‘People say life gives you lemons, but we gave ourselves lemons. It is already known that the fruit we know of as lemon is crossbred by our ancestors using a bitter orange and a citron. Amazing, right?’

As he thought about this, Erwin was walking in the bustling streets of Central City. It was

December 21, 2032, and the holiday spirit was in full swing. As he walked, he couldn't help but notice the bright Christmas lights adorning every street corner and the holiday advertisements playing on every television in every house around the city. Giant holographic billboards showed Christmas sales, and restaurants showed a Santa version of their mascots.

‘The colorful lights, the giant inflatable snowmen, and the glittering tinsel all came together to create an atmosphere—very different from last year's Christmas’ Erwin thought, relieved while

taking notes in his notebook.

While walking alongside the road, Erwin heard a shout from the other side. "Erwin!" yelled a guy.

Erwin turned towards the east side of the road and saw his best friend.

‘Oh, how I missed you, Nick. I missed you so much that I wanted to smack your pretty face’ Erwin thought, sarcastically.

Nick Azami is a Japanese - American who is 5'9" and taller than Erwin.

He has broad shoulders and a fit physique, pale, smooth skin contrasting with his striking blue eyes and black hair. He wore a French coat overlapping the lovely blue and fancy business suit. And here he goes, crossing the road towards me...

Erwin watched with amusement as Nick started to dash across the busy street towards him. The traffic was heavy, and the road was crowded with honking cars and rushing pedestrians.

As he approached Erwin, Nick noticed the dumb look on his friend's face. "You want to smack my face, don't you?" Nick asked with a smile as he patted Erwin on the back.

"Oh! I wouldn't think of that!" Erwin said sarcastically and with a smirk.

"And here I am, just wanting to catch up," Nick replied. "It's been a while since we hung out. I

wish you could've invited me, dumbass!"

"Oh, I don't know. You should ask Trisha if she'll let you accept my invitations to my stupid parties!" Erwin said as he scribbled away in his notebook.

"Ouch... I'd rather not, haha..."

Upon closer inspection, Nick looked at Erwin, wondering why his friend was still wearing the

school uniform even though it was already the start of Christmas break.

Erwin Forteza was a third-year college student. His striking crimson hair, light tan skin, and piercing brown eyes always stood out from the crowd. On this particular day, he wore his university uniform—a simple white long-sleeved polo shirt, navy blue necktie, cream suit jacket, and matching chocolate brown vest and slacks.

"Hey, why are you still wearing our school uniform? You are very conspicuous, you know that, right?" Nick finally asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

Erwin looked up from his notebook and gave Nick a small smile. "I had work to finish in the

student council," he explained.

The faculty and staff approved the solutions needed to fix the

school facilities, especially the medical technology students' restroom on the 5th floor somewhere, and I was arranging papers; It was a pain. You, of all people, should know how. annoying it is."

Nick nodded, understanding the gravity of Erwin's role in the student council. As the consultant, Erwin had many responsibilities, especially when the school was closed to students.

At 5'8", he was average height for Lemuria, but his confident demeanor and impressive academic record made him stand tall among his peers.

"Sounds like hell, but don't you think it's time to take a break? Let's eat, my treat!"

Erwin chuckled and closed his notebook, "And there goes the rich guy flaunting his riches!"

"Shut up! You're as rich as I am; I just decided to be generous here!" Nick said, laughing.

Nick sighed, "You know, this reminds me of the events that happened two years ago..."

Erwin looked at him curiously, "What now?"

Nick took a deep breath and began his tale. "When two earths collided, the sea king of the world-"

"Bro, you better shut up or else..."

"Pretty harsh, huh... Come on, remember?"

----------------------------------------

𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭.

𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 on.

"𝘏𝘦𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶," 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘶𝘱?" 𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬'𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.

"𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸..." 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. "𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘶𝘵."

𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥, "𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯. 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘐 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶."

𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯. "𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪-"

𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬'𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, "𝘐'𝘮 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯!"

𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦; 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴... 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵..."

"𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸," 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. "𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸? 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦.”

𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺.

"𝘉𝘳𝘰... 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘻𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯; 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵?"

"𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳," 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥. “𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳?"

𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥. "𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰? 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦. 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵!"

"𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩... 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 stocked 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘥𝘪𝘱𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵..."

𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥. "𝘐... 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘥... 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 you 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰."

𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. "𝘞𝘰𝘢𝘩... 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺? 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘩? 𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨-"

"𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰... 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳?"

"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴... 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵."

"𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭, 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦..."

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴:

On 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 27, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 is 2030, 𝘢 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 9 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 9 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘐𝘜; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 5𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺, 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳-𝘶𝘱𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮, 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 2𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦.

𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘧𝘧. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦.

"𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦..." 𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥

"𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥? 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭..."

"𝘈𝘯 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦, 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢 𝘊𝘊𝘛𝘝 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦."

"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?" 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 5𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳. 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳,𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘊𝘛𝘝 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦,𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

"𝘞𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥... 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?" 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥

"𝘐 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦?"

𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯...

*𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱*

*𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱*

𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨,

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘴𝘰𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸. 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘦 5𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳, 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴."

"𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥? 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯?" 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢.

"𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯," 𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥.

"𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴?"

"𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘊𝘛𝘝 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 @ 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵."

"𝘖𝘶𝘤𝘩... 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴..." 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘝𝘗𝘕 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭, 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦,𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 @ 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴."

