So, it’s currently morning. I didn’t expect to get much sleep last night and I didn’t. We just picked up some breakfast. Clint’s been eating like an animal. Guess I can’t blame him, though. But I don’t want to get off topic. He followed up by describing a rough layout of the world beyond that island:
By his account, oceans made up 85% of the surface. There were only two continents. Well, there used to be three, but one was essentially annihilated and made unlivable by a previous world war. There were also islands scattered throughout, ones like Dusk Blue. The two remaining continents were known as “Neo-Civitus” and “Heaven's curse.” I’ll discuss the latter first. Clint estimated that he’d spent around two months there - but that’s another story. To put it simply, it resembled an apocalyptic shitshow, with the vast majority of it being a desert wasteland. “If you thought Dusk Blue sounded bad, this shit was something else entirely.” Clint explained. Apparently the life expectancy for children born there was around 6 human years. The places where people lived ranged from lawless zones controlled by warlords to totalitarian fortresses and everything in between. It had a total population of 17 billion living in an area about twice the size of Russia. And those were only what we would consider to be humans. The place was also filled with some of the most incomprehensibly horrific things he’d seen. Any place that wasn’t occupied by a majority of humans was simply referred to as “Oblivion”. If you went out into those places alone, you weren't going to last long.
Now, the creatures that dwelled within oblivion were a bit tough to explain. Clint’s experiences with them were limited. However, he’d heard that people had stopped trying to label them all. There were simply too many. He told me about some of the more infamous ones:
Harbingers
These were giant winged monstrosities with sharp spikes protruding out of every inch of its body. You could barely see their skin, and even the heads were mostly covered. These things were massive, about the size of a large shuttle bus. It was rumor that the spikes coming out of their skin put them in constant agonizing pain. Because of this, they were in a constant state of rage, slaughtering anything that moved. They were called Harbingers because whenever one arrived, many others were soon to follow. That meant unavoidable mass-scale death and destruction. These things weren’t easy to kill, and people had to prepare.
Butcher knights
Nobody really knows what these are. A theory floating around was that they were members of an ancient order of knights that had been condemned by some otherworldly being. They were now forced to roam Heaven’s curse for eternity, searching for human flesh to eat. Yes, they ate people. In appearance, they were ten-foot tall humanoids covered head to toe in crude black armor, resembling that of a traditional knight. Upon close inspection, it almost seemed as if the armor was welded to their skin, which appeared to be rotting. They’d attack human outposts with extremely large, rusted pikes and axes. If the initial blow didn’t kill you, the ensuing infection sure would. Fighting them one-on-one wasn’t an option, as they could easily overpower multiple humans at once. Steam cannons had to be used to take them out.
Weeping infernos
These were also humanoid in nature, despite being always covered in fire. They rode on top of unidentifiable creatures. They almost looked like horses, except for the fact that they had six legs and ran at ludicrous speeds. It's unclear if the riders are physically attached to the creatures, as they seem to have their own legs, but have never been seen to dismount. The way that they kill is actually not what you'd think. While the constant stream of flames that burst out of their bodies was certainly a cause for concern, a bigger problem was their persistent, ungodly shrieks. If you got too close to them, your brain would eventually explode. That's where they got their names from.
The Hunter
This was a rare one. People were unsure if there was only one of these... or if there were more. This stems from the fact that it only ever appeared by itself. But that didn't mean it was easy to deal with. Supposedly, this thing was seemingly indestructible - until proven otherwise, that is. But so far, nobody's made a dent in it. However, it was only really pursuing one thing - the strongest entity in the surrounding area. Somehow, it could sense them. That meant the more settlements would try and protect their most capable fighters, the more people would die when the Hunter tried to get to them. Eventually, communities would just give them up and hand them over whenever it came around. They'd fight each other and the Hunter would always win. Most reports of its appearance may have been falsified, since so little people have actually seen it. However, the most agreed upon one was a being more than triple the size of a butcher knight. It had no legs, but about twelve arms that it used to attack and move. Its hands were large, covered in a caustic liquid and could grab a human, simultaneously crushing and dissolving them in seconds. It also apparently had no face, just a large mouth filled with sharp black teeth on its torso.
