Quintessence of Arcana

Judgment Day. The day of God's judgment of humankind at the end of the world according to some scriptures in various theologies. To be more precise, it is an apocalyptic event that will decide the fate of humanity. It may sound a bit fictitious to some people but somehow, the said scriptures can be somewhat true. One day, inter-dimensional rifts called 'voids' start to appear in different places across the planet. Even with the latest cutting-edge technology, no one manage to surmise the bizarre phenomena that happened in an instant. But it turns out that there's more to it than meets the eye... A foreign race, with varying appearances emerge from these voids. These kinds of creatures wandered through cracks between dimensions and intrude to any planet they have sighted upon. No one is certain if this is the day of judgment, as mentioned in those scriptures. But one thing is for sure—this foreign race did not come to bring peace and prosperity, but to bring chaos and destruction in the planet. In order to become its new overlord. ●●● “Ackk!” Blood gushed out from a man's mouth as his dazed gaze fell in the hole in his left chest. If one could witness his situation, It was a horrible sight. Traces of armor that supposed to protect him are shattered into pieces. His present state is clearly on the point of no salvation. It is already a miracle that he is still somehow alive. The collapsed man then heaved out a dry cough. With a little strength he had left, he somehow managed to raise his upper body before spitting out his saliva mixed with blood. He leaned on a certain debris crushed on the ground that supposed to be one of the walls that protect the last bastion of humanity. He scowled from the smell of blood and ash in the area, but his frown only lasted a moment. Furthermore, he lifted his head and surveyed his surroundings. Blood are spilled everywhere. “Is anybody there...?” Only a bleak gust of wind blew by. “Is everyone… dead?” He looked around and noticed a burnt corpse near him and thought it looked better than some others. In another spot, a lump of meat that was once a human being floated in a pool of blood. He looked around once more and the only thing in his field of vision are corpses without a speck of life left. “Damn it… They're dead. All dead...” This man alongside the pile of corpses are supposed to be the last of mankind's resistance before being obliterated by the aliens. Remembering what happened to his group, mixed feelings of disappointment and frustration emerged in his expression. “Those damned sons of bitches.” He spat out a curse as he blankly stared up at the night sky with his blurring sight. The man's name is Evan Skier, a weapons engineer from an advanced metropolis before becoming a full-fledged soldier for the sake of humanity. He was only in his late adolescent years at the time when he witnessed the intrusion of the foreign race. Due to the lack of soldiers during the first wave, He was forced to joined the resistance army to fought back against the aliens without him having any experience in a battlefield. Despite having a cutting-edge technology and highly-advanced armaments, the foreign race still overpowered humanity in an overwhelming rate without difficulty. They conquered every city of the planet, killing every human they encounter as though they are just exterminating pests in a rice field. It was a one-sided m******e. “Ha.....ha......” Recalling the horrible events that happened unexpectedly, Evan laughed feebly. He could not imagine that the world that is once ruled by mankind had fallen in less than four years. Pushed around this way, pushed around that way, the original inhabitants devolved to a candle flickering in the wind. It was truly unfathomable. “What a shame...” Even though he's still somehow breathing, he is on the verge of dying. The only thing that drives him to stay alive at least even for a short amount of time is his will to live. Without it, he already joined the pile of corpses lying on the ground not long ago. But it turns out that his remaining breath will not last long. When Evan felt the coldness embracing his body, his eyelids shook as he slowly loses strength. Everything should have been in pain, yet he was slowly losing feeling in his body instead. He could tell he was on death’s doorstep. With that thought, his vision started to darkened. “Ah... I'm tired.” Evan closed his eyes. But before he lose consciousness, a certain scene — to be precise, more like a fragment of memory — flashed in his mind... A scene where a mother and child lived modestly but happily in a small house. The mother was a lovely and attractive woman, and her son was comparably cute in an androgynous way. It was on a fine summer day. “Hey, mother! What do you call that glowing thing? Woah! It's beautiful!” The little boy exclaimed in awe as he peered at the top of the table with jaws dropped and eyes full of amazement. It turns out that this boy was sneaking glances to his mother inscribing something on the table. From his point of view, it looks like strange geometric patterns. But as it starts to glow, he immediately run to his mother's grasp and asked curiously while paying attention to it. Indeed, it was truly a spectacle for those who had seen it for the first time. His mother, entranced by the cuteness of his son, happily replied to his question. “Son, this glowing thing right here is what you call a magic sigil.” she said, while beaming with a smile. “With this, you will be able to perform magic.” “Magic?” “Yes, that’s right. Magic is the one liable to all incredible things happening in our world.” Her son, on the other hand, is looking somewhat confused — his mother couldn’t help but chuckle as she sees her child doing his best to understand. Seeing her mother smile made the boy so happy, making him beam right back at her. To the young boy who had just turned five, his mother was his everything. “Will I be able to do magic?” “Yes, of course,” the mother replied. “At the right time, I will teach you some basic spells. And when you're big and talented enough, I’ll take you to a place where you can learn and expand your knowledge in magic.” She smiled as she spoke. “Really? You promise?” “Mmhm. I promise.” Flash! The scene stops... But it not just ended there. Broken images of various scenes then followed one after another. It flashed in Evan's mind in an instant, like a certain someone who has recovered from memory loss. At first, he thought of it as a mere dream. But somehow, he felt something was off. He eventually opened his eyes and gasped loudly. “What was.... that?” After a split-second mental adjustment, Evan pondered for a moment. It looks like somehow he managed to remember something — not of his but a memory of a certain someone. But based on the location of some scenes, and with the knowledge and culture that he never heard of, he realized it was not in his planet, but in another world. “But... how?” The strange thing about it is that he felt a sense of familiarity. It looks like somehow he experienced it — like those memories had happened to him just moments ago. Strange emotions then started to dwell inside him. Whether it happened in his world or not, the warm sight of some scenes — especially in those that focus on familial love left him a little bit of nostalgia. Reminiscing those moments, Evan could not help but smile as he slowly close his eyes... It never opened again. The skin that somehow had it's color earlier, are now pale as snow. Furthermore, his breathing came to a halt. Only one word explains his state right now. Dead. He is already dead. Yet, a bizarre thing is happening on the ground where he is positioned... .... A circular, geometric pattern started to appear, emitting a glowing light...