(Viewpoint: Roum)
A heavy silence settles between us.
The wind stirs the black dust and swirls it around the rocky ridge. The particles strike my armor like a fine rain. In the distance, the wave breathes. Slowly. Like a gigantic animal catching its breath before striking again.
I keep my eyes fixed on the horizon.
Chetan said nothing.
I can feel his gaze on me.
A look filled with hatred… but also with calculation.
"How much longer are you going to stand here?" he finally said.
His voice is low.
Tired.
I shrug slightly.
– You don't really have a choice.
He sneers.
A short, dry laugh.
– Do you think your little blackmail is going to keep me quiet?
I'm not answering
Because the truth is… I don't know.
What secret could he be hiding?
The wind is blowing harder.
And the wave moves away towards our home.
I hadn't taken the time, but the view from here is much clearer and more beautiful, almost pleasant.
I feel the black heat pulsing inside me.
Stronger.
Plus clair.
[INTERNAL ACTIVITY: 71%]
"That's good," I murmured.
Annoy
– what's the point
Chetan frowns and stares at me as if I've gone crazy.
– Who are you talking to?
I point to the wave.
- That.
He follows my gaze.
For a few seconds, none of us spoke.
Then he spits on the ground.
– Perfect. Stuck with a madman now.
I slowly straighten up.
– Chetan… look.
He doesn't move and ignores me.
So I continue.
– The TRACK giants have fallen
I point to the horizon.
Chetan leaped from his seat, clenching his teeth.
His jaw trembled slightly.
- shit .
A noise catches my attention.
I turn my head.
The final, titanic track falters.
Its immense carcass is covered in shadows that crawl like parasites.
Its engines spit out purple sparks.
Then…
CRACK !
BOOM!
One leg gives way and flies towards us
It enters the rock face and destroys the building.
The giant collapses to his knees at the same moment as we do.
The ground is shaking.
One second later,
TACK !
I see the wave engulfing him entirely, the silhouette of Chetan.
Disappeared.
He jumped even before I realized what was happening
Her eyes shone with a strange distress.
I blink.
– I wasn't expecting that.
I get up with difficulty, but… My… My arm
It broke under the rock, trapping me on the ground.
Shit
I look around me, anything, something sharp
Just my weapon a few centimeters from me
– aie!
I lie down on my stomach despite the pain and blindly extend my foot, drawing the weapon in with my toes.
– I have it
I push it towards my free hand and charge it with my energy.
cocks the rifle and places the tip on the muscle that still binds me to my arm
– I don't feel the pain
– I don't feel the pain
– I don't feel the pain
– I don't feel the pain
– I don't feel the pain
– I don't feel the pain
– I don't feel the pain…
I am not a deserter
BANG!
The explosion left me deaf in one ear.
– FUCK KKKKKK
Emerging from the debris, I advanced step by step, getting closer to the wave.
The wind is getting stronger.
Colder.
And the atmosphere grew darker, and the land left behind by the wave was red, a red sea
Small parasitic nets move slowly over the bodies, like worms or vultures.
My wound was also draining
[INTERNAL ACTIVITY: 75%]
All this desolation exists even here.
No matter where I go, I feel like I'm being followed by death.
My energy battery charges itself.
I feel pressure in my head, it's still painful.
Then…
The images return.
An ancient world.
Cities of light.
Gigantic structures.
And the shadows.
Not like now.
Different.
Calmer.
More… organized.
I fall to my knees.
The pressure is increasing.
[EMOTIONAL OVERLOAD]
I slowly raise my head.
The sky turns red, as red as the ground, becoming one with it.
Earth and sky touch
The filaments of shadow stretch out and parasitize my wound.
I feel the warmth in my body responding.
[INTERNAL ACTIVITY: 82%]
I'm thinking of Ela…
ELA
ELA
ELA
To the thousands of deaths we avoided to get here.
I close my eyes.
Then… I hold out my stump.
The two surfaces are touching.
And the world explodes.
Red floods my vision.
Thousands of cries of agony pierce my ears.
My skin is tearing apart
AHAAAAAAAAAAA ! AAAAAAAAHHHHH!
I'M BURNING! ...BURNNNNNNNN!
I turn my head slightly.
– Chetan…
My voice is different.
Calmer.
Deeper.
He looks at me as if I had become a monster and gone far away with a body wrapped in his arms.
I watch the wave.
She's not moving anymore.
I can't take it anymore, I don't want it, we should have stayed in the pit, they always condemn us
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AHAAAAAAA