“Daybreaks”

“When the sun rises, you hide in the shadows”, this was the last thing humanity had
broadcasted since the apocalypse. I never imagined that this day would come when the star that
shines the brightest in our world would become an entity we fear the most. It all started when an
unknown event occurred in its heart causing its once golden and brilliant radiance to become a pit
of hellfire and its summery and delicate stroke of warmth is now a sea of lava flaring through the
living. On this day, July 5, 2021, at exactly 11:05 AM. Humanity has witnessed the Armageddon
and the day of judgement is at hand. The sound of the trumpets blares as the sun scorches the Earth.
For a brief moment, the world fell into complete chaos. Terrors can be heard and fear manifested.
Skins were liquefied and bones piled. I was there, standing in providence, I’ve seen it all, the death
of the world has come. As time passes, the agonizing screams from the distance were suddenly
brought to silence, I looked up then I saw it with my own eyes, the Gates of Hell opened and the
sky was reddish blood.

A device rang, and I picked it up, but I wish I did not have to. From the other line I can still
hear their voices, “Son, stay at the house, whatever you do, don’t ever step out! ”, as the light
envelops them I uttered, “Ma, Pa, I’m sorry”. I fell in great grief and tears came falling like a river.
My vision was impaired, yet I can clearly see the light, the door was open, abandoning all hope I
was decided. I relinquished and walked closer to it. Then, across the porch, I saw a mother, in her
arms was an unconscious daughter wrapped in cloth like an infant. In my eyes formed these
shadows coming closer to devour them, I knew the threat that was coming. Suddenly, I was startled,
everything became clear again. With all of my might, I stood up and rush to their aid. I hold on to
her tightly and her face, covered in blood, fumes were emitting, I felt her skin smoldering, and her
flesh was showing. In her eyes, came tears that vaporize as it fells. I was stunned, without a word,
I knew that I still have a purpose to live. I gazed into her eyes and promised that I will go to great
lengths to protect her most precious. As the smoke disappear so as her spirit into the atmosphere.
I shut the door and laid down on my back.
 Slowly reminiscing all that happened I was taken aback. Composing myself, I peeked at her
motionless body, I was dazed by her lovely face, my heart suddenly fluttered and raced. My mind
was drifting in space, then I paused and became voiceless, how would I tell her that I couldn’t save
her mother? I thought about it before I can admit to the crime I didn’t commit. But I only know
the promise I kept, for her life is what matters for me to protect. For now, I’ll hide these secrets
and focus on what was given and not what is lost. I carried her to the couch and let her rest while
I stay on guard. Hours have passed and there were no signs of any survivor. Then dawn came, the
sun has finally gone to slumber, but the destruction it inflicted I cannot ponder. Night falls and the
moon was bright, in my eyes, there was no visible light. I tried going outside but the fear remains
that I could not abide. It took me a while to realize the threat has subside. Stepping out of my house,
I felt glorified, for I was fortunate to survive.

Amidst the soft environment came a loud cry, there I saw a man, floating up the sky. He
was cladded in obsidian armor, his lingering cape and menacing mask shrouded his body as its
harbor. His eyes were glowing red that burns very bright. I asked, “what could it be?, I’ve never
seen such a sight”. The man then hovers a little far away, my flight responded and I hide in dismay.
Out of nowhere, I recognized a neighbor, he quietly strolls across our street to get some cover.
“Good heavens, he is still alive”, I said. He then looked at me, now I recalled his name, it was
Jonathan. It looks like he is saying something. I quickly inferred that he was trying to advance to
my house for help if given a chance. Knowing this, I gladly lend my hand, slowly, he strives on
the land unbeknownst to the man overhead. Careless, Jonathan causes a slight ruckus, he then
shook it off and proceeded. But before I can even breathe a sigh of relief, came the man sweeping
his body in a swift. I immediately withdraw back to my hiding spot in horror. I kept my mouth
shut. I pinpoint where the man was, and he was there standing in the distance.

