"Here we go!!!" Without giving him a chance to get ready, Raia jumped off of the building while carrying Arman like a bride.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Arman screamed at the top of his lungs with fear. He wasn't prepared at all. All he could do was hold Raia so tight and wish that he and Raia would be alright.
Because of what happened, memories and trauma once again flooded Arman's head.
From his memory, he saw people that looked in need of help. Without thinking twice, Arman helped them, even at the expense of something important to him. He didn't even ponder or weigh the options or consequences; all he could think about was helping and aiding.
Another memory that caught him up the most was about Raia. Memories of Raia flooded his brain at that moment. He remembered everything, from talking in the park, going to places where it's fun, him offering a ride to Raia when the classes were over, spilling teas and secrets to each other, and simply sharing some things they'd do.
He then remembered the first day of the Great Catastrophe. He was just watching videos and reels on BikBok when he heard a huge commotion outside of their school building. He was so flabbergasted, he ran outside the room and looked down at the ground floor. There he saw Raia.
Raia at that time looked scared, frail, and weak. Arman thought that Raia was done when he saw that terrifying worm chasing him. Without hesitation, he ran downstairs, but when he arrived, he heard gunshots. There he saw Raia holding the gun. But at that time also, he was surprised when Raia grabbed a knife, carved the flesh of that worm, and ate something from it.
He was scared when Raia did that. He wanted to ask Raia what was happening or ask if he could help him, but that's when those Locusts appeared. Students were screaming for help when the Locusts tried to eat their faces off. It was revolting. Arman threw up from the sight. A Locust tried to attack him, but he dodged it in time. He could hear screams coming from the building as well, and students running downstairs.
There, he saw five of his classmates. They were trying to fend off the Locusts, but it was to no avail. They couldn't even kill one. Bernard, the oldest of the group, led the five of them to the restroom on the ground floor to hide. They locked it and tried to kill the few Locusts that managed to sneak in through the window.
He could hear the voices of the students trying to call for help, but he couldn't do anything. He thought that it was all just a bad dream, but it wasn't. It was real. The blood on his hand, the dead bodies, the screams, the scent he could smell from those Locusts.
He picked up one of the bodies and suddenly ate it. When he finished it, he felt a refreshing feeling. Then, the thought of Raia woke him up.
"Raia! We've got to go and help him! He'll die!" Arman said and was about to open the door when Bernard stopped him and threw him away from the door.
"NO! WE CAN'T! We will die if we do so. Stay put and focus on killing these… whatever these things are!"
They tried fending off these bugs until almost sunset, when the bugs suddenly fell to the ground, dead. They were happy at first, but hearing the continuous screams outside, they were still horrified to open the door.
All in Arman's mind at that time was the safety of his family, his girlfriend, his friends, and Raia. Filled with guilt, Arman tried to fight Bernard and managed to get out of the door. There were bodies everywhere, from the students to the monsters that attacked the school. The monsters just died like that. He tried looking for Raia, ignoring the disaster that befell the world, but he couldn't find him. All he could think of was that Raia was dead. Raia was dead because he couldn't help him.
That's why, when the Armies took them and brought him to the True Haven, he was filled with joy knowing Raia was well and alive. At least, that gave him hope that the others might be alive as well, his family, his friends, and his girlfriend.
While holding Raia tightly, all he could wish for was that Raia would be fine. He couldn't think of anything else. He thought that if he was alive, he could hope for everything to be better.
They were just a few feet from the ground until contact when Raia's body glowed with a blue hue. Raia felt a surge of energy in his body. He felt so strong all of a sudden.
Raia's feet came in contact with the ground really smooth and clean. He didn't even feel a little bit of pain. Raia was shocked. He looked at his friend, trembling.
"Arman, we're on the ground." Raia smiled while announcing it.
Arman opened one of his eyes as he looked around. They really reached the ground safely. When he looked at Raia, he screamed.
"Raia! Why are you glowing?!" He was startled that he was still in Raia's hands. He fell from Raia's grasp and stumbled to the ground.
"I don't know. But… I feel fine and strong… really strong." Raia checked himself, he really felt like he could jump a kilometer away. He felt so light and energetic.
