Birth of Rage 2

The colony is a diverse place in this empty, dark world. It truly possesses the kind of capabilities that allow survival in this void. But if this void isn't the real world that has always existed, what's the point of these capabilities? It's just an illusion feeding the minds of the colony's inhabitants, keeping them distracted from the truth.

Alucard is now fully aware of this puzzle. His slumber was merely a series of lingering thoughts that hadn't left his mind all night. He thought, and thought deeply, until anger began to boil within him.

How could someone like him—someone who lived as if he were the true model of the original human in this world—suddenly realize that he had wasted his life in this illusion?

He doesn't know how he survived all these years. His mother's answers were always superficial, his childhood disorganized, as if he never truly lived it.

Now… he stands here, surrounded by everything, yet feeling as though he has lost everything.

Alucard continued walking, the marks of the punch on his face still visible to anyone who looked closely, his completely soaked body drawing attention. But he knows well… here, no one will see him as long as he isn't "someone" to them.

In this colony, family is everything—the bonds that arise from it, the work that sustains it. But for those who aren't part of this system, they are nothing, mere shadows passing by without anyone noticing.

His white hair, despite its strangeness, no longer aroused curiosity. No one cared, not even he himself. But now he sees things with a different clarity… everything in front of him has become a target for scrutiny, every trivial detail now seen through a critical, angry eye, searching for logic amidst this absurdity.

This time, he wasn't just a passerby in the colony… he was observing it, studying it, as if it were a puzzle everyone had solved incorrectly.

"Ooooy, Alucard! What's wrong with you, boy?!"

Alucard stopped walking for a moment. That voice… he recognized it immediately. Gerard.

He didn't even need to turn around to confirm. He had known this man since he was a child, since he used to go with his mother to the leather workshop where Gerard worked. Gerard was one of those old men who didn't care what they said, his tongue always moving without a filter, a foolish man in speech, but… outstanding in his work.

Gerard was an expert in transporting creatures, a link between everyone who dealt with these beings in the colony. If there was an animal that needed to be transported, tamed, or even exchanged, Gerard was the name that always came up.

Slowly, Alucard turned his head, feigning a neutral expression… then, in that moment, his eyes widened in immense shock. Alucard froze in place, his eyes slowly widening as he stared at the creatures moving behind Gerard.

They were of medium size, not as small as sheep, with abnormally long ears and wide eyes that reflected a hint of gentle stupidity. Their bodies were covered in coarse hair, and their legs looked strong but didn't suggest speed, rather a kind of stubborn steadfastness. They made strange noises, neither a bray nor a bleat, but something in between… like the sound of someone choking while trying to sing.

"What…?! What the hell is this thing, old man? You scared me!"

"Hah! Didn't you hear the sound of my herd? They made quite a ruckus today, boy. You're still as strange as ever. This, my boy, is the perfect animal! The greatest addition to this colony! It's the evolution that will take us forward!"

Alucard stared at the creature again, then at Gerard, then back at the creature, his eyes narrowing slowly.

"You're trying to fool me… this is just a biological mistake, isn't it?"

"No, no! You fool, this is called a donkey! It's the perfect animal, the new breakthrough, the miracle that will lead the colony into the future!!"

"A donkey… you're joking, right? Why did you name it that?"

"Because that's its real name, you lunatic… but more importantly, what happened to you? You're completely soaked!"

Alucard slowly looked down at himself, as if it hadn't crossed his mind until that moment. He watched the water droplets falling from his soaked clothes, then opened his eyes wide and shouted in astonishment as if he had discovered a cosmic truth:

"I am soaked! How could I, how could every cell in my brain not tell me that?!"

Gerard was surprised, expecting the usual foolish reaction from the boy in front of him, and stared at him with a skeptical look, waiting for an answer that didn't come. Alucard remained immersed in a long moment of realization, muttering to himself, "That bastard Jogan… what's wrong with me?" as if being soaked was a matter worthy of deep philosophical contemplation.

"What's wrong with you?" Gerard asked again.

Alucard exhaled in frustration and shook his head. "Never mind me… what's going to happen to these creatures?"

Gerard's smile widened with pride, and he slapped the nearest donkey on its back, causing it to make a sound resembling a muffled protest.

"Ah, mooooh, they're means of transportation and travel, boy! They're evolution itself! They won't be eaten, they won't be slaughtered… they were created solely for this purpose!"

Alucard watched the old man's face as he spoke with enthusiasm, then muttered sarcastically, "Evolution, huh?"

