Ascension: A Strange Encounter...

  The post-apocalyptic Fort Apocrypha...

  One of the last war-torn bastions of Humanity across the planet, sharing its namesake with the nearby, ruined city: Apocryphal...

  An average-looking woman speaks to some soldiers near a gate into the military installation...

  It looks like a tense conversation...

  "What do you mean when you say that you can't give me any information regarding what happened on that experimental assignment to suppress the Abyssal Rift?" The young lady speaks with intensity, her brow furrowed. She's ordinary in all aspects of the word in terms of appearance, down to her buttoned shirt, skirt, and heels. Her complexion is fair, her facial features modest, and her physique typical of an everyday jogger. Her most striking feature, if it can be called that, is her rather messy and unkempt, sandy brown hair that matches her eyes. It's tied in the messiest ponytail, and the bangs hanging over her brows give an insomniac look.

  The soldier she's talking to sighs and dismisses her question with a waving hand. His increasingly annoyed tone implies he's tiring of this exchange. "Look, lady, I've told you everything I'm allowed to tell you. Please go away; you're distracting us from guard duty," he groans and pinches his large nose, and his subordinate soldiers quietly spectate. The woman, however, isn't letting them go so easily. She tightens her grip on the pen and pad tucked in the small of her back while keeping her eyes on her stubborn opposition. The irony.

  "Then direct me to the right people who can tell me what I want to know, and I'll gladly leave you alone!" she says while clutching her fluttering notepad tighter when a fresh morning breeze blows over them, the rising sun's stretching rays of light illuminating her features at long last, accentuating her ordinary looks. She notices the soldier's resolve waver through his posture and presses her advantage. Persistence can be a talent in the right hands. She's almost got a lead; she just needs to press it.

  "Look," she backs off and steps away, even putting away her notepad. Her expression twists into one seeking empathy, and her words follow suit, her tone more cautious and concerned. "If the rumors of an Abyssal Rift appearing are true, and that a Third Descension is coming, the people deserve to know. Don't keep this information to yourselves..." she softly pleads, watching the soldier's reactions with analytical eyes. Her sincerity is true, but she's also pulling on heartstrings with the intent to manipulate. Information is rarely collected with clean hands.

  "Because if there's someone out there that this information could help, and you withheld it, would you be able to live with yourselves?" she questions, and is suddenly caught off guard by the soldier's scoff, then his annoyed response.

  "Of course. I do enough risking my life dealing with all the other types of shit that tries fucking with this place..." he grunts and lights a cigarette while talking, and the woman stays quiet; she lets him tell his story. The man takes a deep inhale and exhales a potent cloud of smoke away from the woman's face; he's not a total asshole. Then, he speaks with a softer, lamenting tone.

  "The world is already doomed, miss," he glances at her with a seasoned expression that's seen many terrible things. "The ones before us had their heads so far up their asses they didn't care about the future, and the sins of the fathers will always be visited upon the sons." he pauses in silence for a while and looks up at the brightening skyline over the ruins of a once great civilization. What a tragedy.

  "This polluted, resource-scarce planet is a shell of its former self and nothing more than a cesspool of Humanity's ignorant failures," he huffs, and the woman stays silent when he flicks his cigarette at the ground and brings it to his lips. He takes a deep puff, then exhales and says...

  "Humans are a mistake; I don't care for our species as a whole."

  He then gestures to his subordinates.

  "I only care about myself and those under my care, like my soldiers," he says, dismissing the woman's notion of sympathy and empathy beyond that. The woman's quick to respond with a slight scowl in her voice; she doesn't like what she's hearing.

  "But your entire job as a soldier is to protect and serve the weak?" she questions, and the soldier snorts.

  "Yeah..." he takes another puff and exhales before responding with the most apathetic shrug. "That's what they tell you guys, and y'all eat it up. It's so easy to manipulate the public when you make them think you're their best chance at survival. I mean, look at human history and you'll see everything I'm saying is true," a chuckle follows as he falls into subtle mania. He's unnaturally joyful when mocking humanity's failures.

  "We say we're the smartest animals on the planet, yet when you stack everything up? The vast majority of humanity has been worthless to society. We're carried on the shoulders of the few who were smart enough to create things to advance us as a whole. But most people aren't that righteous and instead choose to parasite. Imagine claiming to be the smartest creatures on the planet while simultaneously shitting your pants if you were thrown into the woods and told to survive with nothing for a week. Imagine," a mocking tone accompanies another laugh, and the woman scoffs. This man is unbelievable. He's also not finished driving his point home, as he gestures toward the free-ranging expanse of world outside the gates, particularly the ruined city in the distance.

  "The ones that know how to survive on their own tend to be the worst kinds of folks, too. There's a reason the free world is called No Man's Land these days. No rules, compassion, structure, anything..." a soft exhale as his tone mellows. "To survive, you have to be selfish. Empathy and sympathy will get you killed and fucked over. That's just the way the world works," he says, and the woman's quick to respond.

