LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 1: Anomaly
-Year 2050, Tokyo, Japan-
The world entered a crisis when the dragon and the giant fell from the sky. The world order took a heavy hit, but with the giant crumbling to dust and the dragon shot down by a jet, everything ended as quickly as it started.
Alternatively, this is what the world thought until the White Chlorination Syndrome infected people in the region of Shinjuku.
The disease was unstoppable, so building a wall to separate Shinjuku from the rest of Japan was the solution.
The disease had two outcomes, turn the infected into a statue of salt or a monster of the "Legion" led by the "Red Eyes".
The combined power of the JSDF and the US Army failed to stop the legion, so the US government opted for nuclear armament.
Shinjuku along with the "Legion" and the "Red Eyes" were destroyed, but the explosion only spread the "WCS" to the rest of the world.
"Red Eyes" survived the blast.
Research of the dragon's corpse proved the multiverse theory along with the discovery of a particle that doesn't belong to this world, scientists named the particle called MASO.
Scientists also discovered that The Giant's MASO caused the "WCS", this particle couldn't be destroyed by any physical means, but thanks to MASO, the world's technology advanced.
Further research showed that MASO broke the law of conservation of mass, generating infinite energy. Researchers named it "MAGIC".
Organization Hamelin created Project Gestalt to combat "WCS" The process consisted of the separation of an individual's body and soul into two beings, the Gestalt, a soul without body, and the Replicant, a body without a soul.
Humanity fought several crusades against the "Legion" and the "Red Eyes" using child soldiers empowered by the drug "Luciferase" and commanded by Organization Hamelin.
Hamelin Crusaders fought the Legion all over the world, destabilizing economies and increasing the gap between rich and poor, large slums expanded across the world consequently.
"Red Eyes" died in Jerusalem during the 13th Crusade, with its leader dead, the "Legion" disorganized, becoming an easy target for the Crusaders, but the WCS still spread around the world.
The Project Gestalt gained more strength. People around the globe had their souls and bodies separated to escape the WCS, Gestalts slept, and Replicants left the labs immune to WCS and given minimal awareness to follow orders from the androids created by humans.
The Replicants worked tirelessly to send the giants' MASO back to where it came from.
However, not everyone trusted Project Gestalt, some people survived on their own, and one of these people walked Tokyo's ruined streets right now.
-Streets of Tokyo-
"Another day surviving in this city." I spoke sarcastically to myself, walking back to my apartment.
It was daytime but the sunlight barely passed through the dark clouds in the sky in what was left of Tokyo.
I found some food in an abandoned grocery store, but I don't know how long I can live like this. Sometimes I wonder if I should participate in the Project Gestalt.
However, I don't trust the Hamelin Organization and the Government after what they did.
Surround the infected with a wall, and then drop a bomb on them. Now they want volunteers for a secret project.
Not to mention, of course, the disappearances of children taken to the Organization with promises of food and shelter, just to vanish right after, I don't want to be the next.
I looked at my reflection in a store's glass. Messy black hair, brown eyes, and pale skin due to the lack of sunlight, I wore a gray coat, dark jeans, and black boots with a backpack on my back and held a metal baseball bat in my hand.
I smiled hesitantly, but the shaky smile on my reflection quickly turned into a frown. Damn, that was sad. Shaking my head, I left the store and walked towards my home.
I looked at the sky while walking and saw white flakes falling from the sky, covering the ground of the city; this is what happened to the people infected by WCS.
They became statues of salt and flew with the wind, enough salt to cover a city. I heard rumors that infected people heard the voice of God giving them a choice, become a statue of salt or join the legion.
Maybe whoever said that was crazy, but if it's true… I'd rather not think about it.
On my way, I couldn't shake the feeling of someone watching me, but when I looked back, there was no one there.
After some time, I arrived at my apartment, it wasn't exactly mine, but I don't think the previous owner would mind, after all, he laid across the city streets.
Wiping my boots on the carpet, I entered the apartment.
I closed the door behind me, turned on the lights and I looked around. Paintings I'd never seen before covered the walls, one looked like a white flower, another looked like a cathedral, and the last one looked like a dragon.
A table with a red sofa behind it, a brown shelf with a TV turned off, and a bookshelf decorated the living room.
