It was a clear night of Saturday, a full moon glazing over the dead city, bodies lying everywhere eyes could see.
Yuuma woke up. He doesn't remember anything....."Mom, I'm hungry ARGHH! Where am I? Mom? Dad? Sis?"
Then Yuuma recalled what happened hours ago and a wave of chills hit his body. Panicking, screaming, he rushed to find the exit of the pipe he fell into, he realised his left hand is aching and he can't move it. It was fractured.
Somehow rushing out, he saw something he could have never imagined. Mountains of dead bodies piled high in grotesque mounds and set on fire, burnt and slaughtered body parts lying on ground.
The helicopters, bombers and gunmen had gone long ago after demolishing everything. Yuuma sank to his knees, the metallic stench of blood and fire filling his nostrils. The city he had known, the life he had lived, was gone, obliterated in hours. And he... he was alone.
He screamed, cried and ran with a broken arm around his city. Somewhere in the city he found a bracelet. It felt similar, the one his elder sister wore. He picked it up, sobbing. He was helpless.
Wandering around more he found Haruto lying dead, body pierced with dozens of bullets. He didn't feel satisfaction, for the first time, Yuuma realised... It wasn't punishment. It was erasure....
"This is a nightmare, a dream... The alarm clock would ring right away, and I'd wake up and go to race with Zoruhiko like always... Right?", screamed Yuuma, forcing a smile through his tears...
Everything went silent... Yuuma was quiet. The sound of flames echoed.... He stared at the sky, falling on the ground, overwhelmed.
Hours later, he stood up, broken, shattered. He thought, "Is this real? Why did this happen? Who did this? What do i do now?"
He felt numb... Every step echoed too loudly, like the city was hollow underneath.... "Mom..... Dad.... Sis... Zoruhiko.... Please tell me y'all wake me up right now from this nightmare..... I-I can't take this anymore!!!" screamed Yuuma, agonizingly...
Aimless wandering.....
And then he saw it...
His body froze before his mind could understand. Lying among the ruins was his father's severed head, scorched beyond recognition, eyeballs burnt and hollow, blood slowly oozing into the ash beneath it. Yuuma's breath hitched, his chest tightening as the world around him began to warp.
A sound escaped his throat, something broken and distorted. He screamed, then laughed, then cried, his emotions crashing into each other without control. He staggered through the dead streets like a madman, clutching his head, muttering words that made no sense as midnight swallowed the ruined city.
By the time the moon stood high in the sky, Yuuma understood one thing with terrifying clarity. His life was meaningless now. There was nothing left. No home. No family. No reason to keep going.
In the distance, mountains of dead bodies burned, flames rising high and roaring like a call. Yuuma ran toward them without hesitation, heat scorching his skin as he closed in on the fire, ready to let it consume him and end everything.
Suddenly, arms wrapped tightly around him from behind, gripping him with desperate strength and pulling him back. Yuuma did not struggle. Before he could turn and see who it was, his strength left him, his vision fading as darkness claimed him.
When he woke up, harsh white light pierced his eyes. The smell of antiseptic filled his lungs as he lay on a hospital bed, vision blurry, body stiff, mind fractured by trauma. A man leaned into his view, his voice sharp but steady.
"Hey there, young man. You were damn lucky last night. My name's Taishiro Yurihana. Yours?"