Chapter 1

This isn't about who's the strongest, who holds the power, or who stands as the greatest. The war they believed would be a solution has turned into a stage of destruction for those who swore their oaths. It's about humanity and its ego, about guilt, regret, and grudges that have no clear target. Screams and cries have become the ornamental melody, and red has become the dominant color where I stand.

My name is Ajisaka, and this is my story.

Ten Years Ago

The city, usually bustling with the noise of daily life, had turned into a landscape of fear. The sky was cloaked in a dark shroud, as if nature itself sensed the looming uncertainty. People were running, chased by the shadow of death creeping ever closer. Parents clutched their children tightly, and what were once treasured possessions now dragged on the ground like burdens. In the distance, the wail of sirens screamed like wounded animals, filling the air with an inescapable terror.

Inside a simple house, the television buzzed non-stop, broadcasting a single message: "Citizens are urged to take shelter immediately. A nuclear missile will strike the city in 30 minutes. Citizens are urged to take shelter immediately..." The voice repeated, but no one paid attention anymore to the dark screen spitting words of hopelessness.

"Hurry, Dad! We have to go now!!" Dina screamed, her breath ragged, her voice hoarse with fear. In her arms, her youngest child, Binar, sobbed uncontrollably, his voice raw, mirroring a terror he couldn't fully comprehend.

"Shut up! I'm going as fast as I can!!" snapped Cakra, his voice sharp, though it was more out of panic that he was trying to suppress. His hands trembled as he stuffed clothes into a backpack. His eyes darted toward the window, afraid that time was running out faster than expected.

"Mama... where are we going?" Ajisaka, their eldest child, asked softly, confusion lacing his voice. He tugged on Dina's shirt with his small hand, his large eyes full of questions, looking at his mother with hope for an answer. Dina, her heart aching, could only stroke Ajisaka's head, holding back the tears threatening to spill.

"Just wait a bit, sweetheart. We have to hurry," Dina whispered, her voice barely audible.

Cakra finished packing and swung the backpack over his shoulder. "Let's go," he said, scooping Ajisaka into his arms. Together, they rushed toward the back of the house, heading to a place only they knew.

The sky, once a shelter, now felt like a looming threat. On the streets, people ran aimlessly. Some fought over scraps, while others collapsed, overcome by panic, never to rise again. Chaos had become the only law.

After several minutes of running, they arrived at a small shack on the city's outskirts. Cakra stopped in front of the weathered wooden door. "Quick, get inside," he said, gasping for breath. But before they could move, a young man appeared from the shadows. His eyes were wild, filled with fear, and his hands shook as he pointed a gun at them.

"Don't move! Hand over everything you have!!" the young man shouted. His voice cracked, not from courage, but from the fear he could no longer hide.

Cakra, still holding Ajisaka's hand, tried to stay calm. "What are you thinking? A bomb is about to hit this city. If we don't find shelter, we'll all be ash."

"Stop talking!! Hands up!!" The young man was growing more panicked, the gun trembling in his grip like a weight too heavy to bear.

Slowly, Cakra set Ajisaka down and raised his hands. "Alright... just stay calm," he said gently. But as the young man approached, without warning, Cakra lunged. His hands reached for the gun, trying to wrest it away. "Go! Get inside!!" he yelled to Dina.

Dina, who had been holding back tears, grabbed Ajisaka and Binar by the hand. "Aji, go inside now!" Ajisaka hesitated, but followed his mother's orders. The three of them made it into the bunker hidden beneath layers of straw. The space was cramped, barely large enough for two adults to stand side by side. The bunker went deep—more than seven meters down—and the air was thick, suffocating with darkness.

Meanwhile, outside, Cakra struggled with the young man, both fighting for control over the weapon that continued to tremble in the young man's hands.

The dim light from the old, flickering lamp barely illuminated the cramped space. Dina held her two children tightly, trying to soothe Binar, who wouldn't stop crying. "Mama... where's Dad? Why is the door closed?" Ajisaka asked, his voice trembling. Dina ignored his question, her hands still shaking as she pulled them both into the small corridor of the bunker.

Without a word, she shut the bunker door from the inside and locked it. Holding her breath, she pulled the lever on the side wall. The bunker's lights flickered on slowly, casting a dim glow that only deepened the sense of despair they all felt.

Dina led Ajisaka and Binar to a small room in the bunker. Inside were two thin mattresses that seemed to be decades old. Dina sat on one, no longer able to hold back her tears. They flowed freely now, her sobs breaking the silence, reflecting the devastation she tried so hard to hide from her children.

"Mama... Mama..." Ajisaka called again, this time his voice more urgent. His small hand tugged at his mother's clothes, pointing toward the bottom of the door.

Dina turned, her breath catching in her throat. Thick, green smoke began seeping in from under the door. Her eyes widened. "Poison gas..." she whispered in panic. The smoke crept forward, slow but relentless, its sharp scent beginning to sting her lungs.

Time was running out.

Moments Earlier

Under a sky that seemed to be collapsing, a deafening explosion shook the city, its roar like the final call of a world on the brink of annihilation. The blast shattered the night's eerie stillness, echoing destruction and spreading terror through every soul still alive.

Cakra was gasping for breath, blood seeping from the bullet lodged in his leg. He fell to the cold ground, the pain spreading like fire through his nerves. His eyes locked onto the young man standing before him, pale-faced and terrified, his attention momentarily stolen by the distant explosion shaking the earth.

Amidst the trembling ground and thick air of fear, Cakra seized the brief window of opportunity. With every ounce of strength left in him, he rose, even though every movement tore at his wounds. His trembling hand reached for the rifle, now slipping from the young man's grasp. A brief struggle ensued, but as Cakra gained control of the weapon, the young man, in his panic, plunged a hidden knife into Cakra's stomach.

