Chapter 3

"What the heck just happened?" I asked myself as I regained my senses on the ground.

A flash of light haunted me right after the thunder strike ceased its destruction.

"Brother Leo!" someone shouted.

"Reo?!" I whispered with difficulty.

I forced myself to get back on my feet and walked towards Reo.

"Are you okay, Reo?" I asked, hoping for some relief.

But I was met with an intimidating look in his eyes. Eyes that I knew well. It was the same look he had after losing our fencing spar. Or maybe it was the same look I gave to the people who took away important people in my life.

"I need you to focus on finding my brother. I don't need your emotional support right now!" he replied with authority.

The atmosphere was heavy. I awkwardly told him that the manor didn't survive, which likely meant his brother had met the same fate.

"He's alive, I'm sure," he said with a tone of despair.

"Dammit! he's so stubborn." I thought to myself.

I looked around for a solution to this mess. As I walked, I stumbled upon a small storehouse. I broke down the door and saw a collection of gardening equipment.

An idea popped into my head. I needed to find a water pump.

It took me a while to find one.

"I just need to carry this stuff near the tank next to this storehouse," I said to myself.

I then connected the water pump to the open tank and turned it on.

The pump produced a high-pressure stream of water that hit Reo in the back. I really wanted to laugh, but it wasn't the time.

"Can't you read the situation here?" Reo said in a calm voice.

"I'm saving your stupid self from burning," I replied, trying to restrain my laughter.

As we continued to dig through the remains of the manor, I saw a burned arm. In its grasp was an earring.

"I knew it! He couldn't have survived. Leo is dead," I said to myself.

I picked up the earring from the palm of his hand. It was a relic of the tragic chieftain, an agimat that gave physical abilities that defied all physics. According to my studies, the chieftain was a great warrior who lost a war. His family and forces were killed in front of his eyes, and then he was beheaded.

This earring was the last thing Leo had asked of me. Despite his collection of agimats, it hadn't protected him in the end.

"What a fool I am, believing in such superstition. This is all your fault, Leo," I thought angrily.

My problem was how to convince Reo that Leo was dead. As I was thinking of a way to stage a drama, I heard Reo sigh in relief.

"Brother Leo! Thank goodness you're alive!"

That gave me a chill down my spine.

"Leo is right in front of me, burnt to a crisp. How can there be another Leo here?" I asked, trying to make sense of things.

Reo started walking towards Leo. Every step he took made my heartbeat twice as fast.

At the last step, before he could make contact with Leo, I ran towards him and shoved him to the ground. Unfortunately for me, I ended up being strangled. I was shocked to see that there were branches wrapped around my waist. As I followed the branches up, I realized with horror that they were Leo's arms.

"What is this, brother?" Reo asked, confused.

I couldn't free myself from being strangled. I made a desperate move to kick him in the head, but it only hurt my foot.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh! It was hard as a rock!" I shouted in pain.

I looked at Leo's head. It was deformed, and then it began to form into a wooden creature. The sight made my knees weak. I knew then that we had screwed up.

Suddenly, the earring glowed, making it impossible for us to see. The monster was annoyed and threw me towards the storehouse. I covered my head with my arms to protect myself, but the impact was so strong that it made me dizzy. The earring continued to glow, and two orbs of light appeared in the sky and moved towards me. The earring began to suck up the two orbs.

After the light orbs were absorbed, I felt an immense surge of energy flow through my body. The pain I had been feeling disappeared, and my body felt lighter than air. I stood up from the ground and glared at the monster. I began to walk, and then I ran towards it, charging with all my might. I struck the monster with such force that it was pulverized, leaving only its head on the ground.

"Hah! Delusional!"

That's what I wanted to happen, but it didn't. The glow of the earrings faded away as soon as the light orbs were absorbed. I thought this was it for me. My life was still pathetic, even at the end. My eyelids became heavier and heavier.

"What the hell? I don't want to see this."

Images began to appear in my head. A man who had committed suicide was actually murdered. A woman who had been sent to a mental institution for being crazy had actually jumped out of a window and died.

As I lost consciousness, these images continued to flash through my mind. They were so painful that they filled me with anguish. This anguish brought me back to consciousness.

The wind began to swirl around me, creating static electricity. My hair and eyes began to glow white. I was surrounded by electric charges that burned anything that came into contact with them. I was angry and furious. All I could think about was destroying anyone who would hurt the people around me.

I pointed my finger at the creature, and it burned to ashes. I picked up Reo and ran away. I ran and ran until we came to a devastating scene.

"The world is ending," Reo exclaimed.

At the top of Antena Hill, we saw buildings on fire. A plane had crashed into one of the buildings, causing a huge explosion. Unidentified creatures were appearing, adding to the despair of the people.