''Did you hear that…''
The characteristic sound of conversations scattered throughout all rooms of the Setting Sun College could be heard everywhere as people went about their routines as usual.
Young people walked from one place to another tirelessly, with some slight differences in clothing that varied according to the person's sex. The girls wore thin greenish-black pants that reached down to their knees, accompanied by a white vest with a pointed bottom and a white shirt with a red bow at the neck. It was visible that they walked with a certain nobility in their steps, demonstrating that they were highly qualified in the hierarchy of society.
As for the boys, they were dressed even more formally than the girls who frequented this place, wearing a dark red blazer like aged red wine, a snow-white shirt, and long, tight black pants that went past their knees, where white and gray socks poked through the cracks in the brown and black shoes they wore.
Everyone seemed to be busy with something, in particular, mostly books and studies. However, while most of the students of that College followed the instructions of the people in charge and employees of the institution, a somewhat unusual and flashy group of people was located in a narrow and poorly lit corner of the place, taking advantage of the covers of the huge pillars of support around them.
The youth group consisted of two shy, sweet-looking girls -- who differed greatly in their distorted personalities and facial expressions --, and four tall, burly boys with short & colorful hair -- going against various regulations of the school institution, where they were and attended to. The six seemed to care about none of this and were laughing like complete madmen.
They were all in a weird formation and encircled the surroundings of a poor brown-haired boy who appeared to be from the same school as them, as he wore the usual uniform worn by the students at the setting sun high school.
The young man was trembling nonstop, his fingers twitching bizarrely and covered in scratches scattered to the palm of his hand that oozed a little blood, along with his shaky legs that threatened to drop him at any moment as he was pestered by those bastards before him.
"You unscrupulous fucking freak", said Jordan Fisher, the tallest and most muscular kid of the four guys who surrounded the poor boy covered in purple bruises in front of him, "What I told you about trying anything against me, huh? You might be smart, but that's all it comes down to, you big piece of shit!''
With that statement said aloud, his fist moved heavily towards the injured boy, who moved his arms quickly towards his stomach region, unfortunately to no avail, as he fell to the ground writhing in pain and spitting out spatters of saliva that were mixed with a few drops of his own blood.
He groaned in pain, then felt a sickening metallic taste that filled his mouth, taking over his taste buds utterly, as Jordan bent down to look him straight in the eye. It was clear that, although the boy was taking the worst of this situation, he showed not the slightest sign of fear, holding on as tightly as he could with his fragile body.
This made Jordan, Carlan, Josh, and Daniel even angrier than before. And the group showed it openly, when they frowned after seeing the boy's eyes defying them, going against everything they had told him up until that moment.
The girls accompanying the group of bullies glanced in Cloud's direction and laughed at his broken and decrepit appearance, showing their true colors, like the complete sociopaths they were; There was Alice, the popular bitch with blond hair as bright as the sun in the sky and also blessed with a stunning beauty that made anyone bow down to her angelic (& usually fake) smile that charmed anyone, regardless of their age and gender.
And, on the right side, Maria S. Potter, one of the girls who were part of the most popular and influential group of people in the school and also -- despite being a complete slut without limits who took advantage of others and enjoyed their suffering --, Cloud's cousin.
Cloud looked at them with disdain, clicking his tongue in the direction of the two whores who acted like queens leading their henchmen in some kind of public execution. The young man could only do that for now, after all, even if he denounced them to the adults and drew up plans that were capable of incriminating that group of madmen, they always ended up getting away without punishment for being extremely capable financially.
Unlike the poor boy who lived alone, totally dependent on financial aid from the government and the institution where he studied, which he had passed with such a high grade that he was offered a full scholarship.
But what was the point of being smart when he was the target of bullies much stronger than he was? His intellect wasn't stopping him from feeling the excruciating pain of the powerful kicks that were being fired in every region of his body, upper and lower, with almost no time delay at the current moment.
What had he done to deserve this? Absolutely nothing. People just used to envy him, as the boy was always the subject of news in the school and used to receive praise from almost all sides made by the teachers. But, sadly, that ended quickly when someone discovered his 'dark' family past and spread it around the college, and in that way, many took advantage of this to call him an aberration…
It was definitely unfair treatment. But Cloud was already used to similar situations, after all, he had lived dozens of years of his life completely alone, depending only on himself after the 'incident' that caused him so much irreparable damage in mental matters.
He remembered everything as if it had happened just a day ago. He would never get over that moment. He would never forget that memory. And even if he could forget about it, he didn't want to lose it, for he would remember it vividly so that would never happen again.
The boy wouldn't be a hero of any sort, but he certainly wouldn't let it happen again either. And, without a shadow of a doubt, he would not shut up in the face of threats.
Wasn't that his reason for trying so hard to become someone of worth? Wasn't that why Cloud continued to pave his way, even though he was being hampered by obstacles at every turn of his life?
"Son of a bitch!", one of the boys yelled as he hit Cloud again.
