22:00.
Henry was training to strengthen his body, running fast in his gym. I watched his footsteps, swift and agile, as he moved effortlessly between the obstacles.
"Ugh."
Each time he passed the power meter, Henry would strike it. The meter displayed terrifying numbers one after the other:
"180 KG."
"215 KG."
"200 KG."
"195 KG."
Suddenly, the lights above flickered, and after a few seconds, the room was plunged into complete darkness, where even fingers could not be seen.
"Damn! What the hell is this?"
Henry was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but curse. He stopped training and fumbled towards the electrical distribution box. Just then, in the darkness, Henry's movement abruptly stopped. Right in front of him, a line of text appeared eerily:
[Do you believe in God?]
[YES / NO?]
The strange line of text emitted a disturbing grayish atmosphere. At that moment, it felt like a voice in Henry's mind, like the murmur of a devil, urging him to make a choice.
"YES."
The moment Henry made his choice, his body suddenly disappeared from where he stood. A minute later, Henry, who had vanished mysteriously from his home, reappeared just as quietly as he'd disappeared.
"Huff, huff, huff…"
Henry reappeared in the darkness, collapsed, and fell to his knees on the ground, panting heavily. No one saw it, but his forehead was covered with cold sweat, dripping to the floor. After a few seconds, Henry was stunned, then suddenly burst out laughing, "I survived… Hey, ha, ha, ha! I really survived! I'm a genius!"
Tick…
"From today, Henry is no longer an ordinary human! Hahaha…"
Tick… Tick…
Henry suddenly felt something strange. The sound of his sweat dripping onto the ground was unusually loud. Was he sweating that much?
"…"
A hand stretched out from behind Henry silently, with a cold touch like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, and gracefully swept across Henry's neck.
Thud…
After a few seconds, Henry sensed something was wrong.
"Why is my neck wet… whee… whee…" Henry, initially feeling a bit puzzled, unconsciously touched his neck. It was slimy and wet, not like sweat. He tried to speak to himself, but as he opened his mouth, Henry realized that somehow, the air that should have been expelled from his mouth and nose was inexplicably escaping through his neck, producing a sound like a deflating tire.
A few more seconds passed before Henry collapsed weakly to the ground, his eyes wide with fear.
Who am I?
Where is this?
What's wrong with me?
Henry clearly felt his life slipping away, and every inch of his skin was rapidly turning from warm to cold at an alarming rate...
"Do you know…"
In the darkness, Irin walked out from behind Henry, crouching slowly in front of him. The tone was calm, like an old friend reminiscing about the past, talking about home together.
"It took me 832 days to become your best friend in the eyes of our classmates."
"I imagined 26 poses and angles for you to return to the real world."
"In the past three years, I used every opportunity of returning your homework to memorize the layout of your home 2,542 times in my mind."
"I practiced slitting your throat 41,600 times with a mannequin as tall as you."
"I also created 18 contingency plans in case the throat-slicing failed."
Henry tried his best to reach out toward the shadow in front of him, his eyes wide with terror. His consciousness gradually dimmed, but he vaguely recognized that the voice belonged to his "best friend," Irin, in the darkness. If Henry could speak now, what he would most want to say was: Is your cat-like memory a special gift? Are you obsessive-compulsive?
"Everything I've prepared was for today."
"To ensure 100% success in killing you, who has just become a [Apostle]."
"You didn't have time to become the leader of the [Eight Shadows] under the [Knight of Death]."
"By the way, you should thank those who published your personal information in various pamphlets, right? The information even said the last time you wet the bed was in sixth grade? Hehe..."
"Only a few people know that to become a truly almighty [Apostle]… there are actually two ways."
"One is a genius like you with total stats exceeding 10, who has a certain chance of being [summoned]..."
"And the second is to kill an [Apostle] with your own bare hands, using the weak power of a human."
Irin chuckled: "Ah, sorry, some things had been held back for too long, and it was very uncomfortable not to say them. Now, I feel much better, thanks, my dear friend."
Thank you so much!
At this moment, a gray card, emitting strange gray ribbons, floated silently from Henry's head.
"Oh? Dead."
Irin's eyes remained as calm as still water. "Your death pose is exactly as I predicted." Irin smiled, and without hesitation, reached for the gray card floating in the air.
[Do you believe in God?]
[YES / NO]
"YES."
[Unregistered personnel have killed the "First Order Apostle," transferring qualifications...]
[Registration successful!]
Registration Area: Tower of Death.
Registration Number: 1010.
An unknown "module" has been detected in "Preparation Apostle 1010," would you like to load it?
[YES / NO?]
"Unknown mod?" Irin's heart raced, and he took out a white card hidden in his clothes. Four years into the future, in 2125, four apocalypse knights with terrifying power would appear, bringing disaster and war to the world.
Wherever the Knights of the Apocalypse passed, corpses piled up and destruction followed. That was the true end. The only ones able to fight the Apocalypse Knights were the [Apostles]. But under the overwhelming power displayed by the Knights of the Apocalypse, the Apostles eventually split into two opposing factions:
The Natural Disaster Order.
The Order faction fighting for humanity.
The Natural Disaster faction, however, succumbed to the power of the Apocalypse Knights, willing to become the butchers of humanity. On a certain day in the future, the Order faction, including Irin, would be attacked by thousands of apostles led by one of the four knights, [The Conquest Knight]. The casualties were tragic. In the end, Irin and others sacrificed their souls and lives, taking the blood of the Conquest Knight. At that time, Irin had no idea so many people would die, but he was the only one who "survived." Afterward, Irin mysteriously reincarnated back to the year 2118.
