The Beginning of The End

The series of explosions jolted Shin out of his reverie. The screams of people around him rang deafeningly in his ears. "Retreat!!! Fall back now!!" The shouts left him bewildered.

"Where am I? What is happening?"

These questions swirled in Shin's mind. Unconsciously, he was running, retreating just as the orders demanded. His body moved against his will, as if he had no control over it. He ran alongside others dressed like soldiers.

Shin tried to force his body to move as he wanted, but his efforts were futile. It was as if his body had a mind of its own, while his consciousness was merely a passenger.

"What is going on? Where am I really?" he wondered.

While running, Shin tried to observe his surroundings through the senses of this uncontrollable body. He was running with soldiers, many of whom had severe injuries. Some were helping their wounded comrades to retreat. The ground beneath them was uneven, a mixture of mud and blood, making their desperate flight even more harrowing.

He overheard a few soldiers conversing in panic. Their tone was laced with fear.

"Ahhh, impossible. Why? Why? Why? Why? Whyyyy????"

"I should never have gotten involved in this!!!"

Their conversation was brief, but Shin could sense their anxiety and regret. However, what puzzled him was their expressions. They looked mentally shattered, like deer fleeing from a predator. But what were they afraid of? What were they running from? What was causing their terror?

"Down!!!!!"

The sudden shout made Shin's body drop to the ground instantly. Swiftly. Without hesitation, his body reacted with the reflexes of a seasoned soldier. He saw several other soldiers also drop to the ground right after hearing the shout.

In a flash, a blinding beam of light accompanied by a deafening explosion, like a thunderclap, shot over them from behind. The light passed so quickly that Shin couldn't even blink before it vanished. He felt its heat singe the air above him, the intensity making the hair on his arms stand on end.

Silence.

The chaotic atmosphere, once filled with frantic shouts and the cacophony of battle, turned into an eerie, oppressive silence. Shin slowly raised his head, his body trembling from the adrenaline coursing through his veins. The landscape before him was unrecognizable. The lush forest, once teeming with life, had been transformed into a vast expanse of scorched earth. The air was thick with the acrid smell of burning wood and flesh.

Shin's mind raced, trying to comprehend the magnitude of the destruction. He forced himself to sit up and survey the devastation. The soldiers who had been running beside him moments ago were now eerily still. Nearly 90 percent of them had been reduced to charred remains. Only their lower halves were intact, their torsos and heads disintegrated by the blast, leaving a gruesome scene of lifeless, smoking stumps.

Shin turned his head to the left and saw a soldier who had been spared the worst of the blast. He was on his knees, his eyes wide with terror, his hands clutching at the remnants of his uniform. His lips moved, but no sound came out, as if he were trying to scream but had lost the ability. The look on his face was one of utter disbelief and horror.

To Shin's right, another soldier was crawling towards a fallen comrade, his movements sluggish and pained. He reached out with a trembling hand, touching the lifeless body as if trying to confirm that what he was seeing was real. His fingers came away slick with blood, and he let out a strangled sob.

The silence was oppressive, broken only by the distant crackling of fires and the occasional groan of the injured. Shin struggled to his feet, his legs shaking, and took a hesitant step forward. The ground beneath him was hot, scorched black by the intensity of the blast. Each step was a reminder of the horror he had just witnessed.

Shin's mind was a whirlwind of questions and fears. What kind of thing could cause such devastation? How had he survived when so many others had not? And most pressing of all, why was this happening?

As if in answer to his thoughts, a distant rumble reached Shin's ears. He turned to look towards the horizon, and his heart sank. In the distance, silhouetted against the fiery sky, was the unmistakable shape of a creature. It stood tall and menacing, its outline barely visible against the backdrop of flames and smoke. What struck terror into Shin's heart were its eyes—glowing a deep, malevolent red.

The creature's gaze seemed to pierce through the distance, locking onto Shin with an intensity that made his blood run cold. It stood motionless for a moment, a towering figure of darkness and dread, before it began to move. Each step it took was deliberate and slow, yet the ground seemed to tremble with its approach.

Shin couldn't tear his eyes away from those burning red orbs. They held a cruel intelligence, a predatory awareness that chilled him to the bone. As it drew nearer, the features of the creature became clearer. It was unlike anything he had ever seen—an amalgamation of sinew and shadow, exuding an aura of pure malevolence.

Suddenly, the creature halted. Its red eyes flared brighter, and then, with a voice that resonated deep within Shin's soul, it uttered a single word.

"Begone."

The command reverberated through the air, a forceful wave that seemed to shake the very fabric of reality. Before Shin could react, before he could even fully comprehend the terror he was facing, the same blinding light from before began to flash. It enveloped everything in an instant, an all-consuming brilliance that obliterated the darkness and the creature within it.

Shin's mind was overwhelmed by the intensity of the light. Pain seared through his body as he felt himself being torn away from consciousness. The last thing he remembered was the scream that tore from his throat, a primal cry of fear and agony.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!"