Chapter 2: Shopping
"Oh, fudge!" Keni cursed, his eyes darting to the burning billboard.
Somehow, he had traveled back to 2012. Worse, it was a version of Earth facing the apocalypse.
Despite it being the wet season, everything looked like a burning wasteland. The buildings were on fire, and the streets were heavily decorated with ownerless vehicles. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a Flame City.
Even Justin Bibeer would agree. Especially since his billboard featuring the Christmas holidays was slowly crumbling on the brink of collapse.
"Ha... Is this for real?"
He looked around at the flame-covered environment. Above, the night sky was cloudless and crimson red, resembling Van Gogh's starry night with a horror theme.
'Shoot! This is not an ordinary apocalypse!' Keni screamed internally.
He could almost imagine someone dissing him, smelling the pissant odor from his pajamas. In fact, it almost made him ditch his clothes on the spot.
"Where on Earth could I be, though?" Keni glanced around the dim alley. His stare fell on the witch's corpse on the corner.
'...I don't wanna know how that thing died...'
Keni looked away; he was like a stray dog almost close to calling quits. Sadly, He had no idea how his body self-piloted on defeating the witch.
The scars and bruises on his body were his only reminder. Although these were no joke. He was practically powerless at this point. One look at him, and anyone would agree he looked worse than any loser.
'A loser... who could easily die... from just a single hit...' Keni croaked. The scene before him looked like hell visited Earth. Even the distant screams were like a broken radio from hell.
Nevertheless, Keni decided to meander around. It was dangerous just imagining when another witch would attack him.
That's why he chose to bet his safety on the streets instead.
Quietly, he slid out of the area, finding hundreds of corpses scattered on the pavement. It was like a biodiversity of the dead decorating every corner.
There were large ones that resembled ogres; and small ones that looked like imps. A giant lizard was even sprawled on the ground—covered in flames that seemed impossible to ever burn.
However, human corpses were almost littered everywhere. Which felt like death had kissed his cheek.
Walking by, he passed the corpses while wearing raggedy-ass pajamas. The worn soles on his loafer rubbed against the asphalt.
When he glanced down, it chilled his bones. Their half-dead eyes almost made him empty his bladder again. Thankfully, the cold breeze reminded him of something else.
"Ha... I need some clothes." Keni groaned, his eyes full of pity.
He couldn't believe he'd be jealous of a corpse wearing designer clothing. And he couldn't just steal the dead clothes either, as they all seemed tattered beyond use.
"There should be a thrift shop nearby," Keni muttered. "Unless all these buildings are burning..." Finding decent wear would almost be impossible.
Keni had to walk past fallen electrical poles, still flickering live juice. Then, he noticed the abandoned cars with corpses hanging visibly through windows.
It took more than a hundred paces from the alley until he saw a neighborhood that appeared 'less burning, but more demolished' than the others.
"Shopping na! Here in Tagum City!"
A soft voice echoed in the background. The store's audio speakers were barely intact, playing stuttering advertisements and promos.
Outside, the barely intact signage read 'Ukay-ukay.' A half-open rolling door served as the only entrance.
Quickly, Keni slid under it, never bothering to mask his noise as the advertisement crept into his ears. It looped in the darkness as the volume swayed between fading and becoming louder. Then, his eyes landed on the piles of clothes stacked on the floor and racks.
'Shoot...' He cursed. The store was filled with mannequins that made him jumpy for a moment.
It reminded him of a room designed as a tourist trap. The flames outside cast their figures in an odd atmosphere. He wanted to chuckle when he imagined his expression.
Suddenly, Keni staggered onto the floor. His hands gripped a nearby mannequin despite his earlier anxiety. The ground shook.
It felt like he was standing on a giant's skin as the ground swayed aggressively, including the building. Then, a yawning shockwave followed, violently shaking the building and vibrating the air.
Keni wanted to stoop under the clothes rack before another cracking sound erupted...!
[Sidestep]
A cable snapped. One speaker swung past his cheek, almost hitting him. It continued playing the store's advertisement before crashing on the floor. Although he never noticed it swing towards him, his body reacted again without consent.
"Ha... Shoot!" Keni cursed. He whipped his head to see the broken speaker.
".. Odd..." He groaned. He glanced down, slid up his pajama cuffs, and revealed pairs of healthier-looking legs. The ground had stopped shaking momentarily.
