Suggested Beginning Sound:
Virus by Lazerpunk
The person... thing, sits there in silence, just watching as the ants travel in and out of their hill. It's dressed in very odd clothing similar to a bunch of black rags and cloths stitched together; a black long coat, hoodie, pants and boots. Everything about the creature was just the color of black. Not a single inch nor millimeter of skin was showing.
It continues to sit there with its legs crossed as it focuses its interest on the tiny organisms. Right next to it lays a long rifle that was—unsurprisingly—black as well. Except, the weirdest thing about it is that it's not exactly a rifle. What it really is, is a pitch black outline of a generic-looking rifle. And the second weirdest thing is that it's emitting some sort of black smoke.
Pretty much everything about the creature—or human, whatever it is, is out of place and unworldly. Or at least, that's what Kiroh thinks.
Currently watching from about seven or eight meters away, is the former-PUR soldier dressed in standard Regime gear. He waits in a dense bush, observing the complete anomaly that he perceives at the very moment.
The thing just sits there, completely unaware of the soldier staring at it through the greenery.
Weighing his decisions, Kiroh could do two things: he could try to interact with the being, or he could just finish it off right there—if it shows to be hostile—since the advantage is perfect.
His lips, which were already shaped into frown, straightened out. The soldier ends up shrugging mentally as he decides on what to do. Kiroh centers the ironsights on the being's head and fires a single bullet.
Particles of black blood flew out of the creature's head as the bullet tore through it. The being lurches forward in its spot before falling flat on its back.
Doing a quick check on his surroundings, the soldier doesn't see any nearby would-be threats. He gets off his knee and makes his way to the body. Kiroh crouches next to the fresh corpse and starts to rummage through it.
Nothing, or something if you count a torn notebook full of incoherent scribbles. But other than that, the weird person had no ammo stored anywhere, yet it held a rifle?
Kiroh averts his attention to the weapon laying on the ground. He grabs the stock of the rifle, something he'll later assume to be a terrible mistake.
In a split-second the forest environment abruptly becomes a black void. Like the one he was in before he got here. The soldier remains still as he looks around with his eyes, panic starting to fill his senses once he realizes he can't move. His body seems locked in place.
Then out of nowhere, a clawed hand emerges from the darkness and slowly moves towards his hand that was grasping the rifle. Its skin is blood red and shows signs of rot—exposed bone and tendons. Kiroh's eyes widen like searchlights as he begins to breath rapidly and tremble in place.
He watches as more clawed hands emerge from the void and approach his hand. Then he witnesses them slowly pick apart his hand. His fingers are the first to go, going from thumb to index. They twist them until they break and rip off. Kiroh wants to scream and pass out as he feels every second of hot, searing pain.
Second is the skin on the top of his hand. They begin by tearing off the glove. He watches as they dig into his appendage and rip into his tendons and right through the muscle. All he can feel now are the tears flooding his eyes and the burning feeling traveling up his trembling arms.
And then it stops. A split-second is all it takes for the soldier to be back in the forest.
Kiroh immediately reels his hand back and steps away from the spot. Breathing heavily, he keeps his hand close to his body, caressing the harmed appendage assuringly with his other one. He glares at the pitch black rifle.
His eyes are narrowed and a harsh grimace appears on his helmeted face. "What the fuck?" Looking at his hand, he examines the entirety of it very quickly. Nothing's changed. His fingers are there and no claws are present and tearing away at his skin.
Feeling his anger rise, Kiroh frowns while unintentionally baring his teeth. He raises his middle finger at the gun. "Fuck you. Piece of shit." Turning around, he picks up his service rifle and stomps away further into the forest.
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Three more of those rag-covered beings sit around what looks to be an anomaly. The only way Kiroh could describe it is that it's a floating ball of purple light. They just stare into the thing, like they're in a trance or something.
Kiroh leans against a deteriorating structure, namely, a concrete pillar and a wall. He can only wonder why they're dressed up like that guy he killed earlier. But rethinking about that death, it brings up several questions. Why did he kill that guy earlier? What was the reason? Did he even think about the man's intentions? Actually, is it a man? Or was it a gal?
