Many many years ago when time was in their days of so peaceful. When the world was kind.
Then tragedy struck. Changing the paradigm.
Very soon, people fought, fear devouring their mind.
To live, to be alive.
That was the only thing that exist on everyone's mind.
And then.
Those with power came, saved the days like heroes that always shine.
But once again, tragedy strikes, without fear for light.
The heroes might was strong, but they are simply human, that strength will decline.
The cost of the win always feels greater than the victory.
Thus they choose to discard their "humanity" in the guise of their human body, to protect the people's serenity.
But "not human", they become.
Thus the shielded and protected bare their fangs to the heroes that became their shield and the ones that gave them a paradise.
"Why protect them?" A hero said.
"It is in our blood to protect." Another hero replied.
"Then why did they repay her with betrayal?" The first hero once again asked.
"...Because it is in their blood to hate." The second hero cried.
.
Beeps sounded from a screen that shows one's state of life.
Scent of medicine, sense of familiarity.
How do people feel when you are Infront of someone you once know, now bedridden in a hospital bed?
There are two types there. One, being someone who was at the scene of the cause. Two, being someone away from the cause.
Yet, they feel the same emotion when blood forms a puddle of crimson beneath the person they formed a bond with.
The moment you open the door in this small room filled with the scent of medicines and noise made by the beeping of the machine beside the bed.
You feel a sense of helplessness and guilt from not being able to help the person who is currently balancing on a string between their frightening death and their continued life.
And those that has came over those emotion may feel the sense of nostalgia, from memories and times when they were once fine and without in constant fear of death. After that nostalgia, you might feel bitterness.
Now comes anxiety and discomfort in how to talk the person. Trying and thinking of ways to say the words in your thoughts that wouldn't be taken offense of and they wouldn't be uncomfortable with.
Well, in this situation, there isn't a need to think of sentences to say if the person on that bed cannot hear you, cannot see you, cannot sense you, nor will ever remember you.
Such scene is common, too common. People forget, that of the billions of people living today, there is one at this very moment is in their slow and painful moment in their life.
Yet, even if people knew, few will carve this into mind, and most will continue to live. Live, eat, learn, work, sleep, repeat, until our very clock runs out.
Those that knows but ignore it might understand, although little, empathised. Those people always bring pain upon themselves by accepting this continues cycle of living in burnout.
People are always experiencing some form of pain, even when you feel nothing, there is always that feeling in the back your mind that just won't go away. Ignorance of your cells dying. Ignorance of decaying time. Ignorant of your time.
Maybe that's why we ignore it, death, as a form of maturity, we simply just accept it, because we can't escape it.
The man clasped the unmoving hand. The only indication of the person who is laying in this bed is alive is the constant beeping of a machine, the release of gases of the machine that's helping her breath, and her chest slowly rise and fall.
Although she cannot feel nor sense the touch of his hand against her's or his presence by her side, her unconscious found strength as she grasped his warm hand with her cold ones.
He gently caress the hand he is holding as he brought it to his forehead, hoping that his warmth might transfer to her and give her life.
"...Angela, the doctor said that you only have four days left."
"..."
No answers. The dying woman before him remain the same.
And he remain there by her side, his faith and hope slowly dying with her. The light shines above, hid dark hair casting a shadow on his face.
It's painful. Seeing someone you once knew, slowly die.
.
The sky was dark even when it is the peak of noon of the day. The dark clouds floated above, the very same scenery every day after the events of many years ago, the clouds never gave them back the sun.
It never rains, the clouds never gave them back the sun, and never gave them rain as well.
The scenery stays the same.
Minutes have already passed after the burial, people have already left, leaving only few behind.
Then enough time passed, a women turn to leave with her husband by her side.
After passing a black haired man, she stopped.
"...You said you were strong, you can't even save her..."
After saying what was in her heart, she continued to walk to the exit of the land of graves. Her husband silently gazed at the man's dazed eyes.
"She doesn't deserve to die. The one to die ,it should've been you."
Her husband harshly bumped his shoulders with the man, making him stumble and barely getting his balance back.
