Chapter 1 : The beginning after the end.

(“I Will win, I will always do anything to win. No matter what it takes, after all winning is all that matters. In this world, winning is everything….. Call me anything you’d like, it won't change the fact that I will sacrifice anything and everything to win, to live….”)

It has been 7 years since the downfall of humanity due to the sudden rise of a previously unknown organization. They are rich, powerful, and most of all impactful. Until recently we only had a small grasp of the situation but now everything is out there. Their name is the ‘Abyssal Nexus’. I can't deny that their name is really cool. Even for a cool-named society, they have caused too much of a disaster. Taking over the whole world within 17 months, after their entire ordeal 7 years have passed. Every country is within its control, each government has been demolished. There are no barriers and each person knows more than 3 top languages for proper communication. They made the whole world fall and created a new family, where there is no darkness, crime, or offensiveness….

If you were to ask me personally what they did, would that be correct? My answer would be in favor of them. The idea of creating a world without any racism and discrimination feels nice right? The money moves from the rich to the poor and the poor only get enough to use it for basic errands. Initially, there were revolts all around the world but as it's been 7 years of their absolute dominance so you can imagine how that went. Within these past 7 years, the world saw its greatest war of all time with the greatest revolt of all time. As a result, everyone who raised their voice was brutally executed publicly. In this past year alone I have seen so many murders that it doesn't even mess up my mind. The population of the world has seen a drastic decrease, there are laws for everything. The Nexus wasn't alone in these killings, we humans are stupid creatures who fight with each other too.

Religion, hate, crimes, and racism destroyed many countries. Stupid humans saw this as an opportunity to clear their own issues rather than unifying against the common enemy. After all, humans are their biggest enemies. The first country to reach a drastic end was none other than India, which was expected to be one of the most active supporters of the revolt. The cause of India’s downfall was not just because of inter-religious clashes but also due to the countries surrounding India. Pakistan and other Muslim countries joined in the war and got exterminated from the map, many wars broke out throughout the world but with the decrease of trustful allies and the absolute power of the Nexus, these wars came to a stop to work together.

The abolition of wars among the countries they were previously so passionate about just to work together against the common enemy was a moment I was really surprised to know about. But I knew exactly what was going to happen within a few months, which was betrayal from many countries that caused the revolt to fall. Many small countries surrendered, some refused, and some self-destructed, but no one could remove the Nexus. As a result, the Nexus grew and took over the whole world. I remember how the first appearance of the leader of the group was impactful for all.

I still remember that day as it made me wonder what I was and how weak I was. His appearance was broadcast all over the internet.

His entry, his silence, his everything had an aura around him. I should not say it but he was inspirational with his speech. Even though I am neutral about the things they have caused, I was still inspired by him.

The education system has been revived, with now 14 years of education and 6 years of additional education for the desired field. As bad as their rule seems, I feel like the changes they have caused were possible because of total dominance.

Now you might be wondering who the hell is this guy, well I am a high school student at the Abyssal Quantum Academy, the highest renowned school of the NEXUS’ main base in the U.S., Kansas. The population of the U.S. has been reduced to half because of the same racism and open demonstration of stupidity as we have always shown. This resulted in the leader of Nexus deciding to open the highest form of education here. As for me, my whole family is German but we moved here just a year or so before the takeover. Around 8 years or so ago.

My family consists of my mom and dad who are loyal to the Nexus, and my little sister who is 14 years old right now.

On my way to the academy, I bumped into my classmate, Echirou.

He’s a Japanese immigrant who fled with his mother and 2 elder brothers after his dad, a freedom fighter, died a stupid death trying to throw away the Nexus.

“OIIIIII, Reooo!!! Wait for meeeeee!!!”

(“Stop yelling, I don't wanna hear your voice the first thing in the morning”)

“Ah Echirou, how are you? Didn't see you coming up”

“Oh you totally did, you looked here yet ignored me. How ridiculous”

He said while catching his breath. He was a slender person who seemed athletic but was not. He also seems dumb but is the opposite of it. Our interests align, that's why I don't mind his company.

“Oh, don't mind me,” I said, amusingly. “By the way, did you complete the assignment we were asked to do?” I initiated some casual talk.

“Yes of course, weren't we supposed to submit it yesterday though because I already did ?”

“What ?” I was confused as to what he was talking about. I am pretty sure the submission date was today, July 7th.

“What is the date today?” I asked him to reconfirm.

He looked at his phone to confirm and said, “July 8th.”

How can I miss out on the date? I didn't even notice anyone submitting their work in the class. Maybe they implemented that rule of confined submission on this one.

I was gone, the punishment was simply brutal and unfair. The whole Nexus worked on one thing, fear. They were so cruel that everyone obeyed them not because of their work but because of the fear they invoked in public.

If I remember correctly, the punishment for delayed submission, even for a day, is solitary confinement with a coffin-like space in it. It was making me feel claustrophobic just thinking about it.

I don't want to be punished. I should think of a way to get away from the confinement.

I searched through Echirou’s phone to look at the school’s map. Abyssal Quantum Academy was one of the biggest buildings with 5 floors and a really wide area covering a small town. The school itself had a hostel in it, which was used by orphans or people with other issues and the school faculty. The school grounds were big enough to hold sports meets and other festivities. The campus was big and had a secret bunker in it. Of course, this information wasn’t leaked, I just happened to overhear it from some faculty members.

The issue now lies in the place where they keep the submitted assignments. They can be in the teacher’s ward or can be as deep in the bunker. The possibility of it being in the teacher’s ward is more as I have seen many teachers walk in there with a handful of copies, during our normal submissions, and walk out empty-handed.

I have also learned about the visible cameras set around the school and the number of areas they cover. The only way I could get caught trying to mix up my assignment would be if someone caught me there or saw me moving stealthily.

Should I just try to go to the security station and disable the cameras instead?

What the hell am I thinking, I am not trying to plot some secret agent mission in some cheap cop movie here, it's just an assignment,t right? If I am caught trying to disable the security system, I'll be in big trouble.

(Man this is so annoying, I will try to be naturally stealthy and get my assignment mixed in with the others.)

“What are you trying to plot Reo? wait ….. Don't tell me you are going to mix your assignment with others.”

He was quick to deduce it but maybe it was because I made it too obvious. I just denied that I wasn't going to do anything that reckless.

We reached school after about 10 minutes of walking.

Here starts the mission of infiltration.

(((Author: there is an issue with the published part so to mend it, I have decided to use brackets to denote the inner thoughts or quotes of the characters. And thanks if you read so far, I hope you'll like it)))