Chapter 13:

Red Lotus (Volume 2)

Ankoku Jidai: Owari no Hajimari


"..."

A massive, rocky boulder plummeted from the heavens, crashing directly onto Natasha's fragile body. The impact was devasting, obliterating her in an instant, narrowly missing Kaito by the width of a blade of grass. The explosion of the force drenched Kaito in torrents of blood. His trembling hands, once outstretched to embrace her, now bore the grisly remnants of her body, her intestines clinging grotesquely to his skin.

"..."

Kaito stood frozen in place, the moment's horror rooting him to the spot. Slowly, his knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, his body wracked with uncontrollable tremors. Tears streamed down his cheeks, blurring his vision as grief tore through his chest like a serrated blade. He threw his head back and unleashed a raw, earth-shattering scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A scream of pure anguish. A scream of a man who had lost it all.

"..."

His trembling legs carried him forward as he stumbled toward the shattered remains of Natasha’s unrecognizable form. He fell to his knees beside her, his hands shaking as they reached out to grasp hers, cold, lifeless, and barely attached.

“Natasha… Natasha… Natasha!” he cried desperately, his voice cracking with despair. Each call grew weaker, the hope in his voice fading until it was barely a whisper. Though the warmth of life had long since left her body, Kaito clung to the faintest, cruellest glimmer of hope, begging for a response from his beloved.

"Why are you lying on the ground, Natasha?" He asked, his voice trembling.

"Oh, you must be tired."

"Haha... Natasha, you really can be funny sometimes."

"Come on now... This is no place for a princess like you to rest, is it?"

"Oh... Right... We're a couple now, aren't we? Haha, it still hasn't sunk in yet..."

"Shall we go on a date?" Where should we go first? Oh, how about the amusement park? Or maybe the aquarium. Oh! I know, let's go back and surprise your old man. Surely he will have a surprised look on his face."

“Natasha… Why aren’t you talking? Are you shy?”

“I… I feel shy too. Haha…”

"..."

"Natasha, why aren't you responding?"

“Natasha… Why?”

“Natasha?”

“Natasha.”

“Natasha!”

“Natasha, please…”

“Please… just say something…”

Kaito’s voice cracked as he grew hysterical, shaking her lifeless body in desperation. His words became incoherent sobs as he recalled every memory they had shared together, each laugh, each glance, each tender moment. His cries echoed in the empty air, but the silence that followed was deafening.

Slowly, the light in his eyes dimmed, fading into a hollow grey. The vibrant soul within him crumbled, piece by piece, swallowed by an overwhelming void of despair.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"!"

Suddenly, the air erupted with a series of thunderous booms in the distance. The ground beneath him trembled violently, the school building creaking under the strain. A cacophony of panicked screams filled the air, growing louder and more frantic. Flocks of birds scattered in all directions, their screeches piercing through the chaos. Car alarms blared erratically as the earth itself seemed to convulse.

Kaito turned his head toward the source of the commotion. His heart sank as a horrifying sense of déjà vu washed over him.

"..."

Crimson clouds. 

Flickering sky.

"..."

It was happening again.

But this time, from the heart of the flickering sky, colossal boulders emerged, raining down in a destructive overflow. They crashed into towering skyscrapers, reducing them to rubble in seconds. The devastation spread like wildfire, tearing through roads, toppling trees, and annihilating everything in its path.

People caught in the chaos were swept away, their screams cut short as they vanished into the abyss. The heavens were painted in hues of blood-red, and the earth below mirrored the massacre. A crimson tide spilt across the ground, mingling with debris and human remains, staining everything in its path.

The once-vibrant world had become a living nightmare, a hellscape of destruction and despair.

Was this truly the end?

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