It was a peaceful morning in the Nikao capital, as the moving crowds kept on with their everyday lives. Nothing new had happened since that international conference that affected the ordinary citizen, yet it was as calm as an October day.
Maen had believed so himself, as he hurried through the busy streets, avoiding crowds of people and barely missing speeding carrs through tight intersections. He should have been at school, but yet the young kid was supposed to go meet his friends instead. Apparently, one of them had gotten their hands on something "special", which he had no idea how that was the case, but curiosity got the best of him.
Eventually, the boy had reached a much older-looking part of town, although he was in front of a much more modern home. Finally, was he glad for this moment as he pushed open the tall iron-wrought gate and closed it softly behind him. Looking back ahead, the sole door into the home would have been inviting to anyone with it's intricate designs, except going in through that exact way would get him caught. Not willing to afford that, he had done what his friend ensured him to do, as he moved across the front yard swiftly and around to the building's side. From there, he could see a small window barely visible from above the lawn itself, as it too was cracked open.
Not hesitating, the boy looked around quickly, before slipping inside as quietly as possible. Within the small space, one could quickly note the room being a basement, with many storage materials being held inside. The only thing out of place was the trio of other boys staring back at Maen as if they hadn't been waiting here the entire time.
"Took you long enough." one of them complained, taking a deep sigh of relief. "We could get in trouble the longer we are here."
"Sorry guys, my mom was holding me up. I don't even know why." Maen shrugged off, as he dabbed up all three of them. "Now, what you got to show us."
"Oh, you got to check this out!" one of the other boys from the trio stared to grin, his glasses reflecting the light from outside. "You won't believe what we've found."
Moving closer, Maen saw that the boys were surrounded over a small brown box, barely larger than their own hands. What could it be, he wondered, as he moved in for a closer look. The boys themselves choose to not wait another second, as the one with glasses opened his mouth open with joy and pull the cover for them to all see.
...
Meanwhile, Eriwan Gunte was enjoying quite the lavish feast his cooks had the delight to produce, as he devoured into a thick slice of honey-baked ham. With the 16th of October being tomorrow, it would only be a mere few hours until Youden got what he deserved for his futile efforts. He truly won't have thought about attacking even one of them, as foolish of an idea that would be. No, that would be straight-up stupid. Only a man without common sense would go with such a plan.
"Sir, is everything okay?" he heard a female voice, to which he looked up to see one of his aides.
"Ah yes, everything is going well. Right?" Eriwan had made quick eye contact with the person sitting diagonally with him.
Almost forgetting why he was here, until that moment to which he recalled what was actually a meeting with one of the nation's representatives. Was it Langinat or Jelerak, he couldn't remember as to which nation was which, as they both were in lower economic status, which he could care less for.
"So sir, you were saying that we could get more than one hundred nations to join the faction? the representative spoke.
"Of course, so many of us will be guaranteed that only a fool would attempt such a plan." Eriwan started to laugh, just as he stared outside the window in awe.
It was an unusually clear day, which made the temperature feel a bit more breathable and brought in a nice atmosphere to the city below. Surprisingly though, he could see some type of objects traveling through the air near his direction, as strange as that was. The nation's airport wasn't even suppose to open until a few more months, and even still it wouldn't have been able to take in more than around five aircraft. Something seemed strange.
"You see those things in the air?" Eriwan pointed in the sky, which appeared to move faster than what he anticipated. "What could that be?"
"Maybe it's a flyby for Youden. Egotistical leaders only deserve what's coming for them." the representative laughed. "What a fake flaunt of power."
Eriwan himself felt a bit at ease with those lines, as he laughed alongside him. Youden wouldn't dare do anything foolish, so who really cared about what he wished to do, Eriwan could simply chuckle at the thought. Nothing was going to stop them from beating him at his own game.
.....
Nikao's citizens thought otherwise however, as many of them began to look into the sky at such a sight. If only Eriwan was paying more attention, would he have noticed the gigantic size of one of the aircraft, with several speedy variations right behind it. As many of them stared as it flew overhead, the large aircraft's bottom compartment started to open up, pushing through a large metal object. With only a few more moments to spare before missing it's targeted destination, did the Ariocaster finally have the bomb outside of the bay, before releasing it from its grasp.
As the city folk could do nothing but watch what was happening, only a few quickly figured out what was likely about to happen. As some of them had been to Youdenia and seen the actions that these machines brought in a war environment did it bring plenty of worry to those in the vicinity. It only took one scream from someone in the city to start alongside a domino effect among the members. It started with only a few more people panicking, before the next minute consisted of several blocks of chaos. It was no use though as reality quickly settled in. As the screaming and shock gotten louder, a light brighter than the sun shown across the region before a large explosion encompassed the entire city, followed by a deafening boom. With a mushroom cloud taking place of where ground zero occurred, could one see the destruction that the single bomb brought about. A level unbelievable to even the most powerful beings in known existence brought it's wrath on a single city. Who knew what more would come out of it.
.....
Maen looked inside the box, only to raise a brow. Inside was a small key, bronze colored and dull as death itself. What was so exciting about this?
"Is this a joke?" Maen looked at the trio. "I did not miss school for this guys."
"Bro, you got to trust us. My mom is going to gift my father this. It's actually going to be a new carr she's been saving up for him and it's at that dealership down the road from here." the boy with glasses said.
"Oh!" Maen actually started to crack a laugh, "I was about to say. We're definitely going to take it for a spin, aren't we. Just can't get caught."
With the boys nodding in agreement, they were all about to move out the building, until a shrieking cry stopped them in their place. Scared that they were about to get caught, they looked around anxiously for any possible sign to get out, with only the basement window in sight. Just as Maen was going to make the first move before any of them, a bright light blinded them all, before a loud roar knocked them all, before everything went dark and silence followed suit.
.....
Herding his four little lambs, did a local herder take a much-needed stop on the hilltop several miles away from the city. These sheep weren't going to grow strong and healthy by themselves, he watched them eat the still-green grass. Moving towards a lone tree void of leaves, did he place his back against it, just to see several aircraft dash across the air above him, almost forcing him in place. They didn't see him, did they?
Little did he have concern about, as very quickly in those short moments did a burning light blind him from his animals, as he could barely hear his sweet lambs cry in worry, before he became deaf. Not even able to open his eyes due to the insane brightness, he tried feeling around for them, only for a deafening boom to stop any chance of hearing where they were. What followed was silence in the air, which wasn't because there wasn't any sound, but his eardrums, like any possible survivors in the area, bursted. There was no noise or any words that could explain the situation at hand, but only the beginning. The beginning of the end against the entire world and all from Youden's wrath.