On their way toward the city, Samael continued to struggle with revealing the apocalypse to his mother. She had been hounding him why he had packed everything up and what they were really doing, but he would never give her a straight answer.
She sighed and shook her head but ultimately relented and decided not to push further.
"I promise, momma..." He proclaimed, breaking the silence, forcing a smile, "I will explain everything, but tonight... I just want to enjoy a normal night with you."
"Okay, sweetheart..." She replied, turning and giving him a soft smile before reaching out and squeezing his hand, asking, "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah..." He muttered, turning to stare out the window as the countless skyscrapers started to shrink as they approached the city's outskirts.
The Gateway Park was an expansive field, specifically curated and designed to draw out the most of the natural beauty in the world.
In the center was a massive lake that spread as far as the eyes could see. Numerous animals inhabited the park, creating a diverse ecosystem that was self-contained within the boundaries of the park.
His mother attempted to land in one of the designated parking spots, but he quickly stopped her, advising her to land closer to a nearby neighborhood beside the underground bunker.
Despite her constant protests about having to carry their stuff for almost twenty minutes to return to the park, Samael refused to relent and continuously advised she heed his warnings.
"How much longer will you continue to leave me in the dark..?" She asked as they walked along the sidewalk toward the park.
Samael sighed, shaking his head and adjusting the heavy picnic basket in his hands, "Mom… Please, just trust me, okay?"
"Sam…" She whispered, clutching the heart-shaped pendant around her neck.
"I promised you, didn't I?" He asked, turning and staring at her with a seriousness she had never witnessed from her son, "Does that not mean anything?"
"No… Sweetie, it does…" His mother replied, shaking her head in return, "You're just worrying me… You've never kept anything from me before…"
"I'm not keeping anything from you..." He sighed, "I'm just telling you to wait until the appropriate time and place to explain everything."
"Alright..." She answered hesitantly, opening her mouth to speak as a loud voice shouted from across the fence surrounding the park.
"Sam!!"
He turned and looked through the metal bars to see a young man with bright blue hair and deep purple eyes waving at him as he ran toward the fence with a group of kids chasing behind.
"Isaac!" Samael exclaimed, turning to his mother with sparkling eyes, but before he could ask, he was interrupted.
Isaac ran up to the bars and grabbed them, poking his head through, "Oh, hey, Mrs. Sanada! Looking as good as ever! How are you?"
"Oh, Isaac, I'm good, you big 'ol flirt you!" Mrs. Sanada blushed, patting her chest and waving him off, "How is your mother doing these days?"
"She's getting better! The doctors think she might be able to leave the hospital here soon!" The young boy answered.
"Oh!" Sam's mother exclaimed warmly, "That's wonderful news!! I know your father must be worried sick! One of these days I'll swing by and bring a cake!"
"Mom?" Samael interrupted, not wanting the conversation to continue, "Can I go hang out for a bit before the fireworks start?"
"Of course, sweetie!" She smiled, taking the picnic basket before he ran ahead and entered the park, running up to his friend as they did their secret handshake.
"You're late! They're about to start!" Isaac chided him with a grin, throwing his arm around his neck, and the two started to wrestle with one another.
"Yeah, I had some last-minute things I needed to take care of." Sam grunted, breaking out of the headlock and playfully shoving his friend with a grin, running up behind him and wrapping his arm around Isaac, and the two approached their group of friends.
Isaac was a mid-tier Hunter in his past life and passed away due to an unfortunate accident when he gave his life to save his girlfriend, Amy, who was in their group of friends.
Unfortunately, she did not survive the encounter either.
"I missed you, buddy!" Samael choked on his words, recalling his horror upon seeing his best friend's name in the Hall of Heroes. This magical memorial automatically inscribed the names of the fallen Hunters.
"Really, bro?" Isaac laughed, elbowing him in the ribs, "It's only been a few days since we last hung out."
"Shut up!" Sam shouted back, flexing his arm as the boys started wrestling once again. After being in a stalemate for a while, he pushed his friend and gave him a deathly stare, "There's something I need to warn you about…"
"Woah, dude!" He exclaimed, "What's up?"
Samael then walked with his friends, advising them to contact their parents and other friends to bring them to the Gateway Park. He apologized he couldn't explain further, but they would soon understand.
Despite the skepticism from the rest of the group and protests from his girlfriend, Amy, Isaac stood beside his friend's request and complied, requesting everyone follow his instructions and get their families here.
"What about my mom?" Isaac asked, turning around and returning the severe gaze, "She's in the hospital."
Samael shook his head, "No, you're wrong... It was supposed to be a surprise, but your mom actually came home today and she's with your dad."
"What?!?" Isaac exclaimed, running forward and grabbing his shoulders, "Why didn't you tell me earlier??"
"It wasn't my place to ruin your father's surprise..." Sam replied, looking away, tears welling up in his eyes, "It was supposed to be a New Year's Miracle... But instead..."
"What is it?!?" He yelled, shaking Sam, his eyes going red.
"If they don't get here, they died because of the apocalypse..." Samael explained.
"What?!?" Isaac muttered, releasing his friend as he stepped away.
"I'm serious, my mother died too..." Samael turned and waved his hands at all his friends on their phones, "All of theirs did too... But I will not let that happen again."
Isaac shook his head and ran off, determined to call his dad and get them to the park.
Having helped his friends save the lives of their families, something that weighed heavily on all of their hearts in his past life, he returned to his mother, who had already set up the blanket and set out the food.
Not long after sitting down and picking up a bento box stuffed with an array of his favorite foods, the night sky suddenly burst into a myriad of different colored explosions as the firework show started.
The night sky was brightly illuminated as a chorus of instruments played, broadcast through the entire city. Samael smiled as he stared at his mother, entranced by the exploding fireworks.
He glanced at his watch and counted down internally, 'Ten...'
The portals would appear all at once, 'Nine...'
Beasts would burst out of the portals and destroy everything in their path, 'Eight...'
Billions of people would be killed in an instant, 'Seven...'
Cities would be reduced to rubble, causing even more deaths, 'Six...'
The military would arrive and push the beasts back, 'Five...'
The portals would send even stronger monsters and defeat the military, 'Four...'
Some people will experience an awakening and receive magical powers, 'Three...'
They would fight and defeat the monsters, entering the portals, 'Two...'
Emerging from the portals victoriously, the Zodiacs were born, 'One...'
"Zero..." Samael muttered.