You ever wake up anticipating the apocalypse?
No? Just me?
Well, imagine anticipating screams, flames, perhaps a couple of flying spears… and instead, you receive:
"Tweet tweet!"
Birds.
Cheerful birds.
Chirpy, annoying, infuriatingly peaceful birds singing on tree branches against a cloudless blue sky, while sunlight seeps through like some fairy tale opening cutscene.
"No war horns? No goblin ambush? Not even a cursed skeleton arm grasping towards me from the ground?"
I was on the verge of a cobblestone road, gazing down the side of a hill into a city that resembled someone photoshopped harmony into existence. Kids were playing through fields of flowers, humans and demons haggled in the marketplace, and two centaurs were disputing cheese samples beside a hovering cart.
It was. odd.
Too odd.
"Either heaven, or a psychological horror anime in disguise."
I walked into the city with care, like a level one character in a max-level area. Buildings were lovely—elven architecture blended with glowing magical technology. Imagine Demon Slayer crossed with Final Fantasy XVI and a dash of Studio Ghibli weirdness.
I walked past a bakery where one of the demons, four-horned, was giggling with a human couple. The bread smelled incredible. Suspiciously incredible.
"That's it. That world's cursed. I don't trust carbs this good."
I walked with my hood up.
People smiled at me.
Dogs barked—but like, cheerful barks.
A child gave me a flower.
"What the hell is happening?!"
Where were the tyrant kings? The time anomalies? The undead armies?
I strolled across the town square, expecting something to blow. A regular guy smiled and waved at me. He didn't have any additional eyes, a bad vibe, or an old sword protruding from his torso.
I wished to yell.
Conspiracy Board in My Brain
Okay. Let's deconstruct:
World appears flawless
Nobody's attempted to assassinate me so far
The sky isn't cracked open
I have not tripped over a magical item which causes me depression
"Conclusion: I'm either dreaming, or this is a trap."
And yet… my chest didn't weigh heavy like it normally does. No pressure. No dread. Just quiet. The kind of quiet that could kill you if you're accustomed to chaos.
"Maybe this is what peace feels like?"
…
"Nah. Still sus."
The Kid
I turned into an alley to escape the crowds. Needed air. Had to think. That's when I heard tiny footsteps.
"Hey, mister…"
I turned.
A tiny demon girl with shining teal eyes looked up at me, holding a cuddly plushie in the form of a blue wave.
"You're the hero, right? Rhaizen?"
Time. Stopped.
"What?"
My breath caught in my throat.
"How do you know that name?"
She tilted her head. "You saved my big brother. In the place where the sky was on fire. You don't remember?"
"I—"
No. That place. That was… 700-something. I had barely remembered it. A battlefield. Ash. A boy who wept for hours when the sky tore open.
But she…
She recalled me.
"But—how…? You shouldn't even… no one ever remembers me!"
She just smiled. "This world remembers everything."
And then she took off, laughing.
I was stuck in place.
This was the first time I was seen. Not in a vision. Not in a dream. But here.
In this. tranquil world.
"This world doesn't need saving."
I glanced at the skyline, blue and gold waves dully shimmering like mirages at the perimeter of reality.
"But then why the hell am I here?"
A gust of cold wind went by.
And in the distance somewhere…
A bell rang.
Once.
Twice.
And a shadow crept behind the sun.