Life punishes the wicked and rewards the good, I grew up hearing those words from my loved ones almost as if they were a philosophy or a rule I had to follow my entire life, sweet words that served as a reminder that I had to act rightly to ensure my efforts would be rewarded.
*9 hours earlier*
I wake up on a regular Monday at 6:15 a.m. after turning off that annoying alarm, dressing in the same clothes I wear every week to go to that supermarket I call work. Black boots with thick soles and steel toes adorn my feet since things can sometimes fall in the supermarket warehouse. Black pants, to my personal taste, with multiple pockets because I like to carry various things in them, and a long-sleeve white button-up shirt. Once dressed, I leave my room to grab a quick breakfast.
As soon as I step out, I run into my mother, making it impossible to avoid eye contact.
-Good morning, Levy. Did you sleep well?
That's me, Levy Matthew, a young man just over 21 years old with a simple appearance, straight black hair that reaches my eyebrows, dark brown eyes almost black, nothing remarkable, an average build, maybe a bit taller than average, or whatever 175 cm is.
"This is awkward," I thought before speaking.
-Yeah… umm.
The situation with my mother was a bit uncomfortable at the moment due to an argument we had a few days ago. I said things I'm not proud of, things that can't be erased just like that. They were said, heard, and caused pain to both me and the person who heard them. Still, she acted as if nothing had happened, taking care of me as she always had.
-Breakfast is on the table. Eat it before it gets cold.
My mother was a beautiful woman with a slender figure, even after having two children and being over 50 years old, standing at 160 cm with brown hair always tied back in a simple ponytail.
I sat at the table to eat as she instructed. The seconds felt very long, as if I were staring at a clock, feeling every tick-tock. Before the awkwardness could grow any further, the rest of the family arrived.
My stepfather, a 55-year-old man with brown hair, taller and broader than me, with blue eyes, a serious and quite stoic man. My older sister, a lively 28-year-old woman with dyed blonde hair, standing just over 160 cm, accompanied by her son, my 9-year-old nephew.
"Thank goodness you're here; I was going crazy alone with Mom!" I thought strongly.
-Hey, Levy, you haven't gone to work yet?
"Don't talk to me, dummy," I thought. "Wait, let's use this to escape."
-No, sister, but you're right, I should get going. Thanks for the reminder.
I stuffed the rest of my food down and bolted toward the door without saying another word, feeling what might have been a glance in my mother's direction.
Once outside, with the door closed behind me, I could finally breathe. The situation was tense, but deep down, I knew it was my fault it was like this in the first place. I was too cowardly to talk and chose to flee the situation without looking back.
*Sigh* "Let's wait a bit longer; it's not like there's no time."
I started my walk to the supermarket. Since the distance between my house and my workplace is short, I can walk there in just over 15 minutes, enough time to fully wake up and prepare for a new day.
While passing through a small park just five minutes from home, I saw a scene in the distance at what seemed to be a small establishment. A group of three men with dark masks on their heads were running toward a van after robbing the place in a flash.
"Life punishes the wicked and rewards the good."
That phrase kept repeating in my head every time I saw someone cruel or evil get away with it, shaking my belief in the words I had repeated endlessly to justify the world's actions.
Lost in my thoughts about what I had seen, I arrived at my destination without realizing it. I quickly greeted one of my two coworkers, Julian, a shy guy much like me in almost every way, but with wavy blonde hair so silky it made him look like a handsome character straight out of a romance manga.
"Hair really does make a difference between people."
-Hey, Julian, you got here early as always.
-Yeah, haha, you know I don't like staying at home too much.
-I still don't get that about you. Staying home relaxing is the best.
Though he's shy, he seems quite talkative with me, probably because we've known each other since we were 15 in high school. Six years of dealing with this introverted guy have undoubtedly made us best friends. Without him, my life would be much duller.
He works in the warehouse to avoid contact with people, true to his peculiar personality.
-Heeeeey! *Smack*
Accompanied by a loud, cheerful shout that seemed to be a greeting, Emily arrived, hitting my back with her palm with excessive force for a greeting. "Aaaagh," I held back my cry of pain while looking at her mocking face for the act she'd just pulled, thanks to the foolish pride of a man in the presence of a girl who clearly expected that reaction.
"I won't give her the satisfaction," I thought with a bit of anger.
-Hehe, you held up well, Levy.
-I don't know what you're talking about.
This extroverted girl named Emily is my second coworker, who's been working at the supermarket with us for the last three months. A beautiful 19-year-old girl with a slender figure and good proportions, with nothing to envy about any other girl, standing at about 160 cm, with light pink hair as bright as diamonds that reached her elbows, gorgeous emerald green eyes, and fair skin but far from pale—a true beauty.