"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘊𝘛𝘝?"

"𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘊𝘛𝘝 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘢𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴' 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺. 𝘏𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!" 𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥.

"𝘈𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴' 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦.𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳-𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦."

"𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦," 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥

"𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳-𝘶𝘱𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥'𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦."

"𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 like that?!" 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥

𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 a hundred 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 5𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

----------------------------------------

"Do you plan to work in the police force after graduation?" asked Nick, looking at Erwin with a curious expression on his face.

Erwin paused for a moment, staring off into the distance. He had never considered a career in law enforcement before, but the idea of working as a detective suddenly seemed appealing but...

"Dude, I am a literature student..." Erwin said.

"You could still get a license..." Nick replied. "And besides, you're always reading those detective novels; funnily, you even do things yourself."

Erwin thought about it for a moment. He had always been fascinated by the works of Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie; he had read any novel he could get his hands on.

"Thinking about the future is a hassle," Erwin said.

"Speaking of hassle," Nick replied. "How's romance?"

"What about it?" Erwin replied.

"Don't give me that 'what about it?' question. You know romance, love, relationships. Have you tried confessing yet?"

Erwin sighed. "No, not really. I've been too busy to even think about romance."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Come on, man. When Trisha and I started dating, we always discussed your pathetic relationship with Mei!"

Erwin rolled his eyes. "Mei and I were just friends. I never had any-"

Nick interrupted Erwin with a chuckle. "Sure, sure. Tell yourself that you never had romantic feelings for her."

"Whatever, man," Nick grinned mischievously. "I have a surprise for you."

Erwin raised an eyebrow. "A surprise? What kind of surprise?"

Uh-oh... Erwin thought.

Nick pulled out a wallet from his pocket and handed it to Erwin.

"Open it and find out," he said.

Erwin felt the Wallet in his fingertips and concluded it was made of high-quality leather. Nick typically uses these kinds of worn-out wallets.

"The wallet is a gift from my father when I graduated high school," Nick said, predicting Erwin's thoughts.

"That aside, check what's inside."

Erwin opened it, and inside was a small keychain with the words

"A portal to a small world" engraved on it.

Erwin looked up at Nick in confusion. "What in the world is this?"

"It's a key to my cabin in the woods," Nick explained. "I thought we could take a break from the city and spend the weekend there. But..."

"But?"

"You could use it to take Mei into the cabin if you like..." Erwin smiled.

"That sounds amazing, but I want to decline; I have plans. What if you invite some of the boys, and we could take a break from the city and spend the weekend there?"

"Oh... Good idea, dimwit, and also, you have your own plans, huh... You and your lies,"

Nick smirked.

"It's been three years since you and Mei had something going on; it's about time!"

"I guess??"

"Well, if she accepts whatever you are planning, that's good! But if she doesn't, then that's great! We could get drunk in the cabin hangout!" Nick laughed maniacally.

"Why does it seem like you are more supportive of me getting rejected rather than accepted?"

Erwin said in an expressionless manner.

"It's more fun that way!" Nick smirked. "You better chug the vodka down and strip your clothes when you get your heart shattered!"

"I'll make you strip in front of the others when we become a couple!" Erwin retorted.

"Oh! There it is! The confidence!"

"Shut up!" Erwin shouted out of embarrassment, leading the people around them to look.

They remembered—we were talking in a busy street! Immediately noticing, they became embarrassed and walked away at twice the pace of their average walking speed.

----------------------------------------

The two young men slowed when they noticed they were far from where they originally were.

"Idiot! Do not shout that loud." Nick whispered, strolling beside his friend.

"I can't help it; you were teasing me," Erwin whispered.

They arrived at Central Street, located in the center of Central City, which makes it the busiest street in the city. Filled with 20-story buildings and fast-food restaurants, there's bound to be a lot of foot traffic.

"Erwin, I am hungry!” He exaggeratedly said.

“Before we go home, we should grab something to eat immediately," Nick suggested.

“...”

"Erwin?" Nick asked, and then Nick looked around.

"Hey Nick, what's happening?"

Both noticed the police force stopping the crowd from approaching the demolished building. Its glass has been shattered, and the debris is massive and scattered around the building. Completely unrecognizable due to its state. People were running around frantically, trying to help those who had been injured.

With a close look, blood, guts, and limbs are everywhere; it's a horrifying scene.

"Help us! Oh god! My leg... aaaaa!"

The flesh where the leg was torn is visible, blood gushing from the visible veins, and the man's face is clearly distorted from pain.

Erwin and Nick walked towards the area, the latter asking an older male in the crowd for information on what had happened. With a closer look, Erwin thought—it's a familiar face.

"Excuse me. What happened here?"

The person answered. "An idiot set up a powerful bomb, exploding inside the central research facility of the SSO."

Erwin and Nick exchanged looks of horror. They both knew what the SSO was and how important it was to the city's safety.

SSO is also known as the Science and Supernatural Organization. The organization was founded by the Department of Science and Supernatural or DOSS. Both institutions were formed to protect society from abnormal events like last year's incident.

Erwin spoke up, "Are there any casualties? Has the culprit been apprehended?"

To which the stranger replied, "No. According to intel, around six died, including the suspect. Fifty injured, and three people are deemed missing."

Erwin felt a pang of worry as he observed the chaos around him.