  "I didn't know you weighed your worth on the success and failures of others?" she almost hisses in disgust, and her words earn a rather wicked side-eye from the uniformed and armed soldier, but she keeps her ground. A badger in every sense of the word when her mind is set on something. "You still have the free will to choose to be better than the worthless people you thank for dooming the world!" Her follow-up earns a laugh from the soldier. A genuine, hearty laugh. He laughs for several long, intense seconds before speaking with tears in his eyes.

  "You're right, and I choose not to," a sincere chuckle; he's not changing his mind.

  "The only reason I haven't blown my brains out and still suffer living in this shithole world is because I have kids."

  "I had the barrel in my mouth about to pull the trigger when my lady texted saying she was pregnant."

  The young lady sees her moment to seal the deal and goes for the kill.

  "Withholding this information from me could endanger your kid," she quickly says, earning another wicked glare.

  "Careful, lady..." the soldier warns, his voice low and intense like a growling wolf. "I'm not so far gone that I'd threaten to hurt you, but you're pushing your luck in this conversation," he decides to cut things short and double down, dismissing her. "I'm not losing my job that supports my family because you want to pull sensitive information from me," he brushes her off and gestures to his subordinates to open the gate.

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  "Be on your way now. Good luck to you on your search for confidential information." A genuine gesture of good fortune accompanies a head nod toward the open gate, and the woman sighs and heads in. She pauses when passing the man, though, and speaks without looking his way before continuing on hers into the sparsely populated, military fort; a miniature city nestled in the remains of a much larger, unusable civilization surrounding them.

  "I hope that your faith in humanity is restored one day."

  ... ... ...

  "Hey?" the soldier suddenly calls, and the woman looks over her shoulder.

  They stare at each other for a few seconds, and then something surprising leaves the uniformed man's lips.

  "Gold eyes," and he says nothing more, ignoring her.

  She stands in silence, then leaves, and the soldier quietly says before inhaling his cigarette...

  "I'm still a fucking softie. Damn..."

  She walks along the sparsely populated streets...

  Lost in thought and mystery as she cups her chin...

  "Golden eyes..." she softly muses and steps past a couple of passersby without looking at them; people around here are friendly, given the circumstances. There's no need to look over her shoulder at every stranger. She bites her lip, scrunching her eyes in deepening thought. Then it hits her, and her expression lights up like fireworks in a baffled awe.

  "There's a Replicant in Apocrypha?" she whispers, then looks around to see if anyone heard her. The coast is clear, and she keeps walking until she stops at a crossroads. No cars are driving through; those are rare and expensive in these times, outside of the military. She pauses at the edge of the curb and lifts her notebook to scribble down something while talking to herself; her voice is barely a whisper.

  "Replicants are like unicorns. How the hell did the military keep a secret like that hidden for so long!?" She glances around like an alerted groundhog, then hurries across the empty crosswalk when the light turns; she could've done this minutes ago. Her lips move faster than her thoughts; she's got so many new questions and inquiries now. How would she find the Replicant? She has nothing to go on aside from Golden Eyes: the absolute indication that a human is blessed with Divinity, the opposite of the ominous Red Eyes she also knows about. Her frustration turns into a plea for a miracle.

  "God, please guide me..."

  Her faith is all she's got these days...

  She sighs in growing frustration before brushing away her bangs from her brow, then she perks at the sound of rolling wheels and a humming engine; a military vehicle is approaching. She turns toward the road and casts her gaze upon an eight-wheeled M1128 Mobile Gun System accompanied by two HUMVEES. Her awestruck expression suddenly sours; what a shitty assault vehicle. Her military upbringing shows through her knowledge.

  "... I guess in an apocalypse, even the shittiest armor is better than no armor. Bradleys must be out of stock," a snort as if implying those weren't much better before her eyes settled on the passing HUMVEES. And that's when it feels like a miracle happens right in front of her eyes...

  She catches a glimpse of the golden-eyed Replicant while he's staring out the window, lost in thought...

  God works in mysterious ways...

  Meanwhile...

  "Noah!" the Sergeant sitting next to the day-dreaming Replicant draws his attention. He's a darker-skinned, well-muscled, middle-aged man with a clean-shaven face and a mature look. "Be careful looking out the window like that when there are people out and about," he warns, reminding him. "Replicants don't have the greatest reputations these days, and I don't want the commonfolk giving us shit about you. Even though I know you're one of the better ones..." he sighs as the HUMVEE rolls along toward the gates, and Noah dismisses them and looks out the window again.

  "It won't change what we have to do," the Replicant says with a gloomy tone; he's not in the right headspace. Those black bangs of hair lightly rock and sway across his brows with the moving vehicle as he talks. "And, considering the circumstances, they don't have much room to disagree with me being around; I'm the best security the entire Fort has..." A pause allows silence to settle between the three in the car, including the driver. The Sergeant eventually shrugs.