Well, not really healthy, but... Although it was still skin-clinging-on-bones type, the bruises from before were now shades of brownish-yellow—almost fading and healing.
The cuts and wounds on his torso were also barely noticeable, and his cracked wrist felt slightly more tolerable.
"Shoot, this is weird." Keni touched his abdomen. The gaping bruise had disappeared along with his scars. "And here I thought I broke a rib..."
He ditched his pajamas as he checked his body. Despite being awkwardly buck naked, his eyes widened in surprise after inspecting himself. It was as if magic had healed him from the intense wounds and bruises he suffered earlier.
"Ha... ha! But why am I still tired?" Keni panted, his chest tightening with every breath.
He had been constantly tired since exiting the alley, and his body felt like it had run miles at top speed.
["Answer: You have been constantly self-healing. Converting damages to fatigue."]
"So that's why I'm also...hungry?" His stomach growled. He could imagine the reply scoffing, stating that his hunger was a coincidence.
***
Keni grabbed whatever fabric was within his reach. It was mostly feminine, while some were oversized for his build.
Finally, he wore a body-printed shirt, a deep-crimson vest, and ripped denim jeans. Although his body smelled like it needed laundry, it was either this or strolling the streets naked.
<BOOM!>
The ceiling swayed. A loud explosion shook the building aggressively.
Keni slid, then ducked behind the clothing racks. He had grabbed a metal bar after feeling panicked. Moreover, his forehead was sweating bullets as he realized the air was getting hotter.
Immediately, the rolling doors crumpled, and something smashed behind the sheets. A visible wedge-shaped impact crushed the rolling doors.
Suddenly, Keni blinked when he caught light piercing through the metal sheets. Spear-shaped flames, the size of fists, sprayed on the rolling door—setting both the door and the establishment aflame.
Keni leaned toward the commotion. The sizzling flame couldn't mask the groan behind the sheets.
"F*ck this!" Someone cursed, their raspy voice echoing inside Keni's ears. They were speaking in an unfamiliar language that Keni weirdly understood.
["Answer: Magna detected."]
'Wut?' In an instant, the doors flew at an absurd impact, crushing the walls it crashed into.
The flames started to creep inside as the ceilings threatened to collapse. Whatever remained at the entrance was a behemoth—a human figure cloaked in flames with golden claws and thick horns protruding from its forehead.
"Shoot! Is that a demon?!" Keni screamed, his breath mixed with fatigue. Thankfully, the flames and explosions drowned his voice to an almost-unhearable level. The figure never noticed him.
["Answer: Human."]
'Ha? That thing's human?' Keni heard heavy stomps shaking the ground, producing shockwaves that beat within his chest.
It shook the ceiling and tumbled the mannequins and racks like an intense earthquake. Then, Keni whipped his head towards the busted entrance where the demon stood.
Outside, a giant lizard—limbs wielding sharp claws and a fire-foamed mouth—marched towards the demon. It breathed liquid flames reaching quickly to its enemy, melting everything it touched.
["Answer: Monster."]
However, the flames bounced in midair. A barely noticeable film was floating between them. Keni wouldn't have noticed it without squinting his eyes. It was faintly glowing while stopping the flames.
["Answer: Magna."]
Keni slid into another corner as the flames started to consume the store. His sore muscles were difficult to control, along with his senses that seemed duller than usual.
It felt like the floor could swallow him before the building shook again, even harder this time. It snapped the other speakers still hanging above him.
One grazed Keni's cheek. The broken speaker was still playing noisy tunes when he realized everything looked wobbly.
His movements were even sluggish, and he blamed dizziness. Funnily, there was no longer that abnormal reaction that commanded his body without consent—no more 'sidestep' here, 'back-step' there, but only his body's slow reactions.
"Ha.. shoot!" Keni cursed. He had stopped just in time before the side racks crashed into him.
The flames had also crept their way, thanks to the flammable clothes in the store. Worse, the concrete ceiling was threatening to collapse over him.
["Answer: Magna."]
Keni frowned, tired of hearing the usual words ringing inside his head.
"What the fudge is a magna!" He ran towards the back, hoping there was an exit.
Despite his body being burdened by fatigue, the metal bar in his hand felt unusually lighter. Little did he know it weighed almost half his weight.
["Answer: Magna, also known as magic."]
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Kensuix
Kensuix Rewrote the chapter a second time. I hope anyone's reading at this point leave some comments about how the writing goes... Critics are highly appreciated <3
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