I got a closer look at him, his physique resembles that of a human, but his behavior was
completely inhuman. As I peeked through the bush, My eyes widened when I saw Jonathan’s body
cut in half, blood splattered everywhere on his behalf. Then a beam of light emerged from the
man’s eyes and incinerated Jonathan’s corpse. And at that very moment it hit me, the man I gazed
upon earlier was not an alien nor a mutant, but rather a God that is antihuman and has no sense of
morality. Think about superman, but as an evil and corrupted being. While he was looking away,
I tried to throw a pebble as bait but an explosion erupts at a nearby freight, drawing his attention
and causing him to fly away. The moment he was gone, I hurriedly ran towards the door not
wanting to have the same fate. Upon entering my house, I locked all the doors, windows, and shut
all the lights out. Then I looked at the couch and the girl was nowhere to be found. Panic clouded
my mind and I hastily search for her but I was abrupted when the signal of the television came
back to life to where my attention was drawn. A broadcast of what seems to be a sign of salvation,
a scientist appeared and a lengthy recorded footage followed. It was addressed for humanity’s last
hope to stop the apocalypse. The message is as follows:

“Hello, hello? first contact was successful, initiating the portal, opening the space bridge.”

“Greetings my fellow people, my name is Dr. Johann Shmidt, if you are watching this, that
means I am dead. But, I just want to say that I am sorry for I have failed you, I have failed humanity
as well as my dreams, and my deepest condolences for those who lost their lives. May God punish
me for the grave sins I have committed and send me to the darkest pits of hell for I couldn’t do
anything to stop them. My ambitions grew far beyond my control, they’re already here. If you can
see a man flying up the sky, hide, don’t say hi. But I guess we haven’t caught up in the spell,
haven’t we?”

On October 12, 1969, I began my research on space exploration, interdimensional

transportation, and terraforming planets. And for years I spent building the very first space portal
the world has ever seen. Using my invention, I sent out a distress signal on March 10, 1979, to the
unknown borders of our universe hoping that one day, an alien life force will respond. My goal is
to integrate humanity with an alien civilization that has technologies centuries ahead of us and the
ability to harness energy across galaxies. With this, I can bring humanity closer to a perfect world
where there are no wars, poverty, starvation, economic crises, health diseases, political conflicts,
or even death. On July 5, 1981, at Nevada USA, Area 51, the first contact was made. The aliens
picked up my distress signal after 2 years of deep space exploration. Leaders of all nations, as well
as the military, gathered to witness a historical event that no one has ever accomplished. It was
broadcasted to the entire world and not a single soul has missed it. The aliens came on board a
marvelous ship, something we only see in the movies. I was there in the frontlines, the doors of
their ship unfolded, and there came three aliens cladded in obsidian armor, a mask, and a cape.
They approach me in human like mannerism. I welcomed them in our native language, but they
don’t seem to understand. A human translator was then provided to decipher what they were trying
to say. The fairly accurate encoded message of the aliens was:

“People of Earth, my name is Uuah, leader of the planet Titan. One of your greatest minds
has sent us a distress signal, and we are here to welcome you to become a part of a new empire.
We are an advanced subspecies of the human race known as Titanonensis. Our planet is capable
of harnessing the power of a sun to provide our planet with infinite renewable energy. And our
technology can terraform a heavenly body to our liking. Unfortunately, our world is on the brink
of collapse. Being under a red star ever since our emergence, our planet’s atmosphere grew
harsher and the environment’s condition became too dangerous for us to live in. Many years later,
our planet has reached a critical condition with a threat of the extinction of our race. Not even
our technology couldn’t stop the imminent apocalypse. In order to prevent this, we must find
another one for my people to inhabit. For more than a decade, our forces unravel the great depths
of the universe trying to find an ideal planet. Then 2 years ago, we’ve received a message coming
from a planet known as Earth. We’ve conducted several investigations and found out that your
planet is close to a yellow sun. As our geneology suggested, our species need this kind of energy
to unlock our full potential. Thus, we have traveled more than 12 million light years for the past
two years. And now that we are here, I would like to offer a proposal to your great leaders. Let my
people live here on Earth and in return, we will provide you everything you wished for such as
technological advancement. However, to do so, we must first terraform your planet to prepare
Earth for my people to survive and adapt for a long period of time before they can harness your
Sun’s energy.

Hearing this, our leaders became furious and declined their offer for the Earth-Titan joint
declaration. This enrages their leader Uuah knowing the situation his homeworld is facing. In my
perspective, I understand his hustle and agony to make a great effort of saving his species, but our
leaders have spoken.
 “Have you lost your mind? We can’t do that!!!, You know how many lives will suffer if you
were to terraform this planet?” Afterall, who are you to propose to us like that? You and your
fragile little species are aliens!!! You don’t belong here, we own this planet for millions of years
and you just came out of nowhere to ask us for help simply because your planet is dying? YOUR
ACTIONS ARE INCONSIDERATE AND RECKLESS, go back to where you came from, stupid
aliens!