Ultimately, these only scratched the surface. Heaven's curse was like the ocean, mostly unexplored and the vast majority of creatures dwelling within it still undiscovered. This was probably good. However, these weren't the only things that the inhabitants had to worry about. There was also a perplexing phenomenon that seemed to plague everybody who lived there. Nobody could explain it away, nobody could identify the source, and nobody even knew what to call it. They just accepted it.
A good parallel for this in our reality would be the "Glitches in the matrix" some people experience. On Heaven's curse, you could be simply walking around before getting disoriented for a second. When you'd come to your senses, you'd find yourself standing outside the civilization you were just in. Out in Oblivion. People also claimed to see things that weren't there, hear things that didn't have a source, and be having conversations before realizing that there was nobody in front of them. One of the most extreme cases were times where everybody around you would stop in place, have all their heads twist to look directly at you, and then their lips would stretch ear-to-ear in the most horrific grin you'd ever seen. After a couple of seconds, everything would go back to normal. Nobody would say that they'd ever even remember doing so. This happened to Clint once.
You may be wondering how there could still be a constant population of 17 billion, considering all of this. Well, there was one thing that people living there didn't have to worry about. That was sustenance. Now, Clint admitted that the food they had to eat wasn't very good, but it WAS abundant. The bark on trees were nutritionally dense, rain came regularly and didn't have to be boiled to drink, and various - albeit strange looking root vegetables could be grown almost everywhere, with shortages being unheard of. Additionally, these medium size insects called "Salvators" were rampant all around. But they were never a nuisance, never seemed to spread disease, and if cooked, could be used as a great source of protein.
That's why there were so many people. Children were being bred at a torrid rate. Emotional connection to your offspring wasn't really a thing, and the ones that survived attacks by the Oblivion creatures would be trained to deal with subsequent assaults. Since food wasn't an issue, the more there were, the better chances a settlement would survive. However, the population always seemed to even itself out.
The climate was also favorable. While the north and south ends of the continent had extreme temperatures, nobody really lived there. In fact, nobody knows what lives there. The rest of it could probably be compared to Australia - pretty hot, but still livable. There were no seasons, and the sky was perpetually covered in what looked like an orange haze, so sunburn wasn't an issue.
With that said, everybody still wanted to get the hell out of there. The quality of life was still absolute shit. They all wanted to reach Neo-Civitus, which they nicknamed "Heaven's Promise". And that was pretty much impossible, given the fact that they were separated by as much ocean as the geography would allow.
Now, Clint had never actually been inside Neo-Civitus. He’d only heard about it and read descriptions. Supposedly, it was only a tenth the size of Heaven’s curse, and it was named after the only city on the entire continent. Clint said that a physical description of the place would be akin to Manhattan on steroids. A mega-city that was host to a population of 275 million. It was a continuous stretch of brilliant buildings and skyscrapers that lit up the night. It was also a functioning society. People had jobs, could start families, and could engage in recreational activities. Nobody had to worry about anything beyond shit like taxes and public opinion. "It sounded like the rat race all over again" Clint exclaimed.
While the area outside the city limits was still somewhat hostile, it was nowhere near the extent of Heaven's curse, or anywhere else for that matter. Besides, there was a monumental metal-based wall about 400 meters tall surrounding the entire place. There were also heavily armed military personnel called "Apex Officers" guarding it. In fact, a lot of it was comprised of the enhanced soldiers guarding Paradise X. These two places actually had an agreement where a portion of the X-Soldiers would be flown from Dusk Blue to Neo-Civitus in exchange for firearms. And yes, they were the only ones who had access to air-travel. They were also widely believed to be the sole producers of guns and ammunition. Resources were scarce in this world, and most of them were on Neo-Civitus. The few other resource rich islands around the world were essentially picked dry by recon teams sent by the government. This was that world's only superpower. They called all the shots and went unopposed in doing so.
