Chapter 2 : Unrealized Power

The bright light that shone upon Sai's surroundings eventually warped his surroundings as he'd wind up in a bed in a motel room.

The room was slightly unkempt and Sai laid in bed with only pants on, swiftly sitting upright as if waking up from a bad dream.

The moments before this felt unreal but it also felt too real that he had to wonder if he did anything unusual before he slept.

The year was 2080 and Sai was enlisted as part of a squadron under a larger organization known as the Stellar Forces.

Today would be his first day to meet with the group but he felt a bit drowsy trying to think about certain sensitive topics.

'' That was quite the dream.. It felt so real, the world ended and… '' His voice drifted off a bit as the alarm went off from the ceiling of the room to indicate that his time in the motel was all spent and that he needed to vacate the premises.

He needed to leave otherwise he'd be vacated with force, not that he wanted that to come to pass since he would be working for the law and it was best to stay on the right side of it.

Sai had a carry-on bag with his clothes as well as a handgun and a bandaged sword on the side of the wall closest to the door.

These mementos meant quite a bit to him and despite their old weathered states, he still kept them close.

It didn't take him long to clean himself up and take his bags and weapons with him out after holstering his gun to his left hip and his blade on his right, after getting dressed.

The air outside was a bit unsavory and the skies were bleak, Earth had not aged well as the years went by which left humanity to seek shelter amongst the stars.

Those who remained on Earth either had a very good reason in doing so or they couldn't afford to leave.

Sai on the other hand had business here, one of course being the meeting to enlist with a task force while the other was his own personal business from the previous day but for now he was more focused on putting his bag in the compartment inside the back of his blue hoverbike parked outside.

These few moments of silence would not last long as strange black monsters appeared in the distance, followed by the screams of civilians trying to run either to the motel to hide in the rooms they owned or to reach their vehicles to leave as soon as they can.

'' The heck? This doesn't feel right. '' Sai was confused as to what he was seeing but he was glad he had his weapons at the ready.

He didn't know why there were these creatures so close by given that the safety level of the area was relatively well-protected as opposed to areas farther away from the Stellar Force Outpost on Earth but he didn't have time to think about it any further.

From what it looked like, there was no one else around capable of dealing with these pitch-black creatures that had no defining features aside from being monstrous humanoids with diamond-shaped eyes.

Sai had no time to ponder whether or not he was ill-equipped for the challenge, he started firing bullets from his gun and quickly realized how ineffective his bullets had been.

'' Everyone needs to evacuate and find shelter as soon as they can! '' Sai's words echoed through the area as he closed the distance between him and the monsters.

Sai charged at them with his blade, hoping that as many of the civilians within audible distance heeded his advice.

The male swung for the closest monster, finding his weapon rippled with an unknown force that tore the monster in two whilst three monsters chased after Sai despite what occurred to their ally.

Sai was still stunned from the potency of his strike that he reflexively shot at the left monster while swinging his blade wildly at the air in front of the right one, causing both of them to be torn to shred by a single bullet and a single stroke of the sword.

The gun didn't work as well as it did earlier so what was the change?

His body went to work dealing with the remaining monsters, using all of the bullets he had left while using his blade on the ones closest to him.

By the time he was done, his body was covered in the tainted fluids of the monsters and all he could do was wipe his forehead as he stood over their remains.

'' Wait, it's coming back to me now, I was with my squadron and we lost against that person.. Now I'm back in the past, eleven months before that incident. I wouldn't be at this motel otherwise. '' Sai spoke, clarity finally breaking through in his own head.

The crystal that previously spoke to him as he was transitioning from his demise to this second chance had appeared after he had realized it.

'' You now have your second chance to do things differently although I do admit that wording it that way is also disingenuous. You've lived these lives countless times without being aware when you were sent back in the past but this time you've been given the power of the previous fifty incarnations of yourself, this bundled power is the gift given to you so that you may change your fate and yet don't be too complacent with this knowledge. This still pales in comparison to the truth that you must find with your own hands. Don't waste anytime Sai but I'm sure you knew that already. '' The crystal gave the gray-haired male a warning.

He knew that the crystal was right.

Time was not on his side so he needed to be careful with the choices he made from this point on.

The next thing on his mind of course was to meet up with the friends he lost moments prior.

At least he knew they were back, he wanted to see them again and he wouldn't wait a second longer to get to them.