Such a stunning girl with such a cheerful personality makes me think that if we didn't work together, I'd never have had the chance to talk to someone like her. But here I was with these two people, forming a pretty lively group of friends.
-Let's get inside quick, or the boss will get mad at us.
-You're right.
-Let's run before the star worker kills us! *Giggle*
-You little…
The three of us who had been chatting outside the supermarket went in, greeting our boss before putting on small black vests over our white shirts and getting ready to work. Julian quickly fled to the warehouse to avoid being assigned to deal with customers. I was placed at the counter, while Emily was assigned to work in the aisles.
Hours passed as I attended to customers. I could see on the TV mounted on a shelf a news report about a terrorist group that had robbed a bank without the authorities doing anything to stop it.
-The world's upside down…
An older man I was helping said this as he looked at the same screen I was watching, almost as if he were reading my thoughts.
"Life punishes the wicked and rewards the good."
That phrase seemed to repeat more frequently in my head these days, almost like a sign that the world was sinking into chaos I was trying to ignore.
"First the thieves this morning, and now a terrorist group? The world is rotting."
A couple, a guy and a girl who looked really happy, approached me.
-Did you find everything you were looking for?
-Yes, thank you.
-Yes, thank you.
They said in unison. "Maybe not everything is lost yet."
-Perfect, here you go. Have a nice day.
-Thank you. x2
Seeing good people living happily fills me with energy, restoring my faith in those words echoing in my head—that there are more good people in the world being rewarded than bad ones. While thinking about this with a smile on my face, I saw through the supermarket window, in the distance, the guy walking away, leaving the girl completely smitten with love.
"I'm so jealous of you, man."
Just a few minutes later, another guy approached the girl, hugging her confidently and kissing her. The happiness I had felt moments ago was snatched away and replaced with disgust I hadn't expected, churning my stomach as if I'd just eaten something spoiled.
"The world is rotten."
"What kind of world is this? This isn't the world I was promised. People steal, kill, cheat, all for pleasure and easy gains without any effort."
As if it were a punishment, a memory came to me while I thought about the scenes I'd witnessed today and the cruelty of this unjust world—a memory of me arguing with my mother, that woman who had given me everything without asking for anything in return.
-You don't understand how I feel. You don't know anything!
-But, son, everything will be fine. Remember that good people are rewarded…
-Shut up already! Leave me alone!
While I was lost in my memory, a voice brought me back to the present. It was Emily, looking at me with a concerned expression, apparently because I didn't look too good.
-Hey, Levy, are you okay? You don't look so good; you're a bit pale.
-I'm fine, don't worry. I just haven't been sleeping well lately.
-Are you sure? You were zoning out for a while.
-Yeah, yeah, don't worry.
"No way I'm telling her all that."
While Emily still looked at me with a sad expression, before she could say anything else, a loud explosion sounded from the direction of the highway. Since we were inside the supermarket, we only saw a wave of dust pass in front of us.
-What the hell? Was that an attack or an accident?
-Quick, let's go see!
-Wait, Emily, it could be dangerous…
Emily quickly ran outside to see what was happening, and I followed her. We ran out, followed by the boss and Julian, who were in the warehouse but still heard the loud explosion. Once outside, I could see that a car accident had occurred, but even stranger, several people were kneeling on the ground, praying while looking at the sky.
I quickly turned my head in the direction they were looking. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The sky was covered in a bright golden glow, as if a massive sun were illuminating the world—a strong, intense glow that didn't hurt the eyes but was almost… hypnotic, as if it invited you to stare at it for eternity.
At the center of the glow, I could see a dark silhouette with blurry edges, resembling a large, muscular man. Behind that silhouette, three more shapeless figures seemed to appear in the distance. Then the silhouette spoke.
->2!É€>©€ ßÉ>2Ō§---1©Œ€ §5£€ #£§ /©§5 >5§ Ō©4.
"What the hell did it just say? I didn't understand anything," I thought in panic, a shiver running down my spine, as if those incomprehensible words had been registered somehow by something inside me. And I can say with certainty, they weren't good news.
->5'§ 5>MÉ 5© §5£€5 1©Œ€ ¢#£//É2ŌÉ.
These second words rang like a thunderclap in my ears. As I covered them with my hands, I ran back toward the supermarket in a futile attempt to find protection from the bad feeling creeping down my spine.
-Quick, back inside!
I shouted loudly, but no one heard me. Everyone around me seemed to be suffering, just like me, from the ringing in our heads. Before I could grab Julian or Emily to drag them inside with me, that voice spoke again, this time in a way I could understand.
The voice was accompanied by a radiance that covered everything. Every corner of what was visible around me had vanished from sight, engulfed by a light as blinding as a thousand suns in summer, leaving only the possibility of hearing those final words.
-Good luck, challengers.