Shaking his head at the last two questions, he dismisses the morality and focuses on the current problem. Were these guys soldiers? Clansmen? Something of that sort? And why did they give off the same vibes like those faceless dogs and red goblins? Why did the other guy he killed earlier, bleed black? Are they connected? And what could possibly be their intentions?
The solder doesn't know why, but he just feels a sense of uneasiness as he thinks about it. Like these beings don't belong here. And yet, they fit right in. It confuses him to think about it.
An hour or two ago, when the sun was coming up, he found out that they bled black when he shot one. He still isn't sure why he just randomly decided to shoot someone on the spot, but there's no point in regretting it. The dude is dead and he ain't coming back. The soldier simply pushes the thought to the back of his mind.
Deciding not to be an indiscriminate killer, Kiroh figures the best action would simply be to talk with the rag-covered people. But before that, he needs a backup plan if anything goes hostile.
With a scrutinization of his environment, he finds several broken brick walls and barriers of concrete to use as cover. Setting his backpack down, he makes up two routes to use if he needed to retreat. Now, he just needs to figure out what to say and how to present himself.
A greeting would work, he would greet them how he usually greeted everybody. A simple "hello" or small wave. And to show no hostility, he'll have his gun facing down. The helmet might be a little imposing... uhh-nah, that's gotta stay on. He doesn't want his head getting blown off in an instant.
Reviewing his plan, he rubs his throat with his gloved hand. He thinks of the possibilities of them becoming a threat and nods to himself. Alright. This'll do.
Just a breath is exhaled before Kiroh makes himself known to the group of uniform strangers. He steps onto the grass.
"Hello-" They cut him off immediately.
"Cra'akuro!" One of them shouted in a extremely raspy voice, which alerted the other two. They each reach for their weapons that were laying next to them.
Kiroh inhaled sharply before bringing his hand down and pulling his weapon up. He fires from the hip in a horizontal line going left to right.
The leftmost one jerks wildly to the side and falls backwards as black blood spurts out. It drops its weapon as it lands flat on its back.
Second to be hit is the middle one, but it only steps back from the bullets impacting. Most likely staggered for a second at the most.
Last to be hit is the least affected. It raises its rifle and fires at Kiroh. It hits.
One moment, Kiroh finds himself in his usual firing stance. But now he finds himself lifted off his feet and catching air. It only lasts a for a second or two before he feels his back hit a hard surface. Unfortunately, he could also feel that surface crumbling as he made contact.
Now rolling on his back, he knows he lost his weapon. Kiroh times the moment and rolls right onto his feet. As soon as he stabilizes himself, he quickly unholsters his pistol and readies it.
Ignoring the pain forming on his back, the soldier walks fast as he looks for his two targets. He moves from cover to cover as best he can, slipping between weak walls or any other forms of deteriorating architecture.
The man wonders where they've gone until he's met with a surprise. The surprise being that one of them appears right in front of him from a corner. It raises its weapon to fire at him.
Kiroh is quicker, much quicker with his pistol. He fires three times, each bullet digging into the person's chest. Each one causes black blood to spurt out, getting on the ground and Kiroh. The person drops and falls on its back, not having fired a single shot.
"Tu'amahio!" The last person shouts behind him.
He turns around as quickly as possible but is too late though. That same feeling from when he was shot the first time occurs. And before he knew it, he found himself flying back once more.
In a hard impact against another wall—which surprisingly doesn't break this time—Kiroh feels the pain surge once more. This time, though, it's his gut massing with pain. If he could compare it to something, it would probably be several hammers slamming into the right side of his stomach simultaneously.
A mixture of a growl and a groan come out of his mouth as he recovers. He stays there for half a second before regaining his senses. Fixing his position from resembling some sprawled out toy to laying on his left side.
Looking up, he can see the rag-covered person approaching him while shouting. He moves his hand and can feel that he actually kept his grip on the pistol.
Fuck yeah.
