War? Against metallic monsters? Strung together by electricity? What is Casto saying? N- no... I- I- I don't believe it... My dad has to fight and so does my mom? Why...? Why do we have to fight...? C- constantly have to fight...? W- why are p- people like this? Why does no one want peace?
Why is any of this happening? I have to go to the church... there are many kids and some nuns... all of them are afraid... like me... maybe if we huddle together... our parents will scare away the metallic monsters. My dad used to be an Ice swordsman and my mom a professional spear wielder. They are very, very strong, I'm sure they're strong enough to defeat them...
~Hey! Fic! Come here! We need to stay in church!~
"Yes, Sister Magda."
~Now come, quickly, into the basement. We need to hide from the danger. Many others are waiting, Sister Lena and Sister Ja will comfort you. Come.~
"I'm coming!"
I ran towards Sister Magda. She is a sweet nun. All sisters here helps the local children. I ran down the basement stairs, hearing Sister Magda locking the main door behind her, quickly following me. As I descend, I see many tears, I hear many sniffles.
Everyone is scared.
I am just as scared as others. Why do we have to fight..? Why..? I still don't understand... I'll just hide. I've found a small cupboard where I can climb into. I am the only child in my family. I have grown to like the loneliness. I find comfort in it. Despite there being other children in the village, we live pretty far from it. We only head to the village to sell our crops or special occasions... like giving the gift to Casto. I hug myself tightly, in the small cupboard, under the stairs. The wails and cries of other children seem to be getting even quieter. I stop shaking in fear and stop crying. I feel... safe... here. I hope Mom and Dad is okay... I hope win.
My tired and panicked eyes lull me into a sweet slumber, cramped within the dark, dusty cupboard.
I close my eyes. I start to dream. I dream of a white field and red skies. The skies are filled with hellfire and brimstone, changing the red to yellow to orange and back to red, pushing the heat down on me. I look in the distance over the field. I see a small, hexagonal hut with a door on each side. I start to walk but my footing feels so heavy. Every step feels heavier and harder to control. I look back to see my footprints leaving a blood foot from my steps. I see the hut coming closer to me but my limbs start to feel more and more mechanical, more and more rotting away the skin to show my bones strengthening and hardening as a metal. Is this metal? I have never seen it but its so gray and shiny and sturdy. This must be what Casto was mentioning, the metallic beasts. I end my inspection of my arms and stop to find myself at the hut. Each door is shaped different. Each door has an engraved word on top. But its so weirdly jumbled. I can't read that. I enter the hut. There are 6 men sitting around a hexagonal rug. They all turn to me.
<| We have been waiting for you. |>
"I know."
But I didn't know why. I know my destination is here. But why me?
The man who spoke got up from his chair and extended his lanky left arm, wrapping around my right ankle. I look down to see he has two fingers but before I get to mention anything about the situation I am being pulled towards them. I don't fall, I simply slide over to them. But the more closer I get the bigger everything gets. I am put in the middle of the rug. Their faces are too far to see but I can feel their gazes. A judgmental gaze. A disappointed gaze. A familiar gaze. A bored gaze. A dead gaze. A fake gaze. I look up to match their gazes but the red sky matches mine. It readily descends upon me, engulfing me in its flames and burning me. I wish to feel the pain, to have a reason to scream. It never comes. I never scream.
\^/ Will-Power. \^/
[{ Creativity. }]
(#) Strength. (#)
°! Knowledge. !°
<| Honesty. |>
<*> Honor. We bestow you a fraction of our abilities to help you. You will be alone. You will have to live in an unfair world. So be unfair to it. Now die. <*>
The flames got more intense. I feel my flesh returning, my movements becoming more life-like and the pain growing more and more within me. I start to scream. They start to laugh. I wake up. It is cold. I am shivering. I feel tired than ever. I peek outside the small cupboard. I hear nothing. No screams of children, no comforts from nuns. Its all so unnerving. I hate it. I climb out. I see a huge pile of corpses. The blood is dry. The eyes encapsulated its last moments begging for mercy. But no child was spared. Some children are missing limbs, some children are cut in half, some children are opened up with their guts falling out. Why? Why fight? Why kill? We haven't done anything bad... The sight is horrible to see, horrible to know but... I can't help but watch.
I should have died with them.