[Singa Sanctuary Continent, Sector 1 and 2, Educational hub]
The blank sky was dominated by thousands of cruisers and aircraft, explosions occurred everywhere, lighting up the pitch-black sky. Many buildings crumbled, and some of the skyscrapers were damaged but still stood tall. Throughout the city, there was almost nowhere to be safe.
Yet amidst the chaos, his blue eyes took in the scenery with amazement. So this was what it felt like to see the world changing in such a dramatic way, he pondered.
In the blink of an eye, the future he had envisioned, the slow morning, and the repetitive stable job as a judge he had dreamed of went away with the wind. But for some reason, he didn't feel angry, just disappointed that his normal life wouldn't return anymore.
In all honesty, it could be said that his life didn't amount to anything. He had been angry with the world and knew life was unfair to him since the beginning when he was born. He thought to himself, then what is the point of living?
His eyes shifted from the battle and destruction towards the edge of the small island that supported the platform for vehicles to land on. But today, no more vehicles would be using this platform since the war had changed everything.
At that moment, he heard the wind blowing, calling for him to go closer to the edge of the island. Mindlessly and unhesitatingly, he took a few steps forward, as many unpleasant thoughts flashed through his mind.
-My dream job, hobbies, hard work, and hope are all lost now. What is the point of even living this life filled with suffering and jokes if nothing rewards me at the end for my hard work?- Like flipping a page, another vision flashed through his mind, showing a glimpse of his battle with the orc demon lord. He remembered saying that the demon lord was stuck with him and not the other way around. He just realized how hypocritical he was. He had no control over his own fate, let alone the steering wheel to move his own life in the direction he desired.
Perhaps the Orc demon lord was right. We were all slaves to something, and that unbreakable chain bound us into a predetermined role in life. For him, it was his role to be a peasant, to question nothing and just be like everyone else in order to have a peaceful life. Even his archetype was a peasant, just to show how his life was designed this way from the beginning. This thought made the noise around him fade, as only his thoughts became louder and more vivid.
But at this moment, even the right to live a boring life was taken away from him. Just how long would this meaningless struggle for hope and peace haunt him? He asked himself.
As expected, he didn't arrive at any conclusion to the answer of his life. Perhaps, life itself was meaningless, and even the cliché quote that said the meaning of life depends on the person who assigned it meaning just made him even more hopeless since he didn't even know how to give his life any meaning.
With each step getting closer to the edge of the cliff, some people were screaming for him to step back. Most of them were students like him, who still had the will to keep on surviving. But suddenly, a giant laser painted in red flashed before his eyes, though it didn't hit him. Nonetheless, he could still feel the heat of the laser beam.
The laser beam evaporated many students who didn't dodge it in time, melting their bodies and exposing their malformed skeletons. Only their legs and feet still looked normal, while their upper bodies completely turned into a melting ice cream. The impact created a huge crack in the ground, making the entire floor shake intensely.
Another laser beam flew toward the people who didn't have time to react, and they met the same fate as the previous victims. Now, many people in the park before the school entrance had no choice but to enter the school building.
Meanwhile, Einsamer no longer cared if he was alive or dead. He felt the cool breeze brushing through his body, whispering for him to get closer to the edge. No one was there to shout for him to turn back, as they knew staying in that place meant risking being hit by another laser beam.
As people rushed into the building, Einsamer walked in the opposite direction. In a few more steps, he would be free from all this suffering. At the same time, he wondered if he died, could he also regress like in the novel he once read?
He still remembered Stella mentioning that he would survive anything if he stayed with his friends, but none of them had shown up at the school yet. Additionally, he hoped the laser beam would hit him as well, yet none of the beams were aimed at him.
One more step forward, and he suddenly felt a very cool air brushing through him, throwing him off balance. He knew that with two more steps, he would fall to the surface. He looked down and saw people running around like ants, evading a predator animal that had come out from the portal.
Suddenly, someone shouted his name, causing him to halt his step. Now hesitant to move forward, someone pulled him with a strong force, causing him to fall on his back.
Lying next to him was Shan, a brown-haired boy with fresh scratches on his cheek. He had gotten the scars while trying to evade a laser beam in his flying vehicle. Blood streamed from his cheek to his chin, but he didn't seem to care about it. Currently, he only cared about getting through to Einsamer.
Einsamer spoke nonchalantly yet with weary eyes and an emotionless expression, "There is no point in living anymore. Our band, school, my goals. I don't want to try anymore. It is pointless."
Shan didn't say anything. After all, he agreed with Einsamer. The things he had worked hard for, like his car, house, and income, suddenly became meaningless. Nonetheless, he still believed in a future in which, as long as they stayed together, they would eventually figure things out, as they always had.
He took a very long breath, stood up, and gathered his strength to slap Einsamer on the cheek. Einsamer's gaze forcefully shifted to the right, his eyes immediately falling on the burning tree and the remaining melting flesh that had become one with the pavement and grass.
