"Why go on? Why continue this... damn life?"
A young boy stood at the edge of a cliff, his lightless eyes staring down at the endless darkness before him.
Taking a step forward, he paused.
"This... this is the only way." He tried to convince himself once again. Time was running out.
He could already hear it... the sound of vicious growls drawing nearer.
He had managed to run away from the hideous creatures chasing after him and reached his supposed destination.
The edge of the cliff.
"How did my life end up this way?"
Yeah. He was about to kill himself.
Taking another step, he couldn't help but hesitate. He was tired... extremely tired and already at his limits. Yet he didn't want to die.
How did his life end up this way?
Nine years back, he was one of the happiest humans in this chaotic world. Deeply loved and cared for by his family.
Yet, here he was. Broken and bruised. Caught between the devil and the deep sea. Or how was it said?
Not for him, though. He was caught between getting torn apart by hideous creatures or dying a not-so-painless death by jumping off the cliff… maybe even miraculously survive the fall.
Shaking his head, he let out a chuckle. "So this is how it ends, huh?"
"Well... I hope the world bu–"
He didn't get to finish his words before he heard another vicious snarl. This time around, it was extremely close.
"Dammit! Curse it all." He shouted, clenching his fist so tight his nails pierced into his palm, drawing blood.
Letting out a deep breath, he finally walked forward. Arms spread wide as if finally accepting his fate. He took the last step and fell forward.
...
Gabriel! Gabriel…!
A young boy stood before a flowing stream, lost in his thoughts. The wind rustled his messy red–hair blowing a few strands over his face.
The golden ray of sunlight shone on the stream, reflecting its warmth over the area.
Gabriel!!
His lightless eyes wandered about the uneven landscape and finally landed on one of the unusually large rocks.
"Where the hell did he go again?" A brown-haired girl muttered with a frown.
Stepping away from the large rock before her, she paused in her track.
"So that's where you've been!" Walking quickly while navigating the uneven ground, she finally met up with him.
"How do you even do it? How are you able to walk through all these without... y'know... seeing?"
The young boy let out a soft smile before turning away. "It's something I can't really explain. I guess it's the universe's way of paying back... dunno." He said with a shrug.
"There you go again. What's so special about this place? Why spend most of your time here... alone... when there's a lot of fun back at the settlement."
"Special?" Stretching his body, he let out a sigh before replying. "Well.. the sound of rushing water calms my mind."
"Ah. Nevermind. Anyway, we're heading to the field to get some vegetables and wood. Grandma Appa said something about some guests arriving…" Cassandra, the brown haired girl, muttered, kicking a pebble into the water.
Staring at him, the corner of her lips widened. "Was wondering if you'd like to come with us."
"I dunno know…" Gabriel muttered, shaking his head. "I guess I can tag along, but I won't be of much use," he said, pointing two fingers at the front of his eyes.
Cassandra frowned. "I knew that before asking you dumbhead."
"C'mon, let's go." She said, holding his hands. Gently leading him through the uneven ground–even when he protested against it, the sound of rushing water faded away.
A few minutes later, they found their way back to the settlement.
A mini city–if one could call it that. The houses were built cramped with a large space at the centre. The street was less busy as everyone was mainly indoors, left for the few little children wandering about and older people sitting out.
Both had separated on reaching the centre. Cassandra left to gather those who would be accompanying her while Gabriel went back to his little cottage to rest.
Sitting on his makeshift bed, he stared at the ceiling with a frown.
"What's this strange feeling I'm having," he thought, clenching his fist.
It was quite strange, his body felt tensed ever since the start of the day. The air moved strangely, and even the sound of the rushing water from the stream a while ago was chaotic.
"Why does it feel like something bad is about to happen?"
He didn't know what to make of these strange feelings.
Maybe he was just getting paranoid, given where he was living.
"I think she's ready," he muttered, rising from his bed. At the same time, a soft knock rang from the door.
"Gabriel... are you ready?" Cassandra's voice drifted in.
"Sure. I'll be out. Just give me a minute." Splashing water over his face, he finally stepped outside."
"You look pale... are you okay?" Cassandra asked, staring at him.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. So where are we heading… the Willow greenery or–"
"Yup. The Willow Greenery will do." Cassandra said with a smile. "It's been a long time since we gathered from there. I bet the place will be teeming with wild flowers."
Walking towards the group gathered at the centre, a boy with muddy brown hair called out with a toothy grin. "Hey Gabriel... you need help?"
"No. I'll manage." He said, trying to put up a smile.
Sticking out a thumb, the boy strolled away.
He didn't really need anyone's help. He was fine by himself. Though he couldn't see, his other senses were heightened. Especially the one that enabled him to somehow sense... space?
He didn't really know how to put it, but right from birth, he could sense things around him without needing his eyes. As he grew the strange gift?... naturally grew stronger.
"Alright. Let's get moving. We don't want to waste all the time yapping away."
With that, a bunch of kids led by Cassandra headed out of the settlement.
The willow greenery wasn't that far, just a few metres walk down the settlement.
Gabriel remained in silence. Still bothered by his strange 'intuition' or whatever it was.
The rest talked in excitement.
"I heard from one of the elders that the visitors are from the citadel!"
"Yeah, I also heard my dad and Grandma Appa discussing it." The muddy brown haired boy said.
"I so hope it's true." Another chimed in in excitement. "Just imagine seeing them up close."
"Maybe they would wanna carry some of us to the capital. I do hope I get selected." A girl with blonde hair said dreamily.
"Yeah. Keep on dreaming." Gabriel muttered with a frown. If what they were saying was true, then it seems his intuition wasn't that wrong.
Why would a bunch of Awakened from the citadel be heading to this abandoned area? There was nothing here to pique their interest, else…
Breaking through a foliage of leaves, they began descending.
Gabriel shuddered, turning around.
"Hey, is it just me, or is the foliage a bit withered?" Cassandra muttered, rubbing her shoulders.
"Yeah. That's true. And the ground. It seems... parched." Eddy, the muddy brown-haired boy, said with a frown.
Bloody hell!
Everything finally clicked in his head.
These were signs of what the world was battling against.
"It's a rift!" Gabriel muttered loudly, stopping in his tracks.