In a world that had fallen into ruin, more than sixty percent of the Earth's surface was no longer habitable land but instead a merciless expanse of barren wasteland. The days scorched anything daring enough to emerge, while the nights froze life to the bone. Cities that once stood tall were now buried beneath rolling dunes, swallowed by time and forgotten by history.
Amid the silent ruins, something stirred—creatures never recorded in any book, born from destruction, roaming a world that no longer belonged to humanity.
In the midst of this lifeless landscape, two figures moved. Their steps were heavy, trudging through the relentless heat. They were "Seekers"—individuals who scoured the remnants of the old world to bring hope to what remained.
"Any luck, Michelle? Did you find anything?" A gruff voice broke through the dry, whistling wind. The old man's tattered black cloak shielded him from the cruel sun.
The girl ahead, Michelle, didn't answer immediately. Her eyes were fixed on a handheld device flickering faintly, responding to electromagnetic energy hidden beneath the sand. Her breathing was steady, though her body was coated in the dust of their journey.
"Nothing interesting here," she said, wiping sweat from her temple. "But the signal's stronger to the south. We should head that way. There might be something useful."
The old man nodded slowly, pulling his hood tighter to cover his weathered face. "Then we shouldn't linger. The sun's getting higher," he said, his voice low but firm. Yet there was something in his tone this time—an unease he couldn't quite hide.
He paused, glancing around, then continued in a softer voice, "And we can't afford to be out here after dark. I can feel them watching us."
Michelle tensed. Without wasting a moment, she adjusted her hood and tightened the anti-radiation mask covering her face. Its specialized filters vibrated faintly, working hard to cleanse the contaminated air.
*****
Their steps grew more cautious. Minutes passed. Hours. The sun's glare turned the sand into a shimmering sea of fire, but they pressed on southward without rest. Exhaustion was no longer a concern; survival was all that mattered.
Suddenly, the detector in Michelle's hand beeped faster, its electromagnetic pulse growing stronger.
"Dad! The signal's stronger here!" Michelle exclaimed, her eyes glued to the vibrating screen.
The old man halted, scanning their surroundings briefly before nodding. "Alright, let's get the tools out."
But before their hands could reach their backpacks, a roar of wind erupted in the distance. In an instant, a sandstorm slammed into them without warning, its force enough to stagger their bodies. Thick dust filled the air, obscuring their vision and swallowing the world around them into a void.
"W-What?!" Michelle stumbled, her body lurching backward.
"Michelle, be careful!" The old man gripped his weapon tightly, his eyes darting around with heightened alertness. The fierce wind could be a sign of something far worse.
Michelle steadied herself against the storm's force, struggling to stay upright. "Ugh—I'm fine!" Her voice was nearly drowned out by the howling wind.
Then, as quickly as it had come, the storm subsided. The swirling sand settled, leaving a heavy silence in its wake. But something had changed.
Before them, something they had never encountered before emerged from the storm-swept sand.
A large, capsule-shaped object, half-buried in a dune. Its metallic surface was dull, eroded by time, yet it retained an air of mystery and otherworldliness.
Michelle stepped forward cautiously, her eyes wide with astonishment. "What… is that?"
The old man didn't answer immediately. He stood still, staring at the capsule with an unreadable expression. The wind blew softly, as if holding its breath alongside them.
The object had been buried there for years. Perhaps longer than they could imagine.
A "Life Capsule"—an advanced medical technology once seen as the last hope for those suffering from rare or fatal diseases. Developed in the era before the collapse, when humanity still fought against its biological limits.
Unlike conventional treatments, the Life Capsule didn't rely on ordinary medicine. Instead, patients were placed inside and put into long-term hibernation. Upon activation, the capsule would fill with bioenergic fluid—a revolutionary medical substance designed to accelerate cell regeneration, repair damaged tissues, and stimulate the immune system.