His mouth dried up, and while

his forehead was sweating, he felt something was up in his guts.

"Something is happening..." He snapped his fingers, starting to think.

‘It's that time of the year, and this explosion is happening... Why would the culprit only-‘

"Why would the culprit only target SSO? Right, Erwin?" Nick interrupted Erwin's thought process.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

‘No way!’

"Sir! DOSS is in danger! You have to."

Erwin felt a twist in his stomach and his hands shaking from a fearful realization. Limbs are about to fly off again, and blood is about to spill for another time.

*boom*

Suddenly, a loud boom caught their attention, and they all turned to find it coming from a building not far away.

"Hurry!" Erwin shouted.

As they ran toward the source of the explosion, they could see smoke and debris flying everywhere.

The sound of car alarms and sirens filled the air, and people were screaming and running.

When they arrived at the scene, they saw windows shattering, and the building's facade was almost destroyed; debris and flames were everywhere, the air was thick with smoke, and they could barely see beyond the building. As they made their way through the building, they found several people who were trapped under the rubble.

"Move out!" an emergency personnel arriving on the scene shouted.

As Erwin was about to rush and try to participate in saving the trapped people, Nick pulled his

wrist, "Erwin, stop! You are going to get yourself in trouble!"

"Now's not the time to be selfish, Nick!" Erwin's forehead wrinkled, and his eyes are as fierce as the fire around them.

It was then that Erwin's eyes widened as he realized- the colossal explosion didn't come from the building that was burning... It didn't come from the DOSS building, but instead, it came from the building beside it!

‘Two... No, three buildings exploded!’

A stranger pulled Erwin's collar and threw him aside.

*thump*

Erwin fell to the ground, and the stranger said, "You boys better run, or you might end up getting

caught up in this mess! Don't meddle with our business!"

"Who the hell are you to tell us that?! People are dying!" Erwin shouted

"Erwin! Stop messing around, and let's go!" Nick, exasperated, pulled Erwin up with great strength.

"Remember my name, Edward Easton! You! From the house of Forteza, scramble!"

Edward is a tall man, taller than most of the people in the crowd. His dark brown skin blended with his brown trench coat over his plain white t-shirt. Paired with black jeans, he wore brown

boots and finished the outfit with a brown scarf tied in a sophisticated knot.

After he said his name, Edward rushed to go near the scene.

Erwin's hands shook, and his mouth felt the dust of the air. He bit his lips until the liquid gushing from the bite wound tasted metallic and salty; in other words, it was blood.

"Let's go..." Nick said in a low voice. "Can you still run?"

"I can... let's get out of this place," Erwin said, his voice trembling.

Nick nodded.

----------------------------------------

They ran away from the site and stopped shortly after. They smelled like dust and were panting and sweating. The adrenaline was still pumping through their veins as they tried to catch their breath.

They had just witnessed something they shouldn't have seen. Erwin checked his phone to see their location and how far the two men had run, and he had to make sure they were far away from the site.

"Are we far enough now?" Erwin asked, catching his breath.

Erwin looked at his phone and opened his maps. They had run for several blocks and were now in a busy city center. Reports of the incident are heard everywhere, but no one is panicking, and businesses are still ongoing.

They leaned against a nearby wall, trying to regain their composure. They had to take time to process everything that had happened. But...

"I'm hungry..."

"I agree..." Erwin replied, "This is similar to what happened last year, the -"

"Bombing incident of 2031," Nick iterated.

Both men started walking again until they reached a fast-food restaurant they frequented, and

despite what happened, they were both excited to eat at Bunny Foods.

Bunny Foods is a small restaurant on the outskirts of the city. As they walked towards the restaurant, they couldn't help but notice the ridiculous Christmas bunny-themed decorations adorning the place.

"Ah! Bunny Foods and its quite ridiculous Christmas Bunny theme decorations..." Nick chirped, amused by the sight.

Erwin chuckled and replied, "Well, it's the holidays. I guess they're just trying to get into the festive spirit."

They were greeted by more Christmas Bunny decorations as they entered the restaurant. The walls were covered with Handmade Bunny-themed Christmas lights and stockings, and even the tables had little Bunny-shaped ornaments. The waiters were dressed in Christmas costumes, with fluffy

ears and cotton tails.

"That's just over the top even for Bunny Foods..." Nick muttered.

Bunny Food is a restaurant located safe from all those vast offices, which gives it good foot traffic.

The restaurant is small on the left side, with a parking lot and a small area for ordering take-out.

The windows are long and wide enough to see the people enjoying their food.

The automatic glass doors open occasionally, ringing a little bell by the door, notifying that people are coming in and

out.

Lining up at the counter, Nick asked. "What are you going to eat?"

"An XL cheeseburger, large fries, and a large chocolate float." Atlas snickered.

"Well, I will order the same thing. After all of that walking and running, I'm starving."

The two of them ordered, and the cashier was shocked.

The XL cheeseburger is their most enormous; people with normal appetites need help finishing it.

After ordering, they were given a number indicating their turn to serve the food, so they waited.

While waiting for the food, they searched for a vacant table in the restaurant.

As they were searching for vacant tables, they spotted two people...

"Hey! Isn't that..."

A girl sits on the sofa by the window, used in the fast-food restaurant rather than the actual chairs.