The person aims at Kiroh, lifting up its rifle. Kiroh returns in kind, snapping his pistol to aim at the opponent. They fire at the same time.
Kiroh squeezes and releases the trigger several times to let out about seven bullets. The opponent only fires once before staggering back and clutching its stomach. It drops on its ass, looking straight at Kiroh.
The soldier sneers proudly under his helmet. Aligning his sights on the wounded person, he squeezes.
Particles of black blood shoot out of the person's head. It falls on its back.
The sneer on his face becomes toothy, crinkling the sides of his mouth as he starts to laugh. "HAHA! Fuck you! I knew you shits were hostile, I fuckin' knew it! HAHAHAHA! Yes!"
Getting up, the soldier holds his side—which still fucking hurts, just a teeny little less though—and reloads his pistol. He stores the used mag back into its appropriate pouch.
Walking slowly, almost dragging his feet, the soldier goes over to the deceased person. "Eat shit," he says venomously as he stands over the body, "cocksucker."
Kiroh moves on and looks for his weapon. Finding it laying somewhere on the grass, he picks it up and searches for any damages. Still ignoring the pain—that apparently manifested not only in his back, but his side as well. After not seeing any major dents on his gun, the soldier lets out a relieved sigh.
He walks—wobbles, is a more fitting term—towards a nearby concrete block and sits down. The pain now settles in his abdomen and parts of his upper back. Hissing as he touches those areas, he brings attention to his vest.
Luckily, the shot he endured didn't seem to penetrate through the fiber. But of course, that's only how it looks on the outside. He's sure that under his dark green uniform, there's a bruise swelling—the same goes for his back, although probably much less bruised.
A 'tsk' noise comes from his mouth as he tries to ascertain any other injuries or bruises.
Doing so, Kiroh almost forgets something. He can't exactly remember it though since he's-oh, yeah. The floating purple anomaly. That's what he was forgetting.
He looks around for the purple sphere, not noticing it until he leans back—hissing in pain—and sees it behind another pillar. Kiroh's curiosity caused him to stand up slowly, he doesn't want to break himself just yet. With that same slowness, he walks past the pillar and goes towards the purple sphere.
The distance between him and the sphere only grows smaller as he feels more inclined to approach the anomaly-type thing. He walks closer and closer, his hand hovering right over the thing. And then he realizes it.
Kiroh lurches back. Under his helmet's visor, his eyes are wide with caution. Pain swelling in his stomach causes him to grasp his abdomen once more. Looking down at his torso, he immediately brings his eyes back at the purple sphere.
Blinking, he can't help but feel that touching it would only work against him. It'll be just like when he grabbed the stock of the black rifle earlier. Obviously, he doesn't want feel that again and he sure-as-hell doesn't want to experience any other side affects.
With a nod to confirm his own desires, Kiroh stands firm—or as best he could—and turns away. He goes back to the concrete block he used as a seat. Sighing, he realizes that all he's left to feel now is his current predicament since the adrenaline effects are wearing off. Great.
The soldier looks around for any approaching entities, he does this out of caution. Not wanting any random person to sneak up on him and shoot him on the spot.
Once he can't find any, he retrieves his backpack from behind another pillar. Kiroh takes a seat on the block and takes his helmet off, revealing his light brown skin, moist with sweat. He places the helmet right next to his foot.
Bringing out the map from a pouch and a can of meat from his backpack, he opens the latter. Grabbing a plastic spoon, he starts to eat away at his canned meat as he studies the map.
On the map are what he considers as eight island-like landmasses with the largest being in the south. There are several dark spots on nearly all the landmasses, leaving the soldier to only wonder what they were for.
In the north and northwest, are two large brown-colored islands with three smaller ones in between. A yellow color dominates the leftmost island. Kiroh could only question the coloring of the maps, but he chose not to and decided to just use common sense.
In the far northeast is a white-colored c-shaped island. He can't really say much more about it other than, it's probably a tundra-like environment.
The east has a green-colored island with dozens of smaller green islands further east. Green must represent the jungle then... unless-no, it probably is a jungle environment since it's right on the equator.
