BOOOOOMMM!!!
BAAANNNGG!!!
Silvia, with a face full of sweat and dirt, scurried herself from running trying to find a safe place to hide away from the falling round metal object from the sky, that explode the moment it hit the ground.
Everything around her was a total mess. It was like a scenery that could be seen on some disaster or apocalyptic movie. Steel frame and other debris from once high-rise buildings was now laying on the ground. On the streets are empty cars, some are being swallowed by fire, while some are totally destroyed as the falling round objects hit them. The once beautiful and peaceful city Silvia grow up with is now reduced to nothing in front of her.
As Silvia ran for her safety, she found a ruined house and hid in there. The place is still intact except for some parts that was destroyed.
Silvia took a peek outside the window. It was still raining with those explosive round objects. She didn't know where it originated but all of it are seems coming from the sky. Speaking of the sky, under those dark red looking clouds everywhere she see is now red, thunders also shook the entire city. It really looks like the end of the world.
Silvia wrapped her hands around her, trying to console herself. She didn't know if she's just too lucky for being alive and not being hit by falling debris or those round things.
How long was it since these things started happening? And the people? Where is everyone?
Then she realized. She's been running for almost an hour, trying to find a safe place, but she never encounter any people. As if like she was the only person in the city and everyone just suddenly vanished. She had a crazy thought that she was transported in another alternate universe.
Silvia shook her head, denying the possibility of her idea. "No, No, no. That's highly impossible. This is not some fantasy fiction novel." But deep down she knew all of it is real.
Silvia tried to look back on how she arrived in this current situation.
It was early in the morning. She was on the way to her school, earphones on her ears as she listens to music as she usually does. She can see people rushing to their work. She also saw some students wearing the same uniform as her, walking alone, while some happily talking with their friends. Stores opening one by one for another day of business. It was the usual busy morning for the entire city.
She was about to cross the street when she heard a soft ping from her phone. It was a message from her bestfriend, and on the message was just a link.
She didn't find it weird since her bestfriend usually sends her some random stuffs. It ranges from videos of frog mating on the sidewalk to pictures of her holding a cat with her face full of scratches. This time it may just be another link of weird videos she wants to share.
She clicked the link but nothing happened, then after a few seconds the screen turned black.
"What the–"she was about to curse her friend, thinking her phone was exposed to a virus when it returned to normal but now on her home screen a mysterious app was installed.
The icon was just a black box with a lock symbol at the center. Under the icon was the name of the app. PANDORA.
"That girl will be dead meat once I see her." She grumbled as she tried to uninstall the said app. But after trying many times, the app was still there.
She got so frustrated that she accidentally open the said app. A logo with the word Pandora inside the circle appeared. Below was the loading percentage at 65%. Silvia tried to exit the app by pressing the home button, but it never exited. The app continued to load till it reached 100%.
[Welcome. You are the 112th person to log in to the Pandora's App.] A robotic voice of a woman greeted Silvia.
[Please type your name on the box below.] The voice commanded.
Thinking it was just a rubbish app, Silvia didn't bother putting in her name and just clicked the confirm button.
[The Pandora's Box and Its Irregulars welcomes 112th. To celebrate, a tag event shall immediately begin. Find Pandora to win the game. All Irregulars must be ready in 3...2...1... START!]
Then everything suddenly change. Darkness swallowed the entire city, as if someone switch off the light. Silvia can't even see something in front of her, not her hands she keeps waving in front of her face, not the people around. Nothing.
Panic slowly crept in Silvia's body. She wants to run but afraid to face the unknown brought by the darkness. She can even hear her racing heartbeats as if she's been running a marathon.
She was never afraid of the dark. She even sleeps with the lights off, but this darkness that surrounds her now is different to the darkness she was used to.
She gathered her courage and took a single step forward, that's when she noticed a ball of light above her. It was falling, just like a falling star. She wants to follow it, but a voice inside her told her not to.
She just observed the light as it landed far away from her. A few seconds later, an enormous explosion happened. As a reflex Silvia duck and covered her head as a large and deafening explosion shook the whole city.
After what happened, the surrounding become clear as if someone flip the switch on. Silvia can now see her surrounding but this time it was all in red.
She thought that was it but a series of explosion can now be heard as a ball of light rained down the entire city, bringing destruction to its surroundings the moment it hit the ground.
And that's what happened why she was in her current predicament. Silvia was sure that all this happened because of that d*mn app.
She took her phone from her pocket and frantically tapped the screen, hoping to find something from the app that can help her get out of this place. She was quite surprised that she lost her bag while trying to look for a safe area but didn't lose the little gadget.
The app design looks simple. The top, right corner a number 112th was written, she guessed that's where her name supposed to be at, beside it is a rectangular bar like those HP bar from those RPG games she played before but what makes it different is it looks empty.
"Maybe it's not for HP. Maybe Mana?" Silvia murmured to herself as she tried to concentrate and don't mind the noise outside.
She has a feeling that this app can bring everything back to normal, making it as important as her life. Silvia continued to study the app. At the top, left corner R-points: 0 was written. Suddenly a window suddenly popped from the screen.
[You have received (1) major quest and (1) minor quest. Click the Quest Box to know the details.] then the message vanished.
Now, a new button has been added right below her name. She tapped it and the Quest Box opened.
[Major Quest]
What: Find Pandora.
Duration: - - - - -
Rewards: ? ? ? ?
[Minor Quest]
What: Win Tag Event.
Duration: until the next Harvest Event.
