The memory that once made you happy, now makes you sad.
The love that once fulfilled you, now leaves you empty.
The warmth that once caressed you, now left you hurting.
Thousands of kinds of medicine have been made to cure all sorts of illnesses and diseases
Yet not one was created to relieve us from the pain of losing our loved ones.
Simply because… there is no such thing.
Death is indeed such a terrible, terrible thing.
It robs you of your life, of your future, of people you treasure.
The person whom you were just laughing with a moment ago,
Now gone. Just like that.
It won't give you time to prepare—oh, no it won't.
It won't give you a choice.
And all we are left to face is the cold and bitter truth that
We will never see them again.
We will never see them smile again, or be angry, or sad.
We will never hear their voices again—talk to them.
We will never feel their warmth—their presence.
We will never ever do the things we wished to do with them.
The plans you both made for each other,
The future that you planned and longed for,
The hope of being together till you both grew old,
All gone. Just like that.
And the hardest part? There is no turning back.
How we wished it was all a dream.
That when you wake up, all is but a simple nightmare.
That everything wasn't true and that when you wake up,
You'd still see them lying next to you.
But instead, you wake up in disappointment.
All that's left is pain.
So much you can't bear.
To the point that you just wish to join them.
Or that you died instead.
For this pain is worse than death itself.
It tortures you, it weakens you,
And it kills the very life in you.
In less than 24 hours, news spread all around the world about the invasion of the alien race Magi. It turns out, the luxurious hotel wasn't the only place they targeted. Instead, they scattered around the planet in a flash, not even giving time for anyone to prepare for their attack. They came using nothing but a peculiar and huge mass of land floating in the sky and defying the rules of gravity as it went. Every place it passed, destruction followed to the point that the highest mortality rate in history was recorded. Just like that, the earth was covered in wails and cries from anguished hearts.
With eyes that stared into nothingness, Rania got dragged, along with tens of thousands of other women, to the inner courts of what seemed to be a palace covered with gems and marble stones. They were led by their captors, whose appearance had been affected by the different countries and regions they had gone to. Some even had snowflakes attached in their clothes which obviously was brought about by the cold weather.
Some of the women were tied with thick vines in their wrists. Some were asleep and being carried over the shoulder of their captors, while others were bruised and injured from trying to fight for their lives. Some looked scared and tired, and the others, filled with hatred. But there were also very few who could still walk with dignity and courage.
It didn't take that long for the last batch of women to arrive—they all came through black holes or magic circles cast by the Magi they were with. And as they all assembled, a tall and handsome figure appeared in front of everyone. He had short and wavy ashen hair that matched his gray eyes, wearing a simple robe that extended to his feet. He bent his knees and began to speak with his deep voice that echoed throughout the whole court.
"Oh, reverent king whom heaven favors, please grant us, your lowly servants, of your magnificent presence on this hour."
Soon after his calling, a giant pillar of golden light came rushing from above the ceiling to down below. Once the light faded, it revealed a tall, young man that seemed to be no older than twenty-five. He had golden hair and bright aquamarine eyes. His skin was pale, but he still wore a white, long-sleeved shirt covered by a tunic suit with collars—both of which had golden embroidery intricately designed at the seams. Beneath, he wore white pants and boots with golden decorations. A bracelet with crimson jewels adorned his wrists, and different rings were on his fingers. A large, furred red cloak fell from his shoulder to his back and extended to his ankle. And on his head was a simple yet elegant crown that was almost the same color as his hair.
His whole outfit radiated elegance, making him look like a celestial king. Its perfect fit to his body only made his slim but muscular physique more adamant. Despite the glamorous appearance, what stood out most from his features was his incredibly handsome face. Too handsome in fact, that everyone who saw him was set on a daze and adornment of his beautiful visage—even the captive human maidens themselves.
After a few moments of silence and awe from the crowd, the king finally spoke as he sat on his enchanting throne.
"These are the most beautiful and pure of the human race?" he asked in a mocking tone—his voice, deep and intimidating.
For a normal human standard, each and every woman inside the inner courts were too beautiful for their own good. Different types of beauty could be seen everywhere—some were angelic, bewitching, like a goddess, a doll, or a model, exotic, and many other forms of beauty enough to be the top amongst billions of women on Earth. Yet, this king was still unsatisfied. Perhaps, their race just really had a very high set of standards when it comes to beauty.
"Unfortunately, these are the best they have to offer, your highness," replied the kneeling man with ashen hair who summoned the king.
"I see," the king scoffed, raising his eyebrow. "How disappointing. And to think I have to sleep with such low lives. I believe I only agreed if they passed my requirements, Servus."
"I deeply apologize, your highness. We will spare no effort to look for better ones."
"There's no use trying to look for others. As long as they're humans, they won't meet his highness' standard," blurted the green-haired Magi who stabbed Zeid. "In that case, your highness, why don't I just—"
"Silence, Nefastus!" the king reprimanded her.
As soon as Rania heard that devilish voice and her name, she snapped out of her own depression and glared begrudgingly at the wicked woman. With all hatred in her heart, she stood up and walked towards her direction. Never in her life did she desire to kill someone, but after everything that happened, and after all the lives she took—lives of the most important people in her life, Rania couldn't simply sit still.
Yes, she was powerless compared to her, but she could at least strangle her neck or maybe injure her in some way, was what she thought. Even just a tiny amount of blood dripping from her would be such satisfaction for her. She wanted revenge, and she wanted it right at that moment. And so, with bloodlust in her eyes, she walked fast towards her.
Suddenly, someone gently pulled her by the arms, stopping her from her steps. Distracted, Rania looked at the person who pulled her and saw a gentle-looking woman with pastel pink hair. She jolted upon seeing her, thinking she was a Magi.
"Oh, I'm human," the gentle-looking woman smiled at her, noticing how she flinched at the sight of her hair. "It's dyed. It's not natural."
Rania's worried expression died down. In return, she looked at her with confusion in her eyes. Both their eyes were blue, only hers was deeper in color.
Quickly grabbing her by the hands and rubbing it to calm her down, the woman introduced herself.
"My name is Azalea. What's yours?"
Her voice was that of an angel, so soothing to the ear. Holding Rania's cheeks with her soft and rosy hands, she ensured that the angry girl focused on her.
"... Rania," she replied, with her voice hoarse and cracking.
"Rania, I understand you may have been very frustrated or more. Everyone here feels the same way. We have all been separated from our families, from our loved ones. But please… whatever it is you're planning to do, don't do anything that will endanger your life. It is not worth it. Not the very least," Azalea pleaded.
With tears starting to swell up in the corners of her eyes and hatred all over her face, Rania spoke bitterly.
"That woman killed my fiancé and everyone that I love in front of me!"
Her breath turned heavy, and her body shook in great rage.
"If they didn't need us in the first place, why bother taking us? And why in the world did they kill our loved ones? Just what did we do to them? She was saying crap about us not giving an entry or whatnot, but I bet that's just an excuse. She's a barbarian! A madwoman who just wants to kill!"
Azalea furrowed, and deep sadness could be seen in her eyes.
"Honestly, I am as clueless as you are. I have no idea, either. But what I know is that we must do everything to survive. We never know, but maybe... just maybe, there is hope, and we can still escape this place."