Einsamer didn't care about the pain on his cheek. He knew it was necessary for Shan to smack some sense into him. People were dying, and most of them were fighting to survive, while he thought of taking the easy way out.
His eyes filled with emotion and shock as if he wanted to scream that he still wanted to live, but he suppressed it, only opening his mouth speechless.
Shan picked up his shirt, pulled him up, and said, "Come on, let's get into the school."
Multiple laser beams still shot towards the school, and one of them hit the small floating island, causing it to shake and crack as part of it descended onto the circular machine on the surface used for emergency landings in case the island fell. Though it still floated resiliently, it was built to withstand this type of damage.
The workers from the floating island made their way through the bridge that connected to a lower entrance below the schoolyard, leading to the school basement. Normally, security guards and workers would use this docking bay as a precautionary measure, but now everything was different.
Amidst the chaos, two boys paused, their attention momentarily diverted from the unfolding events.
"Hit me again," Einsamer said to Shan.
Without hesitation, Shan clenched his fist and struck Einsamer's face, causing blood to trickle from his lips. Einsamer shook his head, a confident grin spreading across his face. Despite his previous desire to end his life, he now looked at Shan and signaled for him to keep running towards the crowd rushing into the building.
Their legs propelled them forward, relentless in their pursuit, as multiple cruisers closed in on the docking bay island in front of the schoolyard.
As Shan made his way to the school entrance, he briefly glanced at a burning flying car near the edge of the schoolyard. It had been one of his favorite cars, something he had worked tirelessly to afford. Pushing aside the memories, he knew his choice couldn't be changed, and he could only keep moving forward.
Noticing Shan's nostalgic gaze, Einsamer realized his friend must be reminiscing about something.
"Is that your car?" Einsamer asked.
"It used to be," Shan replied.
Einsamer had never known Shan owned a car, but he understood that everyone had secrets, just like how Stella might be a prophet, the enigmatic white-haired man he had encountered, or Lasiv and her friends. It was fine for him not to pry into their personal lives; it was none of his business.
Hundreds of people were forcefully trying to enter the school entrance. Without any security guards to maintain order, some fell to the ground, their ribs and bones breaking upon impact.
The six passages meant to facilitate the flow of people became narrower due to the chaos, leading to congestion and people getting stuck.
"We can't force our way in. Let's find another route," Einsamer suggested, briefly glancing at the cruisers that were inching closer to the school building, yet refraining from firing any laser beams.
"There's another entrance below the docking bay island, but we'll have to take the risk and run back to the floating island," Shan stated.
"And one more thing," he continued, "I think they want people to gather at the entrance. That's why they stopped firing the laser beams once everyone gathered there."
Armed with this information, they swiftly took action, their bodies moving with incredible speed.
Suddenly, they noticed a red light emitting from one of the cruisers. They knew a laser beam was about to be fired, and they had only a second to evade it. With their human strength, it seemed impossible to dodge.
In a split-second decision, they activated their Bio-data-chips, allowing for a temporary boost in strength and agility as their eyes emitted a glowing blue light. They split apart, leaping diagonally in opposite directions just as a straight red line connected the cruiser and the ground, burning and melting the pavement.
Even from a distance, Einsamer could still feel the intense heat from the laser beam.
An uneasy feeling washed over him as he realized that there were no military vehicles or cruisers from the world government fighting against this unknown force. All the military forces in combat seemed to belong to elite guilds.
The cruisers of these unknown forces did not bear any identifiable logos. Einsamer wondered if they were from another planet.
Shan moved gracefully, running like a professional athlete towards the last line. He turned to look at Einsamer, who followed closely behind. They knew that the next laser beam could instantly melt them, so they ran as fast as they could toward the island.
Somewhere on top of the floating island, there was a horizontal hatchway. If they could find it in time, they would enter the interior of the floating island.
The island was the size of a football field, not too big to explore, but time was running out as the laser beam could be fired at any moment.
As soon as they crossed the bridge and arrived back on the small floating island, another cruiser emitted a faint red light, signaling the arrival of another laser beam.
Strangely, the cruisers took turns firing the laser beams instead of all firing at once, as five cruisers approached the island. Meanwhile, Einsamer and Shan ran to opposite sides, giving themselves more space to maneuver.
However, this laser beam was aimed directly at Shan. He knew he wouldn't be able to dodge it in time, as the boost from his Bio-data-chip was gradually decreasing. As the red beam grew brighter, he closed his eyes, bracing himself for what was to come, yet still sprinting as fast as he could, holding onto hope until the last moment.
"Shan!" Einsamer shouted.
Though he knew there was nothing he could do, Einsamer sprinted as fast as he could to reach Shan. He even considered sacrificing himself for his friend, but their distance was just too great.
Amidst the chaos, Einsamer's attention shifted from Shan to a single flying car soaring through the sky towards the impending laser beam. He couldn't help but wonder if the person inside was an idiot.
A thought crossed his mind, hoping that he was wrong despite he had a feeling that this person was someone he knew, someone he wanted to keep safe.