“You’ve come, Alex.”
Alex’s gaze was cold as he looked at the young man who had called him. The scene before him was drenched in death, hundreds of lifeless bodies lay scattered across the blood-soaked ground. Yet, amidst the carnage, the young man stood untouched, his clothes immaculate, not a single speck of dust on his pristine appearance.
“Why did you kill them? They were the last humans alive and you killed them… Why Roman?”
Alex’s dark blue eyes were focused on Roman, but he was in an awful state. His black hair was soaked in monster blood, and the armor was broken and cracked in many places.
“you will not understand… Alex. This is for the humanity.” Roman calmly let out,
“For the humanity? Don’t make me laugh.” Alex spoke coldly. After the last quantum break, only one hundred or so people had survived and in that only four were heroes who had the power to fight against the nightmarish monsters.
For the last stretch, Alex and the other two heroes went to divert the attention of the monsters from these humans. While Roman stayed with them for protection but who knew that he would do something like this. Nobody saw this coming, not Alex, not the other heroes that died trying to divert the attention of the monster, not even the humans who respected Roman and gave him the title of “The brightest of them all.”
He wanted to kill Roman, but before he could do something, Roman moved, in the blink of an eye, he came in front of Alex and pushed a dagger into one of the cracks of his armor and through his heart. Alex was petrified as Roman laid him on the burned ground.
“I am sorry, trust me I will make this right, just rest.” Roman looked at Alex calmly, who struggled but slowly he stopped moving. Roman, without care of what he had done, stood up and started looking at a stone in his hand.
He walked forward on the barren earth, with a thumb-sized gem in my hand, and let out.
“This will not be our end, I promise you all, please believe me, after all I am your hero. Check for the condition”
An angelic voice spoke,
[Checking for the Conditions to Activate The Wishing Stone.]
[Checking for the first condition: The entity must possess energy to activate The Wishing Star.]
[The Condition is Met!]
[Checking for the second condition: The entity must be in a state of temporal stability and no external time alterations should affect them.]
[The Condition is Met!]
[Checking for the third condition: The event must occur in absolute isolation with no intelligent life within a 1-light-year radius.]
[Error!! Condition Not Met!!]
Roman was confused, his golden eyes tensed as he felt a sharp dagger on his neck. It was the same dagger he had used to kill Alex.
“How?”
Alex’s heavy breath fell on Roman’s ear. “Just because I was the weakest, you guys looked down upon me. Was it my fate that I was not able to be a good hero for the people? You know…I wish I had a chance, then I would show you, all of you, who I was, who I could have become. Just to spite you all, I would be the strongest one out there.”
Alex leaned heavily on Roman’s back and used every bit of his energy to keep him from making any movements.
[The Wish has been asked for, please complete the requirements.]
“S***…Alex, you have to understand…” Roman tried to reason but Alex interjected, he did not give Roman any chances.
“If this is how the end of humanity is written…then so be it.”
Slit!!
Blood spread from Roman’s neck, he was in shock. He tried to cover his neck but then he remembered that this was his enchanted knife and the wounds from it wouldn’t heal.
He slowly fell to the ground, still with his eyes open. On his last breath, he heard.
[Condition meet!! Activating the wishing stone…!]
This was the last thing he heard before he died.
Alex was also on the ground, all the strength in his body was leaving him. His body was not able to heal the wound that Roman gave him. Slowly, he was also dying,
“What a great run it was…goddess, looks like this nightmare is finally over. “
His eyes fell on the moon. 10 years ago, it was one of the most beautiful things in the night sky but now it was in pieces. He still remembered how it was destroyed and how its destruction brought the doom of humanity.
Humanity, who had contended against Abyss for decades, would lose so quickly….
Just then an Angelic voice came to his ears.
[Condition meet!! Activating the wishing stone…!]
The gem in Roman’s hand floated in the air and shined brightly. Alex was barely alive, he could see a bright light shining in front of him.
‘Is this what happens after you die?’ He questioned himself, The bright light spread, slowly covering everything in his visions. Then everything went dark.
———-
The newsroom is dimly lit, and the usual bright and lively atmosphere is replaced with a somber, heavy tone. Samantha was also tense, but she still maintained her calm expression, after all, she was a news anchor, and it was her job to calmly present the news to their viewers.
