Armageddon

A cold winter wind was blowing strong on the deserted bridge, but it seemed unable to even faze Kei Jirin that night.

Having parted with everything he held even remotely dear, the only thing left on his mind was an unusual sense of determination, a strange resolve coming from his inability to lose anything else.

During the hour or so he remained there, leaning against the railing and gazing at the dancing lights sparkling all over the city reflection in the river, no one came to disturb his peace of mind. No family, no friends, no strangers. No one.

He was feeling as if the entire city had shunned him, trying its best to avoid his presence without the slightest concern for what could happen to him.

'This is how criminals are treated after all, so I suppose I deserve this.'

Mindlessly fidgeting with his phone and glasses, he was pondering his future, or lack thereof.

Finally, with a sigh of relief, he tossed his belongings into the river before hoisting himself onto the metal fence, ready to jump off the bridge and battle the flowing waters as a test of his own life's worth.

Although he was feeling deep in his heart that this was the right thing to do, the exact thought process that led him to this very situation remained a mystery even to himself.

Only at the last moment before jumping was he interrupted by the system announcement calling for the beginning of the apocalypse.

[[[ TRANSITION PROCESS INITIATED : ARMAGEDDON ]]]

The appearance of the dark red message box in the sky was incredibly sudden and nothing short of a brutal shock, not only to Kei who fell on his back but to everybody else as well.

All around the city, people froze in disbelief, taking pictures and pointing up at the grim omen.

Everyone had at least a vague comprehension of the word "Armageddon". Some were thinking about the divine judgment of mankind, others about the final fight against the forces of evil. To all anyhow it was akin to the end of the known world. 

While most were still doubtful about the possible danger, some citizens began to fear. Authorities were soon overwhelmed and the official government lines were already saturated with calls.

'Is this a prank of some sort ?' wondered Kei as a fitting first reaction. 'Or a nuke alert tryout maybe ?'

But as the text started to change and the landscape to morph around him, the idea of a human cause was becoming more and more ridiculous.

[[[ CURRENT STATUS : 0% ]]]

First the moon, which was high in the sky at that time, went from an icy white glow to a sinister blood-red in an instant. Stars seemed eager to imitate it but quickly got hidden behind a mass of dark clouds.

[[[ 4% ]]]

Then the ground began to shake, the sky to rumble as if shattering, and the river to bubble furiously. Completely powerless, his legs shaking in fear, Kei felt alarming rattles in the very structure of the bridge he was lying on.

[[[ 13% ]]]

Some of the older city buildings were crumbling, unable to handle the terrain change. Lightning was striking explosively at seemingly random places and water level was noticeably rising, with waves crashing into the deserted streets.

[[[ 36% ]]]

Plants everywhere began to overgrow at a spectacular rate. Giant roots were bursting through concrete, tree branches were piercing walls, colorful algae spawned one by one from below the water to end up resting heavily on the shore.

[[[ 52% ]]]

As lightning bolts were hitting each other in blazing bursts of light, the three dimensions of space appeared to rip apart, revealing horrors from beyond the limits of the universe barely concealed behind an ethereal veil.

The portals thus created were shimmering with an intense otherworldly glow, preventing anyone from peeking through them for too long.

[[[ 73% ]]]

Lifting themselves from what could very well be the bottom of hell, hideous creatures emerged from the portals in varied disorganized swarms.

Dissonant screams were coming from the horrendous piles of feathers, hair, skin, and scales that were clawing, biting, whipping and charging through any terrorized citizen who had the misfortune of standing too close.

[[[ 85% ]]]

Suddenly breaking through the dark dense cloud cover in loud thuds, colorful columns of light descended upon the city and its suburbs, one after the other, bathing various areas in ominous glares.

The portals forming in these zones were significantly larger than the previous ones and looked ready to spit the biggest threats hell had to offer.

[[[ 99% ]]]

Finally, after what Kei felt was an eternity had passed, during which he was paralyzed by fear and incomprehension, things started to calm down.

Gradually, the tremors stopped, the supernatural storm ran off and although monsters were still hunting people like wild game, portals were closing one by one.