Rejected, the great leader of Titan had sworn to take revenge on those who condemned him.
Using their most prominent technology that they used to conquer solar systems, they programmed
our Sun to become an entity of total annihilation, known as the “Daybreak”.

“Remember, four decades from now, your Sun will consume your entire planet and will lay
waste to billions of lives. And I will send my greatest and most trusted accomplice to finish the job.
Then, with the world you have abandoned for me, will form the foundation for a new Titan and a
home for my people. From here on out, we will create a new breed of Gods.”

That was the last time I heard his cavernous voice. And I assume to those who have seen
the Daybreak, it must have been heartbreaking and soul crushing to witness our beloved world
crumble before our very eyes. But as what Uuah said, it was only the beginning of his wrath.
Something more apocalyptic and sinister is coming your way. From my sources, I believed he is
dubbed the “Wonder Boy”, the end of worlds. An organic being of immense strength, flight,
invincibility, super speed, heat vision, and energy absorption, who has no morality, emotion, and
spirit, created for the sole purpose to destroy anything. Our weapons are no matched for him and
the military will exhaust everything at their disposal but not a single scratch they can inflict on the
flying demon. My friends, it is absolutely impossible to stop him, but we can delay their arrival,
the Titans. On your map, look for Kansas, Brightburn. In a nearby lake in the outskirts of town,
there is a bunker, a safe haven for my laboratory where I built the space bridge.

Remember this code, 14022003, encode it in the entrance. Find an elevator and go down to
floor 19, there you will find everything you need to stop this madness. Look for a computer with
my name, unlock it with the password “littleredridinghood”. Access my files and look for a folder
named CONTINGENCY_PLAN. Open it and you will find a file containing a virus that will
override the portal to close the doorways that bridges Titan and Earth. That portal serves as a
beacon to all of their ships, without it, they will lose all the coordinates leading to Earth. If you’re
worried about the Wonder Boy, don’t worry, I specifically designed the bunker to weaken his
powers, and it has enough resources for you to last for years. Once again, goodluck to you my dear
survivors, I’m counting on you and I hope you all succeed, and God help us all.

And to my daughter, MJ, if you’re watching this, I just want to let you know that Papa did
everything I can to prevent the world you always wanted to explore with your mother to be overrun
by the visitors. It’s my fault that you’re experiencing this mistake of mine. You have all the rights
to despise and hate me. But always remember, I love you with all my heart, you and your mother
meant the world to me. Out of all of my creations, you were the greatest. You will forever be my
little red riding hood.

“Excuse me for that little sentiment there. Anyways, my fellow people, don’t forget the
mission I have given to you, accomplish it if you still want to live another day and always
remember, science is fun” (Gunshot). The broadcast ended and I was left speechless. Before I
could process a thought, I saw her standing across the hallway, she uttered, “was that papa?” It
caught me off-guard but before I could say anything tears fell down from her cheek. I quickly
stood up and approached her in meek, I called her name for the first time, “MJ, everything is going
to be alright, as she falls to the floor, rage and grief start to outpour. I caught and embraced her
attempting my utmost best to comfort her. She shouted and cursed repeatedly at everything that
happened. I whispered to her ears, “I swear that I will protect you with all my life”. I stayed by her
side for an hour until she finally came to a rest. I slowly lift her up while she still grieves on the
death of his father. I brought her to the kitchen, gave her water to drink, and prepare a meal for
the two of us. She sat down feeling hollowed and empty.

I tried speaking to her but I am clueless on what to voice out. Dead air filled the room for
quite a while until I gained enough courage to speak but she interrupted me before I could say
anything. She thanked me for the grace I have prepared. I sat down and eat as well. I stared at her
and she was like an angel with deep brown eyes and exceptional beauty, despite the sorrow on her
face, I can still see her lovely smile. I always lack the confidence to talk with girls, but since the
world is ending, I took this opportunity to introduce myself. So with all of my strength, I reached
out my hand and said, “Hi, my name is Kyle, it’s a pleasure to meet you”. She looked at me in
pure awkwardness. Damn, that was not smooth, better luck next time. She grinned a little and it
made me burst into emotions. She then shook my hand and responded, “I’m Maria Juliana or you
could just call me MJ”. We had a short conversation afterwards which mainly talks about the
apocalypse. I wanted to confess that I couldn’t save her mother but I can’t just tell her knowing
everything she is going through. But the longer I keep it from her, the more it will become a burden
to me.

