Twenty days before the end of the world.
Although the year was a bit harsh to the people in modern society, they never forgot to act cool instead of worry. People wearing protective suits could be found around malls, churches, or markets. However, not everyone was interested in hanging out and socializing with other people.
Similar to any other day, Ansa Kho, wearing a loose sleeveless undershirt with a pair of jersey shorts, was facing the stand fan and was 'enjoying' the warm breeze of the wind. He was reading Craig L. Symonds' "The Battle of Midway" while both feet on top of the refectory table.
"Nothing can be hotter than this place! Much hotter than the desert!" Ansa Kho voiced out his complaints when the air could not dry his sweats anymore. Thus, he closed the book and ran upstairs, hoping to whistle some air.
Amidst the ritual of calling the wind, he heard the conversation of both of his parents with his eldest cousin, Charm Metri.
His family and his cousin's family belong to one household. But they rarely see and talk with each other because of some implications. Luna Kho and her sister, Lina Metri, which was the mother of Charm, were in the middle of a fight.
"Charm, did you pack some reserve food in case of emergency?" Luna Kho asked without any hint of worries in her voice. She asked her niece out of politeness and to have a little chat with Charm Metri.
Charm Metri was startled because of what her auntie asked. She thought, 'Does auntie was planning to borrow some money again?'
"Yes, aunt. Why have you asked?" Charm asked in confusion.
"Eighteen to twenty days from now, Armageddon will begin. Just hope that we will be safe and survive this catastrophe." Luna Kho sighed when she thought of the news that shows the possibility that they will perish.
From the other house, Ansa Kho was listening and was flustered when he heard what his mother had just said. He believed the information he got because he was also a member of the organization that focuses on Divination. All members of his family- maternal and paternal, were also members of the Divine Organisation.
He hurriedly ran downstairs, instantaneously facing his gadgets and downloading all eBooks and guides to survival, hoping that it will help when the time comes. He has no hope to survive because he's a sinner.
What sins could he have done? Laziness, unfaithful, disobeying parents, theft, lying and also murdering. A 17-year-old teen had experienced killing... killing insects and bugs. Although no one has ever told him that killing such pitiful tiny organisms is a sin, he considered as it is.
While browsing some interesting books on the web, he realized something and started to ponder.
'Will I be able to read everything that I downloaded?' He stopped moving his fingers and watched the monitor in a daze. 'Should I just…' He stopped asking himself because his synapse stopped sending neurons to his brain.
A scene where countless boys and girls with a skeletal body, skin loosening and bruises and wounds are utterly visible on their body, are walking endlessly on barren land. At their back were people wearing a uniform, seemingly similar to ancient war troops, cheering and laughing like they haven't seen those poor children at the front.
As time passed by, bodies started to fall down. The souls that manipulate those scrawny vessels left in a fiasco. Above them was a unique green soul in a stupor, clumsily possessing everybody that fell. It did not care about the state of the body he possessed.
Everything was happening without Ansa Kho knowing. After losing his mind for a moment, his thought reappears and his question remains the same.
'Should I just browse some news for a while? Ah, how long has it been since I last visited the websites of the TV networks?' Ansa Kho opened a new tab and searched for the latest trends and news on the search bar.
[INTERNATIONAL SOCCER GOALKEEPER, BAEZIGON RHOSTUS IS STILL MISSING AFTER 8 MONTHS OF SEARCHING. THE HAWK DOMINO TEAM AND RHOSTUS FAMILY ARE LOSING HOPE TO SEE THEIR… see more]
Ansa Kho did not bother too much and click the link. The link loads another new tab and there appears a page called WORLD JOURNAL. He smirked and scrolled down to read more about this so-called journal. He forgot about the news he just had clicked and focused all interest on the new tab.
"Someone uses the official station's website URL to redirect to their page. It seems that this person is pretty desperate to make people read about his or her work. I hope it won't hack my password and account, I don't know how to keep it private anymore." Ansa Kho snickered and started reading the introduction of the page.
[Dreams are supposed to be just 'only' dreams; not until those dreams begin to become the reality. 95-99% of a person's dream is forgotten, according to the research. We dream of falling, dying, and being chased by the blank face man. Everything and everyone in our dreams are blurry, only those whom you know are clear. Dreams are covered in black & white, they say. But why would my dreams be colourful, detailed, and remarkable?]
Ansa scratched his cheeks and narrowed his eyes. 'This user is pitiful. I think no one wants to listen to her blabber.' Ansa commented inwardly.
[It started when I was 12 years old, I had a dream of a ball of fire obliterating some parts of the world. Gods appeared and surrounded the walls of a certain place, the only sanctuary of the human. Dreams like that are impossible to happen and I don't believe my dreams would come true.
Acquaintances who shared something about their dreams to me often come true. But those dreams are about meeting their loved ones or mine. ]
Bang!
The table cracked because of the heavy hand that landed on the table. Ansa was annoyed and scrolled down the mouse a bit further. He only stopped when he read: TWO, THREE… MORE THAN FIVE DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE. EXPLOSIONS, CALAMITY AND DEATHS. DREAMS ARE COVERED WITH BLOOD. THE REPLICA OF MYSELF ON THE MIRROR DISTORTED. I NO LONGER BELONG TO THIS WORLD.
The laptop fell down to the sofa. Ansa felt that what he read was a curse and worriedly thought, 'Humans really are becoming to be more and more threatening. It would be better to wage a war than to face powerful demons.'
He closed the tab and decided to read the sports news. He almost forgot that he intended to read this than that creepy, unrealistic page.
A popular soccer player named Baezigon Rhostus went missing without a reason. They only recovered a note bidding farewell to his parents on the day of his 21st Birthday. There are two reasons why the Rhostus family would like to look for him. All the wealth they accumulated for years had been robbed by their son. Fortunately, Baezigon Rhostus did not move or robbed the money nor the debit card they have. They want to talk to him and find out what was wrong. But after 8 months without news, they seem to lose hope. The police also found no lead about his whereabouts.
"Condolence," Ansa Kho surmised. Whether that International died or survived, he doesn't care. For Ansa, his family and his own life mattered the most. Furthermore, he wouldn't be of any help to them. That news is only informing his fans about him.
He closed the tabs and shut down his laptop. His resolution is to finish the book that he was currently reading and proceed to read another book with a few pages. He listed down some book titles and continuously limited 27 ebooks down to 4 ebooks. This is enough to last until the time of my death.
His genre changed in a span of a minute because of the news about their end. If ever he would survive, it would be better to stock all information as he can inside his mind. He will only be able to look into it himself if he is the only one left on Earth.
Ansa Kho spent most of his time browsing eBooks and reading the survival tips information. He just stopped when he felt sudden dizziness. Since the beginning of the vacation, he usually felt headaches until he got used to the pain and seemingly thought that it was part of his life.
However, the pain he felt right now was unbearable. He lied down and tried to feel his surroundings. What he only heard was a very loud siren that almost all of his eardrums were going to explode.
Countless vague images were spinning right inside Ansa Kho's mind. Somehow, those images appear to be familiar at the same time, not. He was like taking a look inside someone else's memory. His brows furrowed in his sleep; trying to remember every moment he spent inside his dream.
Sounds of metal clashing, war cries, and a deafening explosion echoes all around. Words are no longer audible. Ansa Kho tries to interact with other people in the setting, but he was disappointed. No one can see him at all!