A growing sickness plagued Kassian for a couple of days now. This so-called sickness or more like an anomaly was not as frequent as it came, and it had only gotten worse over the time.
Fearing the end of his short, uncertain life, Kassian diligently investigated his illness by inquiring his teachers about his symptoms and searching the internet exclusively within the school premises - since he can't afford a WiFi at home while the phone device he had been using since he was a child broke down some years ago.
His search went inconclusive as most of his teachers assumed that it was only a part of growing up - a natural process which a young man such as Kassian would misinterpret as something else. The rest of his teachers straight up offered him counsel, but he refused. He'd rather retreat to the quiet of his crumbling home, left to him by an uncle who vanished years ago, than sit through hollow reassurances.
The school's limited internet access yielded little beyond pseudoscience and clickbait. Still, one phrase had lodged itself in his mind:
"Your body is transforming to prepare you for something..."
Something what, exactly?
Without a guardian and wary of crushing medical bills, Kassian had never dared set foot in a clinic. His uncle's modest savings were barely enough to see him through high school, and that chapter was almost closed - graduation loomed just days away. He had turned eighteen not long ago, and the weight of adulthood settled heavily on his thin shoulders.
But Kassian wasn't ambitious, or even particularly motivated. He had grown content with stillness - finding a strange peace in being motionless while the world rushed by. That was, until the stillness began to betray him.
Now, every time he stopped moving - precisely a dozen seconds of immobility - his mind blanked. His consciousness was wrenched away, dropped into a freezing dark room. And there, always waiting, was a creature.
The first time had nearly driven him mad. Even now, he could hardly convince himself it wasn't real.
It loomed inches away from his face, a massive thing with a crown-like crest dwarfing his entire body. Its dark green skin was streaked violently with blood-red, converging in a spiraling symbol etched across its grotesque crown. No eyes. No nose. Just that eternal grin, impossibly wide and filled with jagged, shark-like teeth - teeth made to tear, to end.
Each time Kassian returned from that place, he felt hollowed out, like a part of him had stayed behind. Like he had died and clawed his way back.
Now, aboard the train home, Kassian crossed his legs, forcing his body into small movements to ward off another episode. The carriage rattled along the magnetic rails, its white-paneled walls cracked and yellowed with age. This train - one of the original prototypes built to serve the Oceanic Cities - was nearly half a century old, yet still faithfully chugged along. It was originally designed to solve the transportation crisis in the moon and orbital colonies.
The Earth had long since become a wasteland. Not through war or disaster, but something far worse: an unexplained decay. A creeping blight that defied science, draining life from the planet inch by inch. Crops withered. Grass vanished. The Great Famine followed and then billions died.
Humanity retreated into a few still standing colossal Continental Cities, and later, desperate for more room and resources, into the Oceanic Cities - floating marvels powered by deep-sea thermal currents. Aquaculture centers were developed and thrived here, feeding millions with artificially grown sea plants and fish. Yet even the oceans were not safe forever. Scientists whispered that the blight was spreading, and when the sea died, Earth would be truly lost.
The final hope: the Moon. But moon colonization drained the last of Earth's resources and offered little in return. Still, it thinned the herd.
Kassian lived in one of the Oceanic Cities. And today, he had claimed a rare empty seat on the train, skipping a live concert visit from high-society idols that had lured most of his classmates away. Yet the train wasn't empty. Others had the same idea.
Kassian look out the window panel before the row of seat next to him, knowing he was near his station. The train was going fast and everything outside was a blur, but he could still make up the signboards outside.
Across from him sat three passengers with neural implants - metal studs behind the neck, their eyes dim with the slow blink of digital syncing. Even the man beside him had a metal prosthetic for an arm. Cybernetics were the norm now, especially among the young and upwardly mobile.
Just as the train slowed down to a stop, Kassian stood up and swept his gaze toward one of the exit doors. At that moment, he saw a young woman leaning on the interior while holding a book. When you live in a crowded place like this, people were all the same. Well, not exactly the same, they just gave off the same vibe. However, the woman was different, a bit odd and was attentively staring at him with her icy blue eyes under a white hood. A single strand of azure hair falling over her cheek.
Just as their gazes met, the young woman's eyes gracefully avoided his. But somehow, her sight irresistibly return to the dark haired young man. A bit of disappointment sparked in her striking blue eyes as the fidgety young man had already exited the train. Putting her attention back on the book in her hand, she softly muttered, "See you soon, fellow jumper."
The platform was unoccupied by people. Something unusual since Kassian always needed to push his way through the throng everyday. With so much space, he reached the stairs leading to the surface in no time and found himself holding on the railings. A sudden fatigue struck him. His mind was beginning to fade.
"What's happening to me?" He weakly muttered as he willed himself to climb up.
Emerging into the busy street above where the volume of traffic hum increasing grew louader, he stumbled toward a crossing lane. When the light flickered green, he walked across. A tide of busy people was on the other side and he needed to slip his way through, brushing past a man with a brown jacket before he reached the other side.
With a hunched back, he continued on. Home was near.
Faint wailing of siren began in the distance, and the busy roads intensified with the blaring of horns. Even in his current state of mind, Kassian could make out that the city was in a sudden rush - shifting into chaos. There was probably an incident going on. But he couldn't care less. There was one thing left in his mind. To get home and lie down.
Sparing a glance at the deeper part of the city, his half-closed eyes saw smokes rising in different places. He then looked up, wondering why the sky was dark. Was it always like that? In the many old documentaries that he had watched, the sky was blue. Or orange. Or red. Or even pink. Depending on what time of the day.
Turning his attention back to his way home, he found out that he was already a few meters away from his destination. It was wedged between two abandoned commercial towers. He then ascended the stairs towards the door with a slow and uncoordinated movement.
When he turned the aged doorknob, he entered and fell face first. His legs were gone. He couldn't feel them.
With the last bit of consciousness, he crawled inside using his arms, feeling the rough surface of the floor scraping on his skin.
He made it next to the dining table where an old phone with cracked screen was forever laid to rest.
Kassian rolled to his back, muttering helplessly, "Uncle... Where are you? The house... The house... no one's going to take care of it."
In that instance, a figure rushed through the open door with great speed. Kassian barely managed to roll his eyes toward the intruder.
It was the man wearing a brown jacket.
"What the hell is the Sensory Division doing?!" The man exclaimed and hurriedly kneeled beside Kassian.
"Kid... Your essence is manifesting in a different way." After a pause, the man rummaged his pockets and put a few items on Kassian's hand. "You'll need these!"
"Listen!" The man's voice was now full of haste, "We don't have enough time. There's only one thing you need to do. You need to find your way back into our world. You hear me?! You need to fi..."
The voice had been inaudible in Kassian's ears warping like sound underwater. The only thing he could do was repeat the words he successfully interpreted, "Come back... home."
Yet another fear struck Kassian. Sleep. It would pull him into the void. Into emptiness. The darkness would not let him go.
Then everything faded like ashes to the wind followed by blackness. Cold and endless.