Seated beside her was Michael Reeves, a renowned A-rank Hunter from the United Front, a man with a reputation that spoke for itself. He was striking-tall, well-built, with sharp and knowing eyes that studied everything with quiet curiosity. He wore a calm smile, unfazed by the cameras or the weight of the discussion about to unfold.
Under normal circumstances, Samantha might have engaged him in light conversation, maybe even a little playful banter.
But today the atmosphere in the studios was somber, after all, today was The Day of calling. Her hands clenched briefly under the table before she forced them to relax. She couldn’t afford to break now.
‘The Calling will be here soon. Did Alexie wake up? Damn it… let’s just get this over with.’
From behind the camera, the director gave a silent cue.
“Samantha, let’s start.”
She took a deep breath. Michael turned to her, waiting. The camera zoomed in, and she met its gaze and spoke.
“Good Morning, to all our viewers.”
Her voice was steady but carried the weight of the day’s meaning.
“I am sure everyone knows what today is. Ten years have passed since the previous Calling. Countless young men and women will be marked today, Families across the world will be watching their sons and daughters vanish before their eyes, not knowing if they will ever return.”
“To discuss this, we are joined by Michael Reeves, A-rank Hunter of the United Front. Michael, welcome.”
Michael inclined his head slightly and spoke calmly
“For 200 years, this has been normal, Samantha, The Calling is our reality. Those chosen don’t get a choice. They will be marked, taken to complete different challenges, and if they survive… they return Awakened. Stronger. More than human.”
Samantha leaned forward, her voice trembling.
“And if they don’t?” she pressed. “If they fall? We don’t even get to burn them, Michael! We don’t even know where they go! Do you know how many parents wake up every year on this day, terrified?”
Michael had a long pause, his fingers tapping the desk.
“I know. And I hate it just as much as you do. But we can’t deny what the Calling has done for humanity. Without it, we wouldn’t have the Awakened, we wouldn’t have the mana and magitech, we wouldn’t have the warriors protecting us, and we wouldn’t be able to deal with the Gates or the Layering. The ones who survive… they are the reason we are still here.”
“So that justifies it? Does that make it okay? This isn’t a draft, Michael-this is a lottery of life and death. No training. No warnings. Just an invisible hand that plucks them away from their homes and drops them into some unknown battlefield. And all we can do is wait and hope that maybe…just maybe…they’ll survive.”
Anger was creeping into her voice, while Michael was composed and thoughtful.
“It isn’t fair. It never was. But Samantha… you’ve seen them. The ones who return. They come back changed. Powerful. Almost godlike. The Calling forces them to adapt, to overcome. That’s the real cruelty of it. We need them. And the only way to make them is through pain.”
From behind the cameras, the director gave a subtle thumbs-up. The discussion was raw and compelling. Exactly what they wanted.
But Samantha wasn’t playing a role. This wasn’t just a story. This was her life.
“We need them, but do they need this?” she asked, her voice softer now, more fragile. “Does any of this make us worthy of survival? What about the ones who don’t make it? We call them sacrifices. But do they even have a choice to fight?”
Michael sighed, rubbing his temples.
“We don’t know, Samantha. We never have. The only truth we have is that the strong return, and the weak… disappear. No answers. No explanations. Just a silent loss that the world has learned to accept.”
Samantha softly shook her head, after all, she did not want her brother to die.
“Maybe that’s the worst part. That we’ve learned to accept it.”
A heavy silence falls over the newsroom. The camera lingers on their faces. Samantha, her eyes filled with quiet rage and sorrow; Michael, his expression weary and resigned.
Suddenly, every electronic flickered and lost its power, everyone looked around in confusion.
“It has started.” Michael quickly stood up and walked out of the newsroom, and Samantha followed him
As they walked out. A deep, Angelic voice filled the air. Everyone in the newsroom tensed,
[Citizens of Earth, heed this message.]
[After ten years, the Time of Calling has come.]
[The chosen have been marked. They will face the Challenges. They will endure, or they will fail. Those who survive will Awaken. Those who fail… will be mourned.]
[After please be ready for the call.]
[This is the price of power. This is the burden of humanity. May the strong return.]
Everyone in the world held their breath.
