneath his knuckles with a horrific crack.

  The mutated dogs limp body, collapsed in a heap on Irvin's chest. Those unnatural red eyes, which had burned with such ferocity moments ago, were snuffed out.

  Irvin staggered to his feet, his chest heaving as he stared at the creature. Blood pooled around its misshapen head, spreading across the kitchen floor in a crimson stain.

  "What the hell?" Irvin whispered, his voice trembling. He looked down at his fist, flexing his fingers. They were bruised and bloodied, but otherwise intact.

  How did I do that? It shouldn't have been possible to crack a skull with his bare hands.

  The adrenaline began to ebb, and Irvin became acutely aware of the throbbing pain in his arm. He glanced down, wincing at the sight of the deep puncture wounds left by the dog's teeth. Blood trickled down his forearm, dripping onto the floor.

  But even as he registered the injury, Irvin's mind was racing. This wasn't just some freak occurrence. The dream, the power outage, and now this monstrosity that used to be his neighbor's pet.

  The dream. Thinking about the augments, he was pulled back into that place inside of his mind.

  Augments: 1

  Head [Intelligence] 0

  Heart [Charisma] 0

  Hands [Spirit] 0

  Belly [Strength] 2

  Legs [Agility] 0

  Right, strength it is. He decided, pushing the new orb towards his stomach.

  Irvin stared at his hands, still trembling from the fight. Blood - both his and the dog's - caked his knuckles and smeared his palms. He stumbled to the kitchen sink, fumbling with the faucet. Nothing came out.

  "Shit," he muttered, a cold dread settling in his gut. No water meant this wasn't just a local outage. How far did it extend? The whole city? Further?

  He grabbed a dish towel, wiping his hands frantically. The blood came off somewhat, but the the sticky feeling remained present on his skin.

  I need to get out of here. Now.

  He retrieved his backpack from his room, tossing it onto the counter. What did he need? Food? Water? Weapons? His hands shook as he yanked open drawers, grabbing whatever looked useful.

  Focus, dammit, he chided himself. Think.

  Two kitchen knives went into the bag, along with a handful of dish towels. He paused, eyeing the cleaver still embedded in the table. After a moment's hesitation, he pulled it out with some effort.

  Irvin zipped up the backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. His palms covered in sweat as he approached the apartment door. There are no other animals in this building, right?

  Just stick to the plan, he told himself. Get out, find help, figure out what the hell is going on.

  He placed his hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath, and stepped into the hallway. It was eerily quiet.

  Irvin crept down the dimly lit hallway, his throat dry. The silence was oppressive, broken only by the sound of his own ragged breathing. As he rounded a corner, he stumbled to a halt, his blood turning cold.

  Two bodies lay sprawled on the floor, their faces and throats a mangled mess. Irvin recognized them vaguely—the couple from apartment 3B. They'd been pretty normal, sometimes even friendly. Now they were nothing more than bloody husks.

  His mind went back to the dog that had attacked him. The dog must have killed them before it found me, he thought, bile rising in his throat realizing he heard little to no sound the whole time he walked down the stairs. How many did it kill before getting to me?

  Irvin forced himself to move, stepping carefully around the bodies. He couldn't afford to dwell on this.

  When he finally burst through the building's front doors, the scene that greeted him was one of utter chaos. The city was plunged into darkness, the familiar glow of streetlights conspicuously absent. In the pre-dawn gloom, Irvin could make out the twisted wreckage of cars littering the streets. Few fires illuminating the road. People stumbled about in confusion, some trying to help the injured, others fleeing in blind panic.

  But it was the animals that truly chilled Irvin to his core. Cats and dogs—pets that should have been harmless—were tearing through the crowds with savage ferocity. He watched in horror as a woman was dragged down by what had once been a golden retriever, her screams cutting off abruptly as its jaws clamped around her throat.

  This can't be happening, Irvin thought, his mind reeling. It's not just that one dog. It's all of them.

  A man ran past, blood streaming from a gash on his arm. "My cat!" he wailed. "It grew ten times in size and just went crazy!"

  Irvin's gaze darted from one nightmarish scene to another. A pack of chihuahuas, now the size of pit bulls, swarmed over a car, their yapping more menacing than comical. A tabby cat, its fur bristling and eyes glowing an unnatural red, leapt at a fleeing jogger with impossible speed.

  He clutched the cleaver tighter, his knuckles white around the handle. The weight of it was reassuring, but he doubted it would be enough if a whole pack of those things came for him.

  I need to get out of here, he thought frantically. But where? Nowhere's safe if every pet in the city has turned into a rabid monster.

  A scream pierced the air, closer this time. Irvin whirled to see a woman backing away from what had once been a poodle, its curly fur matted with blood.

  Chance. Without thinking, he rushed forward, swinging the cleaver in a wild arc.

  The blade connected with a sickening thud, and the mutated poodle collapsed. The woman stared at him, wide-eyed and trembling.

  "Th-thank you," she stammered.

  Irvin nodded grimly, his mind already checking for more augments. I need to get as many as I can.

  He pushed his strength to 4, the warm glow in his belly intensified, relaxing him, but as he exited his mind, cold sweat coated his body and chill run through the rest of his body for couple of moments before it suddenly stopped.