"Ugh!", he groaned once more, as the four boys panted away from him with bloodied fists. They thought Cloud would be crying like a helpless little girl, but instead of showing pain, his brittle lips rose to the sides of his cheeks, forming a crooked, machiavellian smile that made the girls watching everything, shudder, ''You useless worms aren't even good for instilling fear in someone?''
''You worthless piece of garbage...''
Josh, one of the integrants of the group of bullies, with short, curly dark brown hair, motioned toward Cloud & stepped forward once more, only to be stopped by a long and well-defined arm that stretched across the front of his path. He looked to the side – his eyes bloodshot with adrenaline and anger coursing through his bloodstream – and noticed that the arm belonged to their leader and most respected figure there:
"That piece of shit has suffered enough for today", Jordan said; his eyes were glued to Josh, but he was taking quick glances at the cold, dirty floor Cloud was sitting on, "Maybe he suffered brain damage after so much beating, so don't even waste your time beating that bastard up anymore. He suffers enough knowing that his mother is a shitty criminal and that soon he will be just like her."
He was silent for a second and then finished his speech: ''It's like they say, like mother, like son.''
Cloud shuddered, his hair standing on end with the hatred that took over his body, but he didn't hurry, just looking at all six bastards who were mocking his mediocre life. He looked to the side urgently, looking for his glasses, finding them just a few feet away from where he was. Soon after, he got up from the cold ground he was on, walking slowly towards the object.
The bullies and girls laughed at him once more, turning the other way and walking calmly and unhurriedly in the direction that would lead them to the local cafeteria. They thought with conviction that Cloud would not try to challenge them for a long time after they had given him a harsh lesson, but this was extremely unlikely given the firm nature the boy possessed, even though he was weak in physical aspects.
Cloud bent down, picking up the glasses with dark blue mounts that held the cracked, oily lenses in it, and lifted them. It was clearly visible that those glasses were patched, as several pieces of duct tape and a strange white texture were smeared around the edges and elsewhere on the object, but he didn't seem to mind as he wiped it on his shirt.
"Fuhhh", he sighed deeply, taking a deep breath as he placed the glasses properly on his face, "Hey Jordan, you bastard! What do you think your father will think when he finds out that his son has engaged in illegal activities once again on campus?''
He shouted mockingly, and Jordan stopped abruptly at the same moment he heard those words that were uttered by Cloud. All the others stopped in alarm; Jordan didn't rush to turn around, moving his neck and body slowly towards Cloud, who was chuckling like a complete lunatic, holding his stomach to keep from rolling over on the floor with laughter.
Jordan's eyes met Cloud's, who was running the backs of his hands around the dark layers of dark circles under his eyes to wipe away the tears he shed laughing in those long seconds that felt like minutes to him. The boss of the bullies smiled, closing his eyes amicably and clenching his fists as he snapped the fingers of his right hand menacingly.
''What did you say to me, Cloud?'', Jordan asked the scrawny boy, ''I couldn't hear it right, could you repeat it?''
He started to take some hurried steps towards Cloud, who didn't seem to feel threatened as he repeated the same words he had said before: "Your father will not be pleased to hear that you are once again getting involved in illegal activities. You know that, right?''
Jordan positioned himself in front of the short, muscleless figure of Cloud, who found himself surrounded by the entire group of idiots who accompanied Jordan in a matter of a few tens of seconds.
"That includes all of you, of course", Cloud said nonchalantly, showing no emotion in his voice and face, "All big pieces of shit that have no future. Just because you're popular and powerful at an educational institution doesn't mean you'll be successful in the f...''
His speech was interrupted when Jordan punched him right in the face with all his might, accompanied by all the members who attacked Cloud at the same time. He felt sick, and the urge to vomit took over his body at the same moment, and his limbs seemed to stiffen, becoming hard as stone and making it impossible for him to react to that cowardly action.
He fell to the ground with a loud thud, feeling his spine hurt badly as his vision flashed nonstop. And in just a second, Cloud realized that he couldn't send commands to his limbs with the help of his brain, almost as if he had suddenly become a quadriplegic person.
He had never felt so helpless in his entire life, that is, excluding that event that marked his life story forever...
Two seconds had passed since he hit the ground, Cloud was standing like a statue and his consciousness began to gradually cease, while his eyes began to flutter even more than before, closing and opening against his will. And then, his world went black, completely taken over by unprecedented and infinity darkness.
The group of bullies continued to watch him, all expressing fear of what they had done to the boy, which was strange as they had never felt that way when it came to hitting Cloud. They watched the boy's body twitch and twist several times in awkward positions that no one should assume, suffering violent spasms that were accompanied by popping sounds coming from his muscles and bones.
He doubled over to one side, then the other, and finally, the last crack was heard as his body simply dropped to the floor completely, foaming at the mouth and stopping once and for all.