One of the others that was left there was about to rebuke them but was promptly stopped with another putting their hand on their shoulder and shook their head at him.
"Not here."
The guy can only clenched his hand before giving up that strength as much as how fast it came, only letting out a tired sigh.
The guy who stopped the other from potentially creating a fight,walked to the dark haired man, he only pat his shoulder to comfort him.
"We'll be going now."
The guy said. Walking away.
"It's not your fault, bro."
The other comforted him. But was only met with nothing, making him sigh once again.
Now, only one person is left before the grave.
The dark sky cast a shadow under the world below, yet it did not rain, as if it's mocking the situation below.
Fighting a war does not give you a reason to stop and lament. It only brings more tragedy to do so.
Can one be given a reason to live without any reason to be alive?
To be a soldier means to die fighting to the people who does not know the pain of oneself. Inevitably, you will fight and possibly live another day, and maybe reach the end of this scuffle, but not everyone is as fortunate to be given that, majority will die. Victory will never be worth the loss.
War does not give you time to lament.
Footsteps sounded behind the man.
"Sir, the higher-ups has made a decision. You are to be deployed, the content is to search and destroy, a stage-4 demon has been found in the outside of the northeast sector. A transport vehicle is at standby waiting for you."
The messenger reported, uncaring for the man's mourning.
The man did not move.
The messenger did not move, waiting for the man to follow the orders given to him.
War does not give you time to lament.
Maybe this is his punishment? After all, he did some things that can't be forgiven.
To lose the woman that loves him as much as he loves her. To never again have moments with her.
It's painful, seeing someone you love die.
.
Opening the refrigerator, Caelum took several ingredients for a sandwich, a sandwich that cannot be called one when you take into account the number of ingredients he took out. You might even call it a towerwich. Note that he is making only one sandwich.
It's a meter tall sandwich. How is it even stay balanced?
A proud smile took over Caelum's face as he looked upon at his creation. The Great Meter Sandwich.
"...Can you finish it all, sir Caelum?"
A voice emanated behind the counter in the kitchen.
"You underestimate me, Ashal. I do not simply 'finish' this great creation, I'll completely devour it. The idea of this creation is to prove my ascendancy that is being beyond what is humanly possible."
Caelum turned his head at the white haired man that's holding an equally white Coton De Tulear. Ashal could only sweat at Caelum's words.
"Sir... That's a meter tall, you cannot eat it all completely like the past fifty time you did."
"Your lack of faith disturbs me, Ashal. That was simply in the past. Today is now, and now is the day I will completely defeat this adversary I have created."
A drop of sweat slid down on his face as he looked on at Caelum as he 'fight' the one meter tall sandwich.
"You really think you can reason with sir Caelum's unique and most brilliant mind?"
A white haired woman holding a Bombay cat blankly said besides him.
"Paulipa, sister, you know I can't just not reason to with sir when he does things like this."
"Think of no such thoughts, brother. This time, Caelum can and will finish the sandwich to oblivion and bring victory."
Ashal can only look at his sister's reassuring gaze at him with a twitching smile as another sweat slide on his face. Ashal thinks his sister misunderstood his words.
Unfortunately, Caelum defeating the sandwich was still in the future. Caelum sat on the couch with his stomach full as Ashal and Paulipa ate the remainings.
"...Ugh..."
Turned out that eating a meter tall sandwich until you can't eat anymore was a bad idea. His stomach is on overdrive processing the food that was shoved to it.
[Moderator B: Are you ready?]
A screen blinked before him.
[Immutable: Do I need to go now? This very moment?]
[Moderator B: Not this very moment, but it would be best to do so as soon as possible. Let me tell you about some things as you do your thing.]
Caelum layed down on the couch, as he watched the T.V.
[Immutable: Go on.]
[Moderator B: You already know that time does not stop. There is also the location thing. We can't send you anywhere to a proper coordinates, so you may found yourself in the sky or inside the house of an enemy, so better prepare for teleportation or escape.]
[Immutable: Not very safe huh?]
[Moderator B: Don't worry. We won't just throw you to a world that can kill you even before you can respond.]
