Chapter 2: Apocalypse
Like a fragile glass falling toward the concrete floor, the clear blue sky revealed a crispy cracking sound followed by the opening of a fissure that led towards the darkest secret beyond the Blue Planet's understanding.
Immediately enveloping the Blue Planet with darkness that never allows the Sun lights to illuminate the world's surface... Again.
...
In an instant, chaos spread toward the planet's surface. People around the world ran like headless chickens, hiding inside their houses and bunkers, away from the sight of the sky... Away from the fissure...
Of course except toward a certain park in Laguna where chaos started a few minutes ago.
Beneath the sea and beyond the fissure Creatures and Beasts from one's nightmare crawl up and fly below toward the panicked civilization.
Brandishing their sharp claws and opening their gapping mount full of sharp teeth, killing an unimaginable amount of humans in their wake like livestock on a farm.
At the same time, as humans began to feel helpless and devoid of any hope for survival, a panel of from unknown origin appeared in all of the human's sight. Granting them the ability of basic survival.
However, even though they receive a gift from the sky, the population of the Blue Planet drastically plummeted in a single day, leaving less than 3 billion of the original population behind.
Worse of all, it is still plummeting every single day!
Fortunately, in the middle of helplessness, groups of beings with unimaginable power that were capable of moving mountains and seas appeared, lending a hand toward humanity... Temporarily allowing them to breathe.
However, for how long could they maintain their temporary haven?
***
In an instant, days and months passed by. To be exact a total of 150 days quickly passed by from when the apocalypse hit the Blue Planet.
In a normal dilapidated park in Laguna that was devoid of any kind of life, a wisp of dark smoke rose from the cold earth below. Quickly forming a black wisp of a circle figure.
After an unknown period of time, the black wisp of smoke completely materialized in the form of an incorporeal circle of black gas and began to wander around the area, curious about everything it saw.
...
"Where am I?" Leo confusedly asked as he began to wake up from the deep slumber within the endless darkness and great gray fog of emptiness.
At first, Leo had no recollection of his existence and memory from his past life. It only keeps flashing inside his head for a while before quickly being forgotten afterward as he wanders in the dilapidated park.
As time passed by, the image started to replay inside his memory, engraving deep within his very soul until he managed to grab his very existence and completely woke up in a very familiar and unfamiliar place.
The life of the past and the life before he died, the feeling of happiness and the feeling of weakness, and... The way he slumped to the cold floor facing the darkness above... Until his eyes turned lifeless...
"Sigh. Indeed, I really died." Leo sighed as he opened his imaginary eyes, scanning his surroundings with great interest.
The familiar wrecked mall in front and the overturned stall from the nearby park reminded him of this place. The place where he died.
Although it is the same place, he still noticed some differences between the two. The ground was full of cracks and shrub that was growing from the gap, the familiar mall that was originally a tall establishment but was now destroyed almost in its destruction, and the gloomy atmosphere and the big dark fissure above the sky... The difference between the two is too big!
"This place is completely dead. Is this the place or world of the dead? No wonder people often saw ghosts where people died."
Sigh... I hope the child is completely safe... if not then my selfless death is totally useless.
He silently thought as he began to roam around to see if he could find a fellow dead that he could ask.
Soon after half an hour of roaming around, Leo's imaginary brow furrowed. In the past few minutes, he roamed around Leo didn't find anything worth worthy of his attention.
He didn't even find a single soul!
"Am I alone here? Is this my punishment for using my hand every single lonely night?" Leo couldn't help but worry about himself. Although he was already dead, being alone here without someone to talk to would slowly turn him crazy.
This is impossible, there should be someone here!
Concerned for his well-being, Leo immediately rushed and passed through the solid building in front of him. Quickly entering the destroyed establishment and inspecting every nook of the place.
Passing through every solid thing is the specialty of a ghost, making his job to inspect every corner easier!
Soon, after checking every place and corner inside the big mall, Leo finally heard a weak squeak not far away from him.
This!
Overjoyed, Leo immediately gushed towards the source of the sound, quickly passing through the obstacle in front.
Soon, in his line of sight, Leo finally saw something small moving in the short distance, signifying a life.
"Hahahaha, I knew that there was someone here!" Leo thought happily as he instinctively rushed toward the small moving fellow.
...
Squeak?
The dark brown rat was usually doing his usual business, finding food to survive and feed his little child at home when suddenly the temperature in the surrounding area began to plummet at an alarming rate.
Squeak, Squeak?
Confused by the sudden change, it raised its small head to look at the dark surroundings to find the source of the changes but only to find nothing.
Squeak?
Finding nothing, the dark brown rat was prepared to go back on its usual business when suddenly a dark smoke came out from the cemented ground below before quickly materializing and forming a dark entity in front of it.
"HELLLO LITTLE THING!!!" Not even a second passed by when a deep voice from the dark entity that seemed to scratch the little soul of anyone who could hear it entered the little rat's ears.
SQUEAK!!? (Ghosttt!!?)
Due to surprise and great horror, the rat's eyes rolled back to its little head before stiffly falling to the ground, shivering slightly before becoming still.
Ehh!? Dead?
[ Ding congratulations upon scaring someone...]
...