That all happened a little over 3 years ago. Now, we had made it to the Last Wave. The hope for a time of peace and stability hung heavily in the air.

The tutorial zone they sent us to became known as The Killing Fields. No one knew if it was a simulation, or some other foreign planet. What we were absolutely sure of, was that every four months we’d be sent to a different landscape. Usually to fight hordes of different types of monsters that always seemed to favor the monsters.

As we all started to appear, we noticed it was a great desert this time. Rocky plains and large rocks clumped together dotted the landscape. Massive casualties always piled up after each wave finished. You could never be certain if you’d see someone you cared about when you returned to our planet.

The skies opened and rain flowed in great white sheets from the unfamiliar sky. The dreariness on this vast open desert plain seemed to echo the feelings of each person at our makeshift camp. ‘Camp’ being a loose word. We found out earlier that we could bring anything that was connected to our bodies when we were teleported here for the Waves. We scrounged tents and materials from the local hardware store as ‘go bags’ for the trip to this hellish place.

The cold from the rain seeped into all of our bones and left a mounting depression on all our psyches. The shiver of wetness and fear left everyone’s nerves on edge. Too much was riding on the line for anyone to keep a sane composition.

There was one sliver of hope that everyone clung to, however. One person that the majority hinged all of our resources and survival on. He stood as a Juggernaut class, a fighter of unparalleled combat ability. His massive sword Legion slung over his back. While resting right behind it, a glowing white tower of a shield.

He was the first to ascend to an advance job when he hit level 10. He seemed to gain powers over Force control, from what I could gather. Somehow, even in this intense downpour, he gave off an aura that seemed to push the dread away through sheer force of will. He had an almost white-hot presence in the gloom that threatened to drag us all down.To an incredible number of survivors, he was a lone candle in the darkness.

His name is Joshua.

Being the strongest of us leftovers, he’s saved countless from the horrific monsters that infest our little slice of hell. He’s also trained most of the up and coming warriors in efficiency and the effectiveness of their skills. This, of course, made him completely adored by the majority within the camp and The Killing Fields. Slowly, the tyrant started to show himself in the coming years. His narcissism grew as he realized there were no longer checks and balances to keep the scale from tipping. Add in our new abilities and now you have a man with a savior complex and the power of a small bomb.

“I can feel your fear, my brothers and sisters!” said Joshua with the gravitas of a born military leader. “But do not let it waver your convictions of what needs to be done today!”

He always had a way with his speeches, loud and with passion, but lacking any real answers or substance.

“We’ve faced all 7 waves of horrors before this. And even though we’ve lost a incalculable number of comrades, we’ve become stronger for the true survival of mankind. The human spirit has been tested and this day,” he said as he raised his blade high into the sky.

“This day we reclaim our peace. This day we take our vengeance. This day, we take back our home!”

“For Humanity!” he shouted as a white-hot aura engulfed our small encampment.

Men and women who stood at Humanity’s peak all gazed upon this man with awe, repeating his chant. As his aura crept near my skin, I stifled a gag reflex. A disgusting feeling. Just being near him made my skin like glass was rubbing against it.

He seemed to stare at me from across the large bonfire and grin. Everyone screamed at the top of their voices. “For Humanity!”

This was probably the end, one way or another. No sense ruining the people’s hope. I just turned and walked away. Let others look to the skies and to false prophets. I’ll just keep an eye on our people.

I started to search for the best location for my tent. Near the outskirts of the camp situated on a hill gave me the perfect view of our immediate surroundings.

“Damion.” I shouted to a young man carrying supplies.

“Yeah, boss?” yelled the young man, dropping his cargo and running over.

“I told you to stop calling me that.” I said with a smile.

“And I told you, that I never will.” he responded while nodding with a smirk.

“I’m going to setup on this outcropping. Can you do a rough sketch of the surroundings while i unpack. Before the next wave I want to create a wall of rocks to reinforce some form of barrier.”

“On it! Mind if i grab help from Cole?”

“As long as he’s finished unpacking the gear and has the free time. I’ll leave it to you.” I said while unloading the tent from my pack.

“Consider it done boss. I’ll have the sketch ready in 30.”Damion said and sprinted off to find his partner in arms.

“Try to make it 20!” I yelled after him with a smirk.

He was a good kid. Roughly 19 years old and extremely deadly with a bow. I tended to use him for scouting runs more than anything. Damion’s real gift, however, lie in his drawings.