On the way, I glanced at the titles of the books on the bookshelf.
"Multiverse Theory, Parallel Timelines and Their Ramifications by Acco..." The rest was illegible.
"All Discoveries about White Chlorination Syndrome."
"The Red Dragon and the Giant."
"The Story of Midgard Part 1 Intoners."
I never read these books and I think that I never will. The only book that interested me was the one on the table.
It was a red book with golden drawings forming a maze-like shape with a circular face adorning the cover, with golden eyes making a perfect circle and lines separating the eyelids.
A small nose stood between the eyes and a square mouth bellow it, the book was thirty centimeters long and twenty-three centimeters wide.
I found this book thrown away by the soldiers of the Hamelin Organization along with other books with faces.
They were in a pile in the middle of the city and the soldiers burned them with flamethrowers, the soldiers called them failures, but I saved this one without them seeing.
This book gave me a bad feeling; it was as if it looked at me, following me with its eyes.
Sometimes it seemed to move a few inches to the side, but I dismissed it as paranoia due to isolation.
Going to the kitchen, I emptied my backpack on the table, mostly canned food such as beef, sausage, millet, peas, instant food, and bottled water, a lot of water.
I didn't require any of that now, but it never hurts to have more, I made some instant noodles, and after eating them, slept in my room.
I had a strange dream. I walked through a destroyed city while talking to a floating box, but before the dream continued. I woke up with the sound of my apartment door opening followed by voices.
"Are you sure about that, what if he's still here?"
"Don't worry, it's going to be okay, we'll get the food and leave before anyone knows."
"I don't know. What if he gets mad?"
I got up and grabbed the baseball bat beside my bed. Going towards the door and opening it slowly, I walked with my back to the wall and approached the living room with the voices getting louder.
"Are you sure he lives here?"
"Yes, I followed him for quite some time."
Therefore, they were the ones following me. I approached the corner of the hallway and entered the living room, ready to bash someone's head.
"You picked the wrong house fool!"
"AAAHHH!"
I stopped upon hearing the screams. They weren't thieves; they were just two children, a boy and a girl.
The boy must be thirteen years old and the girl must be about nine. Both had white hair and wore old winter clothes; the girl hid behind the boy as he stood in front of her protectively.
"Please sir, don't hurt us, we were just looking for food. We haven't eaten in days. When we saw that someone still lived in the city, we thought we could get something to eat."
The girl nodded at everything the boy said. I was tempted to send them away. With the world in this situation, it was every man for himself. However, after looking at their condition, I didn't dare to do it.
"Sit at the kitchen table. I'll prepare something for you."
They looked at me in surprise but did as I said.
Meanwhile, I fried some eggs and meat while asking the two questions.
"So what are you two doing here? In the city, I mean."
"Our parents are no longer here." The boy said sadly and the girl went quiet.
"I'm very sorry. Now tell me how did you guys know I lived here?"
"We saw you a few times walking the streets and entering stores. We stayed out of your way because we didn't know if you were friendly, so we always went in the opposite direction of yours. But we ran out of food and options." The boy replied ashamed.
"I see, by the way. What are your names? My name is Alan."
"My name is Nier and this is my sister, Yonah." Nier answered pointing at the girl now identified as his sister.
"It's nice to meet you." Yonah said shyly.
"It's a Pleasure." I replied, placing the food on two plates.
"Do you two have somewhere to go?" I asked, setting the dishes on the table.
"No, we're just trying to survive." Nier replied, looking sadly at his plate.
I breathed deeply, thinking what I was about to do. I'm a bit greedy, I didn't want to share my resources with anyone, and simultaneously I couldn't leave two children on the streets
"I got a proposal for you two. How about you live here with me?" I asked hesitantly.
"Seriously?" They asked surprised with a disbelieved look.
"Yes." I replied, smiling nervously with my heart racing.
"Thank you!" They said happily, as Yonah got up, ran towards me, and hugged my leg.
"Do you have any more questions?" I asked, escaping the hug.
"Can I eat more food?" Yonah asked innocently, giving me puppy eyes.
"Of course." I replied, feeling my heart melt.
I felt uncomfortable with having two strangers as roommates, but as time went on, I found myself enjoying their presence, and I would find myself missing them after what happened that day.
END OF CHAPTER