The girl is 5'7", an inch shorter than Erwin. She is fair-skinned, with a slim body, long black hair,

and a cute face. She wears a blue leather jacket over her casual blue polo shirt, denim, and a dark blue scarf around her neck. It is Mei Watanabe, the Chinese–Japanese woman who stole Erwin's heart.

In front of her is a glass table, and on the other seat, another girl is present, Trisha.

Trisha Cortez is a woman with a perfect body. She is the same height as Erwin and has curly

blonde hair. Her eye color was blue, which made her look much more gorgeous. Her outward appearance rivals the other top candidates in the modeling world in Lemuria. Nick's girlfriend. The blonde-haired woman is wearing a checkered formal jacket overlapping the black blouse. Her blue jeans complement the Uggs boots.

Seeing his friend's nervousness while grinning, Nick said, "Why don't we sit closer to them?"

Erwin hesitated momentarily but then agreed; they walked over to Mei and Trisha's table.

But as Erwin was walking, he bumped into a server, and the glass fell down the tray, making a splash everywhere and the glass...

*smash*

It smashed into pieces, and shards scattered everywhere on the floor.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Erwin immediately apologized.

Standing around 5'8", the waitress wears Bunny Food's Christmas costume. A name tag on the left side of her shirt says, 'Claire.'

Claire immediately rushed and arrived with a mop, broom, and a pan to gather the shards, and immediately warned Erwin, "Please be careful next time..." she said sternly. After gathering up the shards and she finished mopping the floor, she immediately left leaving Erwin, dumbfounded.

When she left, someone exclaimed in shock. "Hey, guys!"

Looking at the direction where the voice came from, Erwin thought ‘-It's Trisha.’

“Hey, Trish." Erwin greeted the two friends as they approached the blonde girl. "How come you guys are eating together this late at night?"

"I could say the same; why are you both here?" Trisha asked, her face contorting in confusion.

"Well, long story. We were searching for a place to sit. Since you guys are sitting over here, can we sit here too?" Nick politely asked, being friendly.

Trisha nodded, smiling. "Sure. When Mei and I saw you guys, we planned to invite you both to sit

with us anyway."

"We are not disturbing anything, right?" Erwin asked.

"No, it is fine. We would love to have a conversation with the two fine gentlemen before us," Mei said while smiling.

"Ah, okay then."

Mei transferred to Trisha's side, leaving Nick and Erwin to sit where Mei previously was.

"Hmm, 'fine gentlemen,' huh? So, you're a fine gentleman?" Nick whispered to his best friend with

a grin on his face.

Erwin said, emotionless. "Hey!"

----------------------------------------

As they were waiting for the food, Trisha spoke. "Why are you guys here?"

"We came here to eat, obviously," Nick rolled his eyes but smirked.

All three stared at the black-haired male. "Nick, drop it, or I'll kick your ass before I go home!"

Trisha requested.

"Not my ass~" Nick retorted in an annoyingly cutesy voice.

"Fuck..." Trisha exclaimed.

"Fine, Erwin here had work to do at school, and I was just helping with the business at a branch

company. We just met up on the way home, stumbling on an incident along the way," Nick

explained seriously.

Then Mei nodded, "I heard about the incident at Central Street. It was featured in the news and on

live earlier."

"Yes, the Incident!" Erwin exclaimed, and then...

He blinked...

...

...

Then, out of nowhere, Erwin's sight is blocked by a strange darkness consuming him. Erwin looked around, but he cannot see anything. Seconds later, he can suddenly see. "What?"

The whole restaurant was left in ruins, complete devastation. Windows were shattered, and tables and chairs were wrecked. He stood up, looking around, his body trembling. Hands were severed, and heads were decapitated. Pools of blood throughout the floor, not a dry spot anywhere. Erwin cringed at the smell of rotting corpses and blood.

"What is this?!" Erwin yelled, panicking and scared.

"What is this?! I don’t understand! I was just sitting with my friends!" Erwin shouted, holding his head with both his hands.

Then his eyes grew wide, "Where are they?! Nick! Trisha! Mei!"

Erwin looked around, then slowly decided to look down; he was shaking uncontrollably.

‘Please, let it not be them.’

When his eyes reached the ground, he found a corpse. But it isn't his friends' bodies.

Although relieved, he was still not okay. He turned pale at the sight of the body by his feet; immediately jumping away, he stared nervously.

This corpse didn't have any blood around it, although it was rotten while wearing clothes and lying in a prone position. Looking at the back of the corpse, Erwin noticed that the hair was crimson, wearing a dark brown jacket and slacks. It had a red scar—

"No way!" Erwin finally realized. ‘But I am still …’

----------------------------------------

"Erwin!"

‘A voice?’ In the foggy darkness...

Trisha slapped Erwin's right cheek, "Erwin!"

"Ah!" Erwin exclaimed; in the blink of an eye, he saw his three friends.

"Erwin, what is wrong?"

"Huh?" Erwin looked around, coming into his sentence, vaguely remembering what had happened earlier.

"What …" Erwin paused. "… happened?"

"We were just talking about Mei's birthday. Seriously, are you okay?"

Mei became worried as she saw Erwin's state, ‘his scared eyes, and his pale skin’ Trisha thought.

The redhead tried but couldn't remember what happened a while ago, so he got confused. ‘Just … what the ...? Never mind. I will just try later’ he thought.

"I am okay. But her birthday? I thought we were talking about the incident earlier?"

