2 Return (1/2)

Micheal blinked as he came awake, his mind groggy.

”Huh?” He muttered as he woke up, rubbing his eyes.

An instant later, his heart spasmed as he jolted up, long years of constantly being on alert kicking in. His hand clutched at his chest, searching for the gruesome injury he had taken while he quickly took in his surroundings.

'My Recovery stat means my body will regenerate at a rate roughly 41 times that of a normal human on Earth. Even with that, though, I was stabbed through the heart. One of the Full Heal Technique users must have…' Micheal's thoughts trailed off as he stared around him, at a loss.

”This is… my Cabela Tent from Earth?” He muttered out loud. He would recognize this tent anywhere due to the colorful, and rather poorly painted, interior. When he had been much younger, his siblings had gone camping with their parents every summer. One summer they'd decided to paint the interior of the tent, filling it with brown and green trees, white and black pandas, and a variety of colorful creations.

”But… how?” He stared, not understanding. He waved his hands in the air, almost not believing his eyes. His heart was flooded with emotions as the memories of his death haphazardly washed over him, vague and difficult to remember accurately.

'Status.' He thought, calling up his Status.

Nothing happened.

”W-what?!” His heart began to pound as he realized he couldn't call up his Status.

The mythical Status Screen.

When the Apocalypse first struck Earth, everything had started with that damned screen. An illogical, magical screen that appeared in the air in front of every human, visible to only oneself.

Without hesitating, Micheal burst out from his tent, his eyes scanning the surroundings. He appeared to be in some sort of forest clearing, with a small brook crashing down off to the south. Towering oaks and cedars could be seen, spreading out around him.

'Am I in some sort of dream trap? An Ability I'm unaware of? Perhaps the Gods of the 12 Tribes can manipulate memories?' His mind instantly raced as he tried to process what was happening.

For, he clearly recognized when and where he was.

He was out on a camping trip with his best friend, trying to find some peace and quiet away from the chaos that had swept over the world. This clearing, the tent, everything was identical.

He remembered this moment keenly. After all… what happened next was unforgettable.

His turn to join the apocalypse had come.

'If it's like my memories…' He thought, rubbing his chin,

'Then I am about to be Chosen as well.' His eyes widened.

The Apocalypse. The Seven Layers. The Chosen.

Everything that had happened to him over the past 10 years washed through his mind.

He had been a regular, 18-year-old, just finishing up high school and preparing for college when it all went down. His biggest worries had been his SAT score results, the test he needed to score well in to get into a good college, and if his favorite schools would accept him.

Seemingly randomly at the time, roughly 1,000,000 people vanished. A great flash of light swept across the Earth when this happened, terrifying the world.

These people disappeared completely from the face of the Earth. They could not be seen, nor heard. Their locations couldn't be tracked, it was as if they had vanished from reality itself.

As one might expect, mass hysteria and panic broke out. People had vanished from all over the World, from America to France, Germany to China. Some people thought it was aliens, others thought it was some massive conspiracy, while still others thought it was the end times.

Exactly one month later, the same thing happened. Except this time, it wasn't just 1,000,000 people.

It was 10,000,000.

A 3rd month passed.

100,000,000 people disappeared.

And finally, now, it was the end of the 3rd month and the start of the 4th month.

A time when 1,000,000,000 people would vanish from the face of the Earth, in a great flash of light.

Micheal and his best friend Shin would be a part of that Fourth Wave.