The sky was dyed in crimson red when she opened her heavy eyelids. Half of her body was numb and an indescribable pain assaulted her lungs as she breathe in the polluted air.
A drop of water pierced the clouds, creating ripples to the world above.
Angelica soon realized that she was looking at the still lake, which was reflecting the sky.
'What happened?'
She couldn't feel her hands, her body won't respond to her commands, as if her nerves responsible for sending impulses was raptured and torn completely.
A hoarse voice resounded on her side. "You said your name was Angelica?"
It was calm and full of contentment—resignation even.
However, all she could do was blink her eyes.
"It looks like we're the last humans on Earth." The man chuckled. "Oh, I'm talking to a corpse."
The more she listened, the more familiar his voice sounded like. Searching her memories, Angelica's magenta eyes widened.
Right, she was one of the ordinary soldiers who volunteered to join the Players on their last, desperate attempt in saving humanity. That is, the war against the dragonkind.
How could she forget?
The dying man beside her was one of the elite Players who lead the army. It was him and his cohort; they were the last hope of this doomed planet.
As it turned out, they are not.
'I knew it. We are all fated to die.'
Another drop disturbed the still lake. The cold air, carrying a nauseating stench blew and created more ripples on the tranquil water.
Focusing on it, she saw her own reflection. There was a gaping hole in her stomach and a metal pole passed through it, her insides beautifully dangling from her body.
She was stuck in a pole. At least she's going to die in a horrific manner. All those who saw her in this state would be emptying their stomachs.
Though, the man lying on a rubble beside her didn't seem to mind the morbid sight.
"If I get another chance, I won't fight against fate anymore. I will let things be. I won't sacrifice myself."
Angelica had known Player Vero as the strongest. He went through difficult adversaries and he survived them all with an iron determination. Hearing him say these things made the reality of humanity's extinction become more evident.
'What a wonderful end for an ordinary like me.'
Her vision was blurry and the last of her senses was starting to fade.
And she heard the elite player's last, regretful breath, followed by her own.
...
A slap threw her body to the other side of the room, hitting the wall and landing on her butt.
"You knew! You knew he has a family!"
'Huh?'
Her vision spun and she saw a woman's ugly face contorted in a disturbing way. Rivers of tears and snot cascaded down her chin.
"So, why? Why did you seduced my husband?"
Another slap with inhuman force landed on her other cheek, making her feel as though she had a concussion.
'What is this?'
She looked around the room and saw the faculty. The teachers were all looking at them with diverse reactions on their faces. Pity, contempt, indifference.
Yet no one stopped the woman from slamming her head on the wall.
'How odd, is this the flashback I get before dying?'
Her vision spun even more. The pain she felt was too realistic and detailed to be a mere fragment of her memory.
'It's so unfair.'
Then, a spark ignited in the deepest parts of her heart. Rage and vengeance. The absurdity of her life was just too unfair.
'Why does the blame always landed on me?'
The surge of her emotions clouded her mind. Her free hands gripped the woman's arm and using all the strength she could muster, she squeezed it as hard as she could.
The woman screamed and let go of her hold.
Blood was dripping from her arm and she fainted upon seeing it.
Angelica knew what would happen next, she would grab the wooden chair and continuously hit the woman's head until it would turn to mush. This is the part of her life when everything went wrong.
Too tired of feeling anything, Angelica just stood there and did nothing of the sort. A warm liquid crawling down her forehead.
'Why do I feel like they are all waiting for me to do something?'
It was too silent.
As if to answer her statement, the door blasted open revealing men in uniform. They lined up, blocking the door and surrounding her.
"Ms. Angelica Fleur, you are arrested for murd-"
The officer trailed off as his eyes landed on the unconscious woman.
Something inside her shifted and everything became clear.
'I'm not dead. This isn't a fragment of the past.'
Looking around her, she was hit by a sudden realization.
'I am in the past.'
"She just fainted." Hearing her own voice made her shiver.
The officer threw her a suspicious glance and kneeled beside the woman, checking her pulse.
"S-She's alive."
The faculty and the policemen were too shocked than they should be.
A suspicion slowly formed in her head. She had not realized it before and she was too naive back then. Too weak and powerless.
She suppressed her laughter. In the past, she even questioned her sanity and thought that she really did kill a human.
Her whole life was fabricated.
From this point onward, she would be subjected to more absurdity. All the events that will follow were intricately staged by the Tribe.
It's so funny. She didn't know how she ended up here after being eviscerated and losing consciousness with her body skewered on a pole.
It's so bizarre.
Did she traveled back in time?
She never heard of this before. Despite all the weird experiences she had, this is by far, the weirdest.
Oh, actually it's not that strange. She had seen many days, dark and terrifying creatures, calamities, death and the end of the world.
This occurrence is one of those that happened everyday. This is how the world works.
For her, this is the ordinary world.