End of Hunt – Little Yan

District 3, Eldoon New City

Ekada’xahr, 4034 AOT

Her mom came to fetch her from school. Just like how it usually is. The driver who had served their even before the young lady was born is tapping the steering wheel restlessly. The traffic is getting heavy because of the rush hour. The car has not moved for a while. The tapping sound resonates inside the car like a clock ticking eerily.

“Baby,” the little girl’s attention turns to her mom’s tender voice. Her mother’s hand brushes the hair behind her ear while the other holds a phone pressed on her chest. Her vivid blue eyes are fixed at her daughter. “Would you like to go shopping with mommy tomorrow?” She smiles so gentle.

The next day is a weekend.

“Yes.” The little one nods while rummaging in her bag.

The fragrant scent of her mother’s perfume envelops the space inside the car. Like the flowers that blooms in the spring, it colors the monotonous nature of this afternoon.

“That’s great.” She chuckles. “Daddy and your big brothers will join us for lunch, too. Then would you like to go see the aquarium?”

The invitation is nothing new. Since her father is always busy, they always find a way to spend a day with the whole family on weekends. As much as she wants to celebrate him spending time with them after a while, at the same time she has something more important in her mind. She is busy taking out a card inside her frilly bag. It is a class project she spent her time making at school. So, she smiles impatiently while grabbing on it. She knows it will make her mother very happy.

“Mommy, I want to surprise Daddy too.” The child could not hide her excitement. It is a rare opportunity to be able to hand something like this to him personally.

She smiles and then pats the little girl’s head. “Okay.”

At this moment the car starts to move again, albeit slow.

Wearing a big bright smile, she pulls the card out. “Daddy’s birthday will come soon. Loo--”

BANG--!!

Shortly after the loud noise, it feels like the world started spinning. Everything is spinning so fast that she lost track of time. The screams of the screeching tires resonates inside her head over and over until she could no longer hear anything.

“I feel sick.”

It is suffocating, numbing, painful… But at some point, something warm sprouts as if it’s protecting her.

“Mom… mommy, where are you?”

She can feel her mother’s arms wrap around her but no words are uttered. Her vision is blurry. Her voice is not coming out. Something sticky is flowing from her head. Her chest hurts.

“Why is it so difficult to breath?”

That fragrant scent she loves so much is fading. It is slowly being replaced by smoke and dust that eventually mixes with the stench of burning plastic and rubber. Something that tastes like metal is drowning her.

Everything is vanishing again.

The unending outbursts of sirens.

The crowd fussing on and about.

How unpleasant in the ears.

It is extremely nauseating.

The next time she opens her eyes, she is in the hospital. Clueless. She heard different beeping sounds. The doctors and nurses are prattling about things she cannot understand. They keep on asking things that are very confusing. The little girl does not know how to respond.

“How long had I been here? Where is my mother?”

After asking a lot of questions, she receives no clear answer.

Her father visits her only a few times a week. He is always wearing a tired face; the wrinkles in his face are increasing. In that short time she does not see him, it seems like he grows a few years older. His eyes are lamenting.

Why?...

A few months later, the little girl is discharged. Her brothers came to pick her up.

“Where’s mommy? Won’t she come out of the hospital yet?” She asks innocently expecting some good news…

I want to see her, she didn’t even visit me.

“Mom had been discharged too.” The eldest brother, answers with a faint smile. He kneels down to his little sister’s eye level and then he points at the scar peeking on her chest. “Mommy is--”

I cannot accept this. I do not want to hear it. No matter how much I refuse, there is nothing I can do. This scar will never heal.

From now on, my mother will forever be with me.

I remember—

End of Hunt – Spadille

Seki-ro, Adillac

4036 AOT

A young boy lives in border city of a country that is engulfed by war. Because of the threatening environment his family along with a few others is waiting to immigrate to a nearby country, Seja; a country that does not involve itself in the conflict.

