My name is Art Harty. I'm just an ordinary high school student-at least, that's what I thought until an event changed everything.
It was a bright morning in my classroom,
3-D-a warm and pleasant place for some students, and for me, that was somewhat true. I usually sat in the third row from the back, though sometimes I moved to the front. But that day, I was sitting in the very back seat, right next to the window. Even though it got a bit hot sometimes, it was quite comfortable.
On regular school days, I usually just came and went. You might ask, didn'tIstudy?Well, more or less. Most of the time, I just daydreamed without paying any attention to the lessons. Sounds funny, right? A student who never studies is bound to have no future-at the time, that's exactly what I thought.
Despite my constant daydreaming, don't think I'm a loner! I still have a few friends... maybe five or six who could be considered close. Their names? You'll find out soon enough; it would take too long to tell now. They usually approach me during break time to discuss plans after school or weird things like their "type" of girls and politics. People usually call us the "Stupid Gang," and they aren't entirely wrong-our group usually ranks 15th or lower out of 37 students.
Ah, I'm rambling, aren't I? Hehe, sorry, I might have gotten carried away. Back to the main topic. That morning, around 6:12 AM, I arrived at school earlier than usual. The reason? I didn't even know. Upon arriving, I headed straight for the seat I mentioned earlier, shoved my bag under the desk, and plopped down into the chair-a bit dramatically, I admit.
Since it was still early, I planned to sleep. But just as I was about to close my eyes, I heard the door open slowly. The sound was like a crying baby, "Squeeeak." It turned out the person opening the door was my class president, Theia Proxy. A unique name for a human.
She is arguably the most beautiful girl in school, with dark brown hair and eyes that turn light brown when hit by sunlight. As for her personality, she's kind and friendly; she often helps others with their assignments. It's no wonder so many guys like her.
"Yo, Art! Morning!"
In all my time at this school, she had never greeted me. People say she's friendly? Actually, I was the one avoiding her because I didn't want to deal with her fanboys. But what's done is done. This was the consequence of coming early-I had to return the greeting.
"Yo, morning, Theia! You look beautiful this morning."
"Oh, really?" She immediately touched her own face. Was she flattered by my compliment? Who knows. "Thanks!"
"Sure, no problem!"
She took her seat and... Huh! She sat right next to me? That was quite surprising. But whatever, I wanted to sleep. I took a book from my bag, placed it over my face, propped my feet up on the desk, and closed my eyes. My tense and stiff body began to loosen and relax, and eventually, I fell asleep.
I dreamed of some kind of strange creature that started talking about random things to me. It spoke about a power, but I couldn't quite catch what it was saying because it used a foreign accent I had never heard before. I only caught a few words like "power," "organic," "biological," and "evolution." It sounded nonsensical.
Setting aside its weird words, I tried to focus on the creature's form. It was tall, maybe thirdteen meters, with a body width like a drunkard's, and it was hairy like my father. But the most striking feature was its head, which was shaped like a stingray. I wondered if the strange accent I heard was just the sound of a stingray translated into human language?
I looked away from the creature and tried to observe my surroundings. The place was foggy-or maybe smoky? It smelled like incense and sweet potatoes. The floor was wet with black water, lined with pillars made of flesh. There was a red glow from above, coming from a crimson sun. I looked back at the creature, trying harder to understand its strange speech. Finally, I
understood one sentence:
"You are the perfect vessel for this power."
What did that mean? Before I could
comprehend it, something happened to the place. The creature vanished, the surroundings seemed to rush forward, and that red light pierced my eyes, blinding my vision. I wanted to vomit. All my organs felt like they were melting.
Blood poured from my mouth and eyes. My brain was flooded with information about a power. Something strange moved inside me, pushing against my shattered organs. It felt bizarre.
Everything stopped at once. My body felt as if it were melting, my nerves blistered, and my eyeballs popped out of their sockets. Despite my nerves being scorched, for some reason, I still felt the pain. At the edge of my life, I heard voices appearing one by one in the room until I finally woke up.
"Art? Are you okay? You look pale. Let me take you to the infirmary."
"Your eyes are red, Art, and your nose is bleeding. Let's go to the infirmary!"
"Yeah, they're right. Come on!"
"Ugh, don't worry, I'm fine! Just haven't had enough rest. Besides, you guys just want to take me to the infirmary so you can skip class, right?"
"Good grief, what kind of 'lack of rest' causes that?"
"Enough, I just need rest. Excuse me, everyone!"
After I said that, they all began to back away one by one, though they kept their eyes fixed on my face. Those speakers were four of the six friends I mentioned: James, Arthur, Leon, and Eringel. The other two? Apparently hadn't arrived yet.
I took my glasses from my bag and put them on. I looked at the clock on the classroom wall. It was 6:58 AM, which meant the school bell would ring in two minutes. I began to question what had actually happened to me. Was it just a nightmare? Or an omen of something to come?
It felt strange. My world felt reborn, and somehow my brain held memories I had never possessed betore.
Clang! Clang! Clang! The school bell rang. It sounded different than ever before-clearer and more detailed. The air around me felt more pungent; every sound hit my ears louder. My eyes felt like they could see things that hadn't happened yet. My fingertips were more sensitive than usual; I could even feel small cracks on my desk as if they were deep canyons.
The teacher entered carrying two math books, meaning it was time for mathematics. Theia, next to me, shouted for everyone to sit down, and indeed, everyone went quiet and took their positions. The teacher began talking about today's lesson: a new chapter on Compound Events. If I recall correctly, he told us to open page 346-one of the last pages before the year's curriculum ended.
I opened the page and started reading. Surprisingly, I understood the lesson perfectly. As far as I knew, I never understood math, but now, strangely, I could grasp it all. Every word from the teacher and every sentence in the book started to make sense. I felt both thrilled and confused by how quickly everything was changing today.
BOOM! A loud explosion erupted from outside the school. The classroom shook, and windows shattered. An announcement blared: a Kaiju attack was occurring in a district near the school. All students immediately took cover under their desks, ready to brace for falling debris.
Hearing the news, I didn't worry much because the heroes would surely arrive to fight the Kaiju within 3 to 8 minutes. However, I noticed something strange. Theia, who was right next to me, stood up from under her desk and walked out of the classroom without anyone noticing. Curious about what she was doing, I unconsciously followed her out.