[ Chaos Descent ]

It had been nearly two months since the statement was made public to the whole globe, and when the full specifics of the prediction were revealed, mankind was in a state of pandemonium.The summary of the prediction is: At the end of 2012, the world will be engulfed in calamities beyond what humanity can overcome, which may be the mark and the beginning of "End of the World".Almost 30% of people worldwide were filled with fear, panic, and anxiety when they heard about this.But, despite all of this, the majority seems to be unaffected since it was just a prediction made by a human."Should we believe what she said? It's probably just something she made for her to be relevant again." These happened to be the vast majority of people's genuine feelings.White Alyan couldn't decide which side he would take or in which position to situate himself.Though he wishes to be counted among those who do not believe the fortune teller's predictions, something inside him warns White Alyan that the fortune teller's revelation, which was aired on television, was accurate, also adding the fact that approximately 80 to 90 percent of the predictions she made eventually came true."Arrrghhh!!!"December 12, 2012Their school finally declared a Christmas break, which gave White Alyan control over his own free time.Free time that he would use to savor and enjoy his relatively limited freedom.His first go-to was the gym, which is situated near their district.This is so he may keep his sporting body as a school athlete while still being healthy.This was also followed by playing online games with his friends at their favorite internet shop before heading home before dusk.Lastly, before going to sleep, White does his favorite past-time hobby, which is reading books about the history of the Philippines, their mythologies, and other strange readings while listening to music from his MP3.• • •Christmas has finally arrived, and the entire world is celebrating it enthusiastically.Especially the Alyan family, who are people of faith."Meeerrrryyy Christmasssss!!!" The family chanted as the clock reached midnight.Without further ado, they then started sitting and happily eating the meals that they prepared for this wondrous occasion as the Christmas spirit seeped into their hearts and the breeze of cold midnight touched their skins."Uuummmnnn!!" While savoring the flavor and delightful food she's been eating, Zia happily says, "As expected from your cooking, Kuya! I really love this!"Hearing this, their mother pouted, seemingly sad after hearing her daughter's remark."Ahhhyyy, ahhyyy..."" Squinting her eyes as shelocksk her gaze towards her daughter, their mother then says, "So you love your brother's cooking more than your own mother?"When she heard this, Zia quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe her lips that was full of sauce and drank a mouthful of water."Of course *cough* the food that my beautiful mother, whose beauty exceeds that of Maria Clara, makes is 1000000% better and tastier than that of my brothers!" Standing from her seat, Zia rushed towards her mother and said, "Nothing compares to what Mom cooks!" and rubbed her cheeks towards her mother, who was now smiling.While this wholesome family interaction was happening, the young man glanced down the street. White observed that some sort of thing was going past their window."Hmm?"He hurriedly headed outside to see what or who it was, but as he scanned around, White failed to see anything.'Hmm...Maybe I am just exhausted from non-stop cooking.'He exhaled deeply, letting go of the anxiety he had felt earlier. After double-checking the surroundings, he returned to their table, where his family was joyfully dining and celebrating Christmas.• • •Unbeknownst to the people of earth, the fate of the world that they live in begins to turn again.And in a corner of a small room-like space, a form of a woman whose face is wrapped in a beautiful mask can be seen walking and saying,{' Is this truly necessary? '} The female figure worriedly asked. Her soft and gentle voice echoed throughout the room.{' If we simply remain where we are and do nothing, the world that we have been preserving and taking good care of for a very long time since we were made would be ruined forever! '}You could feel his anger in every phrase pouring out of the man's voice, whose figure also stood in the corner of the room.{' But! '} The female figure wanted to express her overwhelming concern to him and halt whatever he was planning to do, but her voice was overshadowed by his speech.{'I get what you are trying to say. But if we do not act now, when will we?'}There was a brief moment of silence before the woman conveyed her perplexing concern for human beings once more.{'Oh, our merciful father, we pray that humanity will overcome these trials that they are about to face.'}As they stared into the seemingly endless darkness in a corner of the galaxy, they whispered their desire for the salvation of humanity.• • •December 31, 2012.While the world's dread and mayhem receded as a result of the prophecy, the anticipation for the New Year continued to grow.White Alyan, who was now at the computer store with his buddies after gaining permission from his parents, suddenly received a text message on his cell phone."Boi, your phone is ringing." Blaster uttered after noticing White's phone ringing. He is currently waiting for his champion to be revived."Hmm?" Noticing his friend's gesture, White swiped the one side of the headphone behind his ear and asked, "What's that again?"Blaster gestured towards his phone, and when White saw a message icon, he immediately understood what it meant.White clicked his tongue as he opened the messaging app."Last game." he stated after the kill announcer on the monitor screen announced, 'Penta Kill'***"Hayssss.. I already told them earlier..." White grumbled. He planned to celebrate New Year with his friend in the shop, but it looks like he has to cancel it again. "I'll just try again next year."As he walked home, White noticed the bustling road, with fireworks being let off and being lit up left and right.He remembered the days where he and his sister would just run around the street with their friends while using 'pop-pop' as their main weapon to terrorize each other."Time sure flies so fast," White mumbled.As he got closer to their residence, White noticed a little, shadowy figure lurking near a tree near the entrance of their house."Huh?"He was taken aback by the strange scenario he was presently observing.After gently rubbing his eyes a few times, making sure he was seeing things correctly, White slowly opened his eyes again.But after opening his eyes, he could no longer catch sight of that strange form he had just seen."Arggh... What's wrong with my eyes these days?" he grumbled.These past few days, he would either catch a glimpse of a weirdly shaped shadow, fading red lights, or more before suddenly vanishing into thin air.White then tries to recall anything that may have caused him to have such a vision or hallucination of these strange things."I am definitely not getting insane, am I? "Other than constantly playing games, there is none to fit the bill."I hope this is simply the result of my excessive gaming sessions."With a sigh of relief, White Alyan lightly walked as he entered their home.