Nash stumbled out of the hospital room, with glassy eyes and weak movements. As soon as he made it back to his sister, she went away.

"She's gone..." As he made his way, he mindlessly shoved someone's shoulder.

They were always together, fighting this god-forsaken world together. Twins of the same face, of the same soul, who always leaned on each other in times of need. When the first bike he managed to buy by himself was stolen, she was the one who recommended him and negotiated with the assurance company. When he broke up with his girlfriend when he got beat up that one time when he went to the courthouse... She was always there to help and support him. And so was he, always supporting her as well. He was repaying her every day by doing his best to earn money and pay the hospital's loans, one dollar at a time, trying his utmost to get the best surgeons and experts on the globe to come and help her, without much success. Saying that his efforts and life were all dedicated to her was no exaggeration.

"...Kid...Kid!" A manly voice suddenly pulled him out of his reverie as a firm grip tightened around his arm. Nash looked up, seeing the friendly soldier who brought him into the hospital. He looked all but intimidating, with his military uniform slightly too large for him and his rifle hanging loosely off his shoulders. His head was freshly shaved, and he had no hair whatsoever on his face, currently wearing a worried expression. Nash looked to the side at the now empty hospital room, his eyes empty of strength.

"She's not dead!" The soldier screamed, making Nash flinch in surprise. He grabbed Nash's shoulders and shook him violently, continuing to scream the same phrase over and over as if to engrave it into Nash's heart.

"She's not dead!"

Nash jerked awake, regaining his clarity and will. The mist that had begun to fill his eyes was dissipated away, replaced by a will as firm as the soldier's grip.

'I can't let myself down like this! I need to find her!' Nash thought as he pushed the soldier away, clearing his mind entirely. The soldier grinned and patted the young man on the back.

"That's it! Alright, what's your Evacuation Spot?" The soldier asked as he checked his rifle's magazine. Nash bit down on his lower lip, frowning as the blue window reappeared the second he wondered about the question.

[Nash Dularfull - Evacuation spot: 5 978 444 120/5 978 444 120]

The number had lowered once again. A few hours ago, it was supposed to be at eight billion and a half... A good quarter of Earth's population was already gone, probably killed.

"The Headquarters have figured that this Evacuation thing is taking people away from Earth for some reason. They think it truly is an evacuation protocol!" The soldier explained while drawing a deep breath, firmly gripping his rifle's stock. Nash squinted as he spotted a small metal plate hanging off the soldier's neck, barely distinguishing the name Thomas on it. He couldn't get the last name, but at least he could put a name on this friendly soldier's face. Thomas noticed his gaze and looked at his identification plate, grabbing them with trembling hands.

"Ah, yeah, I'm Private Dollon, but you can call me Thomas. It's the end of the world, from what I heard anyway, so who cares about titles..." He trailed off, his hand tightening to try and reduce the shaking. Nash didn't comment about it and mentally dismissed the blue window and opened his tightly shut mouth.

"...What is your spot?" He asked with a coarse voice that seemed to be a hair away from breaking. Thomas raised an eyebrow, smiling dejectedly as he stared into emptiness.

'So he also has a blue window. Everyone should have received one, then...' Nash noted, remarking that the soldier was biting down on his lower lip nervously.

"...I'm in the seven digits range, and you can probably guess from my expression that my number isn't starting with a five nor a four..." Thomas rubbed the back of his neck, struggling to force a smile on his face. Nash restrained a snort, deciding to not tell anyone that he was the last one to evacuate. He was pretty sure that doing so would bring an unending tsunami of pitying gazes, and he had long grown tired of these. No, it was probably more precise to say that he hated them from the deepest part of his soul. This...disgusting pity, he simply couldn't endure it any longer.

"...I'm also in the seven digits..." Nash calmly stated, the soldier's gaze brightening a little, before dimming down back.

"Haha, sorry..." Thomas apologized, staring at the ground with a dejected gaze, "...I shouldn't be happy that you're in the same boat as me. Hopefully, you're placed higher than me haha!"

Nash raised an eyebrow, restraining a snort.

'I doubt that.'

[WARNING: 'Sowers of the End' deployment is starting. Please remain in a safe shelter while waiting for Evacuation.]