Right in the center of the map is an archipelago of smaller green-colored islands. They seem to connect the larger northern and southern landmasses.
And bringing up the south, located in that direction is the largest landmass on the map. It's colored brown and also has a part that's yellow, must be be a desert-like area then.
The final noteworthy thing on the map is the far west landmass with a waterway acting as a divide near its center. There, too, is a desert area on its west side.
All this studying of the map led to one conclusion.
He still has no fucking idea where-wait a second. He's still got that map he snagged from that kiosk in the town. Taking it out of one his pouches, he unfolds it and ignores the creases. The map shows what island he's on. It's the northwest island with a desert further west.
Analyzing it more, Kiroh figures out that he's located west of the town where he ran from. If the tiny markings were of any value, then they must represent the ruins where's he currently at.
Huh, sweet. Finally found out where he is. More places to go then.
Assuming that he really is at the ruins, if he were to head north, then he would have to go along the coastline of what appears to be a huge bay. Oddly enough, it cuts into the land and forms what looks like a tooth or fang. Directly east of the coastal path he's taking, however, is a dark spot and further north is the desert.
Not wanting to figure out what the dark spot means, Kiroh decides to avoid it in the future. The same treatment goes towards the desert. He's never set foot in a desert nor has he ever been trained to go into one so it's a definite death trap.
Alright then, seems like he's gonna head north. If the markings represented settlements and towns, he'll go there. He doesn't have anywhere else to be... since, well, he's on a completely different world. Or... dimension? Nah, that's... not too rational, but it could always be a hypothesis.
Now that he thinks about though, the soldier can't help but consider it a possibility. Besides the more realistic answers; him being on another planet or somewhere still on his home world. Huh, dimension-hopping soldier... sounds like a good idea for a movie or something.....
Kiroh hears the clanging noise of plastic upon metal below him. He looks down and sees that he's hit the bottom of the can. Blinking for second, he realizes that he's finished his mystery meat and decides to lick the spoon clean.
Now finished with that, he puts everything away and places his helmet back in its rightful place. Settled right on his head. Figuring out what to do next, Kiroh believes the next best action would be tending to his wounds—bruises, most likely—and resting.
Since it seems to only be midday at the moment, the soldier decides that now would be the best time to have the most rest. He's unsure of the current season, but he's grateful either way for the cool temperature of the forest.
Before he actually lets his body relax, he takes one more look at his surroundings. Just more ruins of concrete and brick. No one else around. Good.
Getting under the shadow of a tall concrete wall, the soldier puts his items next to him. He throws an arm on his left where his backpack is. And he holds his rifle—on safety by the way—in his lap. His back rests against the wall as he tips his head to the side. Laying there, he waits for the comfort of sleep to bring him into bliss.
He'll move north when he wakes up.
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Opening his eyes, Kiroh is met with the darkening view in front of him. The trees have lost their bright green glow, replaced with a darker and more mellow bluish color. Shadows seem to engulf the majority of his surroundings.
He looks up and notices horizontal orange on the horizon. The clouds are no longer white, their shadows become prominent.
The soldier widens his eyes and blinks. Oh shit. It's dusk.
Blinking once more, he scrambles to his feet. He shrugs the backpack on while equipping his rifle. The weapon remains on safety until he switches it off when he keeps it in his hands.
Kiroh stretches his body for a few seconds; kicking his legs out, rolling his shoulders, popping his joints, and rolling his neck. Once he finishes, he lets out a deep breath and begins moving north. Objective? No fuckin' idea.
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A pale woman stands over a cold blue sphere, looking down at the floating mass. She stares into the sphere, like she's watching something only her eyes could witness. And as it turns out, that's the case.
From staring into the sphere, she can see a man dressed in a dark green uniform, covered by combat armor. Moving at pace bordering jogging and fast-walking. It's clear to see why he moves so slowly, his armor weighs him down along with his backpack and weapon. And as another weight, his growing fatigue.
