Everything was normal. Flowers bloomed from the spring sunlight, and in other places, they withered from the winter cold. Cars raced against the asphalt roads, and businesses lined the streets. Everything was normal. Yes, perfectly normal.
Rain Janus sat in class as their professor talked about the important processes involved in DNA replication. Yet, this lesson was suddenly interrupted by what he assumed to be his imagination.
"Hello, denizens of Planet S-99-01, or Earth. The Alexandrian Vessel Knot has discovered this celestial object and noticed the substantial increase of mana. As such, we have reported your planet to The Alliance of United Races. With this, you are now given the option of either becoming a vassal of the Alexandrian Kingdom, joining the Alliance of United Races, or refusing both invitations. An answer must be submitted and declared in 7 days at 82.8628 S, 135.0000 E. Please be advised that the increasing mana of your planet will have substantial effects that you might be unable to comprehend or control. We await your decision."
The message repeated in Rain's mind a total of three times. At first, he simply ignored it, thinking he had finally lost his mind. However, after the second time, he finally noticed the abnormal behavior of his fellow classmates. Quickly, he pulled open his phone and went to the web, an action that shook his body to its very core. His heart raced as he read the multiple articles about the state of the world. His mouth rapidly dried as he murmured the numerous article titles:
"Plane crashes into the Caribbean."
"Reports of Heart Attacks explode!"
"Casualties are rising after Unknown Message!"
"A-ahhh!" One of his classmates screamed, and his eyes darted toward the origin of the sound. It was there he found another classmate of his lying on his desk clutching his heart, sweat dripping from his face, and his eyes twitching.
"W-what the hell is going on?" Rain slowly backed away from his seat and sprinted out of the lecture hall. His mind raced with numerous ideas and thoughts, yet the main thing on his mind was how unfair it was. He had finally made it, admitted to a prestigious university that many would go green with envy about. Hell, he had even gotten a full-ride scholarship with it, yet his dreams and aspirations were crushed by some alien?
Hell no, Rain refused to accept such a reality, yet the scene outside the lecture hall made him rethink that decision.
"Get the hell away from me!!"
"Haha! What? The world's going to end anyway, might as well have fun, right boys?"
Students of a renowned university were reduced from noble characters to common thugs and gangsters. Faculty seemed to forget their own identities and joined in the chaos that had engulfed the campus. It was then a terrifying thought sank into Rain's mind.
If a renowned university campus had already fallen this low, then what about the rest of the city? No, what about the rest of the world? As Rain thought about these things, a more important question presented itself: what about his family? Quickly, he whipped out his cell phone and dialed his mother's number.
As it rang out in his ear, his heartbeat increased with each additional ring. He held his breath, losing more color in his face the longer it lasted. Finally, the sound of his mother's concerned voice released the air that was trapped in his lungs.
"Dear! Dear? Are you alright? Did you also hear that strange voice?"
"Yes, I'm alright. Are you, mom?"
"Mhm, we're all fine here, w-well, most of us are fine…"
"Huh?"
"I-I'm sorry, but Grandpa passed away from a heart attack during it."
"I-I see. Uh, I'm heading back right now. We can talk more once I get there."
"J-just be careful."
"I will."
Rain hung up after responding. However, before he could start to move, a siren rang out inside the city. A feeling of unease started to rise in his chest as he started to head back home.
As Rain was heading back home, the world began to descend into chaos. All over the world, riots were happening, coups began, and even mass genocides were carried out to cull the mass panic. The entire world had lost reason, lost faith, and lost their trust in their government.
After multiple hours of walking as the roads were forcibly closed, Rain finally arrived home. Yet, that feeling of unease only grew with each passing moment. It felt like something was eating Rain from the inside out, clawing to get out.
The house in front of Rain was beaten up, broken, and trashed. The windows were smashed, with glass shards everywhere. The door was broken off its hinges and thrown to the side, and the lights inside were constantly flickering. Rain ran inside, and while everything was destroyed, the most important thing there was fine.
Sitting in the corner was a young girl and a middle-aged woman. Rain stared at both of them—the older woman with dark blue hair similar to his own and the younger one with lighter hair. Their emerald green eyes, different from Rain's blue-gray eyes, sparkled open, revealing expressions of relief.
"Brother!" The smaller girl, who looked no older than 14, jumped up from the floor and ran into Rain's arms.
Rain smiled slightly and softly replied, "Stella." As Stella clung to him, he looked over to his mom and asked, "What happened here? Where's Dad?"
Stella clutched onto his clothes tighter, and his mom shook her head, refusing to look at him. Rain wanted to ask more, but the small stains of blood around the house gave him an answer he didn't want to confront at this moment. He just clenched harder onto Stella, refusing to let go.
As they looked around their house that was broken and thrashed, the family of now three didn't know what to do for the night. For that night, they decided to hide in the cellar of their home, the only place that had a small feeling of safety. As the night passed and they slept in the cold cellar, society had shifted in the span of 24 hours since the announcement.
Rain and his family were awoken by the banging on their cellar door and faint whispering of men.
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A/N
Heyo once again! Just a quick little message that I will read every single comment that is posted and respond to every comment posted for this entire first volume. So let me have all your harsh criticism and praises (I feed on these) mkay?
I'll still be reading every comment afterwards also.