Chapter 5: The Curtain Falls

12 hours before the Curtains cover the entire world and bring upon it its crawling end, Zac was wide awake in his room. It was already minutes after midnight, and he was still doing the same thing he had been doing since hours ago-- waving his dagger and hitting the wooden dummy in front of him.

There were already a couple of dozen daggers scattered inside a bin near him, their edges all chipped and jagged. The dagger he was holding was about to become the same, but still, he continued; striking the wooden dummy again and again in the same location-- its neck.

He had the daggers tightly wrapped in his hand as if to make sure it wouldn't fall off.

"Zac!"

He was about to strike the dummy again, but before he could do so, a loud knock that almost destroyed the door of his room erupted in his ears.

"Don't you know what time it is!? You still have school tomorrow! What if our neighbors complain because of how noisy you are!?"

"..." Zac could only stare at the door as it continued to violently shake with each of his mother's knocks. If the neighbors were going to complain, he was sure that it wasn't because of him striking the dummy, but because of his mother's screams that almost shook the entire apartment.

"I'm just about done, mother," Zac then let out a short but deep sigh as he slowly unrolled the cloth in his hands, revealing its red hue as he got to the fabric nearest to his skin, "I'll just take a bath and join you in bed, we need to discuss something."

"Wha-- Stop phrasing it like that or I swear the neighbors will misunderstand!" Her mother knocked on the door one more time before seemingly finally turning to leave, "There's a reason why I got you your own room and you go and fill it up with trash!"

"Pft." Zac could only chuckle as his mother's words slowly faded. He then took a towel resting near the dummy, but before he could take even 3 steps towards the door, he suddenly turned his body around and leaped towards the dummy; gritting his teeth as he swung the daggers in his hands with everything he had.

"..."

Zac then let go of his daggers, before his eyes slowly followed the head of the dummy, spinning firmly in place as its body swivelled on the ground at the same time.

"This… will have to do."

***

"What do you mean stay inside the house?"

"I meant exactly that, please don't leave the house no matter what. Just wait for me."

And as promised, Zac opened a conversation with his mother after he was done taking a bath; but instead of the bed, they were at the table.

"...I'm always inside the house," Nathalie then let out a long and deep sigh as she heard her son's words. She was a bit worried that her son might have done something to himself, but to think this was the only thing they were going to discuss.

"Don't leave to buy anything, don't open the door unless it's me, don't go near the windows, and absolutely do not go outside," Zac then firmly said as he grabbed his mother's hand, "I have a key, so don't open the door for anyone."

"...Are you not going to tell me what's going on?" Nathalie then said as she also grabbed her son's hand, "You've been… completely differently lately. You've always been distant, but not like this."

"I… will explain if I get back from school."

"...If?"

"You will know when it happens. And when it does, remember what I told you-- never ever open the door, please promise me that."

It's been almost 3 months since he returned to the past, and although minute; the connection that he thought was completely gone has been slowly sown together once more. He was also starting to remember memories with his mother, and distant they may be-- they were still beautiful memories.

And with his mother actually being younger than him by a couple of years, he felt even more protective.

"Zac…"

He could feel the warmth in his mother's hands grow stronger as she looked him straight in the eyes, "You…

...You're not planning to shoot up the school, are you?"

"...No."

***

"The fuel line opens up, letting the air flow so that the gasoline could…"

Even with the teacher endlessly rambling in front of the class, most of the students weren't listening. They were just minding their own business, some using their phones, and some even outright whispering with each other.

This is the fate of lectures all around the world which were 30 minutes before the school's lunch break-- and obviously, Zac's class was not an exception to this. The teacher did not even seem to mind anymore, as he just continued on bumbling even knowing full well that no one was listening to him.

As for Zac, his finger was currently busy ceaselessly tapping on his desk; glancing at his phone from time to time to check the time. His other hand, gripping his bag which had a pair of fresh daggers carefully hidden in it.

