COMMANDER JORIN RAYTHE’S JOURNAL, LAST EARTH DEFENCE FORCE
One of the last known commanders who fought in the Dark Age
Salvaged Journal Entry #1: Day 1,000 of the Cataclysm
If someone had told me years ago that I’d be penning this account in the ruins of what once was our world, I would have laughed them off. After all, we were soldiers, trained to defend against the worst of humanity. Never did it cross my mind that we’d be fighting against the planet itself and losing.
My name is Commander Jorin Raythe, and I write this not for me, but for the next poor soul who stumbles upon these journals. Perhaps they’ll learn something from our mistakes. Or maybe they’ll just shake their head and wonder how we ever let it get this bad.
The rumors started as whispers of a giant rising from the deep waters near Australia. A serpent, they said, long and scaled like something out of a nightmare. The coastal towns sent their first distress calls days before we had a full understanding of what was happening. Back then, we thought it was panic, an overreaction from an already crumbling society. But when the calls stopped, we knew something had gone terribly wrong.
Then the Serpent came ashore.
We weren’t prepared. Not for the sight, not for the destruction. It towered over skyscrapers, its black scales shimmering in the sunlight, devouring entire cities in a matter of hours. Our forces scrambled to intercept, but what were bullets and tanks to something that could crush buildings with a flick of its tail?
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Salvaged Journal Entry #13 The Fall of Brisbane
There were survivors, of course, though their stories were as harrowing as they were hard to believe.
One survivor, an old fisherman from Brisbane, recounted his ordeal to me. “We saw it from the docks,” he said. “This thing... it rose from the ocean like it owned the place. The waves alone were enough to sink half the harbor. Then it started... feeding. I saw it swallow entire ships whole. I didn’t even hear the screams; they just vanished. The water, the sea, it... it turned red.”
Brisbane was the first to fall. The Serpent’s massive form was unstoppable, cutting through buildings and infrastructure as if they were made of paper. By the time we arrived, there was little left to save. T
he few who had escaped told tales of chaos and despair. “I ran for my life,” a young woman named Clara told me, tears streaming down her face. “I watched my friends get pulled under the waves. They didn’t even have time to scream.”
As night fell, the city became a tomb, filled with the echoes of a once-thriving community, now silenced. All that remained were the haunting memories of laughter and life, overshadowed by the horror of the Serpent’s feast.
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Salvaged Journal Entry #23 The Descent on Sydney
Then came Sydney. With Brisbane’s fall, we hoped to regroup and strengthen our defenses. But we underestimated the Serpent’s hunger. The once-bustling harbor transformed into a feeding ground, the iconic Sydney Opera House a mere snack in the creature's wake. Survivors spoke of panic and chaos, of the streets filled with water and despair.
“I was in the opera house,” an old musician named Robert recounted, his voice trembling. “We were rehearsing when the screams began. We thought it was a prank at first, but then the water surged in, and we realized it was real.
I barely made it out.” His eyes darted around, as if expecting the Serpent to emerge from the shadows. “It was like the world had gone mad. We were no longer safe anywhere.”
With each city that fell, our resources dwindled. As the Last Earth Defence Force, we had always relied on our training and weapons. But against a creature of such scale and power, we found ourselves outmatched.
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Salvaged Journal Entry #3: Day 1,015 of the Cataclysm
We lost over a hundred thousand men and women trying to halt the Serpent’s rampage, and that was just the beginning. While we were still licking our wounds from the devastation in Australia, the next calamity reared its ugly head in France.
They called it the Kraken, not as monstrous as the serpent or even the undead filth that I have seen reported from asia.
It was for the first time a normal monstrosity.
The Krakens didn’t come from the sea like the Serpent but burst from rifts that opened deep in the ground. Paris was the first to fall. The city of lights turned dark within hours. A soldier who survived the Paris attack managed to make it back to base, half-crazed with fear. His account still haunts me.
“The ground- it opened up. We thought it was an earthquake, but then something - something with tentacles- came out. It was like the earth gave birth to this... this monstrosity. The tentacles, they... they just wrapped around everything. It didn’t matter if it was buildings, people, or cars - everything got crushed. I saw it pull people underground, and we could hear them screaming, screaming for hours after the city was gone.”
