The Fall
The agonized screams never ceased, they echoed even more in that wasteland, an unwelcome symphony that had become the soundtrack of his existence since the initial catastrophe struck a decade ago.
The world had crumbled, and as he lay there, watching his lifeblood seep from the remnants of his shattered body, he knew that the last bastion of humanity had fallen. The last Heaven was lost.
A mere five minutes—it took just that long for the first-ever S-grade spawn to obliterate the colossal walls safeguarding the ultimate human settlement. The wasteland stretched endlessly around the fallen Heaven, a desolate place marred by the scars of relentless chaos.
Charred remnants of once-thriving cities stood like skeletal remains, their towering structures reduced to twisted metal and crumbling concrete. The ground beneath him, cracked and barren, silently told the story of a world that had died away under the relentless assault of both undead hordes and colossal monstrosities.
How to describe the huge monster that killed thousands of people with each strike of its claws?
The creature, a humanoid horror, stood almost ten meters tall with a colossal lion's head and claws instead of hands that wrought destruction with each strike. Despite its terrifying form, his long silver mane exuded a certain degree of beauty, a thing he thought was only possible in some sort of royalty from fantasy books.
The bare chest of the colossal beast, with defined muscles, rippled with every movement, showcasing a brutal beauty that belied the terror it inflicted. A substantial cut marred the otherwise imposing chest, a wound inflicted in the heated battle with the fallen Dragon King. Yet even as the severed flesh was exposed to the naked eye, a mystifying regeneration began. The gaping wound slowly closed, leaving not even a mark of its existence behind.
The defeated man, witnessing the creature nonchalantly using his very own severed arm as a toothpick, could only lament.
[My strongest attack only gave him a scratch. Damn!] His regret deepened as he remembered the fight, when the beast, with two swift slaps, had cut his left arm and cleaved him in two. The Dragon King, once revered as one of the top 10 strongest humans alive, now lay defeated, questioning the strength of humanity and his own.
Yet, as he grappled with his demise, the Dragon King couldn't help but ponder the true strength of those 10 humans. Were they strong, or were they just deluding themselves?
To hell with that! He could see what was left of the other nine, all dead after a single strike! It was a complete massacre. It took a decade long for them to unite for the sake of the human race, just to be completely destroyed for the first spawn they faced!
In the end, there was no one left to blame for that. The Dragon King could only blame his weakness, his own choices.
They say that people can see flashbacks of their whole life at the death's door, and so did he.
He remembered the initial wave of zombies, a relentless force that decimated over half of the world's population in the first month. His family was lost, his hope shattered, and yet he pressed on, adapting to a world where both humans and the heavens fell.
Everything changed: plants withered, animals mutated, and even humans, most notably himself, underwent a profound transformation. The cataclysmic event had forced them into a relentless battle for survival, a grim struggle against both the corrupted remnants of their own kind and the mindless monstrosities that now roamed the desolate landscape.
But now, the Dragon King, probably the last man alive, struggled to maintain his consciousness.
[In the end, what have I fought for!? Lost my family and hope long ago, yet I press on. Wasn't it all in vain? It ends just as it started: in screams and pain!] He felt the blood gushing out of his body, he would soon face his end. [Were we fated to this stupid outcome? Could my efforts have altered this grim reality?
The only person I trusted after my parents' death was my master. He saved me a thousand times but still died in the end… Was it all in vain?
Damn it!
Should I be blamed for distrusting people when the apocalypse happened? It's not only my fault; everyone turned crazy, and robbing and killing became as common as the light.
I feared more the men than the zombies; that's why I hunted alone.
Could my selfishness have contributed to the extermination of humans on Earth?]
As the echoes of these thoughts reverberated through the last human's weary mind, the weight of guilt and self-doubt bore down on his shoulders like a crushing burden. In a world where trust had become a rare commodity, he questioned not only his own choices but also the collective actions that led to the extinction of humanity. Amidst the desolation, he grappled with the haunting possibility that his own survival instincts might have inadvertently played a role in the tragic demise of his kind.
[Stop it…It makes no sense to think about it now.] The man shook his head to clear his mind of these bewildering thoughts and sighed hurtfully. That's not how he was supposed to die. À warrior's mind should be in peace when facing death, just like the bushido taught.
In the silence that follows the cacophony of destruction, the last human alive contemplated the intricate web of alliances that unraveled, wondering if glimpses into the past could have forewarned of the impending doom.
[No, we could not have known about it. Humanity has faded since the day it started. Now I must face my end too.]
Minutes later, it was all over. The world, once a cacophony of chaos, now embraced complete silence. For the first time in a decade, the Dragon King didn't hear the screams, only an eerie silence remained.
The half-dead man cast a solemn gaze at the katana lying beside him, a faithful companion throughout the relentless battles that defined his existence. With a hoarse voice, he spoke his farewell.
"Too bad I won't be able to see you again, my friend." A weak and light smile showed on his now pale lips. "At least I'm not going to listen to that robotic voice of "god" again."
*DING!*
As he closed his eyes, expecting the impending darkness, a sudden, acute sound reverberated across the Earth. The Dragon King regretted his earlier words, realizing he had prematurely dismissed any hope of avoiding the robotic voice of "god" again.
[Urrg… shouldn't have said it so earlier] He regretted.
*ANALYZING APOCALYPSE TEST*
.
.
Humans killed: Eight and a half billion;
.
Greatest wave spawned: S rank;
.
Time survived: ten years and three months;
.
Strongest Human: Nikolas Drachen (the Dragon King)
.
Result: Utterly failure;
.
Resetting parameters
.
Preparing Gift
.
.
*DING!*
.
RESTARTING THE SYSTEM
3…
A countdown began, a surreal sequence of numbers echoing in the silence.
2…
The world held its breath, anticipation building with each passing moment.
1…
"What the heck!?" The Dragon King's bewildered voice lingered as the world plunged into darkness
******
[A/N]: Writing is a constant and often repetitive act. The constant search for the right way and moment, for the correct words to convey what one wants, is exhausting. And here I am once again, ready to rewrite this entire story, which is still not written well enough to satisfy me. I hope you understand. I intend to write a good book, no matter how many times I have to rewrite it.