Not wanting to die in regret, I told her everything that had happened since her arrival at my
house. Including the death of her mother, for which I am partially to be blamed. I was expecting
her to be moved by my statement but mysteriously, she did not react and just shrugs it off. I was
bewildered seeing such a peculiar response to losing a loved one. She then justified her action,
“Come on Kyle, look around you, the world is ending, everyone is dead, there is no room anymore
for sentiments, and I’ve already been with my mother for a long time, so it’s time to let go.
“Because I know that she is now with my papa in heaven, and I can’t wait any longer to be with
them”. I was perplexed by what she said but there is a truth that lies in it. In these darkest hours,
death is inevitable, the only way to keep living is to never stop hoping. We adjourned our talk for
a bit, then remembering the broadcast earlier, I was filled with hope. I quickly got out of my
gloomy state and started scavenging my house for a map. I also encouraged MJ to do the same.
We then found a map hidden on a shelf and laid it down on the dining table.

Your father mentioned a bunker that contains the solution to all this pandemonium. It is
somewhere in Kansas, Brightburn, located nearby a lake. I believed that would be lake Gordon
since it stretches up to four miles, it’s got to be there. From my estimation, that’s about 32-38
miles from here heading north. Time check, we still do have 7 more hours till morning. If we can
get there before the first break of sunrise, we might be able to put an end to this apocalypse.

MJ was skeptical of my plan at first but decided to go along with it. We packed all the
necessary equipment we need such as food, water, and a first aid kit, and began our expedition.
However, we can’t go there by foot since it will consume so much time, luckily, my father left his
motorbike along with a reserve fuel tank and the keys to ignition. Prioritizing MJ’s safety, I brought
as well my father’s shotgun which still has 12 shells left. I arrived by the garage where she was
setting up our ride. She then asked me if had driven such machinery, knowing I had zero experience,
I assured her that we can get to our destination safe and sound, for the only thing I had in my mind
is her survival. Armed with valor and hope, we drove off to the darkness of the streets. Emptiness
filled our minds and the void in our hearts expanded as we passed through houses with no sign of
life and the silence was deafening. Not a single trace of light can be seen and everything our vision
encompass is pitch black. Corpses are scattered across the ground and marks of the morning’s
holocaust are very evident. The breeze of the cold night envelops our faces, the moon served as
our light throughout the desolate spaces. As we approach half of the journey, we halt for a while
to replenish our stomach as well as the gasoline.

We sat down on the sandy and coarse terrain watching the beauty of the midnight sky above.
I complimented the aesthetic display of the heavens and associated it with her beautiful and
sparkling eyes as we stare at each other. My heart skipped a beat and butterflies filled my stomach,
I then confessed on how I feel about her. She had that coming to her but commended me for my
honesty and bravery. She chuckled while I smiled as if there is no tomorrow, yet there is no more.
Our eyes gazed upon each other again as if the forces of the universe brings us closer together. I
felt my lips being attracted to hers, it was supposed to be my first kiss, I noted. But before that
happened, I was distracted by a loud and eerie cry not far away. MJ asked me if something is
wrong, but before I can give a feedback, my bones shivered and I was afflicted with great
trepidation. It felt as if I was showered with a plethora of trauma, I’m not mistaken, that sound is
very recognizable, it’s him, he’s here, the Wonder Boy.

Clearing my head, I looked at MJ and only saw her innocent and clueless face. Without any
hesitation, I grabbed her hand and sprinted towards our ride and scurried away as fast as possible.
She was staggered and barraged me with questions, I couldn’t hear what she was saying as my
attention is centered on the uproar that the flying demon emits. The noise gets closer and closer to
us, having no other option, I searched for a hiding spot to take cover. We stopped by a cavern and
stayed there until the noise disappears. I looked at the time and we still have 5 more hours until
sunrise. MJ gave me some water then shortly questioned me of the prior commotion as we fled in
a hurry. I took a deep breath before answering her inquiry, then provided her with everything there
is to know about the Wonder Boy. She expeditiously absorbed all of the information, turns out she
knew a thing or two of these world conquerors.