These days are like a never ending survival game where they are not allowed to wield weapons. It is hard and heart-breaking not being able to move freely in their city. His parents have to sneak around in order to secure food, water and other necessities. Every day they live feeling threatened. Not knowing when those bombs would fall on their houses is nerve-wracking. They are worried that the soldiers of the enemy nation, with the intent to harm, would come crashing at their door any time.

Day by day, the sound of the explosions grows closer while their numbers continued to decline. The city is slowly turning into a ghost town.

“Did you hear?” His childhood friend says while they stay in the basement hiding away from the conflict. “Clara’s family successfully made it out the country last week.”

They sit on the slightly dusty floor while playing sungka.

“Minerva is really good at this game but I am not falling far behind.” He tells himself while looking down. He is counting the shells in the pockets.

Minerva’s parents and brothers left a week ago, leaving her in their care for a while. His father does not say many details. He first thought that her stay would be short but none of her relatives returned since then. Now, he and his mother are worried, they could have gotten into some trouble and something bad might have happened to them.

He drops the last sea shell on the head. “That’s great,” he replies with forced enthusiasm. “I wonder when will it be our turn.”

“You want to leave your city that much?” She looks straight into her playmate’s eyes. Without blinking, she asks, “Don’t you want to change this situation?”

“I believe we are too young to think about that. It is simply impossible.” His pessimistic yet more realistic view whispers in his mind. “What could we, the powerless, do? Minerva always gave off a different aura compared to other kids our age, but I never thought that she would consider that idea that everyone else had given up on. Well, she was quite mature, but now, due to my growing pessimistic view on this war, it kind of feels like she lost that level of maturity… to choose such a risky path.”

“Do you really think that people like us could do something to end this war?” He blurts out loud with a straight face.

Minerva stares at him for a while. It feels awkward as if she is reading his soul. “You should have more faith in our people.” She replies turning away.

“I feel like she is very disappointed with my answer.”

One night, his father wakes them up. He and his close friends have managed to find a group of transporters that could get them out of the country; away from all this chaos. Everything has been already prepared; they just have to hide among the goods. If the border security finds out that they are sneaking among the shipment, it could be really dangerous. Rumors goes around among the adults, they are whispering with their knees trembling that some people who tried to leave the country but are caught are shot dead on the spot. That journey could be the last for some of them.

“Don’t make a sound.” His father whispers softly. “We are closing on a check point.”

The shaking boy covers his mouth using both of his hands while squeezing himself on the corner-most place in the truck. He hears voices from the outside though the words are inaudible. When the clank of the door resounds inside, everyone trembles in fear. He can feel his breath become heavy while he tries so hard to slow it down. Once the door closes again, it is like a divine relief.

There are going to be more of these check points before they get out of the border. It feels like the young boy’s heart is going to explode in fear every time he hears the sound of that steel door open. The murmuring voices sounds like the grim song of a grim reaper ready to take someone’s soul. Once the door slams shut, the truck moves away to undertake another test. However at one point, a commotion outside interrupts their departure. The following truck is caught in trouble. That truck is where Minerva along with another group stays. The noise last for few minutes. Then he hears the door of their truck open again. The angry muttering voices inside is taking longer. They are inspecting the goods. It seems like they are not going to stop until they find any of the fleeing citizens. Fortunately, the two inspectors are suddenly called out probably by their boss.

Gunshots echoes.

Another uproar starts close by.

Then they hear the signal that their truck is clear to go.

I am thankful while being completely oblivious of how grim our situation is.

To be able to leave safely, nobody is trying to move and try to know what actually happened. They are all afraid. Nobody is brave enough to risk everyone’s safety just to quench their curiosity. Even the young boy believes that it’s better this way.

They have already reached their destination when he learned that Minerva’s group did not make it. That the commotion they hear at one point is because they the other truck was caught carrying refugees. The boy’s family were about to get caught too, but one kid created a ruckus diverting their attention. He has not heard anything else from then on.

