Memories faded away, and the once intimidating Asura now appeared as the child he had been centuries or even millennia ago.
Another memory unfolded before him, revealing his bloodlust-filled past that painted him red. The weak boy he once was was replaced by a tall, athletic red-haired man.
In this memory, he killed for pleasure, committing heinous acts against children and women. He realized that Votum had granted him unimaginable magic power at such a young age, amplifying his bloodlust and desire for pleasure.
But these memories also faded away, and he found himself kneeling in a dark void, tears streaming down his face. A system appeared before him, announcing that his narrative had been erased from the Divine Omnistream.
Desperate, he cried out, "Father, please help me! I don't want to cease to exist!"
No response came, only the echo of his cries reverberated in the void. Little did he know, that even non-existence was a form of existence, but it was beyond the comprehension of words or logic.
[Divine System: Strom no longer exists in the Divine Omnistream.]
His screams ceased, and he found himself in a black void, devoid of anything. Suddenly, the void transformed into a white page as the white-haired man closed a book that seemed to encompass an entire dimension in itself, yet it was the size of a normal book.
The scenery returned to normal, with a holographic sky painted in the midnight filled with stars and a tower surrounded by confused people below. The mysterious white-haired man stood on the top of the tower looking at the clueless people below with his magical purple eyes and thought to himself that these people were fortunate that they lived ignorant of a cosmic threat, but for him, he preferred to live in the truth even if he felt lonely at times to be on top of the food chains in this cosmos.
"I will remember the name Genie," the white-haired man said with a smirk. "Since Lasiv has changed the prologue, I will lay low until the future divine judgment in this timeline concludes."
In an instant, a horde of crows flew past the enigmatic white-haired man, and he disappeared along with the black crows as his existence never once existed.
[1ST POV INITIALIZE]
Amidst the crowd being evacuated through a grand passageway that bore a striking resemblance to the halls of a royal palace, several security guards diligently directed everyone toward various exits for their safety. However, a select few individuals who had purchased apartments in the tower opted for a different, more exclusive VIP route. Accompanied by a distinct group of security guards donning advanced black helmets, exoskeletons, and black vests, they made their way through the evacuation process.
Meanwhile, my friends and I wasted no time and swiftly made our way to the parking station through an alternative exit. As we approached the giant gate guarded by a multitude of people, we noticed the crowd was already present, some in a state of panic, while others appeared exhausted and on the brink of collapse. Among them, we discreetly blended in, each of us wearing disguises such as masks, scarves around our necks, and hats to conceal our identities and avoid drawing attention from the anxious crowd.
Our band could have taken another exit that was exclusively reserved for performers and staff but for some reason, Stella wanted to experience what it feels like to be in a chaotic situation amongst the crowd, and Setsuna also felt the same way so here we are.
I couldn't comprehend the thought process of these girls. Despite Ginevra expressing her concerns about it being a bad idea, Setsuna insisted on dragging her along.
Furthermore, I wasn't feeling well either. It was as if something had happened to me, but I couldn't recall any details. My left arm, in particular, felt oddly numb.
As we maneuvered through the crowd towards the parking lots, I deliberately matched my pace with Stella's, acting as a shield to deter any unwanted attention from guys who couldn't seem to take their eyes off her. Despite her efforts to conceal herself with multiple layers of clothing, a scarf, sunglasses, and a hood over her head, their gaze persisted.
Meanwhile, Setsuna took the lead, unapologetically pushing people aside without a care in the world. It was during this moment that Shan approached her.
"If you continue to do that, it will only bring attention to us." Said Shan.
"But I don't like being in a tight space, this was a bad idea!" Setsuna said with a disappointed tone.
Even though her voice was barely hearable due to the surrounding noise of the crowd, I could still understand some context of her words, and it was the words of someone who realized that she was a fool to follow her impulses.
As I was walking near Stella, I took this opportunity to talk to her about what was on my mind "Do you feel like something is wrong?"
She responded, "Of course, right now we are being evacuated after all."
I shook my head and said at a fast pace "That is not it, what I mean is I feel like something happened to us, I couldn't remember it. But like time stop for a moment..."
Stella lightly laughs "You can be a novelist, but it is a fun idea to think about I guess."
At that same moment, Stella reached out her hand to hold on to my left arm's jacket sleeve as we walked side by side.
Approximately 4 minutes later, we arrived at the parking lots where self-driven cars could be found parking and hovered above each other, aligned in many rows. Since this area was an open space without a wall to obstruct my view, I immediately saw a huge smoke coming from below that gradually made its way toward the tower as well as all directions of this island.
