The sound of crying and groaning became harder for him to handle, and the strong, metallic smell of blood filled the air, making it unbearable.
'If this was his body from a few hours ago, he would have tried to save them all.'
'If only I could go back to the time before that cursed tentacle creature first attacked Earth.'
'If only I could go back with all the strength and power he used to have.'
These "if" thoughts kept running through his mind, leaving him staring blankly at a corpse nearby. The body, torn into two, was just lying not far in front of him.
The corpse was that of a young girl, around 10 years old, with blonde hair tied into two braids. The drying blood stained the concrete floor beneath her body.
Finally, he turned his face away from the scene in front of him and tried to stand up again, using the car he had been leaning on for support.
Then, he walked slowly, dragging his feet toward a place he still remembered clearly—a small convenience store hidden behind the supermarket building in front of him.
As he struggled to walk, he recalled everything that had happened and everything that was bound to happen that day.
His name was Kaelan Riverwind, but everyone who knew him simply called him Kael.
He worked as a junior accountant at a well-known tax consulting firm in his city.
Because his job required him to work overtime constantly, especially during tax report season, he became increasingly introverted.
Every day, he only left his apartment to go to work or to buy essential supplies for his own needs. Sometimes he went out for other things, but definitely not to play or hang out.
But of course, as an accountant, even though he is still a junior, he can still afford to pay someone to handle household chores. So, he never did any work other than fiddling with his laptop or smartphone.
And on that day, Sunday morning to be exact, when he wanted to buy some food from a shopping center a bit farther from his apartment, the incident happened.
Some people, sitting on benches in the shopping center or eating at the food court, suddenly pointed to the sky.
"Look! What is that?!"
"The sky split apart?"
"How could the sky split open like that?!"
"Oh, my God!"
Voices of shock and surprise could be heard everywhere, making everyone turn their heads to look up at the sky.
Everyone stared at the sky, transfixed by the incredible sight, except for a few individuals, including Kael.
He was preoccupied with replying to a coworker's messages on his smartphone, entirely oblivious to the chaos unfolding around him.
[So, how about the tax report later? Have you finished matching the inventory with the sales yet?]
[I'll finish it today. I have some matters to attend to first.]
[Alright.]
[I'll email it later…]
Before he could finish typing his response, sudden screams erupted around him.
"My God!"
"What's that?!"
"Tentacles!"
"They're huge!!"
Confused, Kael looked at everyone, who were now pointing at the sky. His eyes followed their direction.
And then, in an instant, the earth shook violently. A blinding light made him unable to see anything.
He could only feel himself falling to the ground due to the tremors, and he sensed heavy and hard objects hitting him.
Shortly after, he lost consciousness.
***
Panting heavily, he rushed into the small convenience store, one of the few buildings that hadn't been severely affected by the tremors shaking the earth.
He locked the store securely and quickly pulled down its rolling door.
After making sure all the rolling doors were locked, he turned around and allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness.
He started observing the items scattered all over the store, with the display racks in the middle of the shop toppled over.
This was the same place where, in the past, he had managed to escape and hide when those creatures had attacked.
Dragging his left leg, he made his way to the medicine cabinet, searching for antiseptic and bandages for his wounds.
He also grabbed a knife, a candle, and some matches.
Sitting on the floor, he lit the candle.
Under its dim light, he took the knife and, forcing his left hand to grip the fabric of his pants, he tore them apart.
On his calf, a long wound was visible, its blood starting to dry. He opened the antiseptic bottle with his teeth.
Then he placed a clean piece of his pants in his mouth, and with labored breaths, poured the entire bottle's contents onto his leg.
The sharp smell of antiseptic filled the air, and he felt an intense pain from the wound. Biting down on the cloth in his mouth, he tried his best not to scream.
Once the pain began to fade, he removed the cloth from his mouth and hissed, "F*ck! F*ck! F*ck!"
After the pain subsided, he grabbed a bandage and started wrapping his wound. Then he struggled to remove the sleeve of his jacket and noticed that his entire left arm was covered in a mix of red and blue.
He let out a deep sigh and leaned his body against one of the store shelves.
Although he was already aware of all the injuries he had sustained today, experiencing all the pain was still far from pleasant.
He stood up again and grabbed a balm, rubbing it on his bruised left arm. Still with dragging his left leg, he walked to the beverage rack, took a can of beer, and drank it greedily.
The store's owner and customers had fled the place after the tremors, unaware of what would unfold hours later.
"How long has it been since those tentacles appeared?" he muttered softly, trying to figure out the exact time after he collapsed and now.
In his past life, six hours after the devastating tremors and the light that destroyed everything, changes would begin to occur on this ruined Earth.
The first change would be the appearance of monsters—something Kael would come to learn where they came from in the future.
But now, he was ready to prepare himself for facing all the monsters that would soon appear.