I found him on the college campus, huddling in fear. His head used to dart around for food, like a squirrel, waiting for its best chance to eat and hide. He was an art major, now he drew the most detailed maps that have saved countless lives. The kid trusted my growth plan for him, so far. He seems to be excited about becoming our primary scout and trap expert for the camp.

I smiled and started my walk up the rocky cliff overlooking our battlefield. My job, now that everyone is preparing for the last wave, is to keep our shelves stocked with provisions and the people busy. Work was good for the mind and humans, left to their own devices, could get into all manner of trouble. A simple setup of habit, training and mental exercise keeps the human machine running with a certain level of efficiency. It doesn’t soothe the feelings of loss but it keeps the mind occupied.

I also made sure that we have regular supply runs to the local destroyed businesses, when we’re not fighting in the waves. Combat isn’t the only way to keep a group functioning. In this new world, however, I’m considered low on the totem pole of authority. Might makes right seems to be the new standard. I couldn’t blame anyone for this belief as my family had been saved multiple times by a strong fighter. Regardless of my contributions, when a man stops you from being beaten or eaten, you tend to take his side on anything he proposes.

Since the beginning of The Fall, my combat ability barely registered as useful. Especially when compared to the likes of Joshua and the other peak fighters. Whenever The System warned us to make a class selection, I chose the Mage class to support my family as best I could. I have a decent mana pool for my class but I’m no powerhouse with massive fireballs or large spells.

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I took the ability Psychokinetic Threads as my starting ability.

Psychokinetic Threads : Create blue razor-thin threads of solidified mana up to 12 feet.

This allowed me to control small blue threads that could be used for anything i could imagine with just a small bit of mana. I used it for binding the legs of Rabid Dogs, a mutated dog with a row of spines along their backs, while my family delivered the final killing blows back when The Fall first started.

When my youngest daughter’s arm was broken during a particularly brutal attack, we couldn’t find anything to bind it into place. I used my threads as both tourniquet and scalpel, carefully applying my mana. Magic, after all, was inherently sterile. I recieved the Mana Manipulation skill shortly thereafter.

With blue threads constantly twirling around me, and my choice to wear a suit during the apocalypse; I acquired the nickname Threads by my new companions at the camp.That was a little over three years ago now, though the horror and pain felt fresh. Today, we needed to prepare for this last challenge.

I pitched my tent and started setting up my desk area on the rocky ground. While caught up in my routine, a voice sounded; jolting me around.

“Dad, you really need to stop letting him get under your skin.”

I heard the voice before the sounds of movement.

“It’s funny how you look sick every time he gives a speech to the group.”

“I know, kiddo. He’s the only thing standing between us and utter annihilation, right?” I said in a mocking grandiose tone.

I turned to face my last remaining daughter, Maeve, with a smile. She stood at 5’7 with hazelnut skin and a lean frame. I believe she turned 20 this year. We should be out celebrating her junior year in college, instead here we stand in a desert at the end of time. On her right hip, a short sword. A small shield sat firmly attached to her left wrist. She always liked keeping her left hand free for the myriad of daggers and weaponry she seemed to constantly produce.

Her adoption of the creed ‘Better safe than sorry’ had kept her alive more times than I can count, the blades have helped too.

“That’s not funny dad and you know what I mean.” She said with her almost expertly crafted resting angry girl face. The child was a menace at poker and the camp made sure she knew.

“It’s the final wave, everyone needs a boost, magical or not. I think a little smugness for the tradeoff of having to be the vanguard of an entire species isn’t so bad. Right?” she reasoned.

“Besides, who else is gonna do it? You?”

I mocked a hurt expression with my hands to my mouth “Oh you wound me, kiddo. You don’t believe in your old man?”

“Does my lowly status not inspire the masses enough for you?” I joked with a bow.

“Maybe, if you could actually talk to people without giving a lecture!” She chuckled.

“Remember how much crap Margo gave you every time you gave a speech in front of the camp?” she asked.

The mention of her sister brought tension into the conversation. It also came with a familiar feeling that everyone in the camp felt; Pain and regret.

“Sorry dad, I didn’t mean to bring it up today of all days.” she said with mist in her eyes and a crack in her voice.

“It’s ok kiddo, it makes me happy that the memory of our family didn’t fade or stop us after all that’s happened.” I said with a wiping of her eye with my thumb.

I sat back in my desk chair with a slouch and leaned while deciding what this powerful child needed from me. Especially on the eve of what might very well be the last day we have on this planet. The truth would do.

“You know kiddo, not a day goes by that I don’t miss your mother and siblings.” I said while staring at the dingy top of the makeshift tent.

