"Haah… haah… haah…"
As a young man panted while running through a deserted road, an endless horde of mindless 'people' chases after him, some moving limply, getting left behind by the faster, stronger ones from the horde.
"Shit!!!"
As the light of the moon hanging above the sky shone upon the figures approaching the young man, their terrifying forms were revealed in full glory. Amalgamations of rotting flesh filled with pulsing pus, some of them popping from time to time, spewing foul-smelling, black liquid, their decaying forms almost as if a reminder of a human's frail mortality.
Observing the creatures reducing their distance between him, the young man's eyes start looking around his surroundings, trying to look for a possible escape for him to take advantage of, only to see ruined cars all around, plunging him into the depths of despair even further, as the sight made him realize that there is nowhere for him to run.
"Damn it!!! If only… if only…" as the young man continues his attempt of escape, he starts having thoughts of regrets about what he had done so far, one moment he saw the image of multiple people smiling as they laugh and enjoy the days together, the next moment, he's seeing the exact same people taking their own lives as a method to avoid the cruelty of others, just to avoid being seen as "unworthy" by him.
"If only I was stronger…" flashes of the very same people that invade their dwellings appeared in the young man's mind, his heart filled with rage as he recalls their attempt to violate the cold bodies of his loved ones, the rage in his heart refusing to be quelled despite him decimating the group of men, turning them into nothing but cripples the very next moment they voiced their idea of 'playing' with his family.
"If only I was more decisive…" he thought to himself as the memory of everything crashing down at the start of 'it' changes living itself as they knew it, his aversion towards the people affected by 'it' causing him to fall behind the other people blessed by the changes of the world, his potentials getting restrained even further as his family pampered him into doing whatever he wants.
"If only I was more cunning, if only I was smarter, if only I was braver, if only I was ruthless, if only… if only… if only…" words continues coming out of the young man's mouth as the images of the memories he acquired in his entire life flashes before his eyes, tears continuously flowing down from it as he recalls every single thing, the bad experiences from the short, latter part of his life causing the stream of water from his eyes, the very same experience making the blissful, former part of his life appear to be incredibly bittersweet.
Snapping out of his self-destructive thoughts, the young man was brought back to reality once he realized that there was a tall, reinforced wall blocking his path further, the gigantic wall spreading to an immeasurable distance not only towards his left and right, but also above him, the top of the wall so high that it seemed to pierce through the sky.
"No… no no no no…!!!" scratching at the walls desperately, the young man's knees start shaking in panic, but he continues to stand and just refuses to fall down to the ground.
Pulling out something from his pocket, a tattered, old looking picture appeared in the young man's hands, in it, his younger, great-looking self, is surrounded by six goddess-like feminine figures, the faces of each one of them flashes through his mind as he recalled their last words, all of them saying the same thing with a comforting, assuring smile on their faces.
'Live'
"I'm sorry, it looks like I won't be able to keep my promise any longer..." the young man said as he smiled wryly as he caressed the picture before carefully tucking it in his chest pocket, his actions as if he treasures the object more than his life.
Looking up in the sky, the hanging moon starts to get obscured as dark clouds start covering the heavens, increasing the gloomy atmosphere as rain starts its downpour, partnered by the sudden surge of lightning and thunder, the soothing sounds coming from the phenomenon still fail to mask the noise generated by the horde of mindless creatures approaching him.
Seeing the rotting flesh of the figures approaching him, the young man's eyes no longer held the aversion and disgust that he had always felt for them, the serene calm in his face as if he was enlightened about something, his figure turning straight as he clenched his fist, raising it up in an attempt to copy a boxer's fighting form.
"I will die tonight, and I'm pretty sure that I won't see them at all since they're all definitely going to heaven, and I will most likely end up in hell." The young man thought to himself as he repeatedly stamped both his feet to the ground as an attempt to stop the shaking of his legs, proving its effectiveness as he regained a steady form after some time.
"However, you all will definitely accompany me in my journey there…" he said as his eyes starts glowing in a brilliant white, lightning exploding out of his body as it forms into a humongous figure behind him, its majestic aura spreading into the surrounding, causing the creatures approaching him, and even the powerful people beyond the gigantic walls to feel a powerful sense of oppression.
As the young man moves his body, the figure behind him mirrors his moves, smashing its fist downwards to obliterate the masses of flesh near the young man, the smell of charred meat permeating across the area, the number of charcoal-like figures increasing as the young man moves further and further into the heart of the horde.
"Hehehe.... haha... HAHAHAHAHA!!! Fucking dumb meatbags, is that all you can do!!???" with his body moving faster and faster as he got more accustomed to fighting, the young man starts enjoying what he thinks is his last stand as he even discards the distance between the creatures and himself, driving his fist directly towards the creatures all around him as he let the lightning figure behind him move autonomously, the two figures wreaking havoc across the mass of creatures surrounding them.
High in the clouds, multiple old figures stood straight as they observed the young man's battle, fascinated by the tenacity he was showing as he refused to stop the fight, as well as the figure moving according to his will.
"That kid will die if he continue like that" one of the old men said as he played with his long white beard.
"It would be a pity if that happens, he seems to be reaching our power despite his young age after all" one of the other elderly figures added as he watched the fight proceeding down below them
"That's why I'm planning to stop him" one of the other ones watching the fight announces as he descends from the sky, approaching the young man fighting down below at an unbelievable speed, leaving behind a trail of lightning in his path.
"That old bastard gets a one-up on us old folks this time; it looks like he wants to absorb that brat's power."
"It doesn't really matter so long as it can help in maintaining the city."
"Yeah, besides, it's better for someone we know to acquire that power than try to invest in a kid we are not even certain of controlling."
Completely ignorant of the conversations that proceeded just above him, the young man continues thinning the number of the creatures as he laughs maniacally, the surge of boiling blood and bloodlust making him forget the loneliness if just a tiny bit.
As he tried pouncing on another creature nearby, he was surprised as he was snapped out of his battle trance, realizing that there was a hand in the middle of his chest, his blood painting the same hand red.