I was not able to find out what happened to their group after.

This future I received, I owe it all to them.

End of Hunt – Conqueror

District 2, Eldoon New City

Sat’xahr, 4035 AOT

The Luha family has a long known history as espers, mostly with sonokinesis. The father, the head of the family, is a renowned police chief with the ability to boost his speed using sound waves and destroy a target’s sense of balance. He has mastered his ability and put it in good use. Many people looked up to him. Because of that, everyone’s expectation for the eldest son is equally high.

I must fulfill their expectations.

The eldest is around nine years old when his powers, Sonokinesis, awakened. Sound waves explode during one of his practice sessions held in his uncle’s dojo. Just like how it normally is for newly awakened reveils, the boy is unable to control it.

That feeling being unable to control one’s own ability is overwhelming.

The moment his uncle feels the accidental blast of sound he quickly turns towards his nephew who is standing still while staring at his palms. “That’s great, your powers have awakened!” The enthusiastic uncle congratulates his nephew with a wide smile on his face.

“I’m sorry, I can’t control it yet.” He replies softly.

The uncle walks closer to him and then pats his head. “That’s how it always is in the beginni--” Then he suddenly falls on his knees with a confused look on his face.

He stares at his nephew while losing his balance, wobbling down. His movement becomes disoriented. Shortly after that, he starts vomiting.

When the boy, lost and confused in the situation, looks around him. The other kids that are sparring in the adjacent mat are also down on their knees. It looks like they all lost their sense of balance. They started falling like flies one after another on the floor.

“What’s happening to us?” One of the kids cries.

“I feel nauseous.” Another complains holding on to his stomach.

“H-help-” One kid’s nose and ears start bleeding as he cries for help. “Mom- please call mom-” He continues while coughing in pain.

The confused boy can only stare at them. “W-what? Why?..” He panics internally. Not knowing what to do, he can only stand there; stunned.

I can feel my guts shiver at the sight of their unusual state.

Looking at the state of the kids around him makes him feel afraid of his own powers.

“Victor!” The uncle raises his voice while grabbing his arm. His whole body is shaking. “C-call the ambulance, quick!”

Are all of these my fault?

Victor’s knees are shaking while he goes and grabs the nearest telephone. His palms are sweating. There is a sensation of numbness in his fingers as he dials the hospital’s number.

Moments later, several ambulances arrive to take the sick people to the nearest hospital. However, with the medical officers, his father also drops by with a few uniformed officers. They are to take Victor into a Reveil Institution. The institution looks after dangerous reveils and removes them from society if necessary. There, Victor has to undergo different tests to determine whether he is a fit to return to society. Though his case is determined as an accident, that incident still put him under the radar of their watchful eyes.

“Is something wrong with my son?” The space between the father’s brows knitted. He stands firm in front of the specialist who examined his son’s condition.

“He cannot control his powers.” The specialist says after looking into the documents.

“Why is that?” The father asks with a clear displeased look.

“We cannot provide a concrete reason at the moment. We’ll have to observe him from now on to determine the reason and provide a solution… if there is one.”

“If?..”

The specialist coughs. He turns his cold gaze towards Victor. “You can still improve your control through proper training. However, you’ll need a specialized room for that. Without that kind of room, I cannot recommend for you to use your ability. Never use it around people who are not your target. Don’t use it within a crowd of innocent citizens.”

“Yes, sir.”

The specialist again turns toward the father. “This all we can do for now. Please understand, sir.”

“I see.”

It’s as if he is telling me to never use my power again.

What is the point of having this ability if I cannot use it properly?

Will the same accident happen every time?

Why did I get this kind of destructive ability?

End of Hunt – Heimrich

Level 3 Out-Zone, Raslahn City, Hesha

4032 AOT

In the destitute alley of an impoverish country lives a man and his son. For unknown reasons, the mother left the house when her son is still very young. The young boy is left in the care of his abusive father. He is a drunkard. He gets easily agitated and would use violence to anything and anyone who catches him in a bad mood.

