She started to look into the world that she had sacrificed herself for—sacrificed for a time unknown to her, as she had forgotten to count after a hundred years. All she did was perceive and sacrifice to keep afloat the world they protected and gave their souls to.They gave it their all.They gave it their soul.They gave it their heart.They loved it.
They did something horrific—so vile that they could never be forgiven. They and their sins—they wanted no one to forget them. How vile the past decision they made was.
"No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no!" she screamed. She cried frantically. She cried like never before. She couldn't believe it. She regretted having this power, which granted her the chance to view the world she wanted to protect with her soul—even if it meant being the most despised, the most vile being.
"But why? But why? But why? But why? But why? But why? But why? But why? But why? But why? But why? But why? But why? But why?" she repeated this countless times. She began to cry. She began to forget why she had even decided to do what they did. Was it even worth it to protect this world?Wouldn't it have been better if we had just let this world disappear?It would have been better to let this rotting world disappear.
"Why did you all become so vile?" she asked, but no one answered."How could this have happened?" she cried into the void, using her remaining two arms to pull at her hair, over and over again. Even when it bled, she kept on pulling. But her regeneration was far stronger—she kept healing from her wounds.
She looked grotesque and gory, and finally, as if the floodgates had broken, she began to cry—seeing the scenes in that world. The blood covering her, and the tears washing it away.She looked pitifully lonely.No one to comfort.No one to console.Just a lonely little one.
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"What is it?" As something fell on the man, he looked up and saw it falling from the sky.What was it?He didn't know.It looked like a miracle in this dystopia.
"Mommy! Look! Something's falling from the sky!" the boy said, curiosity mixed with joy, wearing his school uniform. Beside him, his mom was also shocked to see such a sight.
"This is beautiful... it's like a fan... it's windy... and water is falling from the sky like... rainbow skee and water pool," the boy said, finally bringing the mom out of her stupor.
"Thank you," the mom said, as she took out something from around her neck and began to pray—a rare and illegal act in this world. If someone had found her like this, she would've been sent to prison for treason.In a world where faith in idols and the spreading of such teachings was considered brainwashing, the only accepted truth was knowledge.
The boy let go of his mom's hand as he saw a unique puddle forming beneath him. His smile grew larger and larger as he neared the puddle and began to jump up and down, up and down—until his mom caught him.
He smiled sheepishly, half-bowed his head in apology, giving an innocent look as if he had been wronged. Before his mother could even scold him—
"Sigh! You naughty boy," was all she could say, looking at her youngest.
The man beside them laughed heartily, seeing such a cute scene after all the commotion and chaos.But when the man looked closer, he noticed something strange: the boy's clothes weren't getting wet.
It was weird.Pretty weird.
He was going to call out to them.No reply.As he came closer and closerThey vanished.
As if they had never been there.
He didn't even have time to question or speak to them.He just stood there, dumbfounded, in the weather where rain fell from the darkened sky.
"Ah... I remember.This is rain... in its purest form.Not acid rain.Not radiated clouds.But real, clear ones," he thought.
He walked away, not knowing what had taken control of him, why he had tried to speak to those random people, even if it felt... strange.
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"Mom, that was beautiful," the child said, removing his headset.
"You really lucked out, seeing such a beautiful scene.Your dad really missed this," she said, smiling.
She looked nothing like how she appeared in the hologram.She was far skinnier, looked malnourished.Her child, too, looked malnourished—but a bit better, with a little fat.
"Okay, now your time is up. Time to leave. Chop chop," a rough voice said.
"Yes, sir," the mother replied, leaving the broken-shaped building that gave access to the world of light.
"Mom! Mom!" the boy called.When she looked at him, he asked in an innocent tone:
"When can I go to school?When will I make new friends my age, other than Sis?"
His question wasn't malicious.It was one of pure innocence—So strong that it emotionally pained her.
The answer she could ever give would destroy the hope in a child's innocent dream.So she just smiled.
Another person walking the same path heard this and sighed, looking up at the sky, eternally dark.
This was the lowest level—The one beneath the magical floating structures.
And all these people,The trash 50% of the population,We were born and bred to die here.Test subjects.People with no will.
Only those like them existed under a sky so dark,In a world void of joy,Filled with bleakness.