"Incident? What incident?" Nick asked, face contorting in confusion.

Erwin answered, still disoriented. "The bombing earlier. It was featured in the news, right Trisha?"

"Huh? Was there such a thing?" Trisha stared, puzzled, causing Erwin to doubt as well.

Erwin cried out, "The one on Central Street!" The incident, a bombing!”

“Central street? Bombing?” Trisha asked.

Mei calmly stated, "Erwin... It's not bombing... It was a robbery..."

"Robbery?" Erwin's head tilted at his best friend, silently asking for help.

Nick scratched his head absentmindedly and looked at Erwin with worry. "Erwin, what are you talking about? A group of robbers held up a jewelry store on Central Street. What do you mean by bombing?"

Erwin shook his head, "But Nick! We were together earlier; what do you mean-"

*Badump*

"Ugh..." Little by little, his memories from that incident started to blur, and he was suffering from an indescribable pain, similar to his head being hit by a rock on his right temple.

"Guys, I think I am just tired..."

Everyone observed Erwin's expression, worried.

"I'm sorry I forced you to walk this far just to eat cheeseburgers," Nick apologized to Erwin.

Erwin looked at Nick, his memory of the explosion slowly replaced by new memories. But he was sure of one thing: Something was not right.

"Number 208, please proceed to the counter. The food is ready to be served," a robotic voice

announced from the speakers above.

"That is our number, Mei," Trisha said.

After the two girls got their food, it took the boys a while to get theirs. They were hungry. Later, the robotic voice announced their number; they just couldn't get up fast enough. Then, all four finally ate.

----------------------------------------

Soon after eating, they left the restaurant, planning to walk around the city before going home. Christmas lights and decorations were everywhere, and people were cheerful and full of hope.

The couple in front, Trisha and Nick, held hands as they walked ahead of the other two. Erwin glanced at Mei, looking at the beautiful decorations around them.

‘Ah, I am walking together with Mei. It has been a while, huh… Since I was appointed to join the student council.’ Erwin thought.

"Hey, it has been a while since we walked together, hasn't it?" Mei said with a gentle smile.

Erwin tried to act normally, "I was busy as a consultant. What do you think will happen if I neglect my responsibilities?"

"If I invite you to play games with me at my apartment like last time, will you go?" Mei added, "I missed those times, you know."

Erwin muttered, "Sorry. If there are things I need to do in business and school, I can't spare my time. Not even for you or Nick."

"You're stingy," Mei teased.

Erwin joked in a fake Shakespearean accent. "If I neglect mine responsibilities. I wouldst face thy punishment!"

"Stop acting like Nick; that guy's not even human at all," Mei said jokingly, causing Erwin to stop and lower his head. "Fine." he said as he smirked.

An awkward silence...

And then she smiled at Erwin and suggested, "Should I visit your apartment instead? I could help you with anything you needed to do. Then we could eat and play RPG or shooting games on your latest console."

Erwin thought about it: "It's not bad. It's not bad to rest and have fun for a while. It's also Christmas break, so it would be nice."

"That is settled then!" Mei smiled brightly and pumped her fist.

----------------------------------------

As they kept walking, the half - Asian, half-American male stopped to look at his watch.

"It's late. Should I accompany you, Trisha?" Nick said, noticing their other two friends walking up to them.

"Hmm," she thought for a moment. “Stay at my house tonight; my little brother and sister want to see you. How did you get them to like you? They are hard to please, you know?"

"You do not need to wonder." Nick smiled before continuing. "Setting that aside. I have no extra clothes with me right now."

Trisha shook her head, "You left some clothes at home."

"Clothes? Wait, I lost a bag of clothes last time, and I know I didn't leave my clothes there. So,

does that mean the bag is with you?" Nick inclined his head to the right, making sure.

She nodded, "You asked me to hold your bag, and you never took it back."

"What the…? You should have reminded me." he said, pursing his lips.

Trisha teased her boyfriend with a grin, "Aren't you becoming like Erwin lately? Forgetting the

important things?"

"Isn't that a little too cruel, Trish?!" Erwin cried out.

"Fine. You win." Nick scratched his head, smiling. “Hey, you two, Trish and I are going to go now.

Take care on your way home."

The couple faced the road, waiting for the traffic light to go red, and crossed using the pedestrian lane, leaving Erwin and Mei alone. But suddenly, Erwin's phone vibrated. "Wait for a minute. I have to check on something." The girl nodded, to which he smiled in reply.

Picking up his phone, he saw a message prompt. It came from Nick. ‘What is this?’ He thought.

"Hey, remember our conversation? You must confess. I am not forcing you, but it is better to let it out; you have been running away for a while now. Did using your responsibilities as an excuse help you? Remember this, searching for reasons to escape the inevitable will stop you from growing and moving forward. Why don't you muster some courage? We're rooting for you, Erwin. Go and conquer!"

After reading the message, he blankly stared at Mei.

"Is something wrong?" Mei asked, her face showing that she was baffled.

"Ah, it's nothing," he said, clearing his throat. “Let's go; it's late."

"Mm ..." She nodded, wondering if he was hiding something.

----------------------------------------

They rode a cab until they arrived at the quiet subdivision area, quite far from the busy and crowded Central Street. They continued to walk together since they were practically neighbors.

Mei broke the silence, "Do you still remember the promise we made?" She chirped.

