Rain's eyes fluttered open as the sun's rays broke through the atmosphere at dawn. His large dark circles suggested exhaustion, and his gaze lacked focus. As he slowly got up to stretch after sleeping against a rough tree trunk, the whispers of a devil entered his ear.
"So? Have you thought about it?"
"Huh? Ahhh!" Rain fumbled back as Hecate suddenly appeared before him. As he fell onto the forest floor, Hecate covered her smile, but she couldn't hold back her laughter.
"Haha! Ahahahah!"
"What do you even want?"
"To accept my deal and kill a man. Quite simple, really."
Rain stared at Hecate with obvious annoyance and just ignored her. However, seeing him ignore her, Hecate puffed out her cheeks and started her own offense.
"That offer of fulfilling one of your fantasies is still on the table, dear. Just say the word." She gave him a toothy grin and continued, "Just imagine it: me doing whatever—and I mean whatever—you want."
Rain looked at Hecate and suddenly smirked. He slowly got off the floor and took a step closer to her, then another and another, until he was right in front of her. However, ironically, she was taller than him, making him have to slightly tilt his head upwards.
"Anything you say?" Rain asked as he let his eyes wander slightly, licking his parched lips in the process. Hecate backed away slightly, surprised by the situation, but Rain simply took another step forward. This kept repeating until she was backed into a tree's trunk.
"U-uh, well, m-maybe not everything. Y-you know, I-I can't...y-you know..." She barely managed to let out her voice, which grew quieter and quieter as she spoke. Rain smiled at her surprisingly pure reaction and quickly teased her.
"Oh? I thought you said anything. Or are you too embarrassed to do something as simple as this?"
"E-e-e-embarrassed!? I-I am not!"
"Wow, didn't think you would be purer than a college student like myself. Well, don't worry, I'm not that much of an asshole."
"Humph!" She turned her head away in one quick movement, ignoring Rain's laughter. However, that quickly changed as she once again asked, "So? Will you accept my request?"
"No. No, I won't." Rain answered quickly and directly, leaving no room for confusion. He just couldn't bring himself to kill an innocent man for his own benefit. The 19 years of living in a normal and orderly society couldn't be broken so easily. Hecate looked at him with focused eyes but sighed afterward. She then offered:
"How about this, then? I'll admit, you seem better than these other country bumpkins, so I'll keep this deal open. If you choose to kill him, you'll be rewarded. If not, nothing will happen to you. Can you accept these terms?"
Rain didn't think anything bad could happen from such a one-sided contract and accepted her deal. After his verbal consent, Hecate said her goodbyes and left the forest, seemingly vanishing from his vision. Rain started to venture deeper into the forest, unaware of Hecate's toothy grin before she fully left.
Rain now sat alone, lost in the forest that he knew was full of more than just wild animals. With nowhere else to go, he decided to go the opposite way he had come from, venturing into unknown territory.
As Rain moved throughout the forest toward a nearby city, world leaders had been discussing the urgent situation all night. Reports of inhuman creatures and beasts spotted across the globe had flooded in. The only saving grace was that cash, especially USD, still held value.
"So, are we all in agreement?" Evan asked the council around him, double-checking that no one would back out of their decision. Although they had made their choice based on speculation and few facts, they believed their names would go down in Earth's history. However, if they were wrong, they would be condemned for the destruction of their planet and its habitats. Well, if anyone cared enough about their little floating rock.
"Yes."
"Mhm."
"All good from me."
As voices rang out in agreement, Evan spoke with pride—the pride of being the person responsible for world peace. "Very well! As of this moment, the Earthen United Council shall be established! I wish to nominate James Righter as spokesperson for the council and the one to declare our intent to the aliens on our planet."
"Agreed!"
"Seconded!"
"I oppose!"
Voices of opposition and agreement rang out from the room, but ultimately, those in agreement outnumbered those who opposed. A tanned man slowly walked up to the podium, standing before the most powerful people on Earth. He declared, "I accept this position with honor and gratitude." The man was James Righter, one of the many people involved in the discussion about Earth's fate. Although he was merely a powerless lawyer compared to the leaders in the room, he continued: "I suggest we start the Relief Act globally."
This time, the decision was unanimous, although the actual plan was unorthodox by their world's standards. The people of Earth had this sense of duty to protect the weak and preach justice, however desperate times calls for desperate measures.
"Very well. Deploy the soldiers to suppress riots and protests! Permission to fire is granted!" James declared. He knew that many would oppose this plan, which trampled on human rights. However, even the United States—a preacher of human rights—had no better alternative. For the greater good, offenders would be harshly dealt with, and citizens would be isolated for a few days to calm down.
In just 72 hours, the world had changed.
As Rain moved through the forest, the loud growling of a metal beast came from the skies. Quickly, he looked up to find fighter jets slicing through the sky. At first, he thought the military had finally started to respond. However, as the large buildings of a city came into view and echoes of gunfire rang out, he wasn't sure anymore if the military was on his side.