Caelum hummed. Crossing his legs as he twirl the chocolate stick in his hand, doing cool spinning stick tricks.
[Moderator B: Another is that you might find yourself weaker or not as strong as you find yourself as you are. Those worlds are weaker worlds without any supernatural or just a normal world without mysticisms. There are also world you find yourself in might weaken you if you harm it. So try not to antagonize everything you see.]
[Immutable: You sound like something like that happened.]
[Moderator A: Because something exactly that happened. Fool did not think his actions has consequences. He gone rouge and did as he pleased, pervert might double the world's population with his mind fuckery if we didn't sent someone after him.]
[Immutable: Oh. Hello there. So he is one of the "Gatta catch em all" guys?]
[Moderator A: Yo. Yeah, the people we sent had fun hanging him by the balls.]
[Immutable: Lol. Lmao even.]
[Moderator B: Ehem. Also, some worlds may give you benefits, but those worlds are worlds that give power to everyone inside them. Also there might be beings there that might troll you, use you for their benefits or just kill you just because.]
[Immutable: You said that I wouldn't be yeeted to a world that could fuck me over?]
[Moderator B: Everything can change. There are worlds that might be friendly as you enter it, but will instantly try to erase you after you kill the parasites that wiggles around inside them. We will only throw you into a world that needs help or requested help, a world that could potentially kill you but not instantaneously, we will send you to a world that you can fight back.]
[Moderator A: Not everyone can be trusted and be goody with if you take into account of the infinite in the infinite multiverse.]
[Moderator B: There are infinite possibilities inside even the infinite possibilities and that's repeating.]
[Moderator A: Shit is existencial.]
[Immutable: Wacky.]
[Moderator A: Exactly.]
[Moderator B: Anyway, we have three worlds that you will go to back to back. The worlds made a small identity for you to act as, so that you can do your job without being hunted down by the feds for not having a background. Tough it's only two of the three worlds agreed to give you an identity, reason is that you only have to do your stuff without it to do shit because it can't be bothered to. So, I hope you are sure of everything and prepared.]
[Immutable: Just almost done.]
Caelum typed that as he layed on the couch, doing nothing.
[Moderator B: Then tell us when you're done.]
[Immutable: K.]
And the notification stopped. The people behind the screens waiting.
They didn't say anything about me lazing around, so that means that they aren't omniscient and can't see beyond the screen. They also seem convinced I'm doing something important. So my privacy is somewhat secure then.
They shall never know what Caelum's search history is. Muahahaha!
Getting up the couch, Caelum decided that it's time to do this job.
"Ashal, Paulipa. Watch over Bella and Duke, remember to give them walks."
"Yes sir."
"Understood."
[Immutable: Done.]
[Beyond the outside.
There are 3 worlds with outsiders that are to be investigated and eliminated. Search and destroy, the parasites that slowly kills the world they are on.
Objective: Search and investigate the outsiders of the world they are on. Elimination if outsider is causing chaos.
Rewards: N/A]
[Moderator B: Safe travels. May you be filled with luck and your misfortunes few.]
Caelum disappear instantly and swiftly. Like being cut out on the next frame in a video.
"...Any distortion?"
Ashal asked to Paulipa.
Paulipa's red eyes glowed before answering.
"No distortion in HQ. No distortion in the vicinity. No interference in the dimensional gap."
"Threats?"
"None."
"Hmm."
Ashal hummed as he pat the dog in his hand. Raising a hand to her chin, Paulipa's face turned thoughtful. The cat that was once on her hand jumped up to her head, laying there.
.
War begets peace. Peace begets war.
The soldiers that is broken and abused returned to the life of normalcy, desperately forgetting the pain inside the battlefield.
Childrens, now turned soldiers are confounded of what path to take.
Men, now turned to corpses are being lost to time.
Heroes, betrayed for being kind to the unworthy.
Innocence, now turned to a broken mind searches for the pieces that was thrown by others.
This land... Has blood fallen to the soils here?
This sky... Has tears turned to vapor here?
This home... Can it shelter the fallen?