***There is only one hour left before New Year arrives, which is why people are already preparing the meals on their dining tables.The torotots are also being distributed to children while the adults set up their firecrackers on the road.The kids then began blowing the torotots that had been provided to them just as the melody and rhythm of karaoke could be heard in each corner of their neighborhood."One hour left before this year ends. New year with a new hellish class again next week." White said as he leisurely sat outside their house.Observing and hearing all these spectacles that were happening on their street.One of these spectacles is the fireworks that are being lit up and grandly shot up in the sky as they blast with majestic-hued lights.This scene reminds him again that the school days are near."Hay..I wasn't able to enjoy my vacation!""Our long-haired Kuya!" His mom suddenly called. " Instead of whining, help us prepare these delicious delights.""Yes, yes, sure, Ma, I'm coming~" White sighed heavily as he lightly walked towards their kitchen.***There were barely thirty seconds left until midnight.That is when the television announcer began speaking.[ Let's start the countdown together to welcome the new year! ]The Alyan family, having finished preparing and setting the meals on the dining table, is now holding torotots in their hands.They glanced at each other, and their expressions were filled with happiness and enthusiasm for the start of the year.As per tradition, they immediately joined the television broadcaster and the crowd on the street's countdown.[10!]People shouted at the same time when the broadcaster started the countdown on television.[9!]Right now, you can notice in the surrounding area that the youngsters are bouncing enthusiastically, whereas some have been blowing their torotots aggressively.[8!]The thunderous roar of jeepneys and motorcycles is also beginning to reverberate in every corner of the street.[7!]The sight and sound of fireworks can be seen and heard everywhere in the area.[6!]The fragrance of firecrackers, jeepneys, and motorcycles is slowly permeating the neighborhood.[5!]The scene of people preparing to launch their fireworks has begun to appear from all directions.[4!]The sound of the surrounding music continues to grow louder.[3!]As the new year approaches, people are just as excited to light their prepared fireworks.[2!]And the sound of cars, motorbikes, and karaoke music is getting progressively louder as the end of the countdown approaches.[1!]People yelled at the same instant and leaped from where they stood, as though their minds and hearts were one and united in that split second.You can sense the spirit of the people along with their enthusiasm and excitement at welcoming the new year, especially the youngsters, as if it were the end of the world.[HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!]Everyone shouted just as twelve o'clock struck.Everyone gazed up at the gorgeous night sky, following their joyous yells to watch the amazing and novel-like fireworks display they had been eagerly awaiting to see.But, instead of the magnificent fireworks that are like beautiful art in the eyes of mankind, what they saw and met their delighted eyes was only the brilliant light.A bright light that blinded their sight for a few seconds.While their eyes slowly recovered from the sudden bright light, they were then welcomed by the bizarre occurrence in the sky.The skies are ripping in half.In the middle of the torn sky, an inexplicable void-like tunnel then formed in the heavens.From here, there is a strange and eerie hum that can be heard while all this is happening.Countless and atrocious voices are humming from it.They were buzzing as if there were otherworldly creatures on the other side who were very excited because of the feast they were about to enjoy in front of them.And they wailed as if they had been imprisoned and starved for an eternity....Everyone went silent—eerie silent.Everyone who was watching the sky was suddenly spellbound, unable to do anything in fear of what they were facing.'Wh—what's happening?'These are the first thoughts that formed in White's mind as he witnessed all of this bizarre phenomenon happening in front of him right now.Anyone in their right mind would ask this question, right?These seemingly unrealistic scenarios that one can only see and watch in movies, anime, or even in dreams are now happening in reality.Like a fever dream but actually manifested in their world.In the middle of their silence, giant black fingers then crept out of the void-like tunnel in the sky, and it seemed to stretch the tunnel even further to make it grow even bigger.Thanks to the enlargement of the void-like tunnel, the mysterious creatures from the other side came crashing one by one into the earth.And because of the sudden appearance of mysterious creatures in the sky, people woke up from their seemingly paralyzed condition.Despite the fact that they awoke from their stupor, it was immediately replaced with fear—fear of present occurrences that they couldn't fathom with their earthly reasoning.After a period of quietness, the joyful celebration of the start of the year transformed into an apocalyptic event instead.When the mysterious creatures landed on the ground, they let out their first growl in the world and attacked everyone around them one by one, then slowly tore and chewed the flesh and bones of their prey.'A...Am I dreaming? ' White was too stunned to speak.His eyes quiver at the sight of a person who was now being butchered, not too far away from him.A loud and heartbreaking cry could be heard from this person.White was about to close his eyes when this person's gaze suddenly aligned with his, which made White wake up from his stupor."No..N-"His mouth abruptly stopped moving as his hands and legs shook, clearly shuddering from the dread he was experiencing.His heartbeat was throbbing like a ticking time bomb, getting ready to burst at any given moment.The scene of terrified people running away from the monsters that relentlessly chased them entered White's seemingly blurry vision.These monsters also hunted humans like wild animals. People are trying their best not to get caught by them, but in the end, they were also bitten one by one and eaten by said monsters.