These beings, there not aliens, they’re humans, only advance in nature and evolution. My
father told me that this species, just like the human race, is weak and powerless on their home
planet, Titan. Furthermore, Titanonensis DNA is so pure, it has the ability to harness energy from
any source, particularly solar radiation. Since planet Titan orbits around a red giant, which emits
low energy stellar radiation, it makes them completely powerless and inferior just like humans
here on Earth. However, under a yellow sun, which is younger much like ours, gives off higher
radiation known as the photonucleic effect which in our world is called Photosynthesis. With this,
Titans become God-like beings, granting them superpowers such as immense strength, flight,
invincibility, super speed, heat vision, and energy absorption. And the longer they soak under a
yellow sun, the stronger they become. This explains why they wanted to colonize Earth in the first
place. They’re not here to create a joint-declaration, they’re here to make use of our sun for their
own benefit.

A few minutes later, the loud cries faded and the surroundings became quiet again. I slowly
walked out of the cave to inspect if the flying demon is still around, but gladly, he’s long gone for
now. Afterwards, we immediately resume our expedition. An hour later, we’ve arrived at our
destination. We dropped off near the west side of the lake and from there we walked for a couple
more distances deeper into the woods until we saw the entrance to the bunker. Rushing towards it,
we analyze the vault door. In my perspective, its thickness is about 1.5 feet in diameter and crafted
out of a metal that I believed never exist on Earth. We attempt to jumpstart the bunker at the best
our minds can achieve. After pressing a few buttons, the bunker activated. It did a complete body
scan on both of us to validate if we are humans. Once confirmed, a keypad surfaced asking us for
the passcode before entering the vault. I recalled exactly what Dr. Shmidt said in the recorded
footage, “14022003”, I said out loud. MJ froze for a while, then she replied, “February 14, 2003”,
that’s my birthday. In that very moment, I realized how much his father truly loves her.

Entering the numbers, the vault door suddenly opened, it was a success. We both leap in
exhilaration knowing that we are few steps closer to humanity’s final hope in saving Earth. But
just as you thought this is the end, a sudden resonance occurred nearby the trees. My heart stopped
once more, “it can’t be, not right now when we’re so close”. I saw her eyes widened in fright, I
looked behind and he came swooping down at great speed. The ground shook a bit as if a small
earthquake eventuated as he lands, there standing in all its glory, the Wonder Boy. This was the
first time I met him up close personal and it seems he made a few modifications in his accoutrement.
His eyes were still burning bright, a demonic mask made out of red fabric now shields his face, his
armor is gone but replaced it with a t-shirt on top of a sweater covered in blood, and his cape is
still the same, staring at both of us menacingly. We had nowhere to run anymore, this is it, the
final stand. MJ called my name as if she was trying to stop me from doing something suicidal. But
I knew in my heart that she’s all that matters now, I looked at her as if I’m saying my final goodbyes.
As I walked towards my impending doom, she stood by the vault door crying her heart out. But I
know what I have to do and that is to ensure that she lives on to see another day. I have made a
promise, and I will never break it until my very last breath.

I pulled out my shotgun then went to take on the Titan by myself, and if I ever die, I will
never go without a fight. Mark my words, this battle will go down forever in history as the greatest
gladiator match the world has ever seen, the poor boy from Kansas against the son of Titan, God
versus Man, day versus night. As we both slowly marched close to each other. I fired all my
remaining shells even if I know it wouldn’t have any effect on him. But I wasn’t ready to give up,
using the stock of my shotgun, I striked his face with all my might but he didn’t even budge. I
knew he is holding back but I kept on trying to push him to the limits. As I exhaust all my strength,
I attempted my last attack before he grabbed my hand, broke my arms with relative ease, and lift
me by the neck. I knew my inferiority and powerlessness as a human being is no contest for the
Titan. But it made me perceive that if I can’t beat him in physical prowess and gifted powers, I
can surpass him in morality and intelligence. Gasping out my final words, I uttered:

“You know you’re a formidable foe especially given your abilities. But remember this, you
are not brave, men are. Your powers, they don’t frighten me a bit. You may exceed me in terms of
superiority, but my intelligence, that you can’t defeat. Because you have no morality and free will,
you were never even a God, you’re just a puppet made to be ruled. Those strings, I can clearly see
them dangling in your back”.

