Chapter 0 - The betrayal
"I'm tired," he groaned, slumped over the backrest of a chair. His arms were crossed on the metal frame, and his head rested lazily atop them as he looked out over the city skyline.
"Hey! Focus! They should be coming out any moment now," barked a sharp voice behind him.
A girl stood, scouting the distance. She was alert, her eyes sweeping across the horizon for any signs of a rift or portal.
"Ah... It looks like they're gone for a while," she muttered. "I wonder if they'll be alright this time. The last time they went in, something huge attacked us."
She glanced at the boy again-he was fast asleep, completely unbothered by the end of the world.
"HEY! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"
Her shout jolted him upright. He blinked, annoyed.
"We're on top of a school building! TIME IS LIMITED! We could be caught by teachers at any moment! The only reason we're even up here is because of Aika-she pulled every string she could as class rep. Without her, this whole operation wouldn't exist."
He listened, or at least pretended to. Her words seemed to enter one ear and exit the other. Then, with a lazy grin, he muttered, "Sorry, Kaori. But you forgot the other worst-case scenario."
She raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"
"Imagine a bunch of girls come up here and think we're dating."
"I will strangle you," she snapped without hesitation.
Time passed.
Kaori suddenly pointed. "There! A rift-outside the school perimeter! Let's go!"
He groaned. "Do we have to...?"
Kaori kicked the chair out from under him and yanked his tie, dragging him toward the rooftop door.
They arrived at the rift's edge just as four figures emerged. Weapons drawn, the silhouettes were tired but unharmed. One of them stepped forward, dismissing his weapon into a flicker of light. Not just anyone-the leader.
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"How did it go?" Kaori asked, eyes lighting up.
"Smooth enough," he said. "We're close. One more day and this could all be over. We've even located the source. Tomorrow, we end this."
He turned to Lucid, smirking. "Still sleeping on duty, huh?"
Lucid rubbed his eyes. "I wasn't asleep."
"He was," muttered the girl with the ribbon.
Ignoring them, the leader raised his voice. "Everyone, gather up."
They circled around him.
"My dearest comrades and best friends," he began, his gaze landing briefly on Lucid. "Today, we confirmed the source of the apocalypse. Tomorrow, we put an end to it. We've fought hard, lost too many... but we endure. I'm proud of all of you. So rest well tonight. Tomorrow... could be our last."
Lucid watched him for a moment before turning away-only to find himself face-to-face with Aika.
Her pink-gray hair fluttered as she crossed her arms, giving him a look of pure disdain.
"Oh... hey," Lucid said awkwardly.
"Hello."
She didn't look away.
"I wonder when you'll finally stand up for the group instead of tagging along," she said coldly. "Don't get me wrong-our leader may be your friend, but he carries more than you ever will. Your powers are borderline useless. We already have Kaori. Her enchanted arrows do more than your... gun tricks."
Kaori quickly stepped in, wrapping her arms around Lucid's and pulling him away. "Don't mind her," she said. "You may be useless and all-but you're our useless guy."
Lucid forced a smile. Her teasing hurt more than she realized.
"Let's eat!" she said, trying to cheer him up.
The Day of Calamity
Buildings collapsed. Meteors rained from the skies. The final battle was underway.
The leader fought with everything he had. Kaori, out of arrows, now wielded her dagger beside him. Lucid fired from afar, weakening monsters for others to finish. He wasn't useless. Not entirely.
"WE HAVE TO FALL BACK!" Lucid shouted. "WE CAN TRY AGAIN!"
But there was nowhere to retreat. Home was already gone.
Aika cut through the noise. "Suits you, Lucid. Just know this: all of this? Your fault. Your weak heart brought us here."
Her words sliced deeper than the monsters' claws.
They fled. The massive rift portal behind them birthed endless waves of twisted creatures.
Lucid stayed at the rear, covering their escape. He shifted weapons through his card-based arsenal-a beam rifle, then a machine gun-spraying the field with bullets.
"DIE, YOU WRETCHES!"
He sprinted toward a building and kicked open door after door, catching up with the group.
At last-an exit. He lunged for it-
-and was shoved.
He fell, landing hard. A dull pain spread through his limbs.
"Wh-What...?!" he stammered.
Aika stood above him, calm and distant.
"This is where it ends, Lucid. I'm cleansing the team of its weakest link."
"What link-Gah!" Pain overtook him. Paralyzed, he could only watch as she closed the door.
"No..."
Then came the shadow.
A thing of pure black, twisting and writhing, descended upon him. It was despair incarnate. It wrapped around his body, piercing, crushing, ripping-
-and then, nothing.
Everything is dark-utterly dark. The absence of light and sensation is gone, yet somehow still present.