However, there was one thing that they did have to worry about. You see, there was one thing that Neo-Civitus had in common with everywhere else - the sky. It was always cloudy. Nobody could come up with a tangible explanation of why. It was always just like that. "Well, that's just what those people think." Clint remarked quickly. Strangely, he didn't elaborate on that. That's when I really noticed how weird he'd been acting the whole time he'd been telling me this. There was an increasing urgency in his tone. Anyhow, he went on. Apparently there was a legend of sorts that had permeated every community all around that world. When the day comes where the clouds finally part, true Armageddon will soon come to fruition. And nobody could stop it.
I'd been so caught up in this that I'd forgotten I actually had work that day. My boss had texted me in the morning, telling me I had to come in later, just for a few hours. I was already late.
"Shit." I told Clint. "Look, I gotta run to work quickly. Uh... just stay here, alright? Don't go anywhere. I'll bring back some pizza or something."
He responded almost instantly. "Yeah, do what you gotta do. I'll be here." He said this in the same urgent tone he'd been using before. However, I didn't think anything of it.
I'm currently at work now, but I can't focus on anything. There were still too many things that Clint had left unexplained.
EDIT:
I just came back and he's gone. I somewhat expected this. It seems that he took a bunch of perishable rations, a few sets of my clothes, a laptop, and some cash. However, I did find something on the kitchen counter. It was an old, crusty journal covered in dirt and blood stains. There was also a sticky note attached to it. This is what it read:
"I'm sorry James. You've always been of the few people that I could actually bear talking to. Maybe you'll understand eventually. This journal should answer some of the questions that you still have. In the meantime, there's something that I need to do. Bye for now - Clint. PS: I'll pay you back sometime. You know I will. :)"
I smiled at that. It was true. He'd always kept his word. Deep down, I knew that his stay here wasn't going to last long. He just wasn't that kind of guy. Whatever he's doing... I hope he succeeds. In the meantime, it looks like I'm going to have some reading to do. Let's see what this is really all about.
---
Credits
By his account, oceans made up 85% of the surface. There were only two continents. Well, there used to be three, but one was essentially annihilated and made unlivable by a previous world war. There were also islands scattered throughout, ones like Dusk Blue. The two remaining continents were known as “Neo-Civitus” and “Heaven's curse.” I’ll discuss the latter first. Clint estimated that he’d spent around two months there - but that’s another story. To put it simply, it resembled an apocalyptic shitshow, with the vast majority of it being a desert wasteland. “If you thought Dusk Blue sounded bad, this shit was something else entirely.” Clint explained. Apparently the life expectancy for children born there was around 6 human years. The places where people lived ranged from lawless zones controlled by warlords to totalitarian fortresses and everything in between. It had a total population of 17 billion living in an area about twice the size of Russia. And those were only what we would consider to be humans. The place was also filled with some of the most incomprehensibly horrific things he’d seen. Any place that wasn’t occupied by a majority of humans was simply referred to as “Oblivion”. If you went out into those places alone, you weren't going to last long.
Now, the creatures that dwelled within oblivion were a bit tough to explain. Clint’s experiences with them were limited. However, he’d heard that people had stopped trying to label them all. There were simply too many. He told me about some of the more infamous ones:
Harbingers
These were giant winged monstrosities with sharp spikes protruding out of every inch of its body. You could barely see their skin, and even the heads were mostly covered. These things were massive, about the size of a large shuttle bus. It was rumor that the spikes coming out of their skin put them in constant agonizing pain. Because of this, they were in a constant state of rage, slaughtering anything that moved. They were called Harbingers because whenever one arrived, many others were soon to follow. That meant unavoidable mass-scale death and destruction. These things weren’t easy to kill, and people had to prepare.
