Doomsday Pillars

"Jennie... Jennie..."

"RUN!"

"!!!"

"NO!!!"

KABOOOMMM!!!

"!!!"

"..."

Christina sat up, a bit drenched from her sweat, as she woke up from her dream.

"Christina, you’re awake," cried a big woman with red hair.

"Maxine, you’re alright... What about the others? Where is this?" asked Christina, she looked around the room which seemed to be a cave with people standing not far from where she was lying. She tried to get up and recognize their faces.

"AArrggghhh!" Her head throbbed in pain, making her sit down again.

"Don’t move too much, sis. Rest for a while, we’re safe here," said Maxine while assisting Christina sit.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Almost three hours, sis" replied Maxine.

"Where are we? What about the others? Were they able to escape?"

"Calm down, sis."

"Jennie... What about Jennie? Is she okay?"

Maxine fell silent at Christina’s inquiry, and with that, Christina knew the meaning of her silence. But not long after, a few people came over.

"Nam? Nam! You’re safe..." Christina exclaimed.

Nam appeared more silent than usual, it seemed that not many of his brothers survived the attack in the forest.

"Yes... If Inspector Tang hadn’t found us, maybe we’d suffer the same fate as my fallen brothers."

Christina was somewhat relieved some of the Triad members had survived, especially Nam who was the strongest among them. She then noticed the old man at the back who was smiling at the sight of her.

"Inspector... Thank you for saving us. Could you tell us more where we are?"

People from both groups gathered to try and hear what information Inspector Tang had gathered by the time he was missing.

Inspector Tang recounted the things they had experienced during the six days that had passed while stranded in this strange place. Similar to Christina’s group, the elite Hong Kong police force had been continuously attacked by the same beasts, and only a few of them remained.

While Inspector Tang was explaining, Nam interrupted and said, "Inspector Tang, with all due respect, we had more people than your group when we arrived here but a lot of us were killed in just a few hours, I find it hard to believe your troops can survive for 6 day."

Nam’s words seemed to undermine the ability of Hong Kong’s elite troops, but the inspector wasn’t offended at all. He simply raised his hand and pulled the sleeve of his shirt.

"!!!"

Around the inspector’s wrist was a unique bracelet coiled like a snake, surprising everyone. The bracelet was as big as a clenched hand and seemed to be made of black iron, but the texture of the metal looked very foreign.

The inspector touched the bracelet, and suddenly, an alien engraving glowed on its surface.

"What’s that thing, inspector?!"

"I got this from the rock in the middle of the strange room. The voice in the room told me to put this on. And after that, we were transferred to this place."

The inspector swiped the bracelet multiple times, and everytime he had done so, the alien engraving changed.

"Inspector Tang, do you understand how to use it?" Nam asked.

The inspector took a deep breath. "I... don’t know how to exactly explain this. In fact, I don’t even recognize these symbols, but when I touch this, it feels like it’s speaking to my mind and I understand it."

"..."

Christina tried to stand up again but couldn’t balance herself. "Inspector Tang... Do you know why we’re in this place?

The inspector swiped the bracelet once more and the engraving changed. "We’re here for a quest."

"What quest?"

Inspector Tang began to read what he saw from the bracelet.

"Much I have travelled, much I have tried out, much I have tested many fierceness; Under the full moonlight, the wolf Fenrir and the warg pack will destroy the world."

[Quest : Kill the Fenrir Wolf]

Time Limit: 7 days

Difficulty Level: D]

"..."

Everyone was stunned by what they had just heard. A mission... A mission for what? What’s the purpose of this mysterious pillar? In silence, Inspector Tang continued and said, "With this thing, I’m able to find where’s the location of our mission. The wolf Fenrir, the giant Alpha wolf. The one that killed most of Nam’s people."

Christina remembered the giant wolf-shaped monster she saw among the piles of corpses in the forest. She unconsciously looked at Nam who was unknowingly clenching his fists.

Inspector Tang explained further, "Because of this bracelet, we’ve been able to avoid the beasts for the past six days. But we couldn’t hope to defeat the Fenrir. With just its pack, we’re already having much trouble. So, as each day passed, our casualties increased. The bracelet had told me when you guys had arrived here, unfortunately, we were too late."

Christina tried to absorb everything Inspector Tang had said despite the throbbing pain in her head. Fenrir, that name sounded familiar. She remembered that it was a name from Norse Mythology. She couldn’t decide whether this was a coincidence or not but this revelation made her more curious about finding the secret or the meaning behind this extraterrestrial pillar. But this wasn’t the time to think about this.

"Inspector... does it say anything in case we didn’t complete its mission?"

"None. The only thing it mentioned is there’ll be a valuable treasure if we completed it."

After hearing this, some of the people’s faces seemed to light up especially the Triad members. But as for Christina, no amount of rewards would ever be the worth of the lives of her friends, especially Jennie.

Christina then told Inspector Tang the current conditions on Hong Kong Island. The food shortage, riots, and betrayal of Colonel Chan.

"Inspector Tang, what do you suggest we do?" Christina asked.

The inspector could only sigh. "What can we do? I’ve seen the Fenrir’s nest and there are at least more than 500 wargs staying there. But even if we manage to get past its pack, will we have the strength to defeat the alpha wolf Fenrir?"

The Inspector looked around, inspecting those who might be able to fight, but he could only find about 60 people in good shape.

"..."

"Are there any more troops coming to this place?" Inspector Tang asked.

Christina looked at Nam and shook her head.

Inspector Tang sighed again. "Then there’s nothing we can do. Right now, I’m hoping that once seven days have passed and our mission has failed we are to be sent back to Hong Kong Island."

It was a decision that was hard to accept. But what could they do? There were hundreds more of those fearsome beasts that killed their comrades. Everyone was just silent.

Christina didn’t want to accept this but her head throbbed another head-splitting pain making her dizzy. Maxine forced her to lie back and rest. There was nothing she could do in her current condition. Finally, Christina fell asleep again.

---------

That night Christina dreamed of her son Caleb and the last words of Jennie once more. Her worries about Caleb being the cause of Jennie’s death, things might end differently if she had stayed with Jennie at the time.

The morning sun shone into the cave’s entrance. With adequate rest, the body of a peak stage mortal fighter could easily regain its prime.

That morning, Christina got up and equipped her gear.

Corrie, Maxine, Nam, Chicken, and Inspector Tang seemed to realize what Christina would do.

"Friends... I still don’t exactly understand the purpose of this mission. But there’s one thing I know for sure... We’ll achieve nothing if we don’t do anything. And even if we return to Hong Kong safely, we’ll only face other problems too. I don’t want to just wait, I’ll try to complete this mission! Inspector Tang, lend me the bracelet. I’ll search and kill the alpha monster."

"..."

Inspector Tang took a moment before smiling in admiration at this beautiful woman, who was full of determination, before handing over the bracelet to her.

Maxine approached Christina and said, "Sis... don’t forbid me. I’ll accompany you."

"Miss Christina, me, and the Triad members will also help you," Nam exclaimed.

Like a fire spreading, unknowingly, her determined spirit lit up the people as one by one, the Firebirds members and Triads joined in preparation.

Inspector Tang shook his head unable to decide whether this was courage or stupidity.

"Goodness gracious... Miss Christina... I’ll support you. Even if we all die today, let’s make sure we don’t give up without a fight."

Inspector Tang opened up a note containing all the information he had gathered about the Fenrir and its pack for the past 6 days and began to prepare a strategy.