"Promise? Now that I think about it, traveling all around the world takes work. I have to earn as much money as possible; it's hard to find a job nowadays."

"Since when did you have a money problem? Your family is one of the richest here in Lemuria." Mei grinned.

"Heh. Your family is better of than mine now, climbing up the ranks," he said, pointing his index

finger at her. “Mine only has enough money to support my needs and the business. Unlike you, Milady, your family has enough to spend luxuriously."

"No, we don't! We need to work hard, and we have debts to pay."

"Then traveling the world without problems will take a lot of work. If Milady is having problems with debt, I need help with my daily expenses here. I am helping the family business every night to acquire extra money for my needs."

That's reality. A big company does not mean earning vast profits daily; some businessmen earn nothing due to company expenses outweighing the profits. Some businesses get buried in debt, causing them to take profits later than expected. These types of big companies end up being sold sooner or later.

"Do you want to work together? Though others may fail, I think our success percentage is higher!"

Mei blurted out, shocking her companion.

"Maybe not..." Erwin rejected her proposal.

"Why?!" Mei exclaimed, worried. "Think about it... Please! Please?!"

"Hmm..." A partnership is a considerable risk. He thought, "Are you sure? It might cause some problems. Partnering with a company that is more insignificant than yours and considering that your company is handling a serious amount of debt."

"It will not." She paused. "Probably."

‘Carefree as usual...’ Erwin thought "Fine," he sighed, then smiled at her.

"Ah! This reminds me of the first time we met. Do you remember? You were so stingy. I was just

asking if I could borrow your handheld console."

"I didn't know you back then, so why would I? That was when we were in 6th grade, right?"

"Yep. You even called me a peasant; I was super annoyed. So, I grumbled, picked up a rock, and swoosh, it hit your head!" she recalled, giggling at the memory while she hit her head softly.

"My ached at that time, you know?” He groaned, rubbing at the spot as if he could still feel the pain. "We got called to the guidance office because of that, where we practically became enemies."

"And then… Something happened place later," the black-haired woman said, her features darkening.

Erwin remembered, clenching his fist.

"Erwin, thank you for accompanying me." Mei smiled; her earlier mood gone.

"You're welcome, and here we are." He gestured to the place appearing ahead, Mei's apartment.

They stopped before the white gate, momentarily pausing to study the structure. It looked costly.

"Thank you for tonight, I have to go now." Mei waved to him in farewell.

"You are welcome; take care, okay?" He said, looking at her as she started walking towards the gate.

‘Should I let her go? It is getting late, after all. I can just confess next time. It can wait.’

But his heart is pounding in his chest, and it seemed like he would regret it if he didn't make a move. He sighed, quickly remembering his Nick’s message.

‘I am an idiot! Why would I let this chance go again?! I have just been running away, making excuses. I need to do it now!’

"Mei, wait." Erwin approached Mei, accidentally raising his voice and startling the latter.

"You shocked me." She tilted her head, curious. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry, I know it is late, but …" Erwin paused. He was nervous, his heart beating hard. Looking down, he tried to summon a bit of courage. "May I borrow a bit of your time? There is a place I want to take you."

‘cute’ Mei thought as she observed the flustered Erwin, her cheeks turned red.

"Sure. You won't do anything, right? But just in case, you should know I learned Taekwondo," she said, hiding behind false bravado.

----------------------------------------

After walking a bit, Erwin led her to the woods by his apartment.

"Will you continue to trust me?"

Mei nodded in reply, her eyes sure. He smiled, thankful, then pointed at a hidden gap in the woods.

Gesturing in the general direction, he said, "Follow me."

"There's a gap in here?" she asked softly.

Erwin nodded and helped her through the gap. He pulled out his phone and quickly turned the flashlight on so they could see in the dark. They walked in comfortable silence until they saw the end of the forest, moonlight shining through it. As they stepped out into the light, Mei was in awe.

"Wow!"

A park, hidden in the middle of the forest, with a sparkling pond surrounding a working Greek- like marble fountain. Two white marble benches sit on both sides, and a single pine tree is on the north side. The moonlight made everything shine, giving it an ethereal effect.

88-BD37-B9-48-E2-4764-91-FA-A01-AAFC24011.webp [https://i.ibb.co/z7tPxbb/88-BD37-B9-48-E2-4764-91-FA-A01-AAFC24011.webp]

"This place is beautiful!" She said, eyes shining in wonder.

Erwin agreed.

"Why is it that I haven't heard that this place existed? And how did you find out?" She asked.

"My grandfather developed the area after buying it but never told anyone outside his family. The public was never notified about this park because he never wanted to keep it a secret. My grandfather and I always came here to care for everything, including that pine tree there."

Mei walks towards one of the marble benches on the park's west side and settles down.

Waving her hand, she invites Erwin to sit with her. He obliges. "There is more you want to say, right? Tell me," She says with a gentle smile.

Erwin nodded and continued to speak. "That pine tree was planted by my grandfather and me, and he told me a story there."

----------------------------------------

𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘈𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘰 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘻𝘢, 𝘢 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘶𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯-𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺, 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥. "𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘱𝘢, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦? 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥."

"𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯, 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴. 𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴." 𝘈𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, "𝘚𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦? 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘱𝘢, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶!"

𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥, "𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘵? 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘺, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺."