This silent pressure lingered around him for a couple more minutes, until finally…

...the bell rang, signalling the students' 2nd most awaited event-- lunch break.

And without even waiting for the second chime of the bell, Zac immediately rushed out of the room; running without any pause and not stopping for anyone as he headed to the roof.

His memories of his old life might be buried deep inside him, but there was a clear record of when exactly the Curtains appeared.

Exactly 12:30 PM, October 29, 2022. That is when the Curtains appeared in the skies. It then took another minute for them to materialize on the ground.

It was recorded by an astronomer with his camera past midnight in a small country on the other side of the world called the Philippines.

And it made sense for Zac as well; as the only way his old self could have had the time to try and commit suicide on the roof was during lunch break.

"This… is it," Zac then breathed out as opened the door of the roof. He was expecting something to go wrong like the door being chained lock, but good thing there was no such drama.

He then quickly opened his bag, throwing all of the books and other unnecessary stuff on the roof of the floor until a clang rang into his ears as the daggers fell out.

"Haste makes waste, haste makes waste," he repeatedly whispered as he placed his phone on the edge of the roof, watching the timer he set as he carefully tied the daggers in his hand; like he had been doing so for the past 3 months.

The hardest part, however, has yet to even start.

12:25 PM. 5 minutes before the Curtains cover the world with its beauty.

4 minutes left-- Zac could feel his heart beating erratically, his breaths almost crushing his chest.

3 minutes left-- Zac's hands began to tremble, causing the knife in them to almost hit his legs.

2 minutes left-- Zac's feet almost felt as fragile as noodles as he struggled to keep himself up.

1 minute left-- Zac was already drowning in his own sweat.

And then finally… as if a celestial horn singing from the horizon of the skies…

...the Curtains fall.

And just like that, any trembling, any pressure, and any fear that Zac was feeling withered away as the Curtains reflected through his eyes.

Finally, he thought.

He was finally home.

Zac then closed his eyes as he stopped just a few inches from the edge of the roof, the timer on his phone still ticking with only 30 seconds left on its clock.

10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3--

And before it could even count down to 0, Zac let himself fall headfirst from the roof as he opened his eyes; his arms planted on his chest in a cross, the blade of his sharp daggers also reflecting the beautiful Curtain above the skies.

But below, however, the blades reflected nothing but the cold hard pavement…

...there was no Curtain waiting for him to fall on. His expression, however, still remained completely the same; calm even as the wind violently hit his face.

But then, the phone he left on the roof started to ring. And as soon as it did so, a glimmer appeared on the ground directly beneath the falling Zac.

And as he was only meters away from being turned into a pancake, the glimmer unfolded like a wing, revealing the Curtain hiding within it.

"Grah!"

Zac then let out a deafening roar as soon as the Curtain hit his face, and without even closing his eyes; the ground that was threatening to smash his body disappeared, replaced by a land seemingly only lit up by the moon.

The trees were also standing upright, as if waving towards him that he was now falling… horizontally. None of those mattered, however, as his eyes were only looking at one thing-- the silhouette slowly coming into his view.

And as the silhouette became bigger and bigger through his eyes, Zac stretched both his arms to his right; every fiber of his muscles contracting as they only had one target within their sights-- the silhouette's neck.

And without even letting out a word, he took in a deep breath and let his arms loose.

"Kh!" And right after, whispers of his bone cracking piece by piece pierced his ears as he finally slid on the ground, causing his body to roll over several meters before being stopped by a tree. His breaths were fettered, not even allowing a full single breath of air to register in his lungs as his ribs were completely caved in.

This pain did not last long, however… as finally--

[Congratulations on being the first to clear a Zone! Special rewards will be given after the Initial Reward.]

[Calculating rewards based on Time of Completion…]

[Tome of the Mage, Received!]

[Would you like to change your Class into Mage now?]

"Hm, fuck no. I need…

…something juicier."