"I'm tired," he groaned, slumped over the backrest of a chair. His arms were crossed on the metal frame, and his head rested lazily atop them as he looked out over the city skyline.
"Hey! Focus! They should be coming out any moment now," barked a sharp voice behind him.
A girl stood, scouting the distance. She was alert, her eyes sweeping across the horizon for any signs of a rift or portal.
"Ah... It looks like they're gone for a while," she muttered. "I wonder if they'll be alright this time. The last time they went in, something huge attacked us."
She glanced at the boy again-he was fast asleep, completely unbothered by the importance of their task.
"HEY! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"
Her shout jolted him upright. He blinked, annoyed.
"We're on top of a school building! TIME IS LIMITED! We could be caught by teachers at any moment! The only reason we're even up here is because of Aika-she pulled every string she could as class rep. Without her, this whole operation wouldn't exist."
He listened, or at least pretended to. Her words seemed to enter one ear and exit the other. Then, with a lazy grin, he muttered, "Sorry, Kaori. But you forgot the other worst-case scenario."
She raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"
"Imagine a bunch of girls come up here and think we're dating."
"I will strangle you," she snapped without hesitation.
Time passed.
Kaori suddenly pointed. "There! A rift-outside the school perimeter! Let's go!"
He groaned. "Do we have to...?"
Kaori kicked the chair out from under him and yanked his tie, dragging him toward the rooftop door.
They arrived at the rift's edge just as four figures emerged. Weapons drawn, the silhouettes were tired but unharmed. One of them stepped forward, dismissing his weapon into a flicker of light. Not just anyone-the leader.
"How did it go?" Kaori asked, eyes lighting up.
"Smooth enough," he said. "We're close. One more day and this could all be over. We've even located the source. Tomorrow, we end this."
He turned to Lucid, smirking. "Still sleeping on duty, huh?"
Lucid rubbed his eyes. "I wasn't asleep."
"He was," muttered kaori with her bright red ribbon.
Ignoring them while having a faint smile on his, the leader raised his voice. "Everyone, gather up."
They circled around him.
"My dearest comrades and best friends," he began, his gaze landing briefly on Lucid. "Today, we confirmed the source of the apocalypse. Tomorrow, we put an end to it. We've fought hard, lost too many... but we endure. I'm proud of all of you. So rest well tonight. Tomorrow... could be our last."
Lucid watched him for a moment before turning away-only to find himself face-to-face with Aika.
Her pink-gray hair fluttered as she crossed her arms, giving him a look of pure disdain.
"Oh... hey," Lucid said awkwardly.
"Hello."
She didn't look away.
"why don't you give a speech of yourself, lucid" she smiled sadistically
'Oh great what is it this time' lucid looked down out of embarrassment
"I wonder when you'll finally stand up for the group instead of tagging along," she said coldly. "Don't get me wrong-our leader may be your friend, but he carries more than you ever will. Your powers are borderline useless. We already have Kaori. Her enchanted arrows do more than your... gun tricks."
Kaori slipped between them, latching onto Lucid's arm like it was hers while simultaneously dragging him away from aika. "Don't mind her," she said. "You may be useless and all-but you're our useless guy." she teased
Lucid forced a smile. Her teasing hurt more than she realized.
"Let's eat!" she said, trying to cheer him up.
The Day of Calamity
Buildings collapsed. the world have been enveloped in a crimson red colour. The final battle was underway. Twisted creatures ran around the town devouring people and destroying buildings and vehicles
The leader fought with everything he had. Kaori, out of arrows, now wielded her dagger beside him covering his weak spots. Lucid fired from afar, weakening monsters for others to finish. He wasn't useless. Not entirely.
"WE HAVE TO FALL BACK!" Lucid shouted. "WE CAN TRY AGAIN!"
But there was nowhere to retreat. Home was already gone.
Aika cut through the noise. "Suits you, Lucid. Just know this: all of this? Your fault. Your weak heart brought us here. You'll reap what you sow"
Her words sliced deeper than the monsters' claws.
They fled. The massive rift portal behind them birthed endless waves of twisted creatures and seemed to become ever larger as time passed on if things were hopeless back then, it definitely seemed that way now.
Lucid remained at the rear, holding the line to ensure their escape.
His fingers flicked through his poker card-based arsenal—a beam rifle first, then a machine gun—firing relentlessly into the enemy ranks. The field was chaotic, packed with snarling twisted creatures that moved like a wave of flesh and claws. Lucid knew each enemy required a specific weapon to deal with efficiently… but time was a luxury he didn't have.
"In times like these, I'd use a sniper rifle… but that takes focus and precision," he muttered bitterly.
The automatic rifle he had switched to after emptying his machine gun clicked dry. Empty.
Lucid glanced up, Ten more of the grotesque beasts barrelled toward him, leaping and crawling over each other in a frenzy.
He spat onto the dust-choked ground, blood dripping from a gash on his forehead and clouding one eye. His vision blurred, but he didn't slow. Fueled by frustration and sheer will, he thrust his hand into a glowing bright blue poker card with seven black hearts, practically tearing through it.