He looked at my eyes without saying anything, the glowing beams in his eyes dissipated,
and I saw the depth of his soulless body for the first time. He then slammed me to the ground,
breaking my back and a couple of ribs, forcing me to vomit blood out of my stomach. I slowly
writhed in pain, he stood there as if his mocking my weak and fragile physique. Losing all hope, I
saw MJ from the ground lending a hand begging me to run towards her. Then, I saw a beam of red
light, he was charging his heat vision preparing to incinerate me. I shouted, “MJ, run! Get out of
here!” As I lay there waiting for my fate, a loud sound blasted through the speakers of the bunker,
driving the Wonder boy into total insanity. The door of the vault has finally opened, MJ rushed to
my aid and escorted me inside the vault. Once at the entrance, the door automatically closed,
leaving the flying demon to agonize in pain outside. Moments afterwards, the Wonder Boy gained
the upper hand and used his heat vision to melt the speakers. He then busted open the vault door
like it was made of paper.

We heard his creepy screech again as we ran down the corridors as he chases after us. We
stumble onto an elevator and scramble inside. There, he found us standing in the distance. As he
was about to deliver the final blow, MJ used the control panel of the elevator to override the entire
facility into code red, turning out all the lights and replacing them with red ones. The same light
that radiates low energy stellar radiation, diminishing the Wonder Boy and stripping him of his
powers. I saw how he falls to the ground, reaching for us as he struggles to crawl due to his
weakened state. The elevator door closes and we descend down to the 19th floor. That was the last
we’ve seen of him, he never came back to haunt us again. Arriving at our desired floor, we were
greeted by a large room that looks like it was rundown by an ambush. Skeletal corpses of scientists
laid bare on the floor, computers, and technologies that are a relic of the past, and laboratory
projects that were abandoned decades ago. After a few inspection of the place, I declared that it
was safe. We sat down to take a break after all those conflicts on the surface.

We then proceed to look for the portal MJ’s father created in his prime years. As we stroll
passed many rooms, MJ recalled the days her father took her to greet the students, turns out this
bunker also houses teaching and science classes. We cross the main atrium and there we saw a
map of the place. It was a little blurry but we can see every detail clearly. We took one and
continued our way. It came to my awareness that the bunker was made during world war II to
provide shelter for American soldiers which scientists work tirelessly to attend to their needs. It
was about 700 square meters in diameter and about 300 feet deep. As we wander through every
single room for more than an hour, I grew impatient as it will be less than 2 hours until sunrise and
it seems we haven’t made any progress at all. MJ tried calming me down, but as I observed the
map, there is only one more room left we haven’t checked, the energy reservoir. As we break into
the reservoir, computers and chairs were thrown everywhere, blood spilled on the floor, there were
supercomputers which to my surprise are still functioning, and a huge poster hangs on the wall
that indicates “Project Extermination”. As we looked around there were no sign of any portal nor
a space bridge. At the center is a huge machine with a giant tesla coil as its head, equipped with
solar panels directly pointing upwards. I tried looking for the portal that MJ’s father said but it
can’t be seen anywhere. As I ran out of patience, I started wreaking havoc inside the facility
throwing chairs and smashing broken computers like a maniac driven by frustration.

What is this place? Where are all the computers? Everything in here is garbage! Old stupid
ancient machines that are all dead! I thought your father said the portal would be here!! He lied
to us!! I freaking risk our lives trying to get here and all this is what I will get in return!! ANSWER
ME MJ!!. Stop walking around like a fool and help me find your father’s computer, we don’t have
much time!!

MJ ignored my reckless behavior and casually strolls around as if the end of the world is
not happening at any moment. She looks back and forth at the machine and made inferences about
it in her notebook. She stared at the hanging sign and thought about it for a while. It seems like
she’s trying to solve something. I looked at her in disappointment, but before I could say anything,
she falls to the ground as if all hope is lost. I ran towards her and questioned her strange conduct.
She looked at my eyes and mentioned that it all made sense now, assembling together every clue
and piece of the puzzle, she uttered:

“My father is many things, a liar is not one of them. Now I understand, there is no portal,
it was destroyed years ago after the death of my father in order to prevent the Titans from ever
reaching Earth. However, the coordinates that lead here were not erased along with the portal.
Knowing the imminent threat that is coming to Earth, a contingency plan was executed. Scientists
built a separate machine that will ultimately suck all the life of the sun in a matter of minutes,
causing it to swell and explode. They’ve named it project extermination. However the titans
programmed our sun to prevent that from happening, but it’s too late for them, they can’t delay
the inevitable”. The only way we can completely stop the Titans from ever stepping a foot here on
Earth is to blow up our sun and take away their most prized possession”.

