A Remnant of Lost Time

Prologue

Note: Here's a new story for you guys. This is going to be an experiment because I'll be writing in a different style than I usually do so try to bear with me. I hope I don't let you guys down and I hope you enjoy.

War. Crisis. What does it take for humans to be pushed to the brink? What does it even mean to be human? I don't even know anymore. That question has been in my head for so long, but has been left unquestioned for even longer.

Hello, my name is Weiss Schnee and I'm a survivor of the Sky Fall. Sky Fall is an unforgettable event that affect the lives of so many people on this Earth. For years, humans have been at war with the Creatures of Grimm, neither one of them ever gaining ground over the other. That was thought to be the norm until one fateful day where all of the major cities in the world were attacked by the Creatures of Grimm. Humanity fought to the last breath, but it wasn't enough. The forces of evil were too much and thus, we were forced to use the only thing that worked every time: Nuclear Weapons. This was soon named Sky Fall.

Nuclear weapons were launched all over the planet, destroying everything in its path… Human and Grimm alike. The casualties on both sides were heavy. Human population dwindled into the hundreds of thousands while the Creatures of Grimm are still on the rise. I'm a lucky survivor of the devastation, but I'm betting you're wondering why.

My family stayed up-to-date on the whole Human vs. Grimm conflict. When word got around that things would come to the worst, we retreated into our Nuclear Bunker, taking in as many people as we could. When the bombs landed, everything shook and I couldn't believe that it was actually happening. There were always rumors that humanity would have to resort to such measures, but I never thought we would actually do it.

Once when Sky Fall was complete, the devastation was too great to look upon. Tears ran down my face as I saw endless fields of bodies covering the ground. Men, women, and children were all dead. It was too painful to witness.

So we moved on. We packed everything we could that was essential to our survival and travelled as fast as we could. Staying in big cities was not recommended so we kept on going. It wasn't until a week later when we finally realized that humanity's efforts were not enough. The Creatures of Grimm began to hunt us down. They managed to kill off most of the survivors we saved, but my family was still safe. It almost seemed like a dream. Unfortunately, we can't all dream forever.

A couple more days went by and my parents started to appear ill. Their strength was drained from their bodies every second they breathed. My sister and I tried to everything we could to save them, but there was nothing we could. They eventually died of causes that are still unknown to me.

Now, it's just me and my sister. We travel light and travel light. Luckily, one thing we managed to save was a radio, just in case some broadcast informs us of the events going on in the world. Very rarely do we ever run into the Creatures of Grimm, but when we do, I try my best to protect my sister at all costs. She's older than me by a couple of months, but is very weak-willed.

On the other hand, I can fend for myself pretty well, but in this situation that we're in, it's too hard to tell. Sometimes, I feel that nothing can stop me and other times, I feel that the world is just too big for me.

One day, we decided to rest for a bit and turned on the radio. We scrolled through the stations until something was working. Luckily, it was a news station. The contents, however, weren't so happy.

"This message goes out to anyone who is walking this Earth. You must stay strong. Humanity is doing everything we can to restore what we have lost. Most importantly, we must survive. Survival is the key. We need all of you with us to get through this horrible time in life. We have accumulated scientists from all over the world to help us figure out what the Creatures of Grimm truly are and how we and stop them. This following message is surprising and may be uncomfortable to certain audiences so please be aware."

"The Creatures of Grimm are mysterious beasts. They are very hard to kill, but if they do die, that's when things get even more interesting. Their bodies can only stay tangible for 30 minutes. After that, they wilt away. We done everything we can to try and preserve them, but nothing works. Also, we discovered something very important to our survival. These creatures irradiate an aura that is too powerful for humans to deflect. If any of you have started to witness your loved ones die of odd symptoms, it's because of this. Humans, alone, are too weak to fend off this activity. Good news is that we've discovered that we are invulnerable to this aura until we are 19 years of age. After that, we are unsure of what'll happen to us or when it'll happen. If we figure anything else out, we will let you know."

"Thank you doctor. Hearing this, I ask that you all stay safe and remain patient. Humanity is doing everything it can. You will not be forgotten. We are here for you so never forget. Live strong and live on."

My sister and I couldn't believe it. What kind enemy is this? It has the ability in indirectly kill us?

We were so frightened that we were unable to leave the apartment we found for a few days. Apparently, the survival limit of assurance was 19 and we were 18. We didn't know what to do. There was nothing we could do. We weren't intelligent enough to figure out a cure or solution to this problem. All we could do was wait for the radio to give us more information about what was happening to this world.

Every day, we would hear news about another reserve camp being attacked and hundreds of lives being lost to our enemy. At first, our goal was head as far as west as we could because our family heard about one region of the world that was not affected by Sky Fall. But now, after hearing about these disasters, we're not sure about committing to that plan. We try to stay under the radar while fending for ourselves which is not an easy task. The problem of finding fresh water and edible food is always a struggle and some days, we go to bed hungry. Most supermarkets have already been ransacked so hunting or getting lucky were the only things that were logical.

Unfortunately, neither of us were outdoor people so hunting wasn't something we could just pick up and try. We had no knowledge of what to do, how to do it, or anything else related to it so we simply wandered around, hoping that there was a store or some abandoned home that still had unclaimed food.

Now, we just crossed the Vale border and have entered Vacuo. Vale has been our home ever since we were kids and leaving it behind was just something we had to do. There was nothing there for us except sadness and loss. Although we were unsure of our goal, we decided to keep heading in the direction of Atlas. Atlas always stood as the foreground for humanity so being there might give us a chance at survival. However, we were constantly thinking about what we heard on the radio and how, supposedly, humans only have 19 year to live with complete reassurance.

What did this mean? What happens after age 19? Do we end up like our parents? Is it something worse than that? Something better? No, it can't be.

By now, I bet you're wondering why I'm writing about all of this, but trust me when I say this: Losing hope is the worst thing a human can do. Writing in this journal helps me keep my sanity and makes it so I never forget about what has happened. If I were to die, hopefully, someone will pass by and pick it up. Hopefully, they will learn about what I've gone through and what I've learned while trying to survive in a world full of death.

End of Prologue