Butcher knights
Nobody really knows what these are. A theory floating around was that they were members of an ancient order of knights that had been condemned by some otherworldly being. They were now forced to roam Heaven’s curse for eternity, searching for human flesh to eat. Yes, they ate people. In appearance, they were ten-foot tall humanoids covered head to toe in crude black armor, resembling that of a traditional knight. Upon close inspection, it almost seemed as if the armor was welded to their skin, which appeared to be rotting. They’d attack human outposts with extremely large, rusted pikes and axes. If the initial blow didn’t kill you, the ensuing infection sure would. Fighting them one-on-one wasn’t an option, as they could easily overpower multiple humans at once. Steam cannons had to be used to take them out.
Weeping infernos
These were also humanoid in nature, despite being always covered in fire. They rode on top of unidentifiable creatures. They almost looked like horses, except for the fact that they had six legs and ran at ludicrous speeds. It's unclear if the riders are physically attached to the creatures, as they seem to have their own legs, but have never been seen to dismount. The way that they kill is actually not what you'd think. While the constant stream of flames that burst out of their bodies was certainly a cause for concern, a bigger problem was their persistent, ungodly shrieks. If you got too close to them, your brain would eventually explode. That's where they got their names from.
The Hunter
This was a rare one. People were unsure if there was only one of these... or if there were more. This stems from the fact that it only ever appeared by itself. But that didn't mean it was easy to deal with. Supposedly, this thing was seemingly indestructible - until proven otherwise, that is. But so far, nobody's made a dent in it. However, it was only really pursuing one thing - the strongest entity in the surrounding area. Somehow, it could sense them. That meant the more settlements would try and protect their most capable fighters, the more people would die when the Hunter tried to get to them. Eventually, communities would just give them up and hand them over whenever it came around. They'd fight each other and the Hunter would always win. Most reports of its appearance may have been falsified, since so little people have actually seen it. However, the most agreed upon one was a being more than triple the size of a butcher knight. It had no legs, but about twelve arms that it used to attack and move. Its hands were large, covered in a caustic liquid and could grab a human, simultaneously crushing and dissolving them in seconds. It also apparently had no face, just a large mouth filled with sharp black teeth on its torso.
Ultimately, these only scratched the surface. Heaven's curse was like the ocean, mostly unexplored and the vast majority of creatures dwelling within it still undiscovered. This was probably good. However, these weren't the only things that the inhabitants had to worry about. There was also a perplexing phenomenon that seemed to plague everybody who lived there. Nobody could explain it away, nobody could identify the source, and nobody even knew what to call it. They just accepted it.
A good parallel for this in our reality would be the "Glitches in the matrix" some people experience. On Heaven's curse, you could be simply walking around before getting disoriented for a second. When you'd come to your senses, you'd find yourself standing outside the civilization you were just in. Out in Oblivion. People also claimed to see things that weren't there, hear things that didn't have a source, and be having conversations before realizing that there was nobody in front of them. One of the most extreme cases were times where everybody around you would stop in place, have all their heads twist to look directly at you, and then their lips would stretch ear-to-ear in the most horrific grin you'd ever seen. After a couple of seconds, everything would go back to normal. Nobody would say that they'd ever even remember doing so. This happened to Clint once.
You may be wondering how there could still be a constant population of 17 billion, considering all of this. Well, there was one thing that people living there didn't have to worry about. That was sustenance. Now, Clint admitted that the food they had to eat wasn't very good, but it WAS abundant. The bark on trees were nutritionally dense, rain came regularly and didn't have to be boiled to drink, and various - albeit strange looking root vegetables could be grown almost everywhere, with shortages being unheard of. Additionally, these medium size insects called "Salvators" were rampant all around. But they were never a nuisance, never seemed to spread disease, and if cooked, could be used as a great source of protein.
That's why there were so many people. Children were being bred at a torrid rate. Emotional connection to your offspring wasn't really a thing, and the ones that survived attacks by the Oblivion creatures would be trained to deal with subsequent assaults. Since food wasn't an issue, the more there were, the better chances a settlement would survive. However, the population always seemed to even itself out.
