1 Prologue - I Lived in a Carefree World
Armed with bow and dagger, high tier armor of tremor. Patiently slunk through the inner shadow of a fortress. Cloaked with black as I'm afraid to trigger the unseen exclamation marks, but nonetheless. A passageway with one mammoth doorway in the middle intersection with two guards blocked the way from the side. Daunted
Burrowed within the shade. I aimed narrowly the bow and arrow as which my bone and marrow biochemical blasted the harrowingly shot that I made
The tip of the arrow pierced the lined two guard's head, ushered them to deaths paled not knowing what's happened
A couple of breaths taken. I yawned the huge doorway nervous and laid down the save point behind as I load the next area in front of me with a clear mind
A grim and spacious hallway with a terrace at the end, naked from the sky circled by a flock of clouds. In the middle of the grim panorama. Stood firmly an armored figure who wielded a tremendous black sword. Glared, as he emitted an eerie aura from its body
The figure grunted "I can't imagine a mere human breaching the whole fortress single-handedly,"
This figure raised its sword towards "But I can imagine dicing you into pieces with this sword of mine" The situation changed from crimson to pure black. Fleeing any subsisting aspect out from this world
This figure rushed forward in its unforeseen effort to slay. It catches me off-guard, ripped the air apart
With only a second passed. I heard the clash of my armor changed into the sound of cold steel grinding through flesh, red, and raw. I fell limply like a tree to decay
"Not much of a talker? No bark, no bite — what a disappointment," as he pulled out his sword
The world became dark, there is nothing more that can be done from this moment. Such as an end that cannot be bend
This is always the moment where I asked myself. Can I do anything to prevent these outcomes? But then a red text appeared in front of me. Taunted me, like the neighbor dog with no leash on its neck
Game over — Restart from the checkpoint? Yes - No
All of that happened on a small digital screen of mine with me as a player. A fictional life that can be rewritten over and over again
Virtuality. The only world that I can change the result with my own lenient effort and desires, a place where sometimes I can be whatever what I want. The only time where the outcomes don't matter much for my life. I can just try again! but that also came with a downside ...
"What a wasteful four hours of my free time" As I spun the swivel chair and launched myself into the bed right beside me
"Ow, my back ached"
It's always like this. When I committed to achieving something. Regrets came later, and I knew that I was in the wrong way all along, but I just don't want to alter my current situation — well, at least I had some fun
"Tomorrow is the final exam, instead of doing anything productive ..." I picked up the phone beside me "it will be easy as usual nonetheless ..." Then I checked the time, it was already 8:44 PM
"That armored bastard can't be beaten. I need to search another way to pass that hallway," Maybe I'll search the internet playthrough if I'm still stuck at that fortress
Who would have thought that I'll be invested so much in an old puzzle-RPG game? On the day before my so-called final exam on top of that
...
Struggled to think. I blew off all of that excess fatigue as my body embraced the softness of my bed. After a pause. I get up, then sat on my chair in front of my computer again to close the game. Open the web to lurk on the internet, until I heard a knocking in front of my room
"Kivas! It's your usual goody-two-shoes brother!" I heard it from inside, annoyance. It's not strange for my brother to came into my room, barged in, pestered with my freedom in this holy land of mine
I'm already in my comfort zone, perplexed so I shouted to instruct the intruder on the obvious thing to do after came to my room painstakingly on the second floor
"Just open the goddamn door!"
"I've already opened the door!"
I heard the sound of the door creak after that
"No, you frickin' didn't!"
As I turned my head. I saw a brown-haired, slim man who wore their casual outfit and ducked the reasonably normal passage entrance height. He brought a box of fast food and a bottle of cola in his hands
With a wry smile, I immediately welcomed my humble guest! Nothing can be compared with some junk food to consume after slouching in front of your computer for a long time!
"Ednan! Why the treat? I will welcome you even if you bring nothing!" That's a lie
"Haha, I know that was a big fat lie" as the box of fast food and cola are laid on the floor, "I thought tomorrow is your last exam, and here you're being a sloth"
"Well, I was doing a challenge to see my grades outcomes with the least amount of effort as possible?"
Ednan chuckled for a bit "Mind accompanying me throughout the night?"
