"Sector Zero, South Pole – Antarctica"
"So this is Sector Zero," I said to myself. "The place where the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are."
A facility so well hidden that even the World Government knew nothing about it. It had been built for the Horsemen hundreds of years ago. The founder? None other than Hamura.
I infiltrated inside. It was empty — no signs of security anywhere. I reached a massive door. I tried to open it using my parasite, but it didn't move.
"It's not moving at all."
I took out The Key, trying to find a slot for it, but the door had none.
Then, something grabbed my hand, turned me around, and threw me to the ground. I rolled and aimed my rifle toward the figure.
"Coloepy?!"
"Andreas?!"
We both lowered our weapons and hugged.
"I'm glad to see you again," Coloepy said.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm on a personal mission. Waiting for someone. What about you?"
"How do you know about this place?"
"Do you think you're the only child of Hamura who knows about it?"
Coloepy looked down, then at my weapon.
"What's with the assault rifle?"
"I wasn't sure what I'd find here."
"There's nothing here. You won't find them. We're the only ones in the entire building."
"Are they behind that door?"
"…"
"Coloepy, I know you're trying to protect me, but I need to know what's behind that door!"
"Behind that door lie forces beyond this world — things you cannot comprehend."
"If those forces can save the world, I'm willing to take any risk."
"Those forces could completely change the world as you know it."
"Then so be it…"
She knocked twice on the door, and it began to open.
"Coloepy, thank you!"
"Be careful!"
When I passed through the doorway, I found myself in a vast sanctuary filled with white trees and blue leaves. I followed a path lined with white stones. It felt as if I had entered Heaven itself. Following the trail, I reached a massive tree covered in white flowers. Its roots formed a kind of coffin, inside which lay a girl with light purple hair. On her forehead, she bore the symbol of the Key.
I took out my Key and pressed it against my forehead. I closed my eyes.
I woke up in a dimension that seemed infinite. Everything was flat, endless — nothing but the horizon. A young girl dressed in a white dress made of branches appeared before me.
"Welcome, Andreas," she said as she approached.
I was speechless — her beauty was unlike anything I had ever seen.
"I'm sure you don't know what's happening, so I'll explain. My name is Calamity-Conquest — one of the Four Horsemen."
"Where are we?"
"We're inside your soul's world. Every person has one, but few can manifest it. When you placed the Key on your forehead, I was summoned here so we could talk."
"So you're the girl sleeping in the coffin?"
"Yes. I cannot live in the normal world, that's why I'm always in a vegetative state."
"Why?"
"My ability, as a Horseman of the Apocalypse, is to see and alter the fate of the world. That power made my siblings seal me in eternal sleep. This way, I cannot change anything. It's for the best."
"If that's true, then the others…"
"…are in the real world, exactly. I know Hamura told you that we can all change the fate of the world, but that's not entirely true. The only Horseman who can do that is me. I can't change the outcome of you or your friend's death — but I can change who wins the final battle."
"I thought you couldn't alter fate while trapped like this."
"I can… but it comes with a price."
"What's the current fate?"
"Your friend will die at the hands of a person with long red hair — an event that will bring forth the Apocalypse and the end of the world."
"What's the price?"
"To sacrifice myself for it."
"…"
"Andreas, I'm fully willing to make that sacrifice. But you must know something before I do. Your journey is only beginning, and the things you'll learn in the years to come will change you. But never forget your purpose. You'll meet many new people who will make you realize how little you once knew. Do you wish this to be your new destiny?"
"Yes."
She slowly approached me, her body beginning to dissolve into the air. She embraced me and whispered in my ear:
"Andreas… just so you know, you look better with your hair down."
I opened my eyes. I felt the bark cracking off my body. Everything had decayed — Calamity's body was disintegrating. The ground began to tremble. I grabbed my weapon and ran toward the door I had entered through. The chamber was collapsing, and I fell.
When I came to, I realized I had fallen through an open section of the structure. I crawled out and saw how strange the place really was — the sanctuary was suspended by multiple bridges over a massive chasm. It seemed Calamity had been the one keeping it stable.
Another quake followed — even stronger. Then an explosion erupted from the center of the pit. Massive chunks of rock were flung in every direction — one heading straight for me.
Someone grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to safety.
"Purpleguy!"
-Shinja Andreas