"Come on… something heavy…"
A card flared with light. A shape began to materialize in his hand—bulky, metal, dense. The weapon hissed into existence: a rocket launcher nearly as long as he was tall.
Lucid hoisted it onto his shoulder, gritting his teeth.
"DIE, YOU WRETCHED THINGS!"
He pulled the trigger.
The world split open.
A thunderous blast rocked the ground, flames consuming the field ahead. Smoke billowed up in columns. When it cleared, only scorched rubble and dismembered limbs remained. The monsters were gone-obliterated.
Lucid exhaled sharply, chest rising and falling in pained rhythm. He wiped the blood from his face with a trembling hand, the metallic taste of it lingering in his mouth.
"Did I... do all that?"
he wondered briefly, staring at the destruction.
For a moment, he feared-what if a civilian had been caught in that blast?
But the thought faded as his knees carried him forward through the smoke.
"Doesn't matter. My group... They're safe. That's what counts."
He dashed right, sprinting over broken concrete and splintered glass, sliding beneath the remains of a collapsed overpass what used to be his favourite convenience store stood twisted in rubble.
No time to think.
Lucid turned sharply, slammed open a nearby door, and threw his body into it, shutting it hard behind him. He immediately began barricading it-pushing a table, a chest of drawers, even an overturned vending machine to fortify his last stand.
His breath was ragged, the adrenaline high starting to fade-but the battle wasn't over.
Not yet.
Lucid sprinted down the corridor, his lungs burning, legs screaming with every step. The air reeked of smoke and blood. Gunfire cracked in the distance. The walls blurred past him-he couldn't tell if it was from the speed or the tears stinging his eyes.
They were just ahead. He could hear them. The team. His so-called friends.
'Just a little further'
"There!"
A door at the end, slightly ajar, glowing with the faint promise of escape. Safety. A second chance.
Lucid reached out, every fiber of his being stretching toward that light.
And then
He got Shoved.
A sharp force hit his chest. His balance shattered.
He stumbled and fell.
His back slammed into the cold floor. Pain exploded through his limbs, dull and spreading.
"Wh-What…?!" he gasped, blinking up at the figure standing over him.
Aika.
Her face stared down at him, not with emptiness.
Her Expression was unreadable, Arms were crossed.
She seemed cold and distant.
"This is where it ends, Lucid."
Her voice was calm, Too calm almost Practiced.
"We can't afford to carry you anymore."
Lucid's breath caught. His hands pushed weakly against the floor.
"What… what are you doing? We're almost there, I-"
"You've always hesitated," she cut in.
"You freeze when things get hard. You look for exits instead of standing your ground."
Lucid's heart was pounding.
"That's not true," he whispered. "I— I fight— I'm here, aren't I?"
"You fight when it's convenient and you run when it matters."
Something in her tone broke. Just slightly. But she didn't let it show.
"This… this is mercy."
Lucid opened his mouth to argue-but pain bloomed in his arms, his legs. A deep, cold ache.
He couldn't move.
He was Paralyzed.
"What… what did you do…?"
"I used the suppressor on you," she replied, almost mechanically." You should've known we were prepared for this."
Lucid's thoughts spiraled.
She planned this.
No..They planned for this.
"Aika… why?" he said, voice cracking. "I've known you since we were kids—Kaori, the others—they'll come back. They won't let this—"
"Kaori doesn't know," she said, looking away. "She wouldn't have approved. But the others… agreed it was time."
Lucid stared at her, a hollow wind ripping through his chest.
"Is this what I was to you? Dead weight?"
"You were for a lack of a better word a liability."
Her voice shook now.
"I hated watching you stall. You always waited for someone else to make the first move. As useful you were, I grew sick of you and now since the apocalypse is here. I might as well speed things up."
She paused a tear falling down her chin
"You..y..you don't even—"
Her eyes flicked down for just a moment, she took a deep breath and recomposed herself.
"This is kinder than letting you die screaming later." She said coldly.
She turned toward the door.
"No… wait—please—" Lucid's voice cracked into a sob. "Don't leave me—"
"I'm sorry... okay... IM SORRY!!!!!" he pleaded in desperation. Tears falling down his cheeks.
The door clicked shut behind her.
There was only Silence.
Lucid lay there, frozen, the last warmth of her presence fading like embers snuffed out.
They left me.
She left me.
Even after everything…
Then, the a form of darkness moved.
At first it was a shadow. Then a writhing mass.
Black. Shapeless. Hungry.
Despair itself.
It surged forward, and Lucid's breath caught in his throat. His limbs screamed to move, but they were still stone.
It wrapped around his chest.
Pierced his skin.
Ripped through his defences like paper.
This is it.
This is what I was worth to them.
As the Black-mass swallowed him whole, dragging him into nothing, Lucid's mind splintered.
The last thing he felt before his consciousness got swept away.
Was regret