Following the otherworldly clatter of the earthquake and the hellish roar of the thunderstorm, the only remaining wailing of sirens, screams of terror and distant gunshots felt tragically quiet.

[[[ TRANSITION COMPLETE ]]]

Drenched in cold sweat, Kei had been miraculously spared by the spawning portals. 

Powerless, he could only read the cryptic messages in the sky, trying his best to make the slightest bit of sense out of them.

Clearly, a superior authority of some sort was at work. Someone or something with inconceivable power managed to take a hold on the city — and possibly the world for all Kei knew.

Someone or something apparently not bound by the common laws of reality, and obviously ill-intentioned.

But despite having no clue on what the end goal of it all could be, Kei's subconscious began to form a terrifying idea on the matter.

'No,' he simply said to himself while brushing the thought away, 'it can't be.'

[[[ BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS IN PROGRESS - CLASS ATTRIBUTION PENDING ]]]

'It just can't be… right ?'

As the bridge had regained its original stability, Kei tried to stand up, but his shaky legs betrayed him.

His eyes still riveted on the carmine message box floating in the sky, he simply could not wrap his head around the consequences of his realization.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar sound made him lose his train of thoughts and turn his head to the right.

A small monster was looking at him from the far end of the bridge.

It was no bigger than a dog, and a scaly head was peeking out from its feathered body.

'A feathered raptor,' Kei thought without a doubt.

The creature was tilting its head left and right, inquisitively eyeing the man trembling before it. It seemed hesitant to advance further.

Gathering all he had left of strength and courage, Kei began trying to stand up again, very slowly.

'If I'm correct… Its vision is based on movement, but it also has an acute sense of smell. I have to move slowly, I can't just stay still and take the risk that a change in the wind brings my odor to it.'

It took him a whole minute to get on his feet, during which the raptor stayed there, rotating its head, sniffing the air.

'It's working ! It can't see me !'

He then began to march cautiously towards the other end of the bridge, but a distant yet loud explosion sound made him instinctively turn his head, which the raptor immediately picked up on.

'Fuck !'

As he darted away, running for his life without looking back, Kei could hear behind him the shrill screech of the monster alerting its peers, soon followed by the rapid tapping of its claws on the bridge.

It was only when he had almost reached land that he felt a sharp searing pain piercing his ankle and radiating to his left leg.

The feathered raptor had managed to reach him and had planted his teeth deep in his flesh, tearing the fabric of his pants in the process.

Letting out a muffled groan as hot blood started pouring down his foot, he took advantage of the immediate adrenaline rush and swiftly threw his leg in the air, successfully launching the little creature over the railing.

Before he could even think about rejoicing, a much louder raptor scream resonated in the distance.

'Fuck fuck fuck !! There are several of them, and I can't tell how many ! I can't go back towards them without knowing where they are. Plus I'm slower now that I'm limping and the smell of my blood will attract them for sure. My only choice now is to push forward and hope for the best…'

On the bright side, the bridge was leading to the largest of the few natural parks of the city, where the abundance of trees would make it easier to hide from monsters.

But on the other hand, it was also perfect to hide monsters, and Kei had no idea about the amount of portals that could have spawned there.

His heart racing, Kei stumbled as fast as he could towards the urban forest. When he passed the first trees, he could hear a few screaming raptors closing the distance.

He kept going in a straight line, trying to get as far from the bridge as possible while sweat beaded on his forehead and blood soaked his sock.

He stopped only after running out of breath, feeling a little dizzy, and sat down against a large tree.

Using the torn piece of cloth from his pants, he made a bandage for his ankle, effectively stopping the blood loss.

In the midst of the night, the forest was merely lit by a few lanterns along the walkway.

The ambient darkness, combined with a supernatural silence, was creating an eerie, gloomy atmosphere; but at least no monster was to be heard.

As he was almost done catching his breath, Kei almost got a heart attack as a now familiar dark red message box popped suddenly right before him with a loud ding.

[[[ YOU HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED THE FOLLOWING CLASS : ROGUE ]]]

Kei read the message again and again until it disappeared, trying to fathom its content and its consequences.

'So it is as I feared,' he thought once the shock had passed. 'I could not in my right mind believe it, but the indisputable proof is right here.'

'We are now in a video game.'