"I won't mind some disturbance if it's for food" who don't want a guest with an offering?
I shifted my computer into sleep mode, both my brother and I sat on the floor.
Then we began to unbox the treasure chest of goodness
This event is unusual even in my boring daily life, maybe something did happen? We are living in the grey area between rich and poverty after all. such as this box of a normal meal can be considered a delicacy for me... Oh, I can smell it. The fragrance of butter "So, what's the deal?"
"I was hired by a crazy organization, and the pays were good"
"Nice! Good for you, can't wait to start leeching some of your income"
Ednan smiled, yet annoyed "Everyone has the right to be greedy, but you're abusing the privilege sir Kivas the Unsympathetic"
"If it looks like I care, please tell me. I don't want to give off the wrong impression"
Shrugged, I unwrapped the plastic on the burger and ready my fries as the laughter filled the room
The savory flavor of the cheese and the thick, juicy ground beef. Cleansed by the sizzling cola
Comfortable. I let my curiosity slip while munched the food "What is the job?"
"It's just normal stuff, I'll tell you if I've already on my payday"
Ednan acted unusually secretive
He can just tell me what it is unless he wanted to pull a prank and stuff, but after I looked into his face. That proud and satisfied smile doesn't give off the need to do so. Well, I won't dig much of my brother's daily activity — Or am I?
After I swallowed the burger that I gnawed. I tried to interrogate him "Why the anonymity?"
"You can try to guess"
As I recalled all of our conversations in the past few months. A sentence came out from my mouth "Is it something about the humanity-sorta organization?" I might be wrong, he always asked me anything related to some secret organization in science fiction. It's going to be funny if he became a member of the said group
"Humanity Last Alternative Defense. HLAD for short. I'm surprised that you got that half right"
After I heard his reply, the more I believe that this is just a joke
"Please don't talk gibberish"
"It's an immensely long story but I got more cash to grab so, we cool?" Said Ednan, lending me his left fist in the air
I refused his invite to fist bump "I might try to consider giving you a high-five on the face instead. Fishy stuff overrides the taste of my junk food"
He smirks "It's up to you to believe it or not"
There is no information about this organization anywhere. Ednan is clever enough to not believe all of this stuff, unless...
"We'll see it on your payday Ednan"
It's not my problem. I chose to ignore it and proceed to chow down my treat, until a phone rang — not the sound of mine
Ednan took out a high-tech smartphone from his jeans pocket, and answer the call " ... Yes, it's me. Ednan Charon — Evacuate? Why so soon?" He opened the window, then sent his head out to view the surrounding, until he glanced at the sky "I'll report it when we meet at the destination" thus finish the call
He looked at me unnerved, his hand hesitant while clenching his weirdly-looking phone. Ednan eyes were hollow for a second
"There is no time to explain. Bring your pocketable important stuff and let's get the hell out of here," He said, rushed to exit this room
I don't have a single clue about what in the world happened, and why the atmosphere changed into a bloody thriller movie
Confused, I urged to shut down my computer and change my indoor outfit into casual attire. Followed my brother, waiting outside of the house.
When did he get that cool smartphone?
...
After I was done with my loud stampede, Ednan is already prepared his car on the street. He carried two black suitcases that I never saw before
I took a step out of the front door of my house. Curiously glimpsed upon the night, it was bright. Felt like the afternoon summer as the countless rays of light fell from the sky, orchestrated by the clouds to make an otherworldly shadow. I still can't comprehend what is happened but I know for clear that this has never occurred before
Ednan is already on the driver's seat. He threw the weird black suitcases into the backseat of the car
"I see you're still daydreaming, Kivas. Get into the car, I'll try to explain what's our situation" gestured his hand
"I have so many questions to ask"
"And I have so many questions to answer" answered Ednan while he started the car
The tires violently rubbed the asphalt for a second, before accelerating into the road. Ednan carefully steered the wheel towards the west
"How do I start? Well, the truth is I was lying to you that I just got hired"
Urgh, my thoughts are lost. I saw so many people outside of their houses observing the weird phenomenon in the sky. Unsettled, I tried to process my thought on what in the oblivion happened...
While glanced at the street. I compiled my scattered thoughts and began to approach this event with composure
I finally replied "Yeah... It's not like you came in barging into my room just to notify me of your newfound job. I see you're rarely indoors too, how long have you been doing this?"