Giant smoke in a hue of red and slightly blue and pink due to the reflection of the holographic sky above made it seem so phenomenon and out of this world. It means that somewhere on this island, must be engulfed in flame right now.
The sound of confusion could be heard immediately after other people also saw the same things as I did.
"This isn't real right?"
"Shit, those world government's dogs finally make their move!" Someone even claimed that the world government was behind this chaos.
Suddenly many people seemed to collapse all around me; even Bridget came to me with a pale face and said "Shit, Einsamer, I think I can't go on anymore," and collapsed on the ground.
What happens?
I also felt this strange feeling that my arms were so numb more than ever before; it wasn't the same numbness I felt when I escaped from TWOD yesterday. This feeling was different, a sensation that I truly lost my arms in real life but for some miracle, they grew back.
I must be delusional!
Out of nowhere, another man screamed in pain as he shouted, "Monster, I saw it with my own eyes."
He rubbed his head and knelt with a despairing look. I couldn't tell exactly what his expression was but I could only say one thing, and that was the expression I recognized when the rankers encountered the Orc demon lord.
Something was at play here, but I couldn't tell what it was. However, now I must look after Bridget since she looked so pale. I carefully carried him on my shoulder as one of his hands wrapped around my neck; meanwhile, Ginevra also sprinted toward him and helped carry his other arms as well.
I told Stella "Book one of the self-driving cars directly to the garage."
Someone else responded to me instead of Stella, it was Setsuna. "I already booked it, let's get going."
After that, we walked to the waiting area where the self-driven car would drive its way to the lane that led to the waiting area, where a small station made from glass with a coffee shop and restaurant located a few meters away. A few moments later we arrived in front of this station, before me was a flying Van, big and modern enough for the six of us to sit comfortably.
"Let's get going; the smoke is making its way here," I told everyone as the giant smoke drifted toward the tower.
"Wouldn't it be safe for us to stay in the tower?" Said, Shan.
He was right, but at the same time I felt like the tower might be in lockdown soon, therefore it would be hard for us to leave once it was locked down by the Golden Deer Guild, especially since Stella and Setsuna's identity would be exposed if they check each person identification.
However, I remember Razen telling me that we should leave immediately before the island is completely locked down. He must have known this reason as well and told me he would transfer the coins for our performance today.
Nonetheless, we rejected his payment, since we only wanted to gain more popularity and appreciate the opportunity.
I rejected his offer because it put the image of our band in a good light, therefore the entertainment tower would consider giving us more opportunities in the future.
A brief moment later, Shan had the face of someone who realized what he just said might be wrong.
He then said, "Never mind, I think we should get out of this island for now."
At that moment, we got into the flying van and immediately it exited the tower and flew through the sky. Once again, I could see multiple floating islands with their vibrant light shimmering from the building and street. It seems like the zero zone island was just a small part of the vibrant city, but at the moment when I stayed on that island, so many things happened.
Just imagine how big the solar system is, let alone this entire universe!
While we were traveling, Bridget was sleeping at the back of the van, lying on top of Ginevra's lap. At the same time, the silence was broken by someone.
"I feel like something bad is going to happen on Tellus soon.." Setsuna expressed her concern.
I could tell everyone had the same idea and concern as her, but whatever happens, as long as it doesn't bother my ordinary routine, then it wouldn't affect me either.
Focusing on too many things at once really made my life chaotic; for now, I would just focus on my studies and working a part-time job as a guitarist. I should inform Geralt about my decision when I return to sector 2.
Currently, we finally arrived at the island, and then the car landed in front of the garage. Ginevra commanded the metal door to be opened through her tablet, and then the self-driving car found its way into the garage, and everyone left the van.
Shan and I helped carry Bridget back into the room once we saw the self-driven van leave the garage and the metal door completely came to shut.
Now lying on the bed with sweat all over his body, I took the time to take off his clothes and apply a Neosporin spray on his body then gently wash it.
Currently, the girls were in their room, while Shan and I were in the guys' room. Leaning against the wall, Shan had the look of someone who was lost in thought.
I told him, "Brother, if you have free time. Help bring his clothes to put into the washing machine for me."
He fixed his eyes on me and said, "We leave Bridget's van behind..."
I was aware of that, but at this moment it wasn't the time to think about it.
"I will notify Razen about this matter," I sighed.
Then he said something that seemed to bother me as well: "I feel like time stopped for a moment when we finished our last song."
"I feel the same thing..." I responded with unease.
Then he opened his tablet, and a holographic display appeared before him as he approached me.
Afterward, he showed me something, a screen filled with text.
The first words I saw were [The sign of the divine judgment.]