Hearing this, I was in denial, knowing that the portal is still hidden somewhere else, I
rummaged through all the junk files in each drawer until I stumbled upon a blueprint of the
machine inside the reservoir. As I looked at it, one of the recorders suddenly came to life and
broadcast an audio recording.

“ Greeting survivors of the future, if you have made it this far in your journey, I want to say
congratulations on behalf of the science department for you have a chance to save humanity. Now,
if you look to your left, you’ll see a big and complicated piece of machine that we called the
“exterminator” and it was specifically designed as a medium to blow up the sun. Using the control
center above you, you’ll find a panel that controls the said machine, carefully following the safety
protocol in activating the machine to avoid overriding its system. Once activated, it will send a
solar beam all the way to our sun, charging its core and causing it to swell immediately and
fulminate. If that happens, every planet that orbits around the sun will be scorched out of existence.
For this is the only plan we have come up to stop the Titans from ever reaching our sun...”

The recorder was cut shortly, that was the moment I realized that this is the endgame now,
we have reached a point of no return. I checked the time and there was only an hour left before
sunrise. MJ and I looked at each other and nod our heads, we have decided to end this nightmare
once and for all. Going up to the control panel, we activated the exterminator by following the
procedures labeled in the manual through a series of buttons. The machine then initializes as it
slowly charges its beams of concentrated energy aiming directly at the sun. Alarms went off and
the room turned red as the timer countdowns. The whole ground shook and cracks appeared. We
were given 45 minutes to escape until the machine is fully charged. I grabbed MJ’s hand and rush
to the exit. Striding across the corridors, we sprinted pass all the rooms back to the main lounge
until we’ve reached the elevator. We ascended back to the first floor. As the door opened, I’ve
noticed a hole in the bunker’s ceiling indicating that the Wonder Boy flew away as morning
approached and he is now long gone. The coast was clear, MJ and I run back to the vault door. As
we exit the bunker, we tripped and fell to the ground.

Before I can get back to my pace, I saw the light of the sun once again, it was day already.
I looked at my watch and we still have 26 more minutes until the sun consumes the Earth. We sat
by the lake as we witnessed the final moments of the world and the sun as it swells and burns
brightly, recalling everything that happened yesterday during the onset of Daybreak. As we lay
down, we had our last conversation with each other. I savored every second with her, then she
asked me, “before the world ends, what is the last thing you want to do?” I replied that I wanted
to kiss a girl if ever given a chance. She smiled knowing that I was hinting at her, not willing to
ignore that request forever, she leans towards me as I grabbed her cheek, and that was the first
time I had ever kissed someone. It felt as if the world stopped for a brief moment and I couldn’t
fathom the surge of emotions that radiates throughout my body. After that, we bid our final
goodbyes and hugged each other as we approach the end. A couple of minutes left and everything
that we know and love vanished into thin air. And then a loud siren can be heard from the red sky,
the clouds disappeared, and water began to evaporate, it is finally here, the day of judgement. As
I embraced MJ into my arms, I said:

“I wish I could have a life with you on this planet”. But wherever death takes us, I still wish
we could see each other again”. For I have never felt this kind of love in my life, out of all the
emptiness in this world around me, you were the girl that filled the void in my heart. And I will
never forget that, for you will always remain in my memories”.

In outer space, the sun has reached a critical level as every last drop of hydrogen in its core
has completely burned out. It turned into a red giant before exhausting its last golden radiance, it
collapses into a supernova and a bright light formed, tearing through the fabric of space devouring
all planets that are close to it. The explosion can be seen on Earth, it was the most mesmerizing
view I have seen in my life. It didn’t take long before it consumes us as well. The last thing I
remembered at that moment was her warm embrace, ignoring our skin and body as it melts due to
the immense heat brought by the holocaust. We both closed our eyes and utter our last words of
farewell as the violent flames swirls around our surroundings as it scorches us. On this day, July
6, 2021 at 6:23 AM, the Earth was no longer visible and life has ceased to exist. All of creation is
now back to its original maker. For the day of judgement has been served, and all existence has
come to a final resting in God’s acre.

THE END