Once again, the cold, emotionless robot voice rang in Nash's mind, causing him to shiver with displeasure. It felt particularly disgusting to hear a voice in his head like this, breaking his intimacy. And looking at Thomas's face, he quickly realized that he wasn't the only one feeling this way about the voice. A blue window flashed before his eyes for a few seconds, in case he had missed the message. Nash coldly dismissed it with a wave of his hand, before falling to his knees as an earthquake shook the hospital's foundations. Dust fell on his nose, forcing a sneeze out of him. The electrical lighting blinked dangerously, threatening to go out at any moment. A strong arm suddenly pulled him under an operation table that had been abandoned in the hallway. Nash looked to the side to see Thomas crouching under the table with wary eyes, looking at the ceiling while clenching his teeth.

The earthquake soon stopped, leaving them free to leave their hiding places. A doctor suddenly stumbled out of a room, his magnifying glasses and operation gloves still on.

"My patient just disappeared into fucking blue dust!" He screamed, soon joined by other surgeons and maids. Nash quickly connected the dots, gasping.

"It's...It's evacuating unconscious and wounded people first..." He muttered, a smile appearing on his face. Whatever this Evacuation System was, it could only be on humanity's side if it chose to evacuate the people who had no way to defend themselves first. Thomas's eyes widened as he listened to the young man, frowning when Nash suddenly walked away from him.

"I need to check something...!" Nash ran out of the ICU and back into the hospital's main hall, noticing an abnormal amount of people crying tears from their bodies but not finding what he was looking for. He double-checked but yet again, he found himself to be right.

"What's going on?" Thomas asked after running back to Nash, gasping for air. The young man didn't look like it, but he had incredible stamina for his build. Nash looked at the soldier, grinning from one ear to the other.

"The Evacuation System is prioritizing unconscious people, wounded, and children. I didn't see any kids back when I entered the hospital...Did you?" The young man questioned as adrenaline suddenly pumped back into his veins. Thomas scratched the end of his nose, his eyebrows creased.

"Wait, no, I have indeed seen a few. We brought families with us to the hospital, we wouldn't have left the children behind..." He glanced around, his mouth opening with awe, "...Shit, you're right! They're all gone!"

The soldier patted Nesh on his shoulder, an exalted look on his face.

"I need to inform my superiors! Come with me, you're also a soldier after all!" Thomas grinned as he pulled Nash behind him, the young man following half-willingly. They entered the staircase leading to the upper floors, heading straight for the second floor, Administrative and Direction. Alongside the thick protective walls, this was one of the particularities of this hospital. Instead of hosting operating rooms or patient rooms, it served as the administrative central point. The second floor was built in such a way that no medical equipment could be installed there, and could only serve as a comb of different kinds of offices.

"The officers installed themselves in the largest office they found in the hospital, kicking away the hospital's director and his secretary right in the act! Hah, that was a sight I'll never forget!" Thomas laughed loudly, guiding Nash through the plain hallways. A few soldiers were running past them, rifles strapped to their back and their hands resting near their handgun's handle. They turned a corner and met a private pale like the moon, staring into the void right in the middle of the corridor. Thomas' brows creased and he walked toward the man, his hand outstretched.

"Hey, what are you doing—?" Thomas's hand passed right through the private who dissipated into a cloud of blue dust. Nash looked at the mystical light that took the soldier away with amazed eyes, following a singular grain of dust with his eyes. It disappeared into thin air after a few seconds, the shock on Thomas' face and Nash's awe the only witnesses in the disappearance.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"...Shit, I'll certainly won't get used to that any time soon..." Thomas hissed through his teeth, before continuing his path. Nash followed behind, noticing a few crates of ammunition and some loosely stored rifles on the ground. The quantities of weapons and soldiers only increased as they got closer to the Officers' office, the air getting denser with each step. Nash's nose creased but he kept going, the gears of his brain working at full speed.

'I'm on the longest timer here... I need to spend as much time as I can surviving behind the army. They'll all go evacuate before me anyway... It's a good thing Thomas thought I was a soldier,' Nash passed his tongue over his teeth, mentally awarding himself for the good decision of taking the revolver back then. They finally arrived in front of two heavily armed soldiers guarding thick double doors from which a flurry of angry exclamations and protestations were coming. The soldiers glanced at Thomas' shoulder where his rank was situated, before looking at Nash. One stepped forward, his rifle aimed to the ceiling.

"Civilians shouldn't have access to this part of the hospital. What are you doing here, kid?"

Thomas hurriedly stepped in front of Nash, his hands raised in peacefulness.

"Don't worry, he's with me. And he's with you too, after all, just in civilian clothes. Can't you see his revolver?" Thomas stated as he pointed at Nash's waist, where the revolver was safely staying. The soldier's eyes widened and he nodded in understanding before glancing backward, a worried expression on his face.