The Kraken’s attack wasn’t just about destruction; it was like it was reclaiming the land. Where it slithered, the earth shifted, mutated, reshaping itself like the planet was welcoming the creature back into its fold. Our cities became unrecognizable landscapes - jagged, broken, and drowned beneath the sea.
I do not know who named this horror Kraken.
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Salvaged Journal Entry #31 The Fall of Madrid
As we struggled to comprehend the horror of the Kraken, news arrived of another calamity. Madrid had fallen. A survivor, a young architect named Elena, shared her tale with me, her eyes wide with disbelief. “I was at home when it happened,” she said, shaking. “The ground began to rumble, and I thought it was just a tremor. But then, the streets... they split open. The Kraken emerged, tentacles flailing, and everything turned to chaos. I grabbed my daughter and ran, but... but I lost her in the crowd. I can’t go back. I can’t face the ruins of what was once my home.”
Her words struck me like a blow to the gut. Cities we had once sworn to protect were now graveyards, filled with the remnants of our failures.
Salvaged Journal Entry #54 The Last Stand in Berlin
The military decided to make a stand in Berlin, hoping that the remnants of our forces could gather for one final assault against the Kraken. I had fought in countless battles, but nothing prepared me for the sight of the city as it fell.
We fortified ourselves in the Reichstag, but the Kraken was relentless. I can still hear the screams of my comrades as they fell, one by one. It was chaos. I had a soldier beside me, a brave young man named David, who yelled, “Commander! We can’t hold out much longer!” But it was too late. The Kraken was upon us.
In the end, we fought hard, but it didn’t matter. The creature swept through the city, but we were able to kill it, terrible losses we have sustained. But we killed a calamity, maybe we can take back earth.
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Salvaged Journal Entry #7 Day 1,030 of the Cataclysm
If the Serpent and the Kraken weren’t enough, the mutations spread across the globe. Animals, once familiar, became predators, unlike anything we’d ever seen. Trees moved, forests hunted. I’ve heard of entire platoons vanishing in the Black Forest of Germany, snatched up by sentient vines and dragged into the shadows.
One such report came from a survivor in the Amazon, where the rainforest had come alive literally.
“The trees - they walked. I swear to you, Commander, they walked. We set up camp one night, thinking we were safe, and the next morning, half our squad was gone. The trees had moved. One minute, we were surrounded by a familiar jungle, the next... the forest itself had rearranged. It was like the Earth was playing tricks on us.”
Salvaged Journal Entry #58 The Rise of the Leviathan
While we were still reeling from the Kraken’s devastation, whispers spread of a new calamity, a creature we’ve started calling the Leviathan. Unlike the others, it was a beast born of the ocean depths, a creature more massive than the Serpent. It killed and devoured the serpent. The whole ocean was dyed red from the serpent’s blood
A naval officer, Captain Maria, reported, “It was like a floating mountain, coming at us through the storm. We had deployed our fleet to the Pacific, thinking we could halt its advance. But when it breached the waves, it was like watching a natural disaster unfold. We didn’t stand a chance.”
The Leviathan’s attacks were swift and brutal, decimating our naval forces before turning its attention to the coastal cities. With each loss, our morale diminished. We had entered a state of despair, our numbers dwindling.
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Salvaged Journal Entry #9 Day 1,060 of the Cataclysm
As I write this, I wonder if there’s any point in continuing. The Last Earth Defence Force is no more. What remains of us is scattered across the globe, fighting and losing battles against enemies that shouldn’t exist. My comrades are dead. The world I once knew is gone. And yet, I’m still here, writing this damn journal, hoping that maybe, just maybe, someone will read it and understand.
Understand what, though? That we were outmatched? That humanity’s arrogance led us to this? Or that the planet, in its own way, is reclaiming what was always rightfully hers?
I’ve heard rumors of more survivors, of small pockets of resistance still holding out in remote locations. But I wonder how long they can survive against the onslaught of the calamities. Each day, I hear fewer voices, see fewer faces, and feel more lost.
This is my final entry. If you find these journals, know this: The calamities were more than just beasts. They were nature’s response to our excesses, a reckoning we could never have anticipated. If there’s a chance for humanity to rise again, it will be through humility, unity, and an understanding that we are but a small part of this world.
I leave this record behind, hoping it serves as a warning for future generations. We may have failed, but they must not.
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