Fueled by the desire to survive the calamity, he learned, trained and learned again.
Like a chiseled marble statue, his already apparent muscles beca firr. Veins crisscrossed them like channels, pumping energy and life through his body. What were once scattered seeds of knowledge in his mind sprouted into a vibrant forest overflowing with practical skills.
Of course, he wouldn't call himself an expert in any field after just a brief month but was already more knowledgeable than most. More importantly, resolve glinted in his eyes, replacing his fears.
He could survive the spreading chaos, even if society crumbled. The terror that had crippled him receded, confined in a shimring box of logic and self-confidence.
Adam spent the month witnessing the original's growing resolve and cruel training. The once orderly apartnt turned into a chaotic field. Dried blood covered the ground, weapons lay scattered haphazardly, and deep lacerations ran through the thick concrete walls. The foul sll of sweat damped the air while dust particles danced in the sun's light.
If Julius and Arun dreaded his training sessions, they would die just witnessing how ruthless the original had been with his own body.
However, if he had to be honest, that's how he would have trained if he could. To beco stronger. To protect his friends... And not to lose again.
He also witnessed the chaos spreading like wildfires. The once structured and brilliant world lost its brightness.
As supply chains broke, electricity beca a luxury, leaving citizens without their only weapon: information.
Without it, despair wrapped around their hearts tighter, blinding them to reason and fueling the rise of extremist groups around the world.
So called the calamity God's judgent, scurrying the streets like fearless zealots to build a divine army and spread their faith.
Others, convinced they would all die anyway, descended into violence. Stealing, killing, and other atrocities beca commonplace.
Faced with the growing violence, Adam sighed, gazing at the thick wooden planks barricading the apartnt's door and windows. They had tried to co here, too.
Fortunately, the original repelled them after failing to reason with them.
"The copy considered knowledge about our end a curse. I understand now that he didn't refer to the original's but humanity in general..." He muttered, a bitter smile stretching his lips. Despite the lawful citizens accounting for the silent majority, the violent minority established a reign of terror all around the world.
Even police officers gave up a few weeks ago under the constant nace lurking in every corner. At this rate, he knew the capital would collapse under its own weight even if the creatures didn't attack it.
"So, what are you going to do?" He asked, biting his spectral lips.
Despite the situation's gravitas, the world's governnts refused to nuke their own territories to destroy the hordes.
Instead, they relied on ballistic missiles and bombers to thin their ranks. It worked... at first.
Then, the creatures developed an innate resistance to extre heat.
Their carapace thickened, turning harder than enchanted steel, while their shapes shifted to sothing more lethal. Like chimaeras, he realised they grew by consuming their dead. However, the creatures' power system was better, bypassing the need for evolutionary cells.
His brows creased into a furrow as his mind raced. Unsure about his deductions, he believed the stronger monsters remained inside the vortexes. Even the first they saw on the stream had retreated after devouring the strear. Initially, he thought humanity would have a chance against the swarm of tier-two creatures if its counterattack was swift and lethal.
However, not only was it not, but the swarm reached the third tier now.
Truthfully, he believed they would all die, now. The swarms reached too far inland to use nukes, and radioactivity would kill them all a few weeks later, anyway. So why bother?
'Their only remaining choice now is how they want to die.'
An ocean of bitter sarcasm swirled in his mind. If he didn't care about Earth before, after spending a month here and seeing people despair, he felt a deep-rooted attachnt stir from his soul's depth. Because, in the end... he ca from Earth, too.
"Show how you survived and how we ended in the magic world."
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His heart tightened as his question hung in the air. Sohow, he felt the beginning of the end approached with cruel inevitability.
anwhile, the original drew his attention with loud noises. Ard to the teeth and wearing mismatched alloy pieces in a rudintary form of protection, he broke the door down. Determination sparkled in his eyes as he carried his military backpack and left. Was Earth's sunset unavoidable, or would they miraculously fight back?
With this question in mind, the original's boots echoed through the corridors as he left the building. Sword in hand, he gazed at the blackened sky, a bitter sigh escaping his lips. The stench of gunpowder filled the once-peaceful city, assaulting his nose. Inside, all seed calm, but beyond the walls, he could hear the relentless storm of tal and fire.
Coming from a small country, the calamity reached the capital much faster, threatening to devour it. But no matter what happened, today would be their last. He would ensure it.
On his way to the walls, his mind raced with different thoughts, yet one deafened the others with its brutal truth.
'One month. That's how long we lasted before the swarm surrounded our capital.'
A bitter smile stretched his lips. Yet, with each step and for each second passing by, his thoughts grew more chaotic.
'No matter what, I'll survive.'
He gritted his teeth, and his muscles tensed. A fire blazed in his eyes, reflecting his determination.
However, sothing else hid in their depths. Sothing Adam was familiar with. Sothing he had used, then discarded. Sothing fueling the copy's defiance. Nascent madness.
"I should have known he would use that, too. Just like I was, he is thrown into the lion's maws with little experience in combat," Adam muttered, his lips curling into a bitter smile.
He understood the descent into madness better than anyone, yet couldn't bla the original. The world went mad with those creatures' attacks, so how could he expect a regular citizen to remain entirely sane?
He only hoped the original wouldn't succumb to it like he had...
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