Reality. How often this word is used yet few understand it's true meaning. Man's intent to explore existence is unknowing to his fears. It often leads to places of no return. Aria, a girl who recently came of age sat on the sandy floors, her eyes on looking without a moment to blink at what could've easily been the most sensitive yet terrifying moment of her life.
Tenebrae, a place she called home was about six miles from where she was currently located. A great city with walls that reached hundred meters high and is without a doubt the toughest wall Man has ever built in his entire years of coming to intelligence. Within the walls, peace strived, Joy flourished and you could tell by merely looking that although there was little to no equity inside these walls, everyone was content if not happy with their current situation. Heaven's Lake, a lake situated at the center of the city stretched out for fifty kilometers, wide enough to sustain the entire population within the walls. It was built for a reason you see, the walls I mean. Not too long ago, a large group of what seemed to be the worst type of an extinction scenerio arrived at humanity's doorstep. No one knew if they came from space or from deep beneath the earth. All we knew and was certain of was the fact that the didn't want peace. The had a certain hatred to all life on Earth, especially humans. Estimated studies show that the believed as humans stood on top of Earth's ecosystem, the lacked the qualifications needed to be an apex predator. With little time space from when the became known by humans to when the walls were built, The had already wiped out almost all human populations. The little left went into hiding and others built strong fortresses, of Which Tenebrae was one of them. With time, most of the fortresses built around the world where destroyed just by sheer raw power exhibited by these insane creatures. They were later known to be called Halos. Tanabrae was tasked with one job. To avoid Human Extinction. A task easier said than done in this situation. Heaven's Lake was going dry faster than they anticipated and they were left with few options. One of which was to send out an investigation crew to find water bodies close by and gather information about the outside world. With a proper selection and thorough training of the chosen ones, the first batch of Ayonders were ready, amongst which was Aria. She was a prodigy that seemingly surpassed the human limits set by the teams that conducted the training. It was a dynamic breakthrough in the part of humanity. With a promising team and cutting edge weapons of war, they set out with mixed feeling of excitement and anxiety. The entirety of Tanabrae came to the Gates to Celebrate Man's first venture outside the wall. Anticipation of the unknown filled the air, as well as the scent of rotten meat. With a little parade and a remarkable send off, The Ayonders began their journey. Unknowing of what the future holds. Aria led the group with an outstanding blue and gold patched motorcycle, well suited for the group's finest cyclist. They wondered for two days outside the walls looking for water bodies, marking their location whilst also keeping an eye out for the Halos. On the third day of their exploration, they found water. Before they did, Aria asked one of the Ayonders to accompany her to the oasis whilst others watch from a distance. An oasis twice the size of Heaven's Lake.
"X marks the spot haha!" Susan, one of the Ayonders exclaimed. She was the same age as Aria, but fell behind in terms of feats shown during training.
"Now now Susan we should at least check if it's salt water We do not wish to give false hopes do we?."Aria suggested.
"No problem Allow me the pleasure of taking a sip from the new Heaven's Lake. Hehe".
After a while of drinking from the lake and with the expression on her face, Susan realized the water was pure and had little to no reason for filther. It was tasteless.
"We did it Aria!. Our first venture was a success. Only one in a million could achieve such feat on their first journey. No wonder we are made up of a carefully selected group."
"How lucky we are. Quickly. Let's meet up with the others to tell them the what we found. We camp here for the night." Aria ordered.
"Okey dokey chief."
Later that night, Aria woke up tensed. It seems nature called a little bit too early. She left the squad for a rather enclosed area to take a dump. As she stooped for a sometime, she noticed footsteps approach from behind. slowly but surely becoming louder With each step and when she turned to see what it was, no one was there. She immediately stood up, cleaned herself and decided to go back only for the footsteps to continue it's venture towards her, this followed the sound of crickets and other night crawlers. Out of fear, she immediately started taking huge leaps that eventually turned into an all out Sprint. This was cut short by bumping into Susan.
