The Embers of Extinction had corrupted the Realms.
Billions had died by the beings it created, unstoppable in their desire for destruction.
And somewhere, years after the fall of the seven realms, three people laughed in the Void.
"The start of our journey... Do you remember it?" A woman's voice asked through the echoing of the Void.
He was quick to respond before anyone else, "Of course I do! Those were the most extravagant times of my life, after all."
Another and completely different woman spoke after the man, "Oh, the times... It has been so long since the start of our journey, -Unknown-..."
This is the story of how three unlikely people saved the people of Hope—at least what remained of them.
◇
The shove came from behind, and then the crash. Ira scraped her knee against the sweltering concrete. All around her, laughter popped like fireworks.
It was not the first time she had been bullied like this, and it most definitely was not going to be the last.
Her fingertips clutched the ground in rage; her hands burning against the scorching heat of the concrete, but at that moment she did not care.
'Begone!'
Her expression was one of passionate rage, but no words escaped her lips.
Her brows were scrunched together, her lips curled downwards into a deep, hateful frown, and her eyes... a deep shade of scarlet red that seemed to be able to see beyond the flesh.
Her piercing gaze caused the three young girls bullying her to shudder in disgust; swiftly, however, a wicked smile played on one of their lips, and in the next moment, she was doused with water.
Another surge of laughter erupted all around Ira, and in that moment her body was screaming at her to knock the bullies off their high horses and dart away.
"Freak. You're just an ugly ass albino." One of the bullies stated, a look of pure disgust marking her face.
'What is so wrong with how I look? And I am not even albino, damn it!.. I think. Even if that is the case, she should go bully someone else rather than some girl who looks slightly off..'
Her silver hair draped over her shoulders, moving slightly as the wind came through.
'School is just a load of shit..!' She had grown sick and tired of their relentless bullying, her heart racing from the adrenaline of what she was going to do next.
Ira clenched her fist together, and in a single moment, it connected with one of the girls' faces, sending the bully tumbling to the ground.
The other two girls only stared at Ira in shock for a moment, before their gaze fell onto the girl on the ground, as if awaiting orders.
The girl whom Ira had punched yelled out to her friends:
"Get that-!"
'Hell..!'
Adrenaline coursed through her blood, and quickly she began to sprint away. Ira no longer cared about that horrid school anymore. What was the point of education if humanity was already on the brink of extinction? Nothing!
Hopping over the fence that was meant to deter anyone from leaving the school premises, she began to laugh maniacally.
'Freedom—freedom at last!'
◇
Ira had not made it far before the three girls caught her. There was not much she could do with a busted-up knee, and what she could do, she had already done.
She took only a single glimpse behind her as she gasped for air, the three girls a mere dozen feet away.
One of the street lamps flickered on and off, signaling the approach of night.
In the next moment, two of the girls lunged at Ira and restrained her.
A punch was thrown at Ira's gut, hard enough to steal the air from her lungs and make her wince in pain.
"You like that? Albino..."
Ira could not help but make a comment on the girl's pitiful insult, "Is that... T-the best you can do?"
Shortly after, another blow connected with her jaw, busting her lip. Another set of words besieging Ira's ears, "Shut your mouth."
Ira only chuckled as a drop of blood dripped down her injured lip.
This time, and for the final time, it was a kick directed straight at her ribs. When it had connected, a small but audible crack resounded through the air, instantly stopping any further blows.
Cold sweats covered the girls like a mantle of disgust and fear, "Shit... let us just leave."
They had left, yet Ira remained, clutching her chest and writhing in pain.
'That..! She broke my rib!'
With a quiet groan, she pulled herself to her feet. The sun was already beginning to set behind the distant horizon.
The streets were not a safe place for a young, injured girl such as herself to be wandering around alone.
Even so, Ira did not want to go home, but her hand was being forced by the situation; if Ira had been perfectly capable, there would have been no need for it. She knew how to throw a punch if necessary.
She did not even know anyone at the foster home, anyway! Perhaps that was her fault; she had made no effort to connect with the people there.
