Raiden’s POV-“Why must we Suffer?”

  “I don’t want to lose everything again.”

  “I don't wanna live in a world without you…”

  “Is it fate ? That we were never meant to be ? ”

  “I’m tired.”

  “LEt me DiE.”

  “PlEasE”

  “LEt mE DIe.”

  “L???????_?????????????????????e?????t??????????????????????? m???e?????????????_????_????????????????????? D???i??????_????????????????????????e?????????? P?????????????l???????????????????????e??????????????????????a?????????????s?????????????????????????????????e?????????????????????????????.??????????????????????????”

  “????? ?? ”

  “??????”

  “??????????????_????????????????????????q????????????????????????????U????????????????????????????????????H???????????_?????????????????????E????????????????????????C?????U????????????????????????????????X??????????????????????????????_??????H?????????????????????????????_?S???,??????????????A?????????????.????????????????????????????????????????????w???????????????????????????i??????????????????????w???????????????jx?????????????????????????????????u????????????i??????????????????f_????????????????? a???_?????????????????w???”

  “W???????????????????a?????????k?????????????????????????????????????????e??????????????????????????????? u?????????????????????p???????_?????????????????????????????.?.????????????????.??????????_????????????????????????”

  "HAH—HAH—HAH""

  “I” woke up panting as my brain tried to stop all the noises. My body drenched in sweat. My breathing haggard. The Nightmares…

  [I’m Sorry.] a voice echoed through my mind sounding guilty.

  “Don’t be it’s not something you can control” I said trying to uplift the mood.

  [...]

  [If you draw my-]

  “No. I won’t erase it” I said with certainty , while it is stressful and painful I believe one day they’ll stop coming. I just need to-

  [We can hear your thoughts, you know.]

  “...” FU- Alright deep breaths. I said to myself at the time , now then how did we get here? Is what you might ask? It’s a long story.

  It started with a light.

  An explosion.

  No — not an explosion.

  A whiteout.

  The entire world turned white for a full minute.

  And then…

  Nothing.

  At least, that’s what we thought.

  The change was gradual.

  The first humans shifted.

  Bodies rewriting themselves.

  Abilities surfacing.

  Fiction becoming real.

  Remnants. That's what they call us

  Humans imbued with powers pulled from stories — games, anime, novels, shows — anything humanity had imagined.

  Fantasy stopped being fantasy.

  I guess I was lucky.

  Lucky to survive…

  [And now you’re stuck with us now]

  “Ugh. I wanna take a bath…”

  [There's no bodies of water nearby]

  “Man..”

  SCREECH

  A loud scream echoes

  [An Enemy?]

  “Vestige.” I said with certainty my voice turning emotionless.

  [I see a human. Seems like they’re losing.]

  And with that I walked.

  Vireth’s POV-

  “Ugh.” Vireth grumbled as he was forced to roll side ways

  “What should I do…” He thought to himself

  He wasn’t built for this. He wasn’t an attacker. He needed coordination. Strategy. A team. But no one trusted him. They all thought he was helping the enemy.

  As he look at the Vestige in front of him , it was like a monster , specifically a Xenomorph from the movie Alien in 1979 , looking all skeletal and biomechanical colored in muted shades of bck

  The Xenomorph Vestige shrieked again , its tail shing forward like a spear. Vireth barely raised his rod— CRACK. A sound like gss cracking could be heard.

  The invisible wall absorbed the strike completely… and then dissolved. A thud could be heard as he slid back across the pavement.

  The Vestige lunged. Too fast. He rolled — cws carving through asphalt where he had been. His breathing was getting heavier.

  “I can’t do anything alone.” He thought to himself.

  His spear thrust gnced off its exoskeleton. Sparks. No penetration. The creature turned its head. Then— It stopped chasing him. Instead, it looked past him. Toward the settlement.

  “No—” He knew. If it reached there… Casualties would appear and they?

  “They’d bme me again…” His body wavered. He was tired. And suddenly the world turned mute.

  The vestige stopped, as I also held my breath.

  The world went silent.

  Not quiet.

  Muted.

  As if sound itself had been judged unnecessary.

  The Vestige froze mid-step.

  The wind stopped.

  Dust hung in the air like suspended memory.

  “Huh?” was all I could mutter.

  Raiden’s POV

  [That’s-?] Raiden Ei’s voice sharp.

  “A Xenomorph. Something like an alien from an old movie”

  [Hoh-?] Raiden Mei looked curious

  Acheron did not speak , yet “I” felt it

  “Well then…” I said to myself looking at the Vestige , my hands held brushed against the hilt.

  [When you make a choice, make one that you won’t regret]

  Acheron’s voice echoed

  My hesitation gone as I drew upon “Naught” and as it left the scabbard

  Color died.

  Not faded.

  Died.

  The sky became ash.The ground became bck and white.The Vestige became an outline.

  Conditions acquired.

  A low hum vibrated through existence itself.

  —————Hummmmmmmmm—————

  A silent hum could be heard.

  “It to Shall Fall”

  —————SHINGGGGG—————

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  The bde left the sheath.

  There was no visible ssh.

  No arc of lightning.

  No explosion.

  The Vestige simply—

  Stopped.

  A red fracture traced across reality behind it.

  Then across the monster.

  Then through the street.

  Through the sky.

  Through meaning.

  For a single suspended instant—

  The world remembered what it meant to be meaningless.

  Then—

  Everything resumed.

  Color returned.

  Sound returned.

  The wind exhaled.

  And the Vestige?

  Gone.

  Not destroyed.

  Not disintegrated.

  As if it never had a meaning

  “I wanna take a bath…” I said annoyed. As “Naught” was sheathed once more

  Vireth’s POV

  The monster was there. Then it wasn’t. No sound. No impact. No debris. His spear fell from his hand.

  “…What?”

  All that’s left was a scar on the sky. One that shows a famous vestige.

  “Raiden…”

  Later-

  “Well this just got interesting~” With long bck hair and wearing what seemed to be the robe of a priestess her blue eyes seemed to shimmer golden.

  ~End?