On September 14th, 2088, my life was ruined.

Cracks that broke into portals, that lead to god-knows-where, littered the city. We now call these portals ‘Rifts’, and out of these rifts came ginormous beasts that we so lovingly call ‘Monsters’. These monsters gnashed, gashed, and bashed anyone and anything unlucky enough to be in their immediate vicinity, and let me tell you; they were merciless! They didn’t give two-gulping-goldfish about who you were, what you did, or even why you did it. 

I once saw a guy sacrifice his wife and daughter in some stupid hope to get on the monster’s good side. The mother was screaming at the father while their eleven-year-old daughter was in tears. The monster, however, seemed to find the whole thing amusing and played along. 

Long-story-short, it ate them all. 

During this whole entire chaotic fiasco, ordinary humans started to gain unworldly powers that seemed to prove effective against those dingleberry hooligans. We call these fatbats, ‘Awakeners’. I know, sounds like every dungeon crawling manga ever created, but bear with me for a little bit. 

These dumb-bass-lovers have some kind of a god-like system that helps them grow stronger, but sadly not smarter. Anyways, they defeated the monsters while being led by a handful of ‘S’ classes. Cocky little turtle-humpers who’s egos are higher than the sky itself. 

With the battle won, and new powers acquired, the human race started to cause their own anarchy. Typical, am I right? Long-story-short, the government, or at least what was left, took control and installed some new laws and such, which managed to bring some form of peace into our newly updated world. Yay for the government, or whatever.

Anyways, the reason why I say that my life was ruined on that day, is because of five simple things.

1. My apartment building collapsed with my wife and unborn child inside of it. I couldn’t even receive their bodies to give them a proper burial…

2. Unlike most of those around me, I was not lucky enough to get Awakened, but that wasn’t a problem until…

3. My younger brother did get awakened, and as an ‘S’ class. I was actually proud of him, until he rubbed it into my face and laughed while kicking me to the curb when I asked for help. That ungrateful little lawnmuncher…

4. I can’t get a job since most jobs nowadays requires you to be an awakener or have some kind of college education, both of which I lack.

5. I’m currently bleeding out while some type of spider monster lets her creepy little spiderlings slowly feed off of me. Though, I can’t completely put the blame on that ding-dong date. This was partially my fault too, but sugarplum fairy, did this hurt!

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After that day, I had no choice but to become a ‘Rifter’. Basically, you know how beyond the strange portal there’s this dungeon that you have to clear out before the monsters inside decides to say “Flip-Floop this world!” and cause mayhem in the middle of the city, and how most people with powers gain profit by diving into those dungeons and clearing them while selling monster parts, ore, and other things? 

Yeah, I’m not that. 

Those guys are just your typical awakeners just trying to survive. Rifters are mostly made up of non-awakeners who dive/sneak into dungeons, which may or may not be illegal, and borrow any loot that we may be able to get our hands on before the government secures the area, and the awakeners begins their dive. Which, again, may or may not be illegal. 

Either way, I flubbered big time. I was carefully harvesting some spider webs that was created by these monsters, they can be made into high-quality silk if sold to the right craftsman, but was interrupted by a fellow rifter. A built looking guy with dark hair hidden under a black beanie. His eyes shone with nothing but desperation. Having two rifters who are nothing but strangers in each other's eyes, is the same as having two greedy thieves who has no affiliations to each other but may still need one another. You either fight, share, or stab each other in the back. 

Guess which one body builder Bob chose…

That bumbling blueberry decided to alert these disgusting monsters by slamming me into their webs. Afterwards, he spared no time in snatching up my goodie bag, and bolting for the entrance. In all honesty, Swiper the Fox would be proud, and so wouldn’t Thomas the Tank Engine. Not because of Bob the Builder, but because of Zoomy the Spider Monster who rammed into me seconds later like a speeding train on sugardust. Who then proceeded to stab me in the gut as if I was actually going to get up. 

Now I’m here. Dying. Becoming nourishment for the youngins.

I wanted to laugh. I didn’t know why, or even if I could, but I just wanted to so badly. I wanted to shout, to scream, to laugh, but most of all, I wanted to cry. Cry for my precious family who died long ago, cry for my baby brother who abandoned me, and cry for being so alone and scared and just plain old hurt. 

‘......at lea.st…I..c..an see……the…..m……no……..’