[00:00:05]
[00:00:03]
[00:00:02]
[00:00:01]
!DING!
With the countdown finally reaching the awaited [00:00:00] mark, a wave rippled out, its source unknown.
Immediately after, hundreds of thousands of black circular portals opened all around the world, some appearing in the most random of places.
In sinks, in toilet bowls, on the surface of the sea, in the sky and other random places people watched as the portals contracted and expanded, the red and golden streaks of light flickering on their circumference picking up speed.
Then came the messages,
[DING! THE TRIAL HAS BEGUN ]
[FIRST TRIAL – HUMANITY'S GREATEST ENEMY]
Seeing the unique title their supposed opponents had, many became confused with a vast majority of religious bodies coming to the conclusion of demons.
!Bzzzzz!
They heard it before they saw it, an irritating sound potent enough to be classified as a low end military sonar attack.
Looking for the source, people's eyes turned to the sky and there they noticed.
The sky had gone dark.
And there were two major culprits.
First was the fact that the sunshine was being blocked by a celestial body, like in the case of an eclipse.
And second was the massive swarm of insects flying in the sky who also happened to be responsible for the noise.
[THENIGHT HAS BEGUN]
[FIRST TRIAL – HUMANITY'S GREATEST ENEMY, MOSQUITOES (mutated)]
[SURVIVE FOR: 00:59:59]
The descent, ascent and all in all movement of the mutated mosquitoes as they flew out of portals in the sky, sinks and potholes was a terrifying sight.
A sight that sent the world into chaos once more.
Convenience stores quickly got looted for bug spray and mosquito repellent, hoping to keep the beasts away.
A futile attempt since the beasts still attacked every human their eyes came across, ignoring everything else.
Being pursued by flying beasts the size of a full grown man's hand could not be considered an everyday event and some soon succumbed to the pressure and stopped running.
The second biggest mistake of the day.
All it took were 10 bloodsuckers for a fit healthy human to turn into a dried up bloodless husk before withering away into the wind altogether.
[SURVIVE FOR: 00:53:50]
Glass buildings were easily broken into and cars were easily destroyed as the bloodthirsty mosquitoes broke through whatever was preventing them from reaching their prey.
The worst part of this apocalyptic scenario was… they evolved.
The mutated mosquitoes evolved.
And all they needed was a bit of blood.
Human blood to be precise.
Though the more they drank, the more powerful they became.
In less than 10 minutes the fragility of the human society was exposed as relationships and trust all crumbled.
Parents picked their children using them as shields, wives pushed their husbands and vice versa all for a quick break from their pursuers.
All around the world there was carnage, but it was much worse in the skies and on the sea.
In the sky, people watched as the windows of their planes got crashed into by the mosquitoes who didn't suffer in the slightest, before being sucked dry, seatbelts still on.
Of course a few jumped, but they were just killed midair by the ravenous mosquitoes who could fly faster than they could fall.
On the sea, the sailors, voyagers and stowaways found out the hard way that these mosquitoes could also swim, a lesson they learnt by being killed in the water.
In under 10 minutes, a 10th of humanity was wiped out, a greater percentage being children and babies who couldn't run.
But just like in every end of the world scenario, people came forth, beacons of light under the dark, soundless lightning filled sky.
These people, able to put 2 and 2 together to realise the purpose of their newfound powers were not for entertainment but rather for self preservation.
The boy who was making a biscuit wrapper fly earlier with his TELEKINESIS now did the opposite to the mosquitoes, making them crash into the ground and buildings, killing them with surprising ease.
The billionaire heir still sat comfortably in his throne-like chair, eyes looking out of his penthouse through the broken glass.
Glass broken by the same mosquitoes who lay dead at his feet courtesy of his DOMINIONAURAwhich had grown in both range and intensity.
The stripper who earlier manipulated a man to hand over his cash and the keys to his motorcycle now rode on the said vehicle, her PSYCHICability overcoming the mind of every mosquito that came too close to her and forcing them to commit suicide.
The duo of the butler Alfred and his young master were not slacking either.
They had both removed the guns and bullets that were on their person, finding them to be overkill.
Alfred activated his Wrath given skill, BERSERK, fuelling him with energy which enhanced all his physical aspects like an athlete on steroids.
His young master however decided to use the combo of his Patience given skill, TIMEDILATIONwhich slowed down everything around him, making him think and move almost twice as fast as those trapped on his domain and a simple wooden bat.
Just like that humanity bounced back from the brink of extinction, the force of millions of angry souls, broken dreams and shattered hopes now fuelling the rebellion as the mosquitoes found themselves being killed easily by the humans who were fleeing earlier.
[SURVIVE FOR: 00:29:57]
By the half hour mark, the remaining survivors of humanity were either those who actively killed mosquitoes or those who were within the radius of the killers.
[SUBQUEST: Kill (100/100) Mosquitoes, COMPLETED]
[Regular mutated mosquitoes will avoid you]
[Evolved mutated mosquitoes will seek you out.]
The beacons of light who had fully embraced their roles as beast slayers received this message in front of their eyes, stunning them for a few moments.
When they finished reading the messages they realised that what it said was the truth.
The regular mosquitoes truly avoided them like the plaque, targeting those a distance away from them.
The mutated ones on the other hand had stopped with the random attacks and now darted straight to anyone who had killed a 100 of their kin.
Faced with the mosquitoes which had red marks on their enhanced body resembling tribal tattoos, the beacons of light made the obvious choice.
To keep killing.
Why.
Because they felt it.
The faint boost, that minor enhancement.
They felt it all.
Not the power they got from activating their skills.
No, it was a more subtle power which seemed to stockpile.
A power that was present even when they disabled their special skills.
True power, its source …
Every mosquito that perished as a result of their actions.
And so they kept killing.
Going out of their way to kill even the regular mutated mosquitoes who avoided them.
Appearing like saints to the masses while they pursued their own agendas.
Because in a world bereft of laws and morality.
This power made people the True Kings and Queens of the Apocalypse.
This power made them THE LAW.