  "Then, as you wish," the man nods and settles in with a chuckle. "You outrank the entire military anyway. So, I can't tell you what to do, only suggest..." he then nudges Noah's arm with a chuckle. "It's a good thing then that you're a reasonable guy that's also cool with taking orders, ain't it?" he jokes, and Noah gives a mild shrug while looking out the window again.

  "Yeah," is all the dark-haired Demigod responds with, watching the main gates pass them by as they drive out into the open world. The fort is some distance from the main city. He briefly ponders what the world once looked like long ago, but the Sergeant's next words quickly drown out those thoughts. He speaks into the communicator strapped to his assault vest.

  "This is Staff Sergeant Lockley checking in on the formation. How's that piece of shit Mobile Gun System driving?" he chuckles into the communicator, and the driver laughs as well. There's a pause before a woman's voice chimes back; she sounds young.

  "It's riding rather well, Sergeant!" she replies with a light laugh. "We made a few modifications to the weapons systems, built in an air conditioning system, and made some alterations to the turret and aiming systems. If anything, this Stryker will support the operation just fine so long as the resistance is minimal," she explains, and SSG Lockley hums in approval; he honestly didn't know all of that.

  "Damn, I need to start paying more attention to the mechanic mumbo jumbo," he chuckles before carrying on with the briefing. "Alright then, when we arrive in the city, the Stryker will offload and go in with me and the Replicant for the mission while the rest of you keep the vehicles hot and ready to leave once we return..." he glances toward the ruined city rapidly approaching them for a moment.

  "I'd rather not be out here with the crazies for too long..."

  "Same," the woman replies. "We'll be ready."

  The communication ends, and Noah finally speaks.

  "You said that we're doing a recon mission, right?" he inquires, and SSG Lockley nods. Noah then tilts his head. "What for? Isn't the city stripped clean of resources by this point?" he asks, and SSG Lockley leans back in his seat and takes a deep breath; that's a story to tell. He wonders if they've got time to say to it, then decides to get on with it, keeping things as short as he can.

  "I don't know if the Church ever told you this, but Apocryphal is ground zero for both of the previous Descensions. We figure that there's something within the city we're missing, and maybe it can help us find better ways to deal with the coming bullshit..." A heavy sigh as he unclips his combat helmet to scratch his head. Noah nods in response; he did know this.

  "Yeah, Father Judas told me about it all growing up," the amber-eyed Replicant turns his gaze out the window again, watching the rolling scenery surrounding them while speeding towards the city, not much farther. "The abrupt and violent collapse of society on a global scale is called a Descension, and it's not much different from an extinction event, right?" he asks, and SSG Lockley nods.

  "Yeah, except Humanity's extinction events weren't natural, but something ripped out of a nightmare..." he falls quiet, looking off to the side in thought. "The last one was several generations ago, and we as a species haven't recovered since. I feel the next one will be the last, because we don't have the numbers, or unity anymore to bounce back like we did after the First Descension..." he trails, looking explicitly solemn. Noah turns and looks out the window, choosing to give the man his privacy moment. Then, a question gets asked that chills Noah's spirit.

  "Was the Abyss as terrifying as the rumors say?"

  That woman's visage flashes in his mind...

  Noah stays silent...

  He doesn't know how to answer that question.

  The Sergeant takes his silence as confirmation.

  "... Sometimes, I wonder if humanity exists simply to overcome adversity, or be tortured by it..." SSG Lockley muses to himself and puts his helmet back on, not expecting an answer. "It seems that for every good thing we do, ten bad things curse us. I don't think I deserved to be born into such a shitty world due to the sins of my predecessors, but I also had no choice in being born. So..." a tired shrug; he's done thinking about it. They're finally approaching the outskirts of the ruined city.

  The two HUMVEES and the MGS Stryker eventually pull up on the edges of Apocryphal, parking at the end of a bridge overlooking a dried-up riverbed. The humming vehicles sing a symphony together while all riders dismount and meet up near the Stryker. There's a total of sixteen soldiers, not counting Noah. Nine from the Stryker, four from one HUMVEE, and three from Noah's HUMVEE, not including himself. All of them are fully uniformed and geared up. SSG Lockley stands in front of everyone with his higher-ranking female associate, a female lieutenant. Noah figures that's the woman he heard over the communicator.

  "Good morning, soldiers!" the woman introduces with a gentle tone and an inviting aura. She's a tall, slender woman with fair skin, short, well-cared-for blonde hair, and aqua blue eyes. A somewhat nice-looking woman overall. "My name is Lieutenant Ether for those that don't know, and I will be working with Staff Sergeant Lockley on this mission today with you," she greets everyone, then paces a bit with a sharpening smile. Then, she asks a rather insane question.

  "Now then, let's see if there's a way to save Humanity, shall we?"

  Noah wonders if it's already too late to save them after Lockley's words...

  He'll try to save them anyway...

  Next Chapter: Ghosts of History...