The Calamity befell mankind on June second, marking the end of the modern calendar and the beginning of the post-calamity era.
An ancient prophecy entailed new realms for the Gods, so they slumbered.
The Heavens are merciless.
Fate is ruthless.
And he, Alden Altair Caelum, must die for the eon-long promise to be fulfilled!
But the Earth will not sit idly by and watch its children despair.
…
Alden adjusted his finger that was currently hanging on to dear life, trying its hardest to hold his phone in place.
He walked carelessly through the road, barely dragging his jacket through the warm sun. He had miscalculated how high the temperature for the day would be, and even though he could swear he'd seen it rain yesterday night, today was truly a hot summer day.
Yet although the sun was out, there was no sight of man, pet, or machine, which was quite odd if you'd consider that this place rarely got any sight of the afternoon glow, but it wouldn't be so odd if you took into account the fact that it was a Thursday afternoon.
And Alden was definitely late to school.
"How I hate school…" Alden, the detention-seeking bandit muttered to himself.
He knew he was going to be late, and it wasn't like he woke up late or anything; he just simply didn't want to go in.
But that would logically beg the question: why would he come in for the afternoon lessons if he'd already missed the morning ones?
He… Well, he had felt bored.
"No… I'm coming in because the exam season is near," Alden grumbled under his breath, yet if you paid close attention, you'd spot a shameful blush creeping up on his slightly tanned skin.
See, his original plan was to simply not come in at all, an unfortunate habit he'd found himself developing as of late, since for a while now he'd rather be stuck in his room playing god knows what game alone rather than go in to socialize with friends.
Which wasn't technically really that big a deal since he was already taught all the content for his upcoming exam, meaning what was left was only to revise and memorize some equations here and there.
But halfway through his 52nd "Mental Health Awareness day"- as he'd come to call his time not in school, for seemingly no particular reason- Alden suddenly felt a burst of…something?
I mean, although it was similar to boredom, it wasn't really. Logically speaking, why would he suddenly develop boredom now out of all days? Why not on any of the other 51 of his days off?
And if someone were to ask Alden to explain what exactly he felt in that moment, he wouldn't even be able to give anyone a straightforward answer.
Though, in hindsight, was it boredom at all?
Or was it rather a…sense of foreboding?
"But…what else could I have felt?" He sighed.
"Boredom makes the most amount of sense, so let's just go with that…for now," he sighed again, yet this time with a graver tone.
In truth, ever since being born, Alden had always had this strange feeling.
The kind where, for no reason at all, he'd sometimes either get extremely emotional or be oddly confident about small matters.
The day before his grandfather died, 9-year-old Alden couldn't get a wink of sleep, only managing to stop bawling his eyes out in his mother's arms.
And at other times, he used this strange intuition to his advantage. Alden simply couldn't remember a time when he'd failed a multiple-choice question.
The most recent example he could think of was on the theoretical section of his driving test; by relying solely on intuition and gut feelings, he'd managed to get 100% with no prior knowledge or study.
But…today was different; that feeling had never been as strong as now.
And on a separate note, he was worried about his own well-being.
…His physical condition has been slowly deteriorating ever since the first time that had happened to him.
What had happened, you may ask?
Just months prior, he had been diagnosed with a chronic heart condition.
The actual reason he'd been taking days off school. Of course, not to say he'd want to be in…
His heart was failing him.
And all he could do was watch.
…
A few minutes later.
As Alden neared the school entrance, he could hear the faint sounds of kids playing, a melody to a mother's ears. And to him, the most awful sound known to man.
He had almost reached the ripe age of adulthood, 17, a few months back. And yet, to his dismay, he still had to share a school with prepubescent children.
Remembering that in just a few months' time he'd be at a university invigorated him to keep walking while avoiding commenting on their weird speech and odd choice of words.
That was until one of them caught his eye.
Lightly tanned skin, a tall yet slender frame, wavy black-colored hair, murky grey eyes with a hint of blue, and glasses.
He did not stare at the small child, not more than 12, for no particular reason; he stared because the child resembled him.
Even though Alden's hair was curlier than the boy's, and although he had hazel eyes instead of the little guy's murky mess.
The two shared a strong resemblance, from the size and shape of the nose to the eyebrows and eyes. The little kid was effectively a child replica of Alden.
