User blog:Baluar/On a Shadow, chapter 1

Not the most creative title, but hey, what's the problem?

There are a few things you must remember here:

1. Bal and Nia are much older in here, and they have roughly 5 years of experience in 2068. They are both Lieutenants, and they are Sword Old-Types in here (befitting the earlier setting of the story).

3. The story is set in Matt's Maxim of Posibility... setting.

Enjoy!

It’s the year 2068. Humankind faces extinction. It wasn’t that long ago when we received news that Gehenna, the nightmare of the world, was headed towards our direction. It is hundreds of miles away, yet its massive bulk, taller than the tallest of the mountains, wider than the widest mountain range, is visible from our location. It slowly closes in. Whether it knows it’s headed towards one of the largest human concentrations on the planet, or it is a sheer coincidence is yet to be determined. What isn’t to be determined is the alarm status this Branch is in. For months have we been facing opportunist Aragami that appear to have a full understanding of the chaos that ensues in this Branch. A normal God Eater would have given up long ago. But I’m no normal God Eater. My twin sister and I are the subjects from the “Final God Arc” test run by this Branch in a final attempt to delay the inevitable, which aims to create the most deadly artifact of Aragami slaying since Gigantes’ epic failure. They don’t change form (What year is it, 2132? Come on, that’s never gonna happen). Our God Arcs are made of a unique batch of Oracle Cells that adapt to destroy whatever they have to kill. And oh boy they do it well. Whether you need to pierce, cut or crush your enemies, they’ll do it.

The God Eaters of this Branch, the protectors of this piece of humankind, have been falling to death since the foul monster appeared in Glasgow Branch, last year. Only two of us experienced God Eaters remain. The search for God Eater matches is each time more desperate, the restrictions for taking the aptitude test each time less strict, and so it’s not uncommon to hear about rookies that died in the aptitude test, when 5 years ago that was almost unheard of. And even that is a bluff. I’ve seen kids come here and head to their doom, if only to buy some more time for those who are fortunate enough not to be in the possible matches.

I raise my head, listening to the last of the now usual alarms, indicating that another Aragami is closing in. I ask the operator what kind of beast is closing in, and the answer is grim (“We don’t know”). But that’s just another of the unknown beasts who have been roaming about the world freely in the last few years. I go grab my Short Blade God Arc and see that my partner for this mission, once more, is my reliable twin sister, Nia. She is really the only being in this universe I still give a damn for, and woe betide to anyone who dares to so much as lay a finger over her.

-Again, eh? – She comments. – Look at what the glorious defenders of humanity have become: twins who have no other quest than to delay the inevitable destruction of the world.

I take my time to grab a cigarette, turn it on and taste it a bit before answering.

-Would you rather drop down your arms and give up, or is the challenge too much of a thrill to ignore?

-You know the answer to that question. Even after what happened to your eye – I unconsciously take my hand to the patch I’ve been wearing for a year by now – you have been incapable of leaving the battlefield. And you know perfectly I’m just as battle-minded as you are.

-Nice speech. – I turn off the cigarette and throw it aside. – Now, shall we take care of our business?

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Without expecting any answer, I head outwards, knowing that my sister will come behind. We’ll travel towards the unknown, face the invincible, and come back once more, to see what can we do before the inevitable end of this God forsaken place arrives, in the form of that monstrosity that comes closer every second, not caring about if said time was well wasted or thrown into garbage, like so much moments are by now. We are living borrowed time, but then again, is there anything to do but to wait the inevitable?