Apocalyptic Game

Prologue: The Mysterious Book

It was the year 2077.  The world had long come under one rule by a governing body known collectively as the World Government. No one knew exactly what happened before they rose to power. No one knew how they rose to power. No one knew who they were before they were known as the World Government. But it did not matter. 

All they had to know was that they were under the rule of the World Government, and rules were meant to be followed. 

“And that is what we know about the World Government. Does anyone have any questions?” Mr. Jones asked patiently. 

“Mr. Jones? Why don’t we see them around? “ Sophie curiously asked. She was an inquisitive girl, always wanting to know more. Having a head of beautiful long hair that shone in the sun, slender legs, a slim waist and azure blue eyes, she was naturally the centre of attention wherever she went. Moreover, she was not your stereotypical “dumb blonde”. She had the wits to back up her beauty, and the hard work to support it.

“Well, you see, our governing system works like this. After they came to power, the World Government split the world into their respective continents, with the 7 Kings each governing one continent. Under them, there are 10 city lords, each having 10 town mayors below them, with the town mayors having 10 district heads under them.” Mr. Jones paused to catch his breath.

“As you can guess, we are living under these district heads. However, they rarely appear in front of the public. Our government prides itself in giving us freedom and autonomy. As long as we follow the rules they make, they will not interfere with our affairs.” 

“Ah! I see!” Sophie was enlightened. Most commoners did not know how the governing system worked. It was not that they were not allowed to know, it was merely matter of utility — there was no need for them to know. Everything was planned out by the government. The government would select individuals for jobs based on their aptitude, and pay them according to their contribution to society, allowing most to lead happy, fulfilling lives despite their complete ignorance of how it system worked. It didn’t matter how the system worked, what mattered is that it was working.

Taking his eyes off Sophie, Mike continued to stare into blank space.

Mike was just your everyday student. He wasn’t talented in sports, or academically. However, he was also not terribly bad at them. If there was one word to describe him, it would be — mundane. There was nothing special about him. He was the type that would be unidentifiable if he stood in a crowd. There was really nothing special about him. Not his smarts, nor his looks. 

Born in a middle class family, his life was rather comfortable by modern standards. Being the sole child of his family, he had all the attention of his parents to himself, and he never had to worry about money. Although he could not afford luxuries, but he had enough to live a contented life. However, there was also nothing really special about his family as such a family structure was ubiquitous in the area.

But if there was one thing that made him stand out, it would be his hobbies. Unlike most people, Mike had a peculiar habit of collecting strange items. It was his routine to go to the weekly flea market on Saturday. From his experience, it was the best place to enjoy his hobby, allowing him to collect strange items at an economic price.

However, recently, he had chanced upon a strange encounter. During the weekly flea market, he had felt a strange sense of attraction to one of the items on sale. It was not the normal kind of attraction he had to strange items, but rather a particularly strong one, a calling he had never felt before. It was the attraction of food to a starving man, it was the attraction of an oasis to a thirsty desert traveller, it was the attraction a man feels when a beautiful lady lay naked before him. It was a deadly attraction to him. He had to have it.

Carefully scrutinising the items on sale, he had finally noticed the item that was so alluring to him. It was an unimposing black book. Among the mountains of other items displayed, it was hardly noticeable, and even if it was noticed, most would not bother to give it a second look.

Despite this, his eyes visibly brightened up upon a closer inspection at the book.

Unable to suppress his excitement, he had immediately asked for the price of the book.

 Noticing the strong desire in his eyes, the seller had raised the price of the book, but it did not matter to him. 

Even though he could have used other ways to obtain the book, he did not do so as he could simply no longer repress the desire to possess the book. Obtaining the book was paramount. The price did not matter. Hastily giving a 100 Credits to the seller, he had obtained his hearts’ desire.

After going home that day, he had carefully scrutinised the book. It had many strange inscriptions on it, looking like ancient runes of sorts as it gave the book a mystical air to it. 

Carefully opening the book, the first thing that appeared was a heading written in pitch black, with the ink looking as if it was the blood of some creature. It was written in some kind of mystical symbol, yet Mike had understood what it meant without having prior knowledge of this alphabet.

“Tome of Necromancy” it read. For some strange reason, understanding this alphabet had been natural to him. It was just like breathing, naturally coming to him. At that moment, he had had another strange calling. Something was calling him to complete the initiation ritual. Without hesitation, he instinctively bit his thumb and imprinted it on the book, as if doing so was second nature to him.

What had happened next was astonishing. The book had suddenly glowed in a dark red hue, floating in the air as all the mystical symbols came to life. The pages of the book flipped incessantly as there seemed to be incantations coming from the book. Suddenly, many blood red runes dashed out of the book into Mike’s body, and at that very instant, Mike could feel a vague connection with the book.

In an instant, Mike had understood everything. This book was the manifestation of the laws of Necromancy, born from the depths of the underworld, and somehow or another, it had landed here on Earth. According to the fragments of memories he could see with the help of the book, there was a great battle over the possession of this book. However, the book was already on the verge of gaining sentience, and it was unwilling to be owned. Using all of its energy, it had created a void in fabric of space-time and tunnelled through it. The rest was history. 

“Mike! Mike Grey! Are you listening!” Mr. Jones’ rebuke brought Mike back into reality.

“Yes- sir!” Mike instinctively said.

“Very well. Repeat what I just said.” Mr. Jones harrumphed coldly.

“You asked me whether I was listening, sir.” Mike said, shrugging his shoulders helplessly, causing the whole class to laugh in amusement.

“Enough of this nonsense Mike! If you continue to be like this you will definitely be retained! I promise you!” Mr. Jones said sternly.

“Sit down!” 

Mike took a sigh of relief. Mr Jones was a strict teacher and demanded the best from his students, and he seemed to always have something against Mike. 

“At least he didn’t ask me to stand outside the classroom again.” Mike thought to himself, waiting for the handles of the clock to turn.

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“RIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGG!” The school bell shrilled unpleasantly, but it was music to Mike’s ears.

“Finally!” Mike mused to himself as he began to pack his stationery and study materials. The last time he had tried to open the book again, something told him that it was not yet time. He had to wait for another day before he could unravel the contents of the book. 

Now, he could finally see what was inside that mysterious book. Regardless of what it was, he knew it would be life changing.

Due to his insecurity, he had kept the book with him at all times. Unable to repress his curiosity, he immediately rushed to the male bathroom, swiftly locking himself in the cubicle. Taking out the book in one quick motion, he flipped open the pages impatiently.

However, his mind didn’t register its contents before a bright flash of light blinded him. Subsequently, a mystical power caused his consciousness to fall into a deep slumber. 

Little did he know that he was not alone. At the same time, the whole world was experiencing the same plight as him.

He had opened Pandora’s Box, leading to the beginning of a new age. 

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