Final Countdown
| Final Countdown | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 21 February 2013 |
| Location: | Capital City of Sera |
| Synopsis: | A boy seeking vengeance against the world does the unthinkable. |
| Cast of Characters: | Raine Arland |
9:00; Three hours before the end of the world.
"Hmph..." A young man muttered to himself, seated atop the roof of a clocktower overlooking what seem to be grand festivities below.
Dressed in nearly all black, his hair follows suit as well, perhaps a bit unruly. Maybe he hadn't had the time to comb it. Or maybe he just didn't care. His eyes were a deep green, and an angry expression remained etched onto his face. As if a permanent fixture.
Look at these people, blindly celebrating their total victory over 'The Five Apostles'. Acting as if they hadn't just suffered tremendous pain and loss. It's barely been twenty years since mankind won that war. End Earth's wounds are still fresh, the /people's/ wounds are still fresh, yet...these bigoted politicians think that humanity has proven their superiority. That everything is well.
They're wrong.
So painfully and utterly wrong that it's almost laughable in retrospect.
But the boy did not laugh. Instead, he stood from his vantage point on the clock tower, eyes trailing across the cityscape below before settling on a shrine located in the center of the city.
"It's time."
10:00; Two hours before the end of the world.
The shrine is quite elaborate in design. Larger than it may appear in the distance, that's for sure. Guards are posted out front and along the general perimeter despite the festivities. "Heh, I guess they're not going to take their eyes off that thing even for a second..." The boy muttered to himself, crossing his arms and smirking slightly at the prospect of having to infiltrate.
Not a problem.
He dipped low, and then broke off into a run. With the darkness of the night covering his advance, the two guards didn't even see what hit them. A swing of his wooden sword into the back of their heads was all it took to incapacitate them for now. All too easy. With the deed done. The young man in black glanced at the shrine entrance in front of him, and then to the wooden sword in his grasp.
"...I won't be needing this." He decided then, turning the training implement downwards before stabbing it into the grass decisively. With that done, he turned and pushed open the shrine doors, walking in without a single glance back.
He could already feel it. He was no even anywhere close, but...the dark power permeated through the shrine, making the place it's own. It was plain to see even from this distance. But he was not to be deterred. Perhaps someone of lesser conviction would have been. But that was not going to be him. Not this night. He had already had far too much time to think about this. There was to be no second guessing now.
11:00; One hour before the end of the world.
The shrine was trickier than he had expected it to be. But then again, he had not known what to expect. This shrine was after all barred from the public. Which made perfect sense. After all, why would they allow just anyone to visit a site such as this? Where such a powerful and valuable object was being held?
But it was no matter. Despite the illusions, pitfalls, and other obstacles, the boy in black had passed them all. He was not to be turned around.
And eventually, his efforts paid off.
Standing in front of an ornate set of doors, he stared upwards, studying the design for a moment before shaking his head. "There's no time." He quickly decided before stepping forward, pushing against the great doors with a bit of strength. Eventually the doors gave way, revealing an inner chamber cloaked in darkness.
And there it was; the object of his search.
The Sealed Sword; Laevateiin.
Admittedly, he had never actually laid eyes upon the weapon himself, but...he knew of it's existence. It was one of the five legendary weapons that was instrumental in the defeat of "The Five Apostles' twenty years or so back.
And now here it was, stuck in a pedestal before him.
"There it is." The boy spoke quietly, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the weapon. It elicited a strange mixture of emotions. Hatred, relief, fear, and perhaps a bit of happiness.
But none of that mattered now.
Each step he took forward felt as if he was wading through a veritable sea od darkness. How could anyone stand this? No normal person could, that was for sure. But he was not normal. His heart was hardened, prepared to face what was to come. Although it felt like he had walked a mile, it was really only ten steps in reality. Eventually enough, he found himself standing in front of the sword of darkness. Lines of red ran all across the body of the weapon, and down, stretching across the floor and walls in a splintered fashion.
He did not let it stop him. Reaching forward, the boy grasped the handle of the weapon, and immediately, the ground began to shake. "Ergh...!" It felt as if a ghostly force was pushing against him. Resisting his attempt to draw the sword from it's pedestal. But no! He had come too far now. "I'm not going to stop here!" He growled angrily, lifting his arm with all his might, fighting against the pressure of the darkness and the sealing magics of the shrine.
"Arrrrrgggghhhh!"
Flash.
With that, the sword of darkness was drawn. And with it, came a veritable cloud of darkness that flooded forth, filling the entirety of the shrine and billowing outwards. Ir was then that a voice echoed within his mind.
'So, you are the fool who broke the seal.' A dark chuckle followed that statement and the voice continued on. 'I have been waiting for someone like you. You will serve me well.'
And then a pillar of red energy exploded upwards, blowing a hole through the roof of the shrine and extending into the sky.
11:30; Half an hour before the end of the world.
"Gather the men! Evacuate the festival! And I want a team to investigate the shrine immediately!"
Once the pillar of red energy exploded into the sky, everything went to hell. Literally.
The sky itself seemed to shatter as dark creature flooded out, descending onto the planet and attacking whatever was in their sights. Meanwhile four other pillars of differently colored energies also burst into the sky, all coming from different directions in the far distance.
"W-What is the meaning of this!?"
"That light..."
"What are those things!?"
"Don't just stand there! Fight! Fight!"
Among the fleeing and panicking, a single man stood, sword in hand, as he looked off in the direction of the shrine. "...Raine, you did this, didn't you?"
11:40; Twenty minutes before the end of the world.
"Raine Arland."
A gruff voice spoke up from the entrance of the sealing chamber. An older man, about mid to late forties, with a battalion of men behind him. He wore light armor and carried a rifle with he had aimed at the boy in question.
"We've come for the darkness."
And come for the darkness they have. The same boy from now even an hour ago now stood, a grin on his face as one hand grasped the cursed sword. Hunched over slightly, his other hand covered his face. The reason why became clear all too soon as when he had removed it to look at the man, it could be seen that his left eye had been corrupted, glowing a deep red. The same color as the sword's glow. Additionally, dark energy swirled around him and the sword he was holding, just waiting to be unleashed.
Straightening his stance, Raine lowered his off hand and pointed the weapon at the man. "You've come for the darkness you say?" He asked, narrowing his eyes a bit before his grin widened. At this point, both his voice, and the voice of another could heard layered over his own.
"Then come and get it!"
12:00; The world has ended.