"A couple of months, it's not like you will believe me or anything"
"I'm just mad that you only give me a fast food box where you can invite me to a three-star Michelin restaurant instead"
He finally leaned on the seat "You greedy son of a gun"
Ednan began to relax more, becoming a member of some weird organization is not that easy after all, knew his nature. I thought that he is going to become a corporate slave instead of this important, anonymous, grand establishment ...
Ednan raised his eyebrow "it's a heck of a long story, but I can start the easy to digest info-dumping if you're ready"
"Hope you can finish your storytelling before the world ends"
...
I already considered this possibility from who-knows-since-when Ednan began to display unusual behavior, which makes me less shocked when something out of the boundaries happened. Gotta free my imagination so nothing can sink me. He is still my brother after all
Cause sometimes people change abruptly, and so must we ...
"Well, Some weird-ass relic was found on the sea of Antarctica. Many archeologists began to decipher the word on that relic. Some of them do becoming a reality, making the international powerhouse nation begin funding the safety of humanity. The organization is called H-L-A-D. Humanity Last Alternative Defense created to counteract one of the prophecies"
"Let me guess, is it the end of humanity?"
"Correct, it's happening now — wait, how did you know?"
"Just look at the sky! Even a sane person will try their maximum effort to tell themselves that it was not normal to begin with"
"Fantastic, thank god you're sarcastic"
Regardless, it's hard to believe — I tried to stop my hands from tremble and put up a forced smile in the end
But I tried to seek hope "this powerhouse-internationally-funded organization must have a plan for this right?"
"HLAD had made some questionable bunker deep below the sea level. I don't know how they do that, I'm just a recruit after all"
"How come a recruit like you know this much information?"
"I have my way, we're going to go there now. My accomplice is waiting near the coast. Don't worry, both of us will stay alive by the end of the day. Just-"
Dazed, An earthquake followed by a sudden dense-gush of wind came from the direction we're moving toward. It blew away any firm structure into the air, the other side of the vicinity is being showered crosswise with destructive force
Ednan instinctively crashed the car into the sideways, as the boulder of concrete and debris flew through over our head
"Kivas! Are you okay!"
"Argh, something bumped my head but I'm fine!" I touched my forehead, surprised to have some considerable amount of blood there
Muscles weak, we forced ourselves to move. Both of us got outside of the car, tried to behold the chaos that is happened
Far way In front of us appeared an enormous extraterrestrial creature, opposed to the bright light that came from the sky. More chaos is added as the gigantic creature emits a ray of a disastrous beam into all direction, we're lucky enough to not get evaporated, lucky enough to witness everything turned into a rubble of rock and dust vaporized
I put off my upper clothing and tore off some of the seams to hold off the bleeding on my forehead for a while. Ednan brought the two suitcases from the inside of the damaged car. I tried hard to comprehend the chaos that I'm witnessed, sniffed some dust and the smell of blood, lingered through the air
"Kivas! Catch it!"
Ednan threw one of the black suitcases, inside of it was a medium-sized futuristic gun
"HLAGX 44, an extraordinary well-made compact pocketable Railgun, beware; the recoil is huge"
It has an X in its name, is this safe? Usually, the X on every abbreviation stands for experimental ...
It's pointless at this moment. I don't care anymore, but deep inside of me — the voices tried to encourage me to survive
Out of nowhere, a bright light emitted from behind as I stared at my shadow stretched sticking out. Ednan took a stance and aimed his Railgun at the vivid presence behind me
I slowly turned my head, only to be greeted by a humanoid figure with a giant halo tripled the size of the being, it has majestic pure white wings. An angelic human-like covered in gilded armor. Followed by many blazing blue runes floating around them. I took a second to stare in awe
The angel spoke out the language that is not of this world. I held my breath, knew not a single word that said by the divine being. It's like a weird hymn
Made me think. They used to say that God made a man, a made man is a God. But it seems like God made more than just a man ...
A giant flickering sword materialized from thin air, fell deliberately into the hand of an angel
"Kivas! Get out of there!" Startled, I get out from the line of sight as fast a possible
Ednan fired an abrupt jolt to the Angel, but the Angel was unscathed
"Why you shoot!"