The human man, as she recalls, goes by the name of Kiroh Luzat. An odd name but she'll work with it. She snorts as she remembers how he arrived, facedown in the dirt and immediately chased by her hounds. It was funny to watch, but it could've been funnier if only he hadn't killed them.
But, oh well. What can you do when you let your pets into the wilds of the despicable world?
"Hmph, what can you do?" She asks herself in a cocky manner, eliciting a laugh. Her voice is smooth, befitting that of a highly rated singer. The woman covers her mouth just as her sharp teeth appear.
Bringing her attention back to the human, she watches as he travels north under the cover of night. A touch of curiosity falls onto her. She can only wonder what the man must be thinking as he heads further north.
Was it something he's looking for? Why not head south, towards Morten Central? What is his current thought? How well is he adapting to being in a new environment? Who will he kill next?
Needless to say, watching Kiroh's "feats" are certainly... entertaining, in a way. Though she does wish more would happen, maybe some flare to add drama? Ah, it doesn't matter. At least he was competent in his actions, pulling off his most recent stunt of killing three of her rag-covered warriors.
"Malitan!" A loud and masculine voice shouted. The voice echoes through the brick-built hallway leading into her room. It grabs her attention from the blue sphere.
With gritting teeth, she shouts back. "What!"
"We must meet with the Lighter Suns! Do not delay!" The lady only growls as she realizes that she must stop watching the human soldier through her blue sphere.
Malitan casts a hand over it and moves it in a circular motion. She speaks in a ritual-like manner. In a matter of seconds, the sphere turns from blue to a solid black.
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"Just fuckin' great." Captain Gary said, rubbing his temples.
He rubs them for a few more seconds before getting up from his swivel seat. Speaking, he says, "Twelve guards. We lost twelve. Damn. Guards. Just defendin' the entrance. Then we lost two GODSDAMN more, when that soldier fuck just waltzed right through us like a damn pinwheel on dough!"
"Sir-" Someone attempts to say something but they're cut off as the captain continues his rant.
"And then we figure out that that soldier fuck is the same son of a bitch that raided the Trocker's house! Of all the damn places, he raided the house with the nicest people in the town!"
"Sir, please-"
"I mean," the captain scoffs, "what the void was that damn terrorist thinkin'! Money? Publicity! I bet-"
"Sir!" The quieter subordinate shouted, getting the captain's attention. He continues, "We've already sent out several drones and a squad to search the forest."
Quieting down, the captain asks a question in a more calm and professional manner. "Did ya notify the other settlements about that terrorist?" The lesser guard nods. "Good, a man like that'll only cause chaos and death. As upstanding members of this society, it's a must to put that man in jail. Cuz we don't know how many more lives he'll take."
He takes a moment of silence before continuing once more. "Lieutenant Endona," he looks at the quieter man, "get the First Class guards and arm up. Once dawn hits, we're goin' on a huntin' trip."
"Yes, sir."
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Kiroh moves along the tree line, keeping a moderate pace as he walks north. He makes sure not to move too fast or too slow. Going slow would only hinder progress but going fast would only tire him out needlessly. It's a good thing fast walking is the medium for the in-between.
Although he doesn't have a flashlight—a foolish mistake he blames solely on himself—he can still see with excellent view. Provided by the moonlight of the seemingly bright blue moon, of course. If that wasn't there, though... he'd be as lost as a man with no eyes, ears or legs.
Truly, a tragic way to end the life of a lonely man.
But anyways, the soldier shifts his eyes from the bay to his right and the forest on the left. While he isn't exactly scared of the forest, he's come to be cautious with the things that could be found in it. And for the bay? He just likes looking as the water hits the sand, although he hated the prospect of swimming he still thought the view was nice.
He also periodically checks behind to make sure he's not being followed. After killing those three people—he's not even sure if he can call them people—the soldier can only suspect that their buddies are angry. If they have buddies, that is.
Walking quickly, the soldier only adds to the noise he makes. From the shifting of his gear and items to the displacement of rocks and sand under his feet. So hearing him approach wouldn't be that surprising to him. He knows he's practically a beacon waiting to be attacked.