The climate was also favorable. While the north and south ends of the continent had extreme temperatures, nobody really lived there. In fact, nobody knows what lives there. The rest of it could probably be compared to Australia - pretty hot, but still livable. There were no seasons, and the sky was perpetually covered in what looked like an orange haze, so sunburn wasn't an issue.
With that said, everybody still wanted to get the hell out of there. The quality of life was still absolute shit. They all wanted to reach Neo-Civitus, which they nicknamed "Heaven's Promise". And that was pretty much impossible, given the fact that they were separated by as much ocean as the geography would allow.
Now, Clint had never actually been inside Neo-Civitus. He’d only heard about it and read descriptions. Supposedly, it was only a tenth the size of Heaven’s curse, and it was named after the only city on the entire continent. Clint said that a physical description of the place would be akin to Manhattan on steroids. A mega-city that was host to a population of 275 million. It was a continuous stretch of brilliant buildings and skyscrapers that lit up the night. It was also a functioning society. People had jobs, could start families, and could engage in recreational activities. Nobody had to worry about anything beyond shit like taxes and public opinion. "It sounded like the rat race all over again" Clint exclaimed.
While the area outside the city limits was still somewhat hostile, it was nowhere near the extent of Heaven's curse, or anywhere else for that matter. Besides, there was a monumental metal-based wall about 400 meters tall surrounding the entire place. There were also heavily armed military personnel called "Apex Officers" guarding it. In fact, a lot of it was comprised of the enhanced soldiers guarding Paradise X. These two places actually had an agreement where a portion of the X-Soldiers would be flown from Dusk Blue to Neo-Civitus in exchange for firearms. And yes, they were the only ones who had access to air-travel. They were also widely believed to be the sole producers of guns and ammunition. Resources were scarce in this world, and most of them were on Neo-Civitus. The few other resource rich islands around the world were essentially picked dry by recon teams sent by the government. This was that world's only superpower. They called all the shots and went unopposed in doing so.
However, there was one thing that they did have to worry about. You see, there was one thing that Neo-Civitus had in common with everywhere else - the sky. It was always cloudy. Nobody could come up with a tangible explanation of why. It was always just like that. "Well, that's just what those people think." Clint remarked quickly. Strangely, he didn't elaborate on that. That's when I really noticed how weird he'd been acting the whole time he'd been telling me this. There was an increasing urgency in his tone. Anyhow, he went on. Apparently there was a legend of sorts that had permeated every community all around that world. When the day comes where the clouds finally part, true Armageddon will soon come to fruition. And nobody could stop it.
I'd been so caught up in this that I'd forgotten I actually had work that day. My boss had texted me in the morning, telling me I had to come in later, just for a few hours. I was already late.
"Shit." I told Clint. "Look, I gotta run to work quickly. Uh... just stay here, alright? Don't go anywhere. I'll bring back some pizza or something."
He responded almost instantly. "Yeah, do what you gotta do. I'll be here." He said this in the same urgent tone he'd been using before. However, I didn't think anything of it.
I'm currently at work now, but I can't focus on anything. There were still too many things that Clint had left unexplained.
EDIT:
I just came back and he's gone. I somewhat expected this. It seems that he took a bunch of perishable rations, a few sets of my clothes, a laptop, and some cash. However, I did find something on the kitchen counter. It was an old, crusty journal covered in dirt and blood stains. There was also a sticky note attached to it. This is what it read:
"I'm sorry James. You've always been of the few people that I could actually bear talking to. Maybe you'll understand eventually. This journal should answer some of the questions that you still have. In the meantime, there's something that I need to do. Bye for now - Clint. PS: I'll pay you back sometime. You know I will. :)"
I smiled at that. It was true. He'd always kept his word. Deep down, I knew that his stay here wasn't going to last long. He just wasn't that kind of guy. Whatever he's doing... I hope he succeeds. In the meantime, it looks like I'm going to have some reading to do. Let's see what this is really all about.
---
Credits
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