I felt the wetness before I ever felt a drop fall.

“She was everything.” I said as her presence washed over me like a wave, threatening to completely drown me in a haze of memories.

“Your mother was one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met. Definitely an ‘out of my league’ scenario.” The familiar burning sensation in my tearducts returning.

“Why she needed to stand on the front lines...” my thoughts trailing off as I recalled her coming in from fighting with scars both internal and external.

No need to bring that to the child.

“You remember how your mother was.” I said with a smile.

“There was no other choice than Healer in her mind.” Maeve said with a smile.

“I remember when mom picked Cleric when The System appeared. Man, you freaked out dad.” Maeve always talking about her mother.

“She wanted to have the most potent healing magic to save as many people as she could. She was always like that.”she trailed off, as she talked about her mom.

“No one had a more powerful healing light than your mother. She put her entire being into helping others.” I said as I glanced down through the misty haze of my own eyes.

“I knew she was powerful, but I didn’t know the scope” she said while biting her nails, a nervous tick she rarely showed, “is that why Joshua…” she trailed off as she looked up at me and caught the perceptible nod.

“There was never anyone who could rival Aurora in sheer force of will or stubbornness. She always wanted to be in the middle of battle whenever things looked dire.”

“I’ve always thought we should’ve picked a sturdier class for her to advance into, but we were too new to all this. She had a nasty habit of outshining our glorious leader on more than one occasion.” I stated.

“Imagine a Healer attacking on the front line with the tank.” I laughed, remembering everyone’s looks as she took down a Rabid Dog during the first days.

“Joshua’s infatuation with her became the biggest thorn in my side for the next few years we traveled together.”

I sighed.

“I’m sorry now’s not the time to bring him back into this. I miss her dearly every single day.” I sat up and looked her straight in the eyes.

“I miss all of your siblings, deeply. More than you can possibly know.”

“I that I can seem cold hearted but it’s my own way of coping with this nonsense that’s become our new reality.” I said as I stood and hugged my daughter.

She should’ve been shopping with her mother or making her way in the world. Instead she’s joining her father to fight, in an almost certainly last battle.

“I’m here for you until the end comes baby” I said with a squeeze of my precious little girl.

“Now! We’ve got to get ready for the last mountain to climb and I know you’ve got preparations to make. Those knives won’t sharpen themselves after all.” I laughed lightly as we held each other for a brief minute.

“I’m here for you as well, Maeve.” came a powerful voice from the flap of the tent.

“While I don’t have the fortune to be related to you by blood, as a friend of your mother’s, you’ve always seemed like a god daughter to me. If you find yourself cornered in battle, just cry for me and I’ll be there.”

“You would intrude on this moment?” I said angrily, while turning to face the voice of the interloper.

He stood there with that smirk his kind always had. His blonde ponytail tied up behind his chiseled face. He had the power and the prowess of a great man, but the insecurities and temper of a high school quarterback. A complete battle maniac, with the patience of a child. He might hide his bloodlust from everyone else, but I can smell it on him. Anger threatened to have me lose my life in that moment.

You see, amongst the survivors, the one thing we horde are the memories of who we were. Memories became a precious thing to protect. To bring up my family in that moment was a slap in the face and an obvious provocation. I felt Maeve’s hand squeeze against my arm to calm down. Before I could respond in anger, a message appeared before me.

Warning! Emotional Manipulation Detected. Engaging the effect of [Spider’s Calm] on host.

Spider’s Calm: Spider’s Calm

Passively grants emotional insulation enabling pragmatic unbiased perceptions and rapid analytical response in tense situations. -20% susceptibility to fear, confusion, hesitation effects during combat engagements

When actively triggered, it provides near complete psychic immunity to emotional manipulation, intimidation tactics, or irrational impulses for 30 minutes*. User enters intense cold calculation state heightening threat/weakness identification.

Mana Cost: 25 MP on manual activation.

Prolonged over reliance on ability even mid combat risks user losing connection with humanity and empathy capable of deterring certain lines from being crossed.

Suddenly the world froze and a silky voice filled my mind.

“He oversteps again. Even here at the end, he seeks to antagonize you.

He has always craved what you possess, though he possesses much that he does not see.

Persevere and do not show any emotional outburst or response, for the time is close.”

It said with assurance.

“Instead use this moment that he chose for anger, on this eve of battle, for information.

Taunt him into revealing his plans for all to see.

Listen to his wish and draw your own conclusions. Our Contract draws near its climax.” the voice said. Then complete silence....