Chapter 1 - Last Stronghold of Mankind

[Warning: Some elements in this story might be sensitive and triggering to some people. Proceed with cautions]

— Year 3074, Southern Earth.

The strong wind that blew against his tattered cloak didn't stop him, nor break his will to continue his aimless journey. His pair of cobalt blue eyes shone dangerously from behind the cloth covering his head, not looking tired in the slightest.

He went through many difficulties to set his foot here, in a small continent said to be the last sanctuary for the remnants of mankind.

The once beautiful planet was turned into a mass grave by the war that broke out 1000 years ago. Nearly 90% of humans were wiped off the earth's surface, leaving only a handful of them whose descendants now hid behind the shadow of invincible walls in the middle of an unknown desert.

He kept climbing the mound of sand ahead, walking for miles and many hours more before he finally arrived in front of what looked like a giant fortress. Standing tall in front of him was a solid wall of rocks with big bright red painting in the middle, seemingly an ancient seal.

Sigil of Gabriel— the last stronghold of mankind.

The man didn't see any gate nor a way for water to flow in, pretty fascinating in itself as this fortress still existed even after constant airstrikes in the last 20 years.

Getting bombed every day probably was something that a normal human being centuries ago would unlikely survive from but today, 74 years since the third millenium began, watching the sky raining explosives seemed like a walk in the park.

The world was no longer the same.

And all because of what they call the 'Ressurrection Day'.

The day when the dead was brought to life by the new God those wretched souls in white coat invented in their laboratory more than 1000 years ago— Alteria.

No one except the 'Six Warlord' families known for their wealth and power had seen what Alteria looked like.

People were beyond happy when science allowed them a chance to bring their loved ones from death, and extended their age span for years to come.

Everyone was practically ready to be immortals.

But who would've known that the joy of being reunited with the loved ones they lost in the past would turn into a nightmare in the blink of an eye?

Humans did everything to prove that they fit the role for God...

And so, God himself showed how flawed and helpless these humans were through the great war that destroyed nearly everything they had 1000 years ago.

But getting trampled all over wasn't the greatest humiliation that mankind received for losing the war.

A war that left none but a world separated into North and South.

A world where mankind had to pay a dear price for playing God.

For 900 years, they were enslaved by the very same 'people' they resurrected.

The man wondered where the guards, army, or anything left of human beings that the greatest empire on the other side of the continent tried to destroy but couldn't.

Nobody in their sane mind would have thought that life existed behind this colossal cage but as impossible as it seemed, this fortress was home to God's real creations.

Mankind survived, but nobody knew how long they could last.

"H... Help... Please... Please help...."

A woman's voice came from distance and distracted him. He could hear that she begged for a help. However, instead of extending his hand and helped her up from the ground she'd fallen into, the man pulled out a silver rod from behind his back and swung it, triggering a double-bladed axe to come out.

"Please... Please help me...."

He walked closer, then stopped two steps away from the woman. The man then demanded in a cold voice, "Show me your back."

The woman looked up to him with pitiful eyes, the trace of ashes in her cheeks made her appearance even more convincing. Her skinny body shivered in fear at the sight of the man's silver axe.

"Are you... Are you going to kill me like they did to my family?"

The man's eyes caught the bandage in the woman's wrist, then decided right in that very second.

"I can't kill something that doesn't really exist."

ZRASSSHHHHH!!!!

The sound of cracking bone echoed, then carried away by the wind as he pulled out his silver axe out the neck he'd just separated from the spine.

A few strings of electric spark appeared as soon as he lifted his bloody axe, then he crouched to pick up the small black box that his axe had just struck, his eyes glared at the writing on its surface.

July 9th, 2990.

Smith, Julia Darren.

Registered Alterion ID (RAID): JDS099297

The man heaved a deep sigh while crushing the cursed thing that brought such a great catastrophe to humanity in his metal-coated palm.

Once he opened his fingers, the wind came and carried away the dust, along with the remaining conscience that almost made his heart waver. Then his hand moved to caress the woman's golden hair and stopped for a moment. He shut his eyes, muttering, "Rest in peace, Julia."

He stood up, then dug the sand beneath him with his axe that was still dripping with fresh blood.

However, when he was about to bury the head that he'd just decapitated, a strange voice came from above.

"Rest in peace, huh? How sweet of you to say that after you murdered her."

The man slowly looked up, staring at the five figures that suddenly appeared on the top of the walls.

His presence seemed like a threat to them, judging from how their piercing cold gazes were all shot towards him.

He didn't know who they were, nor did he care about which of them who taunted him just now.

But seeing that all of them had drawn their weapons, the man could only be sure of one thing.

He wasn't welcome here.