And for good reason, for he was Alden's little brother.
"He's more committed to school than I am… even though he's in his first year and I'm in my final…," Alden slightly caressed his forehead, not sure whether to be proud or ashamed.
Alden averted his eyes before his brother even noticed he was staring at him in the first place.
"Hmm, what time is it?" Recalling something, he glanced at his phone.
"…June second, 12:49, just on time, haha." Putting his phone away quickly, he began speedwalking to the cafeteria.
Currently, it was near the end of lunchtime, so hopefully he'd be able to grab something if he hurried.
And grab a bite he did, because this fine- no, make that finer- afternoon they were serving cheeseburgers.
And cheeseburgers he got- two, to be precise.
Some may call him fat, others his actions gluttonous, and yet his response to both is a middle finger.
Well, how else do you expect him to maintain his 200-pound (90 kg) slim figure at just shy of 6'4" (192 cm)?
What, do you expect him to feel full from just two of his favorite cheeseburgers? A light snack, might he add.
"For God's sake, why is he never not in?" Finishing the last bite of his second burger, Alden grumbled while lamenting the fact that in the 7 years he's been at this school, he could count the number of times this particular teacher had been absent on his hands.
Closing the door behind him, Alden glanced at the other pupils in the room. Raising his eyes slightly, he recounted a few times, not believing his eyes.
He was even tempted to look under the table to check for anyone hiding from him. This was because there was an unbelievable number of other pupils in the class- a staggering three!
Well…there's usually five, not much better… But that wasn't why Alden was shocked.
Alden was shocked mainly because out of the usual five, he was close friends with two, just friends with 1, and mere acquaintances with the remaining two.
Unfortunately for him, his favorites weren't there on this fine afternoon.
Taking a seat next to the person he liked most, Alden looked at him. Straight black hair, sharp eyebrows, and clear white skin. He was the definition of above average in appearance.
His name was Dorian.
As for Dorian's build? Uhh… Well, let's just say that if Alden could see his chin, he was sure he'd handsome as hell.
"What the fuck are you looking at?" Feeling an odd gaze on his chin, the confused Dorian shifted his eyes from the computer screen and confronted the perpetrator.
"Don't worry, pal; don't you worry your pretty little head," Alden said deeply while caressing Dorian's double chin softly.
"Get the hell off me!" Dorian shouted while swatting his hand away.
"Both of you settle down unless you want to come see me after school," the teacher threatened.
The teacher was an old man, nearly 70 by the look of it. With a head of full white hair with streaks of grey every now and then, he carried himself with dignity and had an aura almost demanding respect from the younger generations.
Both of them instantly stuck their heads to their respective computer screens in defeat, one grumbling vague death threats under his breath while the other continued to snicker at each one, only to upset Dorian even more, causing more threats. Which, in turn, created a vicious cycle of insults going back and forth.
Time passed.
"This is boring… soo boring…" Alden mumbled under his breath. Why did he even bother coming in? Because of an odd feeling?
"2:31, not too much time left." He could return home, or rather, his bedroom, or better yet, have a hot dinner prepared by his mother. Trying to avoid salivating at the thought, he tried paying attention to the class.
Yet at this moment, Alden felt his heart skip a beat.
"… and that's how you normalise a floating point number…I think??," Dorian said, while second-guessing himself.
"Not exactly, but you're almost there; there's a mistake in the second part. Go sit back down; I'll explain using the board," the old teacher replied, extending his hand intending to take the pen from Dorian.
…
Click!
?
???
"Huh?"
Looking at the scene, Alden could not believe his eyes.
Goosebumps.
Every hair, every pore on his body stood tall.
His blood churned.
"What…?" Dread seeped into his speech.
He was gone.
No scream.
No sound.
Nothing.
He just vanished.
Right in front of his eyes.
Dorian vanished?
"Where did he go…?" Utter confusion and disbelief were all that could be discerned from his tone.
How could someone, that had stood right there a moment ago, disappear right in front of his eyes?
His worldview had shattered.
Followed by a great, terrifying emotion.
A feeling of...Incomprehensible Horror
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Name: Dorian Alstead
Date of Vanishing: 2/6/2025
Time of Vanishing: 2:32
??????????????: ???
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