Chapter 1 : A New Start
I could hear everything.
Burning. Explosions. Crashes. Everything.
During the first hour, the sounds of scream...echoed through the safe haven of an underground bunker that Kaku had built.
He isn't the world saviour, he is just a simple man, who will do anything to protect his loved ones, so...he decided to keep himself and whoever was around himself during the start of such a catastrophe...safe.
I mean, I would do the same.
Not everyone can be saved, especially during times in crisis where everything is scarce.
And right now, he was observing the surrounding area using the periscope-like device that was installed to see above the bunker area, waiting for the chaos to stop.
"So...what do we do?"
"Wait."
"We will keep waiting."
"But..waiting for what?"
"Things are being destroyed left and right; nothing is spared."
"This bunker might also get swept away."
Suddenly, the electricity was cut...well, it was a blessing that it could even stay on for an hour.
But, things are a bit fishy.
Why does the electricity that Kaku made exclusively for generating energy to this bunker, also get destroyed?
Granted, that they are placed outside, using water as energy for it.
As if, those monsters were ordered to do exactly that, aiming for our electricity.
I light some old lantern that he stored at the bunker for whatever reason…Is this why?
Did he also calculate this outcome?
"Kaku, could you remind me what it's like in the other world during your coma?"
"Why now?"
"I'm bored, and I can't go outside."
"Might as well use the fantasy to make another fantasy."
"And...Stella, she might be interested."
Speaking of Stella...she can't even get up. Her legs give up after seeing such a havoc-wreaking, demolishing act above the ground.
It's not her fault that curiosity gets the best of her and makes her see such things.
Random people got shredded in pieces, buildings exploded.
Everything just got destroyed as if they were mere papers that meet a box cutter.
One small movement, and it's already cut.
This is…
I suppose every normal person will be shaken by such a surprise even if they knew when it'll happen. But, I'm not normal.
Instead of being scared, some unknown feeling akin to thrill and arousal kept swelling up but I can't get out of this.
I want to go outside, I want to see it by myself, I want to feel it.
What does destruction actually feel?
What the heck is wrong with me?
[Woah, there are really a lot of you huh?]
An unknown voice, echoing in my head.
I look around, and it seems like everyone here also gets this transmission.
[We really didn't expect this amount from a mere planet that is dominated by the blue of water.]
[So…let's play a game!]
[It was simple, the only instruction was 'Survive']
[Good Luck!]
What the heck?
After a short while, a really out-of-place screen was present in my field of view.
It was really out-of-place, as if I was playing a game with all the things that mimic a system message.
[Quest Type : Survival]
[Quest Condition : Survive ]
[8,107,832,362 / 8,302,341,742 ]
A really big number…
[Are you confused what those numbers mean?]
[Fear not, for I shall inform you in a sec!]
[What? Some of you already knew that???]
[Clap! Clap!]
[Bingo! That was exactly what you lot were thinking!]
[The left number was 'Survivor']
[While the right number was 'Humanity']
[Oh? We just left you in a bit and your numbers have already been reduced by 200 millions.]
[Let's change the survival conditions!]
[Quest Type : Survival]
[Quest Condition : Survive until half of humanity has gone extinct!]
[7,092,832,362 / 8,302,341,742]
The condition has changed, but the one thing that needed attention was the numbers of 'Survivor'.
Is it because the amount of people condensed in one area causes those numbers to go down really fast, or that everything destroyed around the world accumulates to such a drastic scale?
"Kaku! What do we do now?"
"Please…"
"Don't say, that we wait till the numbers are exactly at half?"
"I have a plan, all you need to do is listen to it and do what I want you to do."
"Do you want to survive in this stupid game that the fricking gods designed to amuse themselves?"
"If you chose those words like that, I honestly don't."
"But…if you just make the question a simple 'Do you want to survive and stay alive?', I will definitely say yes."
"Knowing you can still do that kind of remark puts me in relief, that whatever I did to keep you around was actually worth it."
"Am I that valuable?"
"Yeah, I need you specifically to prepare the counter for the start of this stupid game."
"Just tell me what you need, and I'll do it."
"Wait for around three hours then."
Ah…I really want to go outside and see such chaos with my own eyes, right now.
But, Stella grabbed my hands.
"What..did you just talk with Father?"
"Why…are you this calm?"
"Is this..real?"
Tears were flowing down her pretty face, but this is not the time for such cries.
All we need during a time of crisis is not emotional acts, but rational minds. And so, I tried to calm her down.
Yeah no, fuck that.
"Everything is real, and It was simply because I find this situation thrilling."
"As for the talk? It was some boring talk to pass the time."
Her tears stopped, but her grab was stronger.
"I hate that side of you."
"You could just do things normally, but you…you-"
"Welcome back! Now, just calm down and do what you must."
"…I can't argue with you. Not this time."
And yeah, such simple words can turn someone from crying to anger. Words are sharper than blades, huh?
Anyway, I feel really tired for some reason. Perhaps it was because I drove the motorcycle that fast, or I just wanted to sleep.
While everyone is trying their best to suppress their emotion and act strong, I just do whatever I want, as my role has not come yet.
Kaku assigned everyone in the bunker something to do, to make things faster and more efficient.
Nobody is actually immune to the fear of death.
And once again, I close my eyes.
Like people said, sleeping is in a way, a time travel machine.
Truly easy-going life in such a crisis huh?
But, the Astral Vision came back.
Why?
As I closed my eyes, I now could fly and phase through everything.
My field of view was full of chaos everywhere, and 'monsters' swarming through earth itself as if it was theirs.
Whether it was underwater, above the grounds, undergrounds, or high up on the sky, those monsters had occupied it.
It was as if they were already here even before the catastrophe started.
And the centre of it, were…a mark of slashing, like meat that was slashed by a knife, on the bright red sky.
Tears-like liquid were flowing down to earth, and each of those tears transformed into something that is not human.
From bipedal, tripedal and quadrupedal, every of these beings have a similar design, and that is their colour.
Red, blue, green, purple, dark, and pure white…but there are also animal-like structures like fish scales, wolf fur, bee stings.
For some reason, I was forced to look in one direction, towards the National Monument of Indonesia. Why here specifically?
But then, I spotted something exactly at the entrance of the now already ruined building.
There, sleeping a really nasty creature.
With the head and legs that of a lion, but body of a shark with fish scales and gills, while their tail was floating around and had a stinger like a scorpion.
Why?
I don't know, but I instantly woke up feeling nauseous.
It was so disgusting, I want to vomit.