"Ouch! watch where your going chief. you nearly killed me there."
"Sorry I was running from...." Aria was cut short as she turned back to the clear path of no one behind her, visible by the moonlight was the path of which she heard footsteps.
"Aria Are you okay? you seem too stressed Your sweating all over. What Happened?"
"Oh nothing. I was just running. For the thrill of it."
"but Aria, you hate running"
"It's nothing trust me. Let's meet up with the others. The would be worried sick. shall we?"
"Okay chief. Whatever you say." Susan said, reluctantly. Susan had known Aria all her life. She took the exams together with her, went to the same academy with her and They even share some secrets that wasn't meant to be shared. If there's anything she knows, Aria despises running.
As their short yet intriguing raik continued Aria could only put together the sounds she was hearing as the walked. This time it was different. Squashing sounds of bodies against a sandy floor. Turning in terror towards Susan that walked alongside her , Aria bolted for the oasis. Susan immediately followed behind, also hearing the same sound. What they had feared for a long time. The prayed as the ran that the Lord might take away the number one suspect for the source of this noise in their minds. Unfortunately Their prayers were left unanswered. To their greatest misfortune there it stood. Nine feet tall. On its feet below laid a spread of disfigured bodies on the sandy floor and the motorcycles on fire. Most of the Ayonders were lying dead on the floor. The survivals were on their last stands with weapons that dealt little to no damage at all. Aria watched as the band of Ayonders she was tasked to lead were being speed blitzed. In the midst of it all stood a Halo. Their greatest fears had finally arrived. Not long after Aria arrives, The entirety of the Ayonders were dead on the floor. Aria stood there looking. Unable to say a thing or react as she fed her eyes unblinking with the gore taking place. Susan was so scared she wet herself. Her legs shaking in terror due to the size of the Halo and presence of so much bloodshed. She couldn't hold it back no more. She screamed and ran in the opposite direction of the Halo, moving as fast as her legs could carry. Before she screamed, the Halo hadn't noticed the both of them. Hearing the scream, it left the unfinished business it had on the oasis, dashed at the direction of Aria and passed to slice off neatly the head of Susan which was the cause of the noise. Seconds later, Susan was laying dead on the floor, with her head decapitated from her body. Aria, who was still looking in the direction of the Oasis, turned back slowly with her eyes filled with tears of horror and for the first time in her entire life, she realized man was not and has never been an apex predator. We were just a little bit faster in terms of evolution. When she fully turned there stood the Halo. Blood covered the shiny glows that bounced off his skin due to the moonlight. A silver-like glow. It had a humanoid shape with a ring of fire ever rotating it's back. The ring extended from it's neck all the way to it's knee. It knelt down to match Aria's height, stared Aria straight in the eyes. Aria, whilst staring back into it's eye noticed the blue colouring of it's pupils. She didn't notice her hair colour changing slowly from Pure flowing black to ghostly pale white. With Aria moments near her grave, The Halos ring suddenly stopped flaming, What followed suit after added to the shock Aria felt in that moment. Steadily, the Halos body split from it's head all the way to it's feet. So was it's ring of fire.
"If only I had arrived sooner. I am so sorry you had to see this little one." A voice came from behind the Halo. Masculine in nature. So gentle yet seemingly perilous. The split body fell to the floor revealing a man wielding a really long sword, flowing red robes and a white inner clothing. Under the moonlight, his skin shone at it's brightest. His hair was darker than the nights and packed to form a long ponytail. Aria had never seen anyone look so majestic yet so kind. With time she slowly passed out
"maybe I stared it in the eyes a little bit too much." she thought.
As her body was about falling on its' knees, The majestic figure seized her before impact with the Sandy floor.
"Don't you worry now. You're in safe hands."
And so he picked her up, placed her gently on his back as her hand flowed down, and body leaning towards him. He scampered through the night towards his shelter. "A new perspective" he whispered to her ears. Not long after, they arrived at his humble abode. A house in the middle of nowhere.