𝘈𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯'𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘐𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘈 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦." 𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. "𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵."

"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵?" Erwin 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 violate 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥. 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘐𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥."

"𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢!" 𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥.

"𝘠𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 and big 𝘰𝘶𝘳 f𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦."

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"Grandpa's face became a bit gloomy, and I could see that he had tears in his eyes," Erwin ended his story.

"This place is precious to you, huh? Especially that tree. The events that took place were messy, and he told a kid a story with murder and said the word “violate” in it. It's not exactly the best to say to a kid that the poor can't do anything but wish," Mei muttered.

"Because my grandfather was a realist. He knows that he cannot hide what is real to everyone. Although his realism contradicts some of his beliefs, especially the pine tree thing. Seriously, the old man is a man full of contradictions," he sighed.

"Does Nick know that this place exists?"

Erwin shook his head, signifying that Nick didn't know, and she continued. "What made you decide to bring me here now? We have been friends for so long and …?"

"Well," Erwin paused, his heart beating fast. “… about that…” He stood up from the bench and gestured towards the pine tree.

"Let's go there."

The crimson-haired male extended his hand for Mei to take, which she did. He noticed the fair- skinned girl blush, making him blush even more.

Gripping her hand, they walked together towards the pine tree. He didn't want to let go, but when they arrived, he had to so he could face her. Staring into her eyes, he spoke.

"Back then, I did not dare face this. I just kept running away, using every excuse in the book. I

thought I could just do it next time, but years have passed, and I could still not face it. Running away became tiring ... it became childish."

Atlas paused, observing the blushing woman in front of him.

"I like you."

His nervous heart pounded in his chest. His thoughts became blurry, so much so that he imagined the moonlight shining brighter. The cold air caused their breaths to show, making it more apparent that he was breathing heavily.

"Erwin …" Mei said softly.

"What is it?" Erwin absentmindedly scratched his cheek, nervous.

"…unfair."

"What do you mean?"

"The confession … it is unfair." She repeated.

"Why?"

Mei hits Erwin with a soft blow to his chest. "It is unfair!" Mei said softly, resting her head on

Erwin's chest and continuing to speak.

"The mood is nice; the place is romantic. If you ask any

woman out in perfect timing and a place as romantic as this, no woman will take this kind of situation coldly. It is too romantic."

"Hah. True, but not all women, though."

Mei stands up straight and walks away from Erwin. "Since it is unfair. I have to give my reply …hmm … tomorrow." She teased, winking as she blushed furiously.

"You are too cute. That wink should be illegal." Erwin murmured, blushing as well. Then he continued, "I do not need an instant reply. You can think about it and tell me soon. But if you say tomorrow, let's meet up here again."

"Not here. I will choose the place," Mei said with a gentle smile.

"Your choice," Erwin replied.

He silently escorted her back to her apartment, their faces beet red. When they finally arrived, Erwin spoke. "See you, Mei." Mei nodded and answered with a gentle smile and a soft voice. "Do not forget about tomorrow."

Then she went inside, leaving Erwin alone outside.

----------------------------------------

Erwin entered his apartment.

Although he stayed in the same subdivision as the person he had been in love with for years, they lived in different sections. A simple apartment with an old design located at their subdivision's street no. 28. Erwin leads a simple lifestyle, owning a 6-ft bookshelf, a desk, and a bed. On his desk are a laptop and a study lamp. Because he doesn't own a refrigerator, he only buys ingredients he needs for the day, cooking them on a cheap stove in the corner of his room. He lived luxuriously

in the past, but that part of him is gone.

Erwin sighed. "I forgot to buy bread for tomorrow morning."

Giving up, he turned his light off and lay on his bed. Minutes later, he picked up his phone and texted Nick about what had happened.

*Bzzt* *Bzzt*

Nick was calling, and Erwin answered it.

"Good job! I knew you could do it. I will wish you luck tomorrow. Now, can we sleep? It is already midnight. Seriously, I should remember to mute my phone when I sleep; it's causing me to panic when someone messages me. Good night." Nick rambled off.

"Tsk. Yeah. Goodnight, douche," Erwin said before he heard the click indicating the call ended.

"Seriously, he could have just read it when fully awake."

Erwin shut his phone down entirely so he would not be disturbed, and he just lay there, thinking about Mei's reply. He became excited, and his face hurt because he smiled too much.

‘It may be harmful to have my hopes up, but…’

Erwin remembered that Mei held his hand and leaned on his chest.

‘But I am confident that she likes me.’

He became serious.

‘Confident huh? I am also

convinced that 'that' happened.’

He remembered the vague memories in his head.

‘Why? Why is it so blurry?’

He then stood up and approached his desk. Sitting on his chair, he opened his laptop to search for the bombing. The faint memory in his head suggests that the bombing had happened and not a robbery.

"Everything I find says that it was a robbery. But why? Why does it feel off? What is so special about this? I can't understand," he murmured.

Then, he found an article titled, "December 16, 2032. A series of bombings happened at the

buildings of Central Street around 5:41 pm and 7:43 pm..."

“This!” He shouted.

"This is the most trusted news website on the internet! This is it! This- ugh!"

Then, Erwin's vision darkened again. Clenching his left fist, he tried to fight against it. But his

head ached so much that his right hand involuntarily reached his head, trying to soothe the pain. It worked, but as soon as his vision cleared, the article disappeared, and, worse, his laptop was off.