"Most of the soldiers have Evacuation Spots in the seven digits, but it seemed like those guys are in the later parts. Heh, I don't know about you all, but I should be gone in a few hours or so!" He proudly exclaimed, his colleague next to him sighing loudly in reaction.

"...Let's hope this Evacuation isn't taking us somewhere worse than Earth..." The group fell into silence, dampened by the pessimistic words of the soldier. He made a wry smile and stepped aside, before gesturing for Nash and Thomas to enter. The two drew a deep breath and pushed the double doors open, welcomed by a veritable cacophony of swears.

"God damn it! From what I heard, we won't have any troops left at the end of the day! Shit, shit, shit!" A man with a bald head shining under the electrical lighting and a face as red as a tomato was screaming angrily, thick veins bulging on his forehead. The other officers wore all the same expressions as the bald guy, angry and anxious. Nash could almost smell their fear, those puny men who always thought themselves safe in the safety of their high ranks and salaries...

"I just can't...! Wait, private, what are you doing here!" The bald man's head suddenly snapped toward Thomas and Nash, making them both gulp nervously. Thomas drew a deep breath and stepped forward, straightening his position to do a military salute. Nash blinked and imitated Thomas' behavior, straightening himself and saluting.

"P...Private Dollon and..." Thomas looked at Nash from the side, biting down on his lower lip trying to remember the name the young man never bothered to share with him.

"Private Dularfull, Sir!" Nash's eyes were opening widely as a vein bulged on his temple, the young man unable to not feel out of place. The bald officer stepped in front of them with a serious air, his hands trembling with anger.

"Great! What are you doing here, Private Dollon and Dularfull?" He spat, a spittle crashing into Nash's cheek. The young man moved his hand reflexively to wipe it off but realized it would break his saluting posture. He forced himself to stay still, letting Thomas speak for the both of them.

"Sir, we're here to report news on the Evacuation System, Sir!" Thomas screamed, matching the bald officer's volume. The latter's face calmed down a little and he stepped back while crossing his arms.

"At ease, soldier. And come on, share this news, we have no time to waste!" He slammed his fist on the large oval table covered in documents and electronic equipment that took up the majority of the space in the office. Nash and Thomas flinched the two standing at ease, Nash secretly using the opportunity to wipe off the spit. Cold sweat pearled down both of their necks from the pressure the baldie and his colleagues exuded. Even if they looked like a bunch good for nothing who only hid behind their meat shields, they still inspired a certain fear. Thomas closed his eyes, steeling himself as he gulped once again.

"Yes, Sir! Private Dularfull here deduced that the Evacuation System is definitely on our side!"

The bald officer frowned, leaning forward.

"What do you mean?"

Thomas moistened his lips, his eyebrows creased.

"The first persons Evacuated were the children, the incapacitated, and the wounded. If you check in the entire hospital, you won't find a single loose kid or a sleeping patient. They were all taken away in priority!" Thomas filled his lungs with air, wincing.

"...Since those were the only people who couldn't defend themselves, they were Evacuated in priority!" Thomas' gaze was firm and resolute, hope and bravery shining in both of his eyes with the same burning fervor. Nash ticked when he listened to Thomas, glancing despite himself at his hands. If the Evacuation System chose to evacuate defenseless people first, why would it choose him, a random guy among a few billion others to be the last one to leave Earth? He simply couldn't understand.

The bald officer nodded slowly, his face brightening slightly, but that expression soon disappeared when he glanced into the void, probably at his Evacuation spot.

"Excellent. That means we won't have to care too much about dead weights..." He muttered through his teeth as he rubbed his chin. He looked back at Nash and Thomas and saluted, to which the two quickly countered with their own.

"Good work, privates. We'll be taking this into account in our plans. You're both dismissed..." The baldie trailed off as Thomas pushed the door open for Nash to exit through.

"...Wait."

Nash and Thomas froze, turning around slowly back toward the baldie. He frowned and approached Nash who felt a chill run down his spine.

'Shit. Did he notice I'm not a soldier at all? Damn it!' The young man mentally prayed to the gods for him to be wrong, and apparently, they heard him.

"...You're with the Wolves? Hah, no wonder you're in civilian clothes! I never thought they would count such a young man among their ranks, though...You can go, now," The baldie dismissed the two with a wave of his hand, his eyes stuck on the young man's revolver. Thomas looked at Nash with wide-opened eyes, his mouth slightly open. Nash tried his best to ignore both gazes and exited the room, heading off into the hospital's hallway. Thomas ran behind him, throwing a glance behind him before slapping his forehead.

