The World Is Mine For The Taking

I left class for the day, feeling that I wouldn't be able to focus or absorb anything in my current state. With a heavy heart, I decided it was best not to attend school and instead made my way to the place where it all happened.

The memory of that day was burned into my mind with brutal clarity. I could still vividly see the truck hurtling towards me, its headlights glaring as it appeared from the corner of my eye. There was no time to react; it was already too close. I felt a sudden, forceful shove that yanked me out of the truck's path.

In that jarring moment, our positions were reversed, and instead of me taking the hit, he was struck by the vehicle. The memory was as vivid and piercing as if it had happened just moments ago.

I stood by the side of the road, my eyes fixed on the exact spot where everything had changed.

"You're not being fair, Ichinose-kun... I can't just forget you after something like this..." I murmured, my voice breaking. "I love you. Please come back. Please..."

The ache in my chest was almost unbearable. As much as I longed to join him in death, I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"You're being so unfair... I want to be with you, but I can't. If I did, I'd just be squandering the life you saved. That's why you're not being fair..."

I gritted my teeth so fiercely that blood began to ooze from my gums, the metallic taste sharp and bitter. No matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise, he wouldn't come back. He wouldn't return to me. But I was prepared to wait for the day we could be together again, even if it meant waiting for years.

However, as I clung to that thought, the world around me suddenly shifted.

***

The next day, I was met with shocking news. The TV was on when I was about to head out to school, despite my lack of energy. The screen was filled with urgent updates.

"An unexplained phenomenon has struck a local school in X Prefecture, causing the sudden disappearance of several students and a teacher. The incident began yesterday with a blinding flash of light that engulfed everything, consuming the entire area. When the light vanished, the classroom was left empty. Kijima-san is on the scene with the details. Kijima-san?"

"Yes, thank you. As you can see, this classroom might look ordinary, but it was the site of an extraordinary event that led to numerous disappearances. The incident occurred yesterday at 2:35 PM. We've confirmed that 27 people are missing, and their current location is unknown. The entire phenomenon was captured on camera, and we can now show you the footage of the event as it unfolded."

The news broadcast was gripping, displaying footage of the bizarre incident with a chilling clarity. A blinding flash of light exploded within a classroom, consuming everything in its path. When the blinding glare finally faded, the room was left eerily empty.

"You can see in this footage that a sudden burst of light erupted from inside the classroom, spilling out into the hallway and briefly overpowering the camera," the man on TV explained. "When the light disappeared, all the students and the homeroom teacher were gone."

I recognized the speaker instantly—it was the Vice Principal of my school.

The following scene matched his description perfectly. The footage captured a classroom bathed in an intense, pulsating light that swallowed everything before plunging into silence. Akane's pulse quickened as she recognized the classroom—it was the very room I was supposed to be in at that exact moment.

"Can you tell us what happened here, sir?"

"Uh, we don't really have a clear explanation ourselves," the teacher being interviewed said, his voice tense. "The students and the teacher were suddenly engulfed by a blinding light, and then they just vanished without a trace. Investigations are ongoing, but it seems this might be beyond the police's reach.

We've decided to consult a ufologist because we suspect this could be linked to alien activity."

The scene then cut to another person.

"Do you believe this could be the result of an unidentified or alien phenomenon?"

"I don't personally buy into UFOs or aliens, but with all the evidence piling up, it might just be the work of extraterrestrials," the ufologist said, his tone measured and analytical. He seemed to be the specialist the teacher had mentioned, but my focus was elsewhere.

"We are committed to doing everything possible to locate the missing individuals and return them to their families as soon as we can," he continued, his voice resolute and urgent.

The scene cut back to the interviewer, who faced the camera with a somber expression. But my attention was drawn elsewhere—something strange in the sky.

"There aren't any clear variables that can explain what happened at the school, but it might be a major case of an alien invasion. Speculation about aliens has been growing, and some believe they're already making their way to Earth. We could be on the verge of an interplanetary conflict—or maybe it's something else entirely, like a strange, natural phenomenon."

"Uh, Kijima-san, what's that behind you?"

"Huh?"

The interviewer's gaze shifted skyward, and the camera followed. High above, an unsettling phenomenon unfolded—an immense, swirling vortex of dark, pulsating purple. Jagged bolts of lightning, flickering in the same unsettling hue, crackled around it, casting an eerie, almost hypnotic glow. It wasn't just a bizarre sight; it was an omen of something deeply unnerving.

I rushed outside, and the scene was even more striking from the street. The vortex was so colossal it seemed to dominate the skyline, a swirling maelstrom that threatened to consume everything in its path. It felt like the world was on the edge of a catastrophic event, and this swirling anomaly was just the beginning.

Many people were staring up at the vortex, their expressions a mix of awe and apprehension. They treated it like a rare celestial event, almost as if it were an eclipse. But I knew this wasn't some harmless spectacle. This wasn't a cheerful cosmic anomaly.

Suddenly, a piercing scream cut through the murmur of the crowd. The scream came from someone who had first noticed something unsettling—something dangerous. From the depths of the vortex, something began to emerge. And it wasn't pretty.

"W-What the hell is that?!" someone shouted, panic evident in their voice.

It felt like I was watching a scene from a horror movie, but this was all too real. Something was definitely coming out of that vortex, and it was far from reassuring.

A colossal insect burst forth from the vortex, its carapace a vibrant, hellish red. Its grotesque head, crowned with menacing antennae, hung ominously above the city, surveying the chaos below with predatory intent. As it hurtled downward, its full, horrifying length was revealed—a gargantuan centipede that seemed to stretch endlessly.

It was so immense that it looked capable of tunneling through the earth, its segmented body extending well beyond the surface.

The sheer scale of the creature was staggering, and its presence caused immediate panic. People screamed and fled in every direction, their terror manifesting in chaotic, frantic movement. I was swept up in the stampede, my heart racing as I joined the desperate exodus. This monstrous centipede was descending upon us, ready to wreak untold havoc.

But as I ran, it became clear that this nightmarish arrival was just the beginning of an even greater horror.

I looked up, and the sky was ablaze with chaos. Multiple vortexes spun wildly, tearing through the atmosphere like gaping wounds. I halted in my tracks, mesmerized by the apocalyptic spectacle unfolding above. It felt like watching the very fabric of reality being shredded open, revealing the apocalypse in all its fiery, destructive glory.

The vortexes weren't just swirling chaotic clouds; they were gateways to pure terror. Each one disgorged colossal centipedes, their grotesque bodies slithering down with disturbing speed. The city below was engulfed in panic, people screaming and fleeing from the monstrous centipedes that rained down upon them.

And then, the horror escalated. From one of the vortexes emerged a figure unlike anything I had ever seen. A woman descended with an aura of malevolence. Her horns curved menacingly from her head, and a sinuous tail snaked behind her, its movement sinuous and unsettling. In her hand, she wielded a trident wreathed in crackling, fiery energy that cast an eerie, flickering light.

Her skin was an intense, vivid red, not tanned but glowing with an ominous, infernal hue. She descended with an air of dark power, as if heralding a new, terrifying era.

"Greetings, mortals of this wretched world. I am Satania, one of the seven deadly sins, and I am Wrath incarnate!" Her voice boomed with an infernal resonance, echoing through the air and shaking the heavens. "We, the fiends of Hell, have descended to seize this world for our dominion. Bow before us, for we seek world domination! You, pitiful insects, surrender your realm unto us.

Should you dare to resist, we shall grant you the battle you seek! Henceforth, this world shall be ours to command, and you shall be but mere slaves to our dark will!"

It was at that moment that the Gregorian Calendar came to an end.