High School Soldier
We're still in hell
Other than being sick, Nio could only see an incredible darkness and silence. It reminded him of hell, but he sure didn't have many big sins that made him go to hell without ‘trial’ first.
Amidst the silence, there was something that patted Nio's cheek several times. A person with a familiar voice called out his name. A soft and mature voice, like a female figure with a faint face spoke to him when he was suddenly in the territory of the Duiwel Empire. The figure called out his name many times, then a number of widescreen TV-like screens appeared around him. In the surroundings, Nio saw several large, beast-headed figures looking at him with frightening gazes. They made Nio convinced that this was the initial process before the sinner was tortured in the most basic hell.
But, it seems Nio thinks too much that this is where he lives for all eternity.
His entire body was so cold, and while breathing Nio looked claustrophobic and difficult as monstrous giant figures surrounded him. He could barely breathe, his nose smelled blood even though there was no blood in this place. While receiving the projectile in his body, it was possible that his lungs were damaged and made him feel suffocated.
“You'll be fine, I'll give you strength.”
The words spoken by the female figure who had not yet appeared came into one ear and out the other when the panic had not disappeared from her.
One of the screens showed Nio who had been found after the fight with Darsono being pushed into the operating room, with several black-clothed figures surrounding him like bodyguards. The existence of Hevaz makes Nio think he is the one who brought people dressed all in black who appear to come from the cult ‘guard’ himself, but they are closer to the legend of ‘ The Reaper’. None of the medical personnel who handled Nio could see the existence of the soul controlling creature of the dead.
Realizing she was still alive when the procedure began, Nio looked at the other screen, but as soon as he saw the footage shown, he almost shouted.
There, it is shown that he was laid on the operating bed with a scabbard skin, some parts of the flesh were torn to the bone, his left eye was gouged out, and the most surprising life support tool shows he is still alive. It looks like a future full of suffering.
The woman's figure revealed herself, her beautiful face visible. However, his cold eyes looked as if the future of Nio would end up like in a screen or fate would say something else. While pointing at the horrifying footage of Nio's shattered body, he said:
“What if it's you in the future, Hero of Hope? Do people still wish on a helpless you like that?”
Nio looked at the girl's eyes which glittered regardless of the cynical look he received. The woman in front of him approached him until the distance between the two of them was only one foot.
“As soon as you get out of this hell bottom, I'll say goodbye. In my hand is the covenant of death. That is, I will protect you from death because I am the Goddess of Death myself. But, if you die, your soul will remain in the underworld and serve me. By the way, you must know about the last war of mankind that will occur before the apocalypse. Without you realizing it, many countries in both worlds are preparing for the great event. I can keep you at the service of your people in that war by making it hard to defeat, you are free to choose. “
Nio's eyes remained fixed on the two events about him, with one incident unavoidable. Long ago war destroyed everything, including his life. The boundary separating the two worlds was shattered, causing various chaos. But, each piece of events shaped history, with many figures in it. If Nio responds to the wishes of his heart, he does not want bad things to happen to him even if it changes the story that has been determined. He believes there is a destiny that can be changed.
Slowly, the number of screens around Nio grew, and began to look strange things that aired. There were red footprints, piles of human bodies as tall as buildings. The longer the show went on, the more mentally disturbing things he saw, as the entire recording showed a picture of a shattered world. After seeing the whole picture, Nio wondered if he could change the fate of this world.
The inner war that Nio was going through made him even more uncomfortable. He felt destruction so close, and there was no way to avoid it. The war hasn't even shown signs of a settlement, and it's getting crazier.
If both worlds want to always remember the greatest war before the world is destroyed, they can record it even if no one can watch it and feel happy about it. Right now, he was looking at the footage of the fight with disturbing images of ants, and was full of death cries instead of vigorous war cries. As the recording cleared up slightly, something that happened next made Nio want to vomit despite being used to seeing corpses scattered.
If this ongoing war is a devastating ‘Third’ World War, what about the war that ended this civilization to make Nio very disturbed? It was not imagination, Nio convinced himself to respond to the Death Goddess' offer.
“Towards the choice that you think makes you the strongest,” said the Goddess of Death.
When Nio pointed to one of the options, he who was still in the middle of the operation woke up and made him surprised. The Goddess of Death just stared lazily at one of the screens, watching the ‘men of his’ go on a prank while Nio was in the middle of life and death. He glanced back at Nio's face which showed a terrified expression if he really was going to become the subordinate of the beautiful woman in front of him.
The doctor who handled the operation tried to anesthetize Nio again who had extraordinary convulsions, then the blood coming out of his mouth was enough to make the doctor nervous. Seeing her threatened self, Nio felt the greatest fear of her entire life.
“You don't want to change your choice?” ask back the Goddess of Death after Nio pointed to her choice.
Nio answered him though with a restless expression, “If it can make me invincible, I do not regret my choice.”
“Smart son,” Goddess of Death said and smiled complacently. Then bring his face closer to Nio's face, and what happened next makes Nio disappear from his presence.
**
The first thing Nio heard was the heart rate chart beside his bed. He felt like he was wrapped in something warm and soft, but the blanket he immediately removed because it made him sultry. He felt the light dimmer than usual. Nio did not know what was put in his mouth when the operation took place, he grimaced with the perceived bitterness.
He returned to consciousness feeling like he was facing a mentally shaking event. Nio himself was even surprised that he was still alive. Zefanya entered into his field of vision. The girl was wearing her grey hoodie, and the girl's blue eyes were staring wetly at her as she looked at him. Zefanya blue pupils look very natural and shiny. Realizing Zefanya remained beautiful, Nio stared at her for a while.
“Hai say...” Nio did not continue his sentence, something that went into his throat made him choke and cough a few times.
Her Zefanya rubbed her eyes firmly, and bit her lower lip. He finally smiled, but the crying could break at any moment. She tried so hard not to cry. With teary eyes Zefanya said, “Hai, dear. Welcome back.”
Nio smiled bitterly, “If I see an angel in front of me, am I already in heaven?”
“We're still in hell.”
“Heheh, I was trying to make a sombalan tofu,” Nio said with a joking expression.
Nio forced his unhealed body to sit down, then looked out the window and saw that the dark sky was decorated with a perfect full moon as if peering at the two of them.
“How long have I been unconscious?” Nio asked Zefanya.
“Two days. You've been through a major operation. The doctor almost gave up on you. But your heart is still beating. You still have the desire to live. You have done your best,” replied Zefanya. He stroked Nio's chest with his index finger and tapped twice on his heart. Nio felt palpitating, but Zefanya blushed.