Everyone fell silent, not knowing what to do in the face of what had happened. The situation remained that way for a short time when the silence was broken by the desperate phrases of one of the members:
"F-fuck", Alice said, putting her hand over her mouth in fear and apprehension at what she had done, "We… did we really cause any permanent damage to his health? Maybe we even killed him!"
Everyone looked in the girl's direction, countless thoughts filling their minds as the seconds ticked by so slowly it felt like hours.
''W-well, he teased us, right?'', Josh said hesitantly, ''And anyway, I'm sure our parents can clean up this mess for us...''
They were silent once more, wondering what would happen if someone found them with dirty hands, in front of an injured boy who looked like he was dead. To worsen everything, was the fact that they apparently killed someone who was seen as one of the hopes for the future, having recognition in several places in the country they inhabited.
While everyone wasted time trying to think of some reasonable excuse for what they had just done, Jordan didn't seem to waste any time turning around and opening his mouth:
''Let's go'', the boy said brusquely, he was scared but didn't want to show a weak face to those who respected him, ''We'd better go get help or something and then we'll create some story to cover it all up.''
They looked at him terrified. The group couldn't believe what the boy was saying, but still, they had no choice to make, 'cause after all, it was only a matter of time before someone found out what they had done to Cloud.
''B-but wouldn't we basically be admitting a crime?'', Maria questioned the plan proposed by the pack leader, ''Won't that make everything that's going to happen to us worse? Because we'll literally just take the blame the moment we ask for help...''
"SHUT UP!", Jordan screamed at the top of his lungs, his eyes widening and his dry, brittle lips moving in unison. ''WHAT OPTION DO WE HAVE BEYOND THAT, HUH? ARE YOU SMART ENOUGH TO FORM A BETTER LINE OF REASONING? WHENEVER WE NEED SOME INFORMATION ABOUT SOMETHING DIFFICULT, WE ALWAYS ASK THAT BITCH WHO IS SPLASHED & FROZEN ON THE FLOOR!''
He took a second to take a breath, feeling his throat ache as the words came out of his mouth. His lungs were sore and felt dry, which was a strange sensation.
''SO IF YOU WANT TO TAKE ANY OTHER ATTITUDE, GO FOR IT, BECAUSE I'M ALREADY DECIDED!''
Everyone in the group was surprised at the sudden aggressive attitude their leader had taken, and Maria was even more scared than before, as her eyes watered and tears streamed down her beautiful, thin cheeks.
''So we have to start soon'', Jordan said, adjusting the sleeves of the leather vest he wore over his school uniform, ''The more time we lose, the greater our punishment, so we have to go as fast as possible.''
They agreed with the boy's speech, taking quick steps along a path that would take them to the nearest region where there would be some kind of employee capable of helping Cloud.
''AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH''
But then, sickening screams that sounded like they were straight out of some generic '80s horror movie started to spread all over the place, leaving the group of bullies immobile, wondering what the hell was going on.
''What?'', Josh wondered, seeing pillars of blinding light rising everywhere around him, ''What the fuck is going on?''
Before anyone could answer the boy's question, bright blue messages with inlaid edges of carved redwood hovered before everyone's eyes. The girls let out a slight sound that resembled a high-pitched scream. As for the male members, they shrugged off a bit, but even in the face of the unknown, they tried to maintain their 'superior alpha male' appearance or whatever they thought they were.
Tin, Tin, Tirirm~
[The 'Planet Earth' of planetary system 4768 has reached level 2]
[Planetary system-level has been modified: Beginner (1) → Intermediate (2)]
[The free protection and distribution service has been terminated]
[Congratulations to all the inhabitants of Earth for reaching the intermediate level!]
[The real journey has started]
[Will you fight or see all worlds sink into chaos?]
''What the fuck, is this some kind of prank?'' Carlan wondered, closing and opening his eyes to try to make it go away, but failing. It was almost as if that message with bright bold letters was fixed in his eyes, and as he glanced to the side, he noticed that he wasn't the only one staring in amazement at thin air.
And then, one last message appeared before the eyes of everyone in the group, bringing the answer to their question about why people were screaming and the sudden appearance of pillars of light that flashed nonstop on all sides.
[You have been selected to ????????]
[The teleport spell will start now]
[Processing...]
[Action completed successfully]
''What the hell? We're in some kind of g…'', Josh's speech was interrupted as his body split into particles, turning into a sort of gray mist, and rising into the sky with a huge white pillar of light.
At the same time, before they had any reaction time to take any preventive action, all the other five also met with the same fate as the boy, and their bodies disintegrated into dark gray particles that shot up into the blue sky with a huge flash capable of blind anyone nearby.
The pillars went up not only from the academy but in various regions of the city; in several regions of the country; in various parts of the world, whether metropolises or isolated and relatively peaceful areas; in short, enormous chaos broke out on the planet that day.
Thousands of people disappeared without explanation after all of Earth's inhabitants received a floating message, similar to video games.
That day began the real hell that no one knew about.
From then on, only chaos would reign.