Without waiting for the approval of the masses, the Western leaders had proceeded to empty their nuclear arsenal towards the speeding meteor in hopes that there would not be total annihilation of humankind within the hour to come.
Yet at the same time, it was predicted that the meteor debris would split into hundreds of pieces, and most of it would be hitting the eastern hemisphere, causing widespread panic in Russia, China, the APAC and even the eastern European countries.
At that crucial point, Russia was also considering firing their own nuclear missiles in hope to bring the American’s missiles down so that everyone would become extinct as a whole. To the Russians, what made the West so special that they could be allowed to survive while the rest of the world had to die for their sake?
However, the Americans had already been a step ahead of them and had deployed their Navy on the probable sites which Russian would fire their missiles off. The American Navy was not giving them any chance to defy their plans, but the other countries were not putting this selfish thought of the American’s leaders aside.
For once, Japan and South Korea had shared intelligence with China and Russian, giving them the contingency battle plans which the Americans were following. Her allies were asked to step aside for the greater good of humankind, and in return, they ensured that their fellow counterparts in the United States would be sent back to Ground Zero to rebuild their civilisation again.
Enraged by their ‘kindness’ in envisioning the post-apocalyptic Empire of their own, Japan and Korea had sent all the information they had on them to their comrades awaiting death by a meteor strike. With all the new reports coming in, the Chinese deployed their own Navy without hesitation, and the Russians immediately proceed in creating solutions in intercepting the American’s nuclear missiles.
And yet all of this scheming to see who could succeed and triumph for the post apocalyptic scenario was useless as the said comet rock suddenly disappeared from the space agencies’ radar and instead appeared directly above China soil.
“They claimed they were the creators of our kind, and that they had watched us all babbling about who would survive. To see it escalating into a scenario where everyone preferred to drag others with them instead of coming together as one to unite against a common threat was more than disappointing in their eyes.” Derek said as he leaned back onto the tree.
“They announced their presence? How?” Weslie asked as she played with a broken branch nearby.
“As I recall, they spoke through our minds,” Derek added that the Creator who gave the announcement called himself Ares. The God of War from Greek Mythology.
Even though it could be just a coincidence, the asteroid that they predicted removed their optical illusion as if to prove their point. Lo and behold, it was a gigantic spaceship with all the ancient Greek designs on it. All these stories about the Gods of old, Derek would have probably believed them now.
Of course, the government leaders and their military throughout Earth stopped their bickering and immediately banded together shooting their nuclear missiles at them. Russia was the first to fire it towards them since they were the nearest to China.
Yet with just one response from the spaceship, it destroyed all the nuclear missiles in the air, causing a nuclear electromagnetic pulse that disabled only the electronic equipment on Earth.
Shanghai City went into a major blackout because of the nuclear EMP blast, and the mothership did not send any troops down at all. Instead, it sent a wave of a particular electromagnetic pulse which crippled the entire city, shutting the minds of everyone in the vicinity, causing them to be brainless.
Then, a squad of space soldiers came down to capture those who were able to withstand the mind wave attack. Derek was, unfortunately, the latter as he got his mind wiped out. “If not for the System’s recovery magic, I might not have remembered all of this,” Derek said.
Weslie could feel his powerlessness when he spoke of the past, but even now, she could sense that as well. “Still, with the System and the Master that we are serving, things should change, right?”
That was when Derek smiled a little.
“Indeed. The ‘zombies’ that Jin captured, a small number of them seem to be regaining sentience. I may have been a simple man in the past, but as luck would have it, now I am their leader. I shall guide them and help them grow in strength. Hopefully, if things permit, I might gather enough powerful comrades to take revenge against our ‘creators’.”
“You sure revenge is the right way?” Weslie asked, and Derek frowned back.
“I know it might sound petty, but that is the only thing going for us. They destroyed our homes, left us in ruins, and treated us as toys. And for what?”
“Because after they left, more than 99% of us never really had a say in the whole matter. So much for the gods wanting to show salvation. The first scene that I remembered was about Ares, who was showing off why he was named the God of War. Heck, even Lord Wolte feels more like a benevolent patron than a demon to me.”
“I know how it feels, or at least some of it… I always hoped that achieving revenge against the North and South Scholars will bring me peace. To a certain degree, I still think so. But after hearing your story, I am not too sure of it myself.” Weslie replied as her head was facing the ground.
“Still, I will work hard to help my people get out of agony. That’s the least I can do to move on.” Weslie confessed.
“Are you sure? I sincerely believed that you can never forgive them after all the things they did to you,” Derek replied with agony in his words.
“…I can try.” Weslie understood where he was coming from.
“Don’t act so magnanimous. You are not the one currently sacrificing your life at the frontlines. You-“
Derek then realised that he spoke out of tune and apologised. “At the very least, you still have a chance to save your people. I was among the first few to turn into a zombie. I do not know what happened next in my world. Did they conquer it? Did they leave us to die? Master Jin only told me that everything was pitch black and in ruins.”
“I am honestly not even sure if I have anyone to save,” Derek said and Weslie grabbed on his left shoulder.
“Yes, you do. You said yourself you are hoping your undead comrades can regain sentience. As long as you can guide them back, you will at least moved a step forward. Maybe, in the long run, you could find something that will help return the sanity of the undead that are still stranded in your old world. And that goal is definitely better than mere revenge.”
Derek only sighed in reply and adjusted his hood back to cover his face. Weslie unconsciously shook her head, and suddenly Melis came walking towards her. “It’s about time we go back. Ayse says enough of a break. Your boyfriend has gotten you more samples to test on.”
“I see.” Weslie stood up and thanked Derek for his world’s story until he murmured the following.
“I shall think about you said.”