He noticed this and stood up quickly in panic, causing his chair to fall. Sighing, Erwin returned to his bed and laid back down. "I need to sleep. I am probably just tired."

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Terrible screams from afar were heard. Children suffer from pain, pain from their bodies being torn apart. Adults shouting for help as they were burned alive. The elderly are being crushed by boulders. Blood splatters everywhere, eyeballs rolling, the insides are everywhere, the burned corpses charred until they were unrecognizable.

As Erwin walks into a place described as hell, he sees and hears all these things. He was terrified, furious, and disgusted. Erwin couldn't think properly. Even if he closed his eyes, the blood-curdling screams could give him nightmares. Vivid nightmares of crying and screaming children, the sound of adults and elderly shouting hopelessly while being burned alive and slaughtered.

Erwin repressed his tears as he trembled and almost froze to death. He couldn't say a word; his voice caught in his throat.

*Thump*

A step was heard. Erwin glanced behind him, and his face turned paler.

He saw a figure; it was a human-like figure. Its face was distorted enough that the only thing clear was its two huge dark eyes above a crooked body. Its crooked right hand gripping the hair of a decapitated human head, whose eyes only showed white, save for the red veins. The mouth was wide open, a remnant sign that the human was decapitated while they were screaming in intense pain, sorrow, and fear.

The figure raised its free hand, enclosing its ring and pinky finger. Its remaining three fingers dug into the decapitated head's right eye, pulling it out. Opening its mouth in preparation, the monster raised his hand and ate the eyeball. *Squish*

Sensing it had company, it stared at Erwin and smiled; blood dripped from its mouth. Its teeth are razor-sharp, sharp enough to bite the rip-off human flesh.

----------------------------------------

Erwin woke up from his sleep in a cold sweat, panting hard and shaking his body. Feeling sick, he ran to the bathroom and puked into the toilet. His tears and nose were watery, his eyes red, and his sweat seeped into his clothes, dampening his entire body. Afterward, he flushed the toilet and sat on the bathroom floor.

*pant* *pant*

He stood up to wash his face and change his clothes. Picking up his phone, he booted it up, noting the time to be 4:02 am.

"It's still early," Erwin said, tired. "Huh?"

He noticed a series of messages from Mei.

‘Why is she texting currently?’

"Spamming?" he wondered as his body began to tremble.

"This is some kind of a prank, right?"

He opened them one by one.

The first message. December 17, 2032. 2:04 am. "Something is going on outside my apartment. I am unsure of what it is."

The second message. December 17, 2032. 2:13 am. "Someone is trying to destroy my door. I tried calling the police, but it's not working. So, I just texted, and I hope the authorities received it. I am scared. Please help."

Erwin started to panic, moving quickly to get dressed, reading them as he dressed.

The third message. December 17, 2032. 2:21 am "I covered the door with heavy objects. I tried calling everyone again and again, but it wasn't working. I tried texting everyone and asking for help, but I was waiting for someone to answer. If you see this, please help me. I screamed, but no one came. Please. Come."

The fourth message. December 17, 2032. 2:29 am "Help, the door is broken."

The fifth and final message. December 17, 2032. 2:30 am.

It was a voice message. Erwin couldn't breathe, his mind blanking, his hands shaking furiously.

His heart pounded so hard he thought it would leave his body. Slowly, he opened the last message.

"Help! Please, Help!" *Drop*

Her blood-curdling scream filled the room before the phone dropped, ending the call.

Erwin rushed outside his apartment, already out of breath. Tears filled his eyes, and he was sweating profusely. He sat on his bike and peddled as fast as he could.

‘Please! Be safe!’

Arriving at Mei's apartment, he noticed it was dark and creepy.

The gate was open, the door

unhinged. Erwin pressed the brakes of his bicycle and fell off because of the speed, but it was at a manageable impact. He stood up, left the bike, and ran towards the apartment, rushing to the second floor, only stopping at the foot of Mei's room.

Sniffing around, Erwin cringed at the weird metallic scent, quickly recognizing it as blood.

Although nervous, he opened the door in a rush. As the room was dark, he took his phone out and opened the flashlight.

Looking down at his feet, he found a trail of blood. "No ... no, please…"

He followed the trail and screamed. "No! No! Please … no!"

What he saw …

"Please! This is a dream, right?! Like last time!"

No. It is not a dream.

His eyes slowly went up to find Mei nailed to the wall, her head twisted like an owl's, her face almost shattered. Erwin found her eyes on the floor, and when he studied her face again, he noticed the dislocated jaw and a broken nose, as well as the hole in her cheeks. The stomach had a massive hole, clearly ripped apart, her guts splattered everywhere, some still dangling from her body.

"Argh!" Frustrated, Erwin screamed. He cried so hard; the feeling was new to him; he had never experienced this much pain before, a trauma in his heart.

Vomiting, he ran away from the room, tripping on the top step of the stairs in the process. Erwin fell, but the height wasn't dangerous, and his face hit the ground. Trying to stand up, he felt dizzy, and then he felt blood dripping from his nose. It brought back the memories of the scene he had seen earlier, causing him to vomit again.

After that, he fell on his knees, his vision blurry. Gazing through the window, he saw someone jogging outside the gate.

He then inhaled deeply, and with all his might, he yelled.

"HELP!"

-Chapter 1 End-