"It can't be!?! Are you really with the Wolves?" he asked curiously, bewildered. Nash hesitated before ultimately shrugging. Whatever identity they slapped on him was the one he was going to work with. He needed freedom of movement, and only by being recognized as a member of the defense personnel would he have what he wanted.

"Incredible! Shit, your Regiment is a legend!" Thomas exclaimed, an awed smile plastered on his face. Nash didn't listen to him, staring into the void.

[Nash Dularfull - Evacuation spot: 5 347 214 789/5 347 214 789]

' Five hundred million people leaving... Maybe I'll survive, given the lack of attack or anything of the sort...There was that earthquake, but it looked like a one-time event,' Nash thought, his lips pinched. The "Sowers of the End" announcement sounded so ominous it had made him quite worried, but it seemed like it was nothing. All for the best, anyway. The less trouble, the more chance he would survive.

Thomas puffed his cheeks as he mimed explosions coming out from his ears with his hands.

"Sht, you guys are the main example given in textbooks! I swear, I am so proud to have met you—" Time seemed to slow down as Nash heard a sharp whistle coming from the hospital's exterior. He turned his head just in time to witness the wall explode in the shrapnel of metal and concrete, the projectiles colliding with Thomas' face, pressing against it with such might that it made the friendly soldier explode like a watermelon, splashing all of its contents over Nash. The young man fell on the side from the shockwave, lucky to have Thomas tank the brunt of the explosion for him. Nash's ears were ringing loudly, dust blocking his line of sight as he struggled to recover his equilibrium, his whole body numb and trembling from the shock. Nash glanced at Thomas' head, the sight of the bloody mess making him even sicker than how he felt back when he killed that goblin. He fell on his knees, puking anything that was still left in his stomach, mostly bile and water.

"T—This can't be real, this can't be real..." Nash's mind which had managed to recover somewhat thanks to Thomas' friendly intervention spun back out of control, the young man trembling and crying from the pain. He could almost see himself becoming friends with the soldier, with his likable and outgoing personality, as well as his talent for cheering people up. There was a certain thing in him that simply radiated goodness. And now, he was gone, his head crushed against the ground by a fucking piece of rock and metal. The ringing in his ears slowly dissipated, letting him hear the blaring alarms of the hospital going off, as well as a panicked voice shouting through the speakers. Nash focused on the voice, trying to understand what it meant.

"...Artille...! I repeat...Help....!"

Nash's ears cleared out entirely, letting him decrypt the entire message.

"We're enduring an artillery barrage, I repeat, artillery barrage ongoing! Please head underground! The army won't be able to help you!!" The voice shouted over the sound of gunfire and explosions. Nash wiped the tears off his face, before giving one last glance toward Thomas. He scowled, his nose creased and his teeth clenched tight as he grabbed the identification plates from the soldier's neck and ripped them off, pushing them into his pockets. He couldn't honor the man by giving him a proper funeral, but he'll at least put those dog tags somewhere to be seen for the soldier to be remembered.

"He didn't deserve such a death...Fuck...Fuck!" Nash screamed as he punched the cold hard ground. He struggled to catch his breath, ignoring the blood leaking from his hands as his racing heart slowed down. Explosions were constantly shaking the hospital, but for the time being Nash couldn't give a damn. He slowly pushed himself from the ground on trembling legs, stumbling as an explosion occurred close to his position. He held himself on the wall and took out his revolver from his holster, his eyes filled with a cold rage. He looked through the smoldering wall that just exploded, noticing small meteorites heading straight for the hospital.

"Meteorites and not missiles...?" Nash mumbled with a frown, his eyes red from having cried a few seconds ago. He shook his head and ran away from Thomas' body, crouching or dropping to the ground each time he heard the traumatizing whistle of the meteorites shooting through the skies. He found a few additional corpses riddled with debris or crushed under a collapsed wall or ceiling, blood practically covering every single part of his path. But despite that, Nash kept on going forward, refusing to look back. He couldn't look back.

He could only go forward. The cold voice of the Evacuation System, it that was indeed its name, rang inside his head as if mocking him, its words echoing repeatedly like a music one can't forget.

[Passive skill unlocked: Indomitable Will of a Lost World's Fallen Soldier]

[Nash Dularfull - Evacuation spot:4 247 598 753]