Rewards: 50 Rpoints
As she read the quest contents, Silvia felt more and more hopeless, she really transported in another world. A game like world just like those mangas and web novels she read.
Silvia found no more buttons to tap. She become more frustrated. She wants to file a complaint to the developers of this app. How could this app lack so many things? It didn't even have the help button to help me navigate the app. This was not the same from those she read. Should't she have at least a cheat just like from those protagonists in isekai mangas and novels?
Silvia, feeling tired, rested her head on her knees. She didn't even knew when she started crying but just found herself in a sobbing mess. She felt helpless in her situation. She wants to leave this wretched place. She wants to see her mother, her idiot bestfriend, or just any person, even if it's a stranger. She felt too lonely in this red world. The whole place screams danger and she have no ways of getting out. She did't want to die.
She cried herself out. For how many minutes? She didn't know. She didn't care anymore, not even about the disaster happening outside.
A sudden ping from her phone brought her out of her crying session. She brought the phone closer.
A new button has magically appeared, it was the map button. Silvia felt energize by the sudden appearance of the button. If there is a map, then there is a slim chance that it may lead her out of this place.
In the map two colours of dot was scattered throughout the entire map. There is a single blue dot that seems in a standstill and a bunch of yellow dots that are moving.
"What are these dots? Do they represent people? The blue one is not moving at all, is that supposed to be me?"
Silvia just watched a bunch of yellows getting further away from the blue dot, then she noticed a single yellow dot turn around and went to the blue dot's location. She didn't know if the yellow dots really represents people or a being that live in this world that may bring her problems or worst kill her.
She was about to hide but was too late to do so, when the door of the house flew and smashed to the wall, leaving the dusts flew everywhere.
Silvia cough while trying to cover her mouth and nose to keep her inhaling the dust. From her position, Silvia can see a silhouette. She unconsciously holds her breath, waiting to see who or what came.
"What are you doing? Why aren't you running?" She heard a deep voice asked as the newly arrived entered the house and with a deep frown painted on his face.
He looks like the same age as her. He had a black messy hair that looks good on him. Those sharp pairs of eyes were also beautiful, if not for the icy glare he was giving her. He was also tall, maybe a foot taller than her. He was also wearing a uniform from another school. Over all the guy had such striking appearance that any girl would fall for, including her.
"Hey id*ot, stop gawking and get your feet on the move if you still want to live." The guy grabbed Silvia's wrist and they run out of the house.
"W-where are you taking me?" Silvia asked. She was just staring at the man's broad back, she didn't even noticed that those falling objects are long gone.
"To find the gate." He answered.
"Gate? What gate?" But the guy didn't answer her and just took a phone from his back pocket.
After running for twenty minutes they hid behind a flip car near the city's park. Just like other places the whole area was damaged.
As she doesn't want to dwell more on how remorse she felt on the current situation of her surrounding, she return her attention to the guy in front of her.
He was busy tapping something on his phone so she took a peek. She saw he was using the mysterious app she also had on her phone but compared to her his filled more unfamiliar buttons and looking much more a complete app.
"We have the same app!" She announced and immediately showed it to the guy.
"So you are the 112th they were talking about." The guy said as he read her name on the app.
"Talking about more trouble." He commented as his eyebrow become more wrinkled when he saw how empty looking her app is.
'Did I put myself into more trouble?' The man thought to himself.
"Trouble? What do you mean? Hey! Tell me what you're thinking! "He was brought back from his pondering when the girl beside him slap his back hard.
He coldly glared to the woman that immediately stop her from slapping his back.
"What I'm trying to say is you cause this problem. The next Harvest Game should happen a week from now and many of us should be busy preparing for it, but since you land yourself inside the box you made everyone deal with a Tag event. And look at your app, it's empty. You can't even use anything from it to get through with this event. I should have left you in that house." He said as he turns around and left her.
Not only those sharp eyes are cold, but also his words. He was cold. Too cold. Tears were flowing in Silvia's eyes as she watches the man left her.
"It's not as if I want this to happen. It was that st*pid app's fault." Silvia shouted at him. She felt the fear and stress that been building up since earlier, burst out of her.
The guy stops walking and looks back at her. Guilt can now be seen in his eyes. He felt helpless. It was also wrong for him to blame her for the things she didn't know or understands at all. He, himself, should know her feelings since he was once just like her.
The guy walked back to her and offered his handkerchief. Silvia stared at it, then back to his face. She was pondering if she should accept it. Who knows after accepting it the guy might throw some hurtful words to her again.
Tired of waiting, he grabs her hand and put the fabric. "We better get moving, the tainted ones are coming and we need to find the gate." He explained as they started moving again. They can't stay long in the same area or the Tainted Ones will catch up to them.
"Before everything else, who are you? Where is this place? And why are we running away from those tainted ones you speak of?"
"Took you long enough to ask. You can just call me Raven. To answer your other questions, This place is called the Pandora's box. It may look the same city we lived in, but this place is in another dimension. Those Tainted Ones are beings who live in here, they only have a two purpose on why they exist and those are to eliminate us, the irregulars, and keep us from finding Pandora. The entire place is a death game and there is only two options to get out of here. You find a Gate and temporarily leave this place or find Pandora and totally beat the game." Raven explained in a serious face.
It may be impossible, but Silvia could somehow see on Raven's eyes the hardships he experienced while inside this place. Those sharp eyes that look cold but also full of fire to beat the game and return everything back to normal. Too bad for Silvia, it will also be the same experiences she will soon encounter.