'It was because of him. He got a True Origin. The power to buff a person, making them stronger.' Inner Self said in Raia's head, proclaiming the secret of the glowing light on Raia's body.
"Arman… you did this!" Raia looked at Arman with an astonished look. His friend had a superpower as well.
"What? No, I didn't." Arman didn't believe him.
"Yes, you did! You got powers! This is amazing!" Raia screamed in excitement. Arman gave him a weird glance, thinking that Raia might have hit his head somewhere during the fall.
"No, I don't and… WAAAAAHHHH!" Arman screamed while looking at his hand. It was exuding blue light.
"See! You have powers! You can give a person a buff that makes them stronger! Amazing, right?" After Raia said that, the glow on Arman's hand dimmed.
Arman looked at his hand in amazement. He really had powers! He never thought that it would be like this. He thought this only happened in movies.
He then looked at his wrist. He felt something was missing. He thought hard and clear about what it was, and then it hit him. "WAAAHHHHHH!"
"YEY!!!!" Raia shouted too, thinking that Arman was screaming in excitement.
"AAAHHHH!" Arman shouted again, showing his left hand to Raia. Raia misunderstood him and shouted, "I know! You got powers! Yeah!"
"My wristband is gone!" Arman explained, seeing Raia didn't get what he meant.
"OH! Where is it?" When Raia understood, he tried looking for it around the area. Arman looked for it too, but after some time, they still couldn't find it. They thought it must have fallen off during the fall, but the wristband was nowhere to be seen.
"This is bad! I'm going to get punished!" Arman said in frustration. Raia felt sorry and guilty. He was the one who insisted on jumping, after all. Raia then thought of something.
"You're not getting punished." After saying that, Raia took his wristband and gave it to Arman.
"No, I'm not taking that and getting you in trouble." Arman insisted on not taking the wristband.
"It's my fault, so I should be the one that deserves the punishment." Raia tried putting the wristband on Arman's wrist. It suddenly displayed the time. Fifteen minutes remaining.
"Sh*t. We are running out of time!" Raia grabbed Arman's wrist and put the wristband on. Arman tried to resist, but Raia was just incredibly strong. It was futile to resist.
"Grab on. We're running this time." Raia crouched down, intending to give Arman a piggyback ride.
"Why?" Arman said, confused.
"Trust me. It's faster this way." Raia urged.
Arman trusted Raia this time after the safe landing from the building. He just felt awkward having a piggyback ride on Raia's back. He didn't protest and held on to Raia's body. Raia lifted him up. "Ready?"
"I guess so." Arman agreed, feeling embarrassed.
With his friend's confirmation, Raia sprinted to the place where the crimson flare was shot.
Raia then thought that he had entered another level of speed while running. Even though he was carrying Arman, he could still run as fast as a cheetah. Arman was shocked as well when Raia showed his speed. Afraid to fall, he held on to Raia tightly. This was because of the buff that Arman gave him. It was such a powerful ability.
In no time at all, they reached the Assembly Area. It was a huge dome located at the center of True Haven. It was so big that it could house thousands of people, like the largest arena in the world.
Arman got off Raia's back and saw some military personnel at one of the entrances. They were checking the wristbands of the people arriving and entering the dome.
"Arman, go. Let them check your wristband." Raia said with a smile in order to not worry his friend.
Unlucky for him, Arman was quite a stubborn one. "No, this was yours. It might have your information here anyway, so I should be the one that should receive the punishment."
"Arman, no! We don't know what the punishments will be, so take this and enter now." Raia was more stubborn and forced Arman to go, but someone disrupted their quarrel.
"Jeraiah Mont Blanc! I don't know what is happening but… you need to die here and now!" A raging voice echoed from the distance. Raia looked in the direction and could sense a killing intent from the person.
"Arman, get inside. NOW!" Raia ordered. Arman didn't understand the situation, but hearing Raia's serious order, he couldn't help but do what he said.
"Who are you?" Raia asked the incoming guest.
"I'm the person that will prevent your reign of terror from happening." He said as disdain and hatred encompassed each word.