The fact doesn't bother him though. So long as no one actually attacks him, he should be golden. And... so long as he doesn't attack anyone else as well. If those conditions remain constant, then there'll be no trouble.
Huh, now that the thought comes up, Kiroh recounts the amount of times he's shot at something in his short stay of two days on this new world. Funny to think he's already approaching day three though.
Anyways, he recalls having to defend himself from those faceless dogs on the first day. Then he killed more of them and a couple of those red goblin things at the town checkpoint. And now his most recent kills were those four people in black rag-like clothing.
It reminds him of how his first encounter went with one of their kin. He just straight-up shot the person without even questioning them. He still doesn't know why he did that, but all he can chalk it up to is a weird urge. Like a primal feeling or something.
Whatever it was, the solder just shakes his head as he reflects over the action. He believes it was the best move at the time, and to be honest, it probably was. It was the most recent firefight that he learned those people are definitely hostile towards anyone.
Sighing, the soldier's thoughts change into his theories of how he got here.
The feeling of uncertainty spills into his mind. What the hell put him in this world? Is this a dream? Coma, maybe? Or is it all really real? As in, real, real. If so, how did he get here? Did somebody take his body and revive him? Can you revive someone if they have a bullet in their skull?
He dismisses that last question and mentally asks himself another one. Did somebody put him on this world? Because, sure-as-hell, he knows he didn't drag his own ass all the way to this place with a bullet in the brain.
Making a "tch" noise with his tongue, the man can only leave the question to theories. Here in the present, he thinks the best thing to do right now would be to focus on heading north. From that point, he'll try to restock on his ammo and other items. It's the best thing to do if he wants to ensure his survival later on.
And to do that, he'll drop by the settlements he saw on the map—he figured that the "t" markings on the map were smaller towns opposed to the "T" markings.
The soldier, while not happy, is content knowing he's got an objective at least. It's not anything from his PUR squad leader, but at least it's something to keep him moving.
Maybe he will be able to find work in one of the towns, who knows? Kiroh has no idea what their currency looks like, but he'll hopefully be able to acquire some of it so that he can get his resources. And if that doesn't work? Well shit, he'll probably resort back to banditry.
Kiroh's done it once, but hopefully—he thinks—he will never have to resort to it once again. It was a shitty time, he must admit, but he deemed it necessary. He shakes his head in self-disapproval as he remembers the former weight on his conscience.
"Heh," he scoffs, "I don't think I can do that again." A grimace occupies his helmeted face, disappointment hides under it.
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The sun is back! But the dense clouds block most of it, causing a gloomy shadow to come over the trees. That doesn't stop Kiroh, however, he still feels the good feeling of absolutely nothing. Because he currently doesn't feel anything at the moment, he's just indifferent. And that's it, he's just... indifferent at the moment.
But that doesn't matter, what matters is that he's now walked for a total of seventeen hours. Of course, he is slow due to his equipment, but it's safe to say that he's gone over at least fifty kilometers of land. From running to the town, to running away from it, and now traveling north.
Much, much progress has been made. So much so, that Kiroh found yet another area of ruins. This time, it's condition is much worse than the previous one.
The entire area seems to be on the verge of collapse as a few blocks of concrete and brick break off from their main structures. Only the skeletons of man-made architecture rest here, no building seems to be standing. It looks almost as if a single breeze would knock all of it down. Hopefully, that won't be the case—because Kiroh needs a place to sleep, and the ruins seem the most suitable.
Walking through the whole area, the lonely soldier looks to see if any presence is there. He needs to make sure that he's absolutely alone before he can attempt to rest.
As he goes past a frail pillar, the sound of a projectile hitting a solid is heard behind him. The feeling of concrete dust and particles are felt on the back of his neck. Then the sound of a gunshot follows immediately after.
Kiroh's eyes widen in alert as he dives for the nearest cover, namely, a wall of red bricks. More dust and chunks of the pillar fly into the air as bullets make their impact. Huh. Well shit, looks like he's getting shot at.