She did not want to experience the fear she had felt when that happened once more, and so she never tried. The warmth of the blood she felt dripping down her left hip, the feeling of her bruised knuckles, and the sound of sirens blaring outside the house.
She wrapped her hands around herself, gently rubbing the scar on her hip to soothe herself.
"This wretched world.. a three-decade-long war, and we are on the losing side!"
Randomly, it began to rain.
"Great.. My luck can't get worse than this!.. I feel like the god-forsaken weather has been getting worse recently!"
Ira grimaced at her current situation. She knew she would not make it home before the sun had fully set in this weather, so she decided it would be best to just stay on the move throughout the night.
Perhaps her judgment was clouded by the desire for solitude. And thus, she began to wander around the city.
Ira had never truly stopped to take in the scenery, even though it was nothing special. Originally, the city, named Fort Delta, was supposed to be a military base—but due to the Purge Beasts', it had become a refugee camp.
It had quickly spiraled out of control, becoming a full-on bustling city in the matter of three years.
"All this and they cannot even fix the street lights!?"
◇
Humanity had recently achieved world peace; prosperity was no longer out of bounds for most—everyone had been given a fair chance in the new world. 'That was until the Purge Beasts appeared three decades ago. Like always, everything had to be ruined by some monstrosity; whether it be people or abominations.'
At first, the emergence of otherworldly creatures was mere speculation, until millions began to die. Unprepared, without information, and in an era of peace, humanity was crushed without any means to protect itself.
That changed the moment the first Purge Beast was killed.
What lay inside their corpses was an Awakening Crystal, a magical stone allowing anyone who crushed it to awaken and gain magical abilities.
Humanity was given a fighting chance against the Beasts of extinction, and in all their might, they managed to push off the Purge Beasts temporarily, establishing the eight major forts.
Not like most of this affected Ira in any way.
It was highly likely that she would be killed off by pollution rather than Purge Beasts storming the city walls and killing her. She would not let herself die that way either. Her life was her own, and nobody would control it, even if Fate was against her.
She was completely drenched in water by that point.
She felt herself growing increasingly agitated with each droplet that had landed on her body—it felt like torture to walk in the rain; her ribs already inflamed from the crushing kick she had received to her chest.
Maybe if she still had parents her situation would have turned out differently; she would not be limping in the rain, blood dripping from her busted-up lip, and her hands clutching her gut to ease the pain.
"Curse you, mom and dad..."
Hearing her own words, she frowned. Ira wished she could take back what she had said, but it was already too late. She needed to break the bad habit of taking things out on the dead.
"Sorry..."
She rubbed the back of her neck, and decided to no longer dwell on it—but that would not hinder her growing frustration at the weather.
Swiftly after, she had reached her breaking point from the constant downpour—along with the pain from her inflamed ribs. She raised her foot to kick a small stone that lay on the ground.
Slowly, it rolled until coming to a stop right before a hooded figure encompassed in a long robe, their physical traits obscured by it.
An eerie aura emanated from the being; time itself felt as if it came to an abrupt stop, only to resume in the next moment.
A wave of anxiety washed through Ira, her palms sweating profusely. The young girl knew how to throw a punch, but an ominous feeling told her everything she needed to know; this mysterious person was no mundane human, and not one to be trifled with.
'Am I about to be mugged..?' She ludicrously thought to herself.
Suddenly, a woman's voice shot through the air like a whistling arrow.
"Hello there, Ira."
The silver-haired girl shuddered at the mention of her name. 'I-is it gonna happen again..? I-it is alright.. I am prepared for this.. I prepared for this…!"
Her mind scrambled, unable to come up with a logical conclusion on to who this might be; her mind began to think back to the past.
Only one thing appeared to her—the situation was completely different compared to this one, but it still left Ira with the irrational idea that the two situations could be the same.
"Who a-are you!" Her voice was fragile and quiet as a mouse—more so than usual.
"It is simple, really. I am an Oracle of fate... and I am here to tell you yours, Ira."
She had no time for scammers trying to steal her money, but something inside of her told her to wait and listen to what the mysterious woman had to say.
"O-okay..? Spit it out..!"
The Oracle chuckled softly. "You are destined to die in the next six years."
Maybe fate truly was against her...