That was three years ago. Irin had never felt the [Call]. He remembered that in the future data of the [Eight Shadows], the time when Henry became an apostle was around 10 p.m. on July 8, 2121. This was his preparation. All of Irin's preparations over the past three years were for today. Only by becoming an apostle could he have the power to face the end of the world four years from now.
And this white card had been in Irin's possession since his rebirth. Over the past three years, Irin had also tried to study the white card but found nothing. But based on his experience, perhaps only after becoming an [Apostle] could he unlock the secret contained in this mysterious card. Irin knew deep down that becoming an apostle meant he would still tread a thorny path.
Perhaps he wouldn't be able to change anything.
He couldn't stop the end from coming.
But Irin had no other choice.
He just wanted to live.
Even if there was only a faint glimmer of hope, he wanted to witness a brighter future that might exist in four years.
"The apocalypse..."
Irin smiled faintly. Everyone knew that a butterfly's wing-flap could cause a storm in the Pacific Ocean. But no one knew how much effort the butterfly put into flapping its wings.
"YES."
At the moment Irin made his choice, the white card melted into Irin's body like flowing water, bringing with it a slight chill.
[Analyzing the "Unknown Module"...]
[Decryption successful...]
[Loading mod "Apocalypse Knight (Broken)"...]
Mod successfully loaded!
Apocalypse Knight Template!
Irin's expression shifted slightly as these words appeared before him. The Apocalypse Knights—beings as powerful as natural disasters—were still fresh in his mind, as if it were just yesterday.
"This is the hidden strength of the Apocalypse Knights!"
But broken...
What does that mean?
Before Irin could analyze the function of the so-called Apocalypse Knight module, the long-awaited moment finally arrived. Henry fell into the box, and Irin happily opened the box.
[Relic from the "First Order Apostle" (Henry will now be randomly drawn...]
Acquired skill "Hidden Breath"!
We are now entering the trial mission for 'Preparation Apostle!'
The next moment, Irin's eyes flashed, and he disappeared.
"In the world, I'm back." Irin smiled slightly.
When Irin regained his vision, he found himself seated in a long, narrow cabin. He was wrapped in a soft, comfortable chair, and the seatbelt secured Irin tightly to the seat. Irin quickly recited in his mind at the fastest speed possible:
"Apostle Panel."
In an instant, a holographic virtual interface, visible only to him, appeared in front.
Irin] ID: 1010
HP] 100% (cannot be calculated, percentage reduced based on apostle strength)
Psionic Value]510 (affected by spiritual attributes)
Apocalypse Knight Module (Broken)
Level]LV0 (preparation apostle)
Strength]1.8 (positively correlated with muscle strength, physicality, explosive power, and recovery ability)
Agility]3.0 (positively correlated with shooting speed, reaction speed, flexibility, and movement speed)
Spirit]5.1 (positively correlated with memory, imagination, computing power, psionic value, accuracy, perception, casting speed, and psionic recovery speed)
Will]7.0 (manifestation of strong will, positively correlated with various resistances)
Luck]4.0
Charm]2.5
Skills]Hidden Breath
Enhancements]None
For Irin, the scene in front of her had been absent for three years. Over the past three years, Irin had gotten used to mentally reciting "Apostle Panel" many times, but there had never been a response. Now, having re-registered with the Tower of Death, Irin finally saw her attribute panel again. The familiar recipe, the familiar feel. She quickly scanned her properties...
"The three attributes of strength, agility, and spirit total 9.9? No wonder they weren't 'called'..."
Both strength and agility levels floated at that of an ordinary person, which made sense and was expected. But what Irin didn't expect was that her spirit and will attributes were far beyond normal human levels! The time Irin returned to life from her rebirth in 2125 was just after the "initial test" in 2118. The initial test assessed Irin's attributes before the rebirth. After the rebirth, Irin had never been tested by the "official instrument" again.
Although I knew there was a certain difference between the instrument attributes and the apostle panel, I didn't expect spirit and will to be this high.
"Is it because of the rebirth? The fusion of souls and memories from two worlds..."
Irin quickly considered the possibilities.
Lucky 4.0 ... fair enough, a little luck.
Charm... doesn't matter.
After roughly scanning her Apostle Panel, aside from one more [Module], everything else was pretty much the same as she remembered. Irin took the time to check the relic left by her "good friend" after falling into the box.
Hidden Breath]
Class]C-Class
Consumption]2 Ps/sec
Effect]Reduces presence by 40%, skill effect fades after movement, cooldown is 300 seconds.
[Description] You can watch without making a sound!
An indescribable skill. Irin just wanted to study what kind of cheat "Apocalypse Knight Module" was. A loud vibration occurred around her. At the same time, a sweet voice came from above Irin's head.
"Welcome, all passengers, to Flight 444."
"Flight 444 will be entering a thundercloud area, and is expected to experience unstable airflow. Passengers, please do not move around, and fasten your seatbelts..."
"During the journey through the thundercloud area, the aircraft may bump at varying levels, please do not panic."
"Generally, you won't die."
"I am Flight 444's purser, Darling, I will always be with you on this journey..."
"If Britney isn't here, that means..."
"Zizzizi—"
[Do you believe in God?]