The searing pain hit him like a tidal wave, relentless and unforgiving. But the rage burning in his chest was stronger than the agony. With what little strength he had left, Cakra fired the rifle blindly. Each shot rang out like a death knell, until the young man collapsed, motionless on the ground.

Blood dripped from Cakra's wounds, but that wasn't what made him sink to his knees. In the distance, the sky was shifting, glowing a terrifying shade of red. The bomb was nearing, and his time was almost up. He crawled toward the bunker door but stopped halfway, realizing it was already too late.

He leaned against the fragile wooden wall of the shack. His breath was ragged, the wounds in his stomach and leg continuing to bleed, marking each passing second as time slipped away. From his pocket, he pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes. With trembling hands, he lit one and took a slow drag.

The smoke rose into the air, mingling with the scent of blood and dust swirling around him. In that moment of eerie silence, Cakra spoke, his voice low and calm, as if he'd already accepted the fate that awaited him. "I guess... this is it. I should've been there to watch Ajisaka and Binar grow up... but, well... Dina will have to carry on without me."

A faint smile tugged at his lips, though it was barely a shadow of one. The air around him grew hotter, the unbearable heat of the approaching bomb closing in. Cakra closed his eyes, taking one last puff of his cigarette, before his body was engulfed by the fiery wave of the nuclear blast, erasing everything in an instant.

Meanwhile, inside the claustrophobic, dimly lit bunker, Dina was trapped in her own terror. Each second felt like an eternity, and every moment was filled with the sound of Binar's cries breaking the heavy silence. Then, suddenly, Dina saw something that made her freeze.

"Gas... poison gas!" she shouted, her voice frantic. Thick green smoke was creeping in through the small crack beneath the door. Her eyes widened as the gas slowly filled the room. "Ajisaka! Binar! Don't breathe! Cover your noses!" Dina screamed, her voice a mix of panic and authority.

Ajisaka, though frightened, quickly covered his nose. Binar, too, clumsily followed suit, his expression, despite the panic, looking oddly comical. Dina's heart was gripped with anxiety, but for a brief second, a faint smile appeared on her face at the sight of her youngest, even in such a dire moment.

But there was no time to linger. Dina ran from the room, leaving her children behind. Her heart pounded in her chest as she searched for something, anything, that could save them. The gas had already filled every corner, the air growing heavier, forcing her to sink into the toxic haze.

Finally, her eyes locked onto a glass cabinet in the corner of the room. Inside hung four gas masks, waiting to be used. Dina quickly shut the door to the supply room and grabbed the masks. She rushed back to the room where Ajisaka and Binar waited, her breath ragged from both fear and exhaustion.

When she arrived, Dina immediately placed a mask on her own face. "Hurry, put your masks on!" she urged, her voice rushed but filled with tenderness. Ajisaka put his mask on quickly, while Binar fumbled clumsily with his. Despite the rising panic, Dina couldn't help but smile at the sight of Binar's awkward attempts, even in the midst of all this chaos.

But the smile quickly faded, replaced by the crushing weight of reality that hit her like a wall. Dina remembered Cakra's message from a few months ago. The memory flashed through her mind like a glimpse of the past suddenly emerging in the middle of a storm.

"Love, what's that?" Dina asked, her eyes narrowing with curiosity as she noticed the small, mysterious box in her husband's hands. The box looked old and worn, like something that had been hidden away for years.

Cakra, busy inspecting its contents, paused for a moment. He turned to her with a blank expression, though there was a flicker of something in his eyes—something that made Dina uneasy. "Oh, this... it's nuclear radiation medicine," Cakra replied, his tone calm, too calm, like someone who had rehearsed the answer before the question was even asked.

Dina stood still, her brow furrowed. "Nuclear radiation medicine?" she repeated in disbelief. "Is that even a real thing? And why would we need something like that? The world is at peace right now, there's no war or anything..." Dina chuckled softly, though a knot of unease twisted in her stomach.

Cakra let out a short sigh, as if he had expected the question. "My dear, we never know what's going to happen. This world... it's unpredictable." He placed the box on the table, avoiding her gaze. "Better to be prepared than to regret it later, right?"

Dina looked deeper into her husband's eyes, trying to read something from his face. There was something off about the way he spoke—like there was more he wasn't saying. "But why do you seem so tense, honey? This is just preparation, right?" she asked, probing the unease that hung between them.

Cakra chuckled lightly, but it felt dry. He closed the box quickly, almost hastily. "Come on, don't think too much about it. I'm just being cautious. You spend too much time watching soap operas, never paying attention to the news. The big countries are always ready for war," he said, gently stroking Dina's hair, his smile thin, like a veil covering a truth he didn't want to reveal.

Dina sensed something was wrong, but she chose to remain silent. "Yeah, maybe... just being cautious," she whispered softly, though her heart continued to wonder what Cakra was really hiding.

Dina snapped back to the present, drawing a deep breath behind the gas mask she wore. Quickly, she rummaged through the bag Cakra had packed earlier. Inside, she found vials of vaccine and syringes.

"Aji, come here, sweetheart..." her voice trembled as she injected the vaccine into Ajisaka's arm. Her hands shook, but she forced herself to focus.

But as she finished, a scream from Ajisaka froze her heart. "MAMA! BINAR!"

Dina whipped around, her eyes widening in horror as she saw Binar lying on the floor, his body convulsing. His gas mask was loose, not properly secured. Dina felt her heart stop, a tidal wave of terror crashing over her.

"Binar... No!"