“You little bastard! Where the fuck are you?!!” He shouts over and over again while throwing the alcohol bottles when he has one. “Can’t you even take care of the house?!! I’m working here day in and day out just to feed you! You ungrateful brat!”

Why? What’s wrong with me?

“Shit! That bitch just have to run away leaving her brat to me! ”

He always hears their stuff get broken, smashed into the wall or the floor. His father goes around crashing whatever he is holding when he is drunk. All he could do is curl up in the corner praying that the drunken man would not set his eyes on him. His body grew numb to the wounds and bruises as the father vents his anger on whatever flashes within his sight. Yelling curses as he gulps the bottle of newly bought alcohol on his hand.

I do not remember him being nice. Had he ever been nice?..

One day, a group of adults wearing neat, expensive-looking suits arrives in the neighborhood. Just outside the little boy’s house a group of armed men with tough-looking shields are announcing something. The crowd looks angry, noisily voicing out their dissatisfaction.

“This place will be rehabilitated.” One adult wearing a suit declares. He is surrounded by more armed men but they were different from those with shields. “It’s for our country’s prosperity and for your future as well.” The man continued on and on.

“Good day, sir.” A nice looking lady greets while she and a couple of men waltz into the boy’s unkempt house. “We have received reports of child abuse in this area. We’d like to--”

The father glares at them with his madly reddish eyes. “The fuck are you telling me? Just who the hell are you to fuck around my house?!”

“Sir, we are from the Child Welfare Committee.” One man responds calmly while handing some documents. “According to the la--”

“Do I look like I give a shit?” He interrupts before the mister could finish. He does not even bother touching the documents. He gives him an intimidating look but the mister keeps his composure. “This is my house. Everything you see here is mine. I don’t remember letting you in-get the fuck out! I don’t want you here!”

The mister blocks the way of the drunken man, then the lady sets her eyes on the child. She tries to come closer to the boy.

“Hello, little boy. We’ve come to help you.” She says in a very soft tone.

I am fine. What is this lady talking about?

“Hey, you bitch! LEAVE!” His father tries to grab the lady but the mister quickly retrains him. “Bastards! Let go of me! FUCK!” He growls and struggles but he is unable to break-free.

“Come here.” The lady says grabbing the boy’s bruised arm. “We’ll take you to the shelter. You’ll be receiving appropriate medical attention, education, living environment and a lot of care.”

Do I have a choice? I never had one.

While still confused, he watched them handcuff his father. The look in his father’s eyes is something he cannot ever forget. He is frowning as they drag him into the police car. At the same time, the young boy can only stare at the lady. He is frozen in place, not knowing what to do or say.

After all, I do not know anything about the world beyond the confines of this house.

“What’s your name?”

“Henry Atreus.” He answers, his voice is dry.

“How old are you?”

“Five.”

The boy is then brought into an institution. There he undergoes a variety of tests, health examinations, and psychological evaluations. After deeming that he is fit and well, he is then sent to a grade school along with few other children. There, in a set schedule, the children attended sessions where they talk about their past.

Was it some sort of a friendly activity?

Few months after he awakens as a mage, a man arrives to meet him. The head of that institute told the young lad that the gentleman is going give him a new family. He is first baffled by the idea as that gentleman is not the father he is expecting to someday come for him. He is a different man. He does not have those unkempt beard and hair, he is neat. He has a very kind look on his face.

“Hello, young man.” He greets with a smile so tender. “My name is Oryx Dimasalang. I heard about your good conduct and outstanding record making you fit to be a part of a new family. So, well… How do I say this?.. Would you like to become my son?”

He took me in. He gave me a new family.

He changed my name. He gave me a new identity.

He changed my view of the world. He opened a new path for my future.

He is the kind of man I aspire to become.

I remember--