He laughed inwardly, as if he knew exactly how to divert the topic whenever this animal-obsessed old man got carried away.

But something didn't sit right with him… a strange feeling, a sense of unreality.

How did they travel in the past? Before the world became what it is now?

Something didn't seem logical. Perhaps this "donkey" was just another illusion, something Gerard called "evolution."

Alucard suddenly spoke, "Has my mother seen these creatures?"

Gerard shook his head slowly, answering, "No, but she's heard about it, of course… everyone has heard about this."

Alucard looked around, examining who "everyone" was supposed to be, the people Gerard was talking about. But… there was no one.

"There's no one here…"

Gerard chuckled lightly, then asked sarcastically, "How strange you are today! What are you doing in the western borders of the colony? How did you end up in this empty, submerged place, asking me about everyone?"

Alucard was genuinely confused again. He had been walking unconsciously the whole time. Then suddenly, he shouted again, his voice filled with doubt and turmoil, which was also reflected in his strange behavior.

"What is this place? Where am I?!"

He looked around… all he could see was fog. Thick fog swallowing everything, even his thoughts.

Gerard stood watching him with concern, his narrow eyes scrutinizing the young man who had always been strange, but… not to this extent. Alucard had never been someone who ignored his surroundings like this. He had never been someone who didn't hear, didn't see, didn't notice.

Even the creatures making clear braying sounds behind Gerard, it didn't seem like he heard them, as if they didn't exist.

"Boy, what's wrong with you?" Gerard said softly, then laughed a short laugh that hid genuine worry. "Is it a virus that hit your brain? You boat riders, indeed, might lose your minds one day. That black river… it's scary enough to mess with anyone's head."

Alucard stood there, breathing slowly. He began to realize that… he was lost.

Since leaving the hut, he had been walking without a clear direction. He had examined many alleys, gotten lost between paths, until he no longer knew how much time had passed since he started.

But he didn't show his turmoil this time. He raised his head and looked at Gerard sharply before saying in a cold tone, "What's it to you?"

Then… he continued walking.

He didn't look back at him. He didn't look back at the creatures. He didn't look back at anything.

It's an illusion too.

Of course, it's an illusion.

Another lie, like everything else in this colony.

Gerard stood there, watching the young man disappear into the fog. This was… unexplainable.

Serious expressions creased his wrinkled face, as if he was trying to understand, to deduce something, but nothing logical came to mind.

Finally, he exhaled lightly and muttered to himself, as if he had finally convinced himself of one thing:

"Alucard has gone mad."

Gerard was a man without a beard or hair, not because he was bald, but because he always shaved them off. Yet, in a strange way, his features seemed more pronounced, his face etched with sharp wrinkles as if carved by time. Those wrinkles that Alucard had always mocked as a child, taking advantage of Gerard's thin frame to deliver a sudden punch, then running away laughing.

And as usual, Gerard would respond with his usual threats, warning, "I'll put you in a cage full of animals if you don't stop this disrespectful behavior!" Then he'd burst out laughing when he saw the look of terror on young Alucard's face.

But… this was different now.

Gerard didn't laugh. He didn't threaten. He didn't joke.

He was watching Alucard with a look he had never seen before—a look that held something of fear, of suspicion. He could clearly see that the boy was no longer the same, that something unnatural was happening before him.

Yet, he said nothing.

He watched Alucard pass by as if he were a ghost, as if his existence no longer mattered. Something in his chest felt tight.

He turned his head forward and led the herd of donkeys to their destination, not ignoring everything… he had seen this matter with the coldness of someone who had witnessed it all before.

Alucard felt no shred of guilt for his actions; there was no room for that. Anger blinded him, and doubt consumed him. Everything before him seemed like a fabricated illusion, a grand lie built around him, and this world was no trick.

Everything he saw now needed to be redefined in his mind, to rebuild its logic anew.

But at this moment, all he could see was the fog and the empty western square. The place was deserted, no one here except for some tools left by the workers near the simple wall surrounding the colony.

This wall… it wasn't an important place now, but it would be later. As the colony expanded and its needs grew, people would reach this limit. Maybe soon, maybe faster than anyone thought.

Alucard stood there, looking around. The air was cold… refreshing… but slightly salty. The smell of grass mixed with mud created a strange blend, but he found a familiar beauty in it.

He loved this kind of scenery.

He glanced at the tools scattered around him—sickles, metal pieces, scattered wood. His mind began to work… thinking…

He wanted to spend some time here.

But not to rest.

He wanted to force his body to work, to exert real effort, to feel genuine exhaustion.

He wanted to train here.