What made the Life Capsule truly unique, however, was the presence of engineered bacteria—genetically modified microorganisms activated only by specialized radiation emitted from the capsule's core. These bacteria were designed to target and destroy pathogens resistant to conventional treatments. The process was highly complex, requiring patients to remain in hibernation for extended periods.
For mild conditions, a patient might be trapped inside for a year. For more severe cases? Years, even decades.
But there was one thing that made this technology even more remarkable—and more terrifying.
The Life Capsule didn't rely on external power grids. Powered by a high-capacity battery core, it could operate for decades without interruption. Even if the hospital housing it crumbled, even if the world outside turned to hell, the capsule would keep working.
Keeping its occupant alive.
And now, after years buried beneath endless sand, one of these capsules had been found.
"That's… a Life Capsule."
The old man's voice was hoarse, almost a whisper caught between awe and disbelief. His eyes widened as he stared at the object, as if unable to believe what he was seeing.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward the half-buried capsule.
Michelle remained rooted in place, hesitant. Unlike her father, she had been born into a broken world—a world where advanced technology was nothing more than legend, stories told by those old enough to remember the time before the collapse. To her, this was just another relic of the ancient past, no different from the other ruins buried in the desert.
But her father's reaction told a different story.
The old man knelt beside the capsule, his rough, dust-covered fingers quickly wiping the thick, military-grade glass. Despite being buried for who knows how long, the glass remained intact—unbroken, unblemished, as if it had been abandoned only yesterday.
Then, he heard it.
From inside the capsule, the faint sound of bubbling, soft but distinct. Something was inside. Something still… alive.
The old man stiffened. His breath caught as he peered closer through the glass.
"This… can't be…" he murmured, his voice a mix of shock and dread.
He turned, looking at his daughter, who still stood in confusion.
"Michelle! Come here, now!" His voice was firm, almost commanding.
For the first time, there was an urgency in his tone that sent a chill down Michelle's spine.
"That's… a person."
Michelle gasped, her voice catching in her throat. Her eyes widened as she saw the faint silhouette behind the thick glass. The figure lay motionless in a bluish fluid, its body connected to the capsule's walls by thin cables. Small bubbles rose from the bottom, indicating that something was still active inside.
"But… how?" Michelle stepped closer, her voice filled with doubt. "Is he still alive? And… what is this thing, Dad?"
The old man took a deep breath before answering, as if dredging up long-buried memories. His eyes remained fixed on the capsule, his expression unreadable.
"This is a Life Capsule," he said finally. "Back in the days of Modernia, before the world fell, doctors used these to treat patients with rare diseases—illnesses that couldn't be cured with ordinary medicine." His voice was grave, carrying the weight of a nearly forgotten history.
Michelle swallowed hard. "So… he's been in there for… years?"
The old man nodded slowly. "Yes. Possibly longer than you've been alive." He pointed to the bubbles rising from the fluid. "See? The machine's still running. That means its battery's intact, and the bioenergic system is still active. As long as it's working, the person inside is alive."
Michelle bit her lip, her eyes locked on the unknown figure inside. The world had changed, civilization had crumbled, and now they stood before something that shouldn't exist.
"So… what now?" Michelle glanced at the massive capsule, her expression uncertain. "There's no way we can carry both it and our supplies. This thing's way too heavy."
The old man didn't answer immediately. He stared at the capsule with a sharp gaze, as if weighing every possible option. Then, in a steady voice, he said, "We have to wake him."
Michelle turned quickly. "What? Dad, we don't even know who he is—"
"—He's a human," the old man interrupted firmly. "And saving him is our duty. Besides…" he placed his palm on the capsule's surface, feeling the cold metal that had endured the passage of time. "This capsule's still functional. If we can bring it back, this technology could save more people."
Michelle fell silent for a moment before finally letting out a heavy sigh. She knew there was no point arguing. Her father wasn't the type to abandon someone just because the situation was difficult.
