There in the middle of nowhere, trapped between 3 walls, one after the other, lived the country of Velmira, the country of peace " country of peace my ass, this country is nowhere near peaceful" cried Bayu and then WHOOSH, Bayu was already in the air leaping across the wall of the library just to get away from the librarian. Bayu ran as fast as he can and then looked back only to realise no one was chasing him "hmph" said Bayu slowing down as he reached the 'cursed hill'
His feet slapped the cracked dirt path as he climbed the old hill — the one no one ever went near because it "belonged to the sky," or so the elders whispered. He didn't care. The only thing that mattered was the book in his hand. The one he had smuggled from the library. The one filled with drawings of oceans, forests, stars, and places outside of Velmira, that didn't exist anymore — or so he believed.
He didn't stop until he reached the top. The wind tugged at his worn shirt, and the book trembled in his fingers like it, too, wanted to escape.
Bayu dropped to the grass, arms wide, chest heaving. "I wish I could live here," he muttered to the clouds, as if they were listening.
The book lay open beside him, fluttering. A page flipped. A bird on it soared above endless blue.
He stared at it slowly falling asleep.
And everything went quiet.
⸻
A scream shattered the stillness.
Bayu shot up.
Another scream — not from the hill, but from the city below. Sharp. Human. And familiar.
He bolted down the slope, stumbling, heart punching against his ribs. Dust flew. His book fell behind, forgotten.
At the base of the hill, smoke curled into the sky.
People were running.
And in the center of the square, Bayu saw something he'd never forget. Something so traumatising he will never ever forget.
Kael.
His best friend. His laugh-too-loud, always-hungry, ride-or-die best friend...
...was on the ground. Face down at first, twisting and crying begging to be let free. Words wanted to be said but was unable to. His mouth opened,but no sound came out. Just a wet rasp and a spray of blood.
Bayu's eyes locked onto the mess of limbs — and it took him a second too long to realize why it felt wrong.
Kael's arm was gone. Ripped clean from the shoulder, the socket a pulpy wreck. His leg — gone at the knee, the stump shaking as he kicked helplessly against the dirt.
Bayu's breath caught in his throat.
Kael looked up at him. Through him. Eyes wide, wet, terrified. His lips trembled.
"B-Bayu..." he whispered. "Help... I—"
A shadow moved behind him.
Something tall. Wrong. Its body twitched like it didn't belong in its own skin. Hands too long, face too empty. It gripped a jagged blade slick with Kael's blood — and it wasn't finished.
Bayu stepped back, shaking. His stomach lurched. The world blurred, collapsed.
This wasn't a battle.
It was a butchering. A sacrifice.
Kael, his best friend, the boy who once swore they'd see the world together — was being torn apart like he was nothing.
Bayu choked on air. "STOP!" he screamed, but no one heard. Or they didn't care.
The walls surrounding the city shuddered.
And then — WHOOSH they collapsed.
Stone and steel cracked and crumbled, as if something had been pushing from the outside for years and had finally broken through.
Through the dust and falling rock came shapes. Massive. Twisted. Ugly. Monsters.
One by one,they poured in like shadows — tearing through people, homes, everything.
Bayu didn't think twice before he ran to the direction of where the most monsters were coming from.
His house was near the west wall. His sister. His mother. They'd be there.
He sprinted through alleyways, past flames, past blood. The city screamed around him.
And then—
He saw it.
What was left of his home.
The broken door.
The shattered frame.
The thing inside.
It was tall, hunched, with long arms like blades and a mouth that opened sideways.
In one hand, it held something red and limp.
In the other — nothing.
On the floor lay his mother. Pieces of her. Her eyes still open. Her hand outstretched, as if she'd tried to protect—
"Le...?" Bayu whispered, stepping back.
The monster turned.
And in its jaws...
His sister.
Her eyes met his. She was barely breathing. Barely there. But somehow, she found the strength.
"Run... Bayu... run..."
He couldn't scream. Couldn't move. Until her voice cracked again, raw and final.
"RUN!"
And then he did.
He ran with everything he had — legs burning, lungs tearing, heart shattered. Toward the shore. Toward the harbor. Toward the only way out.
A ship waited there. Half-full. Ready to flee.
He leapt onto the ramp just as the ropes were cut. The boat lurched forward. Behind him, the monsters stood at the water's edge, hissing, screeching — but they didn't follow.
Bayu collapsed onto the deck, covered in ash, tears, and blood that wasn't his.
The sea swallowed the city behind him.
And the sky above never changed.
"Kael...Mum...Le.." tears flowing down his cheeks, he looked back once and there he saw Velmira's Fall. He stood up, rage filled his heart and looked back once more and whispered 'I'll kill you... I Will Kill YOU". There, stood a shadow, not knowing what it was, be it human, a demon or a a God, Bayu cursed it, until it slowly disappeared.