"Fool! that is one of the beasts that want to destroy humanity!"
The Angel's sword expanded and slashed vertically towards Ednan. Ednan merely dodged it, decapitated his left arm. The ground was shattered, left a scorched line of earth
I pulled the trigger out of anger, the recoil was huge and my effort to shoot was of no use. Something blocked the impact. The angel turned its body in my direction, winding up for another slash
Dizzied by the blood loss, I stood there as I said "it's no use" to myself
"It is no use"
...
But I need to survive! Awareness faded. Soon I clenched my teeth as my upper body dropped toward halfway to the ground, anchored myself with my left foot. The moment I regained my consciousness, I galloped into the Angel with all of my might
The Angel made another vertical strike
I instantly fired my Railgun sideways, straighten my arm, and used the huge recoil to change my body direction, avoided death completely
The strike is slower than before. The angel is not that all-mighty invincible after all!
My ability to think is obstructed by the dizziness, but I used everything on my knowledge to decide my next action
Countless articles and books that I read. Some say that an Angel was made of light, the reason why the Railgun doesn't have any effect — Bolt of lightning — Heat
The floating runes!
Its sword is still stuck on the ground. The Angel is vulnerable!
Gambled, I prepared my fist
Got down, passed the runes
And uppercut the Angel
The Angel flinched, I directed my Railgun into the Angel abdomen at extremely close range, blasted the Angel away lifeless
I was surprised that my half-assed theory worked — somehow ...
Grinned "Not much of a talker?" I examined the dimmed angel "No bark and... you bite a lot though" The hollow abdomen of the Angel displayed. The destructive power of the Railgun is no joke!
The runes that surrounded the Angel are acted as a barrier, it has the same physical as a human when attacked inside of the runes range. Humanity might have a chance after all
Haha, I wanted to celebrate my victory and assessed the situation, but I need to see Ednan condition
Then Ednan stood like nothing "You manage to mess up that Angel real hard huh? That's some libido you got there"
His condition is perfect, forget about the arm and the blood loss. I just want to kick his ass ...
Just when I've gotten used to the situation. Unexpectedly, more earthquakes erupted. We forgot that this place is still in chaos!
The ground collapsed, enlarged to create a massive hole.
"Let's get out of here!"
Both of us ran away with our life, but the collapsing ground is bigger than we expected
Ednan is still in the range of it, I let go of my Railgun just in case and waited for him
"Ednan!"
...
We almost didn't make it, hung on the edge — with my arm full of holding my body and the Railgun muzzle, the Railgun held by Ednan
The Railgun is durable enough to hold his weight. But I have difficulty to hold the muzzle and pull both of us up
"Let go of me, Kivas"
"I will frickin' not!"
I can still hold you goddamnit!
"You throw that expensive gun that I give you, but now you want mine!?"
My muscles are stretched so hard that it might break apart — It's hard to maintain my consciousness
"I want you to shut your rotational brain of a pisser and hang-on tight!"
But I'm sure it can hold for a bit more
"You're too skinny to handle my weight!"
"Didn't I told you to shut up! At least I'm jacked!"
It's the only thread that will keep him alive
"If you still hold into that Railgun, both of us will die!"
This is fine. A smile can flew the pain away, no matter what. The thread is solid. Believe it or not, It's up to me now!
"Belief in me will ya! Both of us will be alive by the end of the day! we haven't get into that bunker yet!"
My eyes are upon the sky, it was horrid and morbid. The dust has clouded my haven, yet I'm grinning like crazy
I must search for that hope! Just a little more push, a little more of strength, a little more-
"Urrghaaa"
Safely on the edge, I manage to pull myself out from the hole and hold Ednan's Railgun
"Didn't I told you Ednan! We are still alive!"
I managed to hold his Railgun
"Ednan?"
He let go of his Railgun
"Why?"
He cut his thread
"Why you do that?"
I've reached my limit
"I can still do it"
He gave the deadman's gun
"You jackass ..."
An Angel descended from the false hope sky
"It's you again"
They spoke that false hymn again
"You're an angel, right?"
A sword materialized on their hand
"May I ask you of something?"
They raised their sword diagonally
"How can I start over?"