"There should be an emergency button somewhere on the capsule," the old man said, carefully inspecting each side. "I'll look for it. If it's still active, the system should be able to wake him safely."
While her father busied himself with the capsule, Michelle remained vigilant. Her fingers tightened around the grip of her weapon, her eyes scanning the desert around them.
This world never gave them the luxury of feeling safe.
The wind blew softly, carrying swirls of sand through the air. The sky above began to shift colors as the sun slowly moved westward.
And for some reason, something nagged at Michelle's instincts.
Like… they were being watched.
Holding her breath, she bit her lip and tightened her grip on her weapon.
If something was lurking behind the dunes, they needed to be ready.
As Michelle stood guard, her father continued tinkering with the capsule. Though thick gloves covered his hands, his movements were deft, a testament to years of experience with ancient machinery. His sharp eyes scanned the rusted panels, searching for a way in.
It didn't take long for him to find it.
"Alright… I've got it," the old man muttered. But his tone quickly shifted to frustration. "Damn… it's password-locked."
As he pressed the emergency release, a hologram flickered to life, displaying a security interface that was still active. The pale blue glow seemed almost out of place in a world that had long since abandoned such technology.
"I can force it open, but it'll take time." He sighed, glancing at his daughter. "Michelle, can you hold out a little longer? I'm going to force-break the capsule."
Michelle simply nodded. Calmly, she opened her backpack and pulled out several rifle and handgun magazines, her hands moving without hesitation as if this were routine.
Click. The familiar sound of a rifle's mechanism echoed as she chambered a round, followed by the soft clink of a handgun being readied.
"Dad," she said without taking her eyes off the surrounding desert, her gaze sharp and alert. "If technology like this existed, why didn't people use it to save themselves when the world started falling apart?"
The old man gave a faint, bitter smile. With practiced ease, he wedged a screwdriver into the power panel, prying it open with a metallic screech.
"That's a foolish question, Michelle," he replied, his voice calm but tinged with exhaustion. "First, these capsules were extremely rare. Even in the days of Modernia, only a select few had access to them also it's very expensive."
The panel finally gave way, revealing a tangled web of wires and a still-functional power port. With skilled hands, he connected a small USB device to one of the ports and began typing commands into the holographic terminal that appeared.
"Second," he continued, his eyes fixed on the flickering screen, "the collapse came too suddenly. No one could've predicted the world would fall apart so quickly. People thought they had time… until they didn't."
Michelle remained silent, though her expression shifted slightly.
Click. The old man flipped a small switch inside the panel and went on.
"And third, even if we'd known and could've saved ourselves… would we really have survived?" He glanced at Michelle briefly before returning to the screen. "The answer… is maybe. Because you know as well as I do—"
Michelle straightened, her fingers tightening around her rifle.
"Those monsters appeared after the collapse," she murmured.
The old man nodded slowly.
Around them, the desert wind whispered softly, carrying faint echoes of a dead world. And inside the capsule… a man still slept.
"And…" the old man exhaled, satisfied that the process was nearly complete.
He stared at the holographic loading indicator, then spoke again—more to himself than to Michelle.
"We're not heroes… and we're not villains." His voice was calm, but there was a weight to it. "We're just ordinary people, surviving in a world that no longer cares about us."
His gloved fingers tapped lightly on the metal panel, as if recalling something from the past.
"But… being 'ordinary' doesn't mean we stand idle, doesn't mean we can't do anything." He took a deep breath, then continued, his voice firmer now.
"We don't fight for virtue… but we don't succumb to evil either. We don't follow the rules, but we don't cross the line without reason." He glanced at Michelle, his eyes filled with conviction.
"We don't defend the good, nor do we defend the wicked… We only defend what's right."
Michelle stayed silent, but she was listening.
"That's what an anti-hero is," the old man concluded. "Not a perfect figure, not a symbol of hope… but someone who keeps standing, even when the world has long since crumbled."
Chapter 1, End...