RE : OVER

11 || The Forsaken World

The knowledge of [First Kill] requirement to enter the tower was not the only thing everyone were suddenly aware of. They had also been given some snippets of their current predicament. 

Ever since the darkness happened and the sky started to bleed red, their world had become one of many [Forsaken World]s. Space had been distorted and almost everyone on earth had been segregated into their own Forsaken Worlds, in a radius of a few hundreds of kilometers at once. If one were to journey relentlessly until the edge of a particular Forsaken World, they would only find another invisible barrier that would be impenetrable no matter what they do. 

To put it simply: the old Earth had been split into millions of Forsaken Worlds.

For every few tens of kilometers in each Forsaken World, there would be portals such as the communication tower, only available for trait users who had attained their [First Kill].

The people in the tower were also made aware of something else: that their elders, their parents, any older people who they used to hold dear, did not make the selection to these Forsaken Worlds. As though it was natural selection, only the healthy and young were chosen.

For what? For evolution purpose.

These people would be seedlings for the new worlds ahead. Only the ones considered worthy by some unknown forces were granted a chance to proceed further.

Mayu blankly digested the information that had wormed their way inside her brain. It was not new information, she had obtained the very same knowledge in her first life. However, her companions' faces were laden with grief. Unlike Mayu, who had come to terms with her parents' non-existence, these youths were suddenly told that their parents and elders no longer exist. How could they not be disturbed?

Yet, the two traits that everyone had awakened had strengthened their heart and mind considerably. Perhaps, it was really natural selection: the people who had passed the first barrier were ones with the utmost tenacity, the most deserving to survive the roads ahead.

Looking at the chaos still ensuing outside the barrier, Mayu and her four companions steeled their hearts and ascended to the top of the tower. The elevators obviously no longer worked, however the fire stairs still exist. Apart from some smaller plants' vines, obstructing parts of the stairs, that made their pace slower, there was no monster.

Some other people ascended the stairs with them, cautious but still avoiding contact with the others. Some of them had killed another person just a few brief moments ago. By this time, each one of them knew not to trust their fellow humans. Only a few teenagers were amongst the people granted access to the tower. Most of the ones present were in their twenties or early thirties, people at the prime of their lives.

When they reached the top floor and exited the last door, they immediately saw a circular wide area. It was too large for the triangular pointy shape of the observation tower. In fact, this circular space, that seemed to be as wide a football field, was not visible from the ground. 

Mayu pointed towards one edge of the field, where floating stones dotted the empty space. Below this edge was pure blackness. The stones were of different sizes, but every single one of them was at least as big as an adult. They had colors of light blue, some of grey, and some of black. If one were to see them closely, they could see misty clouds rolling throughout the surfaces of the stones, occasional bolts of lightning, and even rain. The black stones contained bright dots in them, as if they were blinking stars in the night sky. All of these natural elements were contained within the stones.

Daiki Fuse was intrigued,  "These stones are... ." His eyes contained astonishment. Before he managed to finish, the stones shifted and the field they were on seemed to quake. In front of them, a few stones crumbled to smaller pieces, down to the darkness below. Only red dust that finally dissipated into nothingness remained.