Alstroemeria's Codex

(If you are not fond of suicide, and I am not, please skip this chapter. I do not want to cause traumatic experiences for my lovely readers. This is a warning.)

The Convergence was a sight that every human on Earth wished to forget, especially Veneri.

He didn't know how fast he ran as black portals materialized all over the entire city. The screams of people running for their lives as the demons sliced their bodies like paper.

The explosions heard all over the streets as the military used tanks, missiles and bullets to fend off the demons.

Which was useless against them.

He didn't focus on the thousands of families who died in highrise apartments as gigantic demons topped them down like dominoes. He did not care about the people grabbing hold of him, pleading with fear to help them get up.

But how could he if their limbs were on the other side of the chaos?

He couldn't remember how many times he fell to the asphalt as torn limbs and bodies tripped him. The entire place was like a scene out of a horror movie but he still didn't stop.

He ran all the way back to his home, hoping in his heart that they would all be safe.

Only to find out that the orphanage was in ruins. There were no demons on sight but everything was destroyed.

The demons passed through the city outskirts first before heading to the city, the orphanage being the first thing they destroyed.

The faces of his fellow friends.

The children who always hugged him whenever he came to visit them every weekend.

The matrons who always asked him to help them with the gardens because he was free.

All of them, dead in the most horrible way.

He walked silently, looking at the ruins of the once beautiful place he called home. The skies were red. He couldn't focus on the thousands of screams in the city.

Veneri could barely recognize most of them. They had suffered fourth degree burns, revealing their bones and part of their sizzled flesh.

He couldn't speak. He couldn't scream. He could only walk and look at the family he loved.

"Claire... Claire please..."

He slowly turned his head.

On the ruins was a teenager the same age as he was, embracing a dead teenage girl in his arms. It was obvious she was dead.

Veneri's steps faltered as he turned toward Stephen. The sight of him, kneeling amidst the ruins of their shared childhood, was something Veneri had feared he'd never witness.

Stephen's eyes, bloodshot and wide, met Veneri's with disbelief and devastation. His arms were wrapped tightly around the lifeless body of Claire, her face pale and cold in his grasp. The blood-stained hole in her chest told a story of a brutal end, one that neither Veneri nor Stephen could change.

Stephen's voice was broken, trembling like a whisper against the chaos that still echoed in the desolate wasteland.

"Oh. Veneri. You're here. But... you're too late..."

Veneri's throat tightened, the words choking in his chest as he tried to comprehend the scene before him.

His heart, already fractured from the devastation he'd witnessed in the city, broke anew at the sight of Claire's lifeless form in Stephen's arms.

He wanted to speak, to say something—anything but... the words wouldn't come. The city's screams, the sound of the war still raging beyond the orphanage's shattered walls, faded into an oppressive silence as he stood there, watching Stephen cradling his dead lover.

"Stephen…" Veneri's voice cracked. His breath caught in his throat, and he had to swallow hard before he could continue. "I... I couldn't get here in time. I'm sorry."

The words felt hollow as they left his mouth. What would he do anyway? He would have even suffered even more, maybe even died.

Stephen's eyes flashed with fury and sorrow as he glared up at Veneri. He didn't speak for a long moment, instead staring down at Claire with such intensity that Veneri felt the weight of the silence crushing him.

"You couldn't save her," Stephen muttered, his voice low, almost a growl. "None of us could."

He shifted his gaze back to Veneri, and for the first time, Veneri saw the raw, jagged edge of blame in Stephen's eyes.

"You think you could've stopped this? You think you could've made a difference? We're humans, Veneri! Those are... monsters! Stop trying to act like you could have saved her when you couldn't!"

Veneri's heart lurched but he didn't know how to answer. The military had been useless, the defenses had failed, and the demons had torn through the city like it was paper. No matter how fast he ran, no matter how much he wanted to save them, he couldn't.

Stephen's hands trembled as he gently laid Claire's body down, brushing a lock of hair from her face. His tears mixed with the blood staining his hands as he spoke again, this time his voice a hollow echo of the boy Veneri had once known.

"Why... Why were we spared this? Why did I have to watch this happen? Why do we have to see this, Veneri?"

The question hit Veneri like a slap to the face. He couldn't answer. There was no answer. There was nothing that could justify the horrors they had endured, nothing that could make it okay.

He had always been told that those who survived would bear the weight of their survival. But that weight had never felt heavier than now.

"Stephen—"

Stephen's face twisted with grief and he stood suddenly, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Why didn't... why didn't you have the power to stop this? We were always different, Veneri. We were always better than the rest of us. And now look what's left. Nothing but ashes and blood!

"Stop," Veneri interjected, his own voice faltering under the weight of his failure. "Please... don't blame me. I can't undo it. I can't bring her back."

Stephen turned away sharply, his face crumpling with anguish.

"Of course, you can't. None of us can. This... this is just the beginning, isn't it? The beginning of everything falling apart. And you? You're just a boy. You're not a god. No one can fix this. No one can stop it."

Veneri's hands clenched into fists at his sides.

The world had lost.

"What are you going to do now?"

The silence that followed Veneri's question hung heavy in the air. Stephen didn't answer right away. He just stared at the ground, the blood from Claire's wounds still staining his clothes, the lifelessness in his eyes more profound than Veneri had ever imagined possible.

The boy who used to laugh, who had once dreamed alongside him about a future that seemed limitless, now stood before him like a stranger.

Stephen's gaze lifted slowly, meeting Veneri's eyes for the first time since the destruction.

And when he did, Veneri saw something he had never thought he would.

Lifelessness.

His eyes had become hollow, devoid of emotion or hope. There was no trace of the boy he had known, the one who had laughed through hardship, who had fought beside him even when things seemed impossible. There was only a void.

Stephen's lips curled into a small, bitter smile, a smile Veneri had never seen before, one that held no warmth or humor, just a cold, empty grimace.

"What's there to do, Veneri?" His voice was flat, without any trace of its usual energy. "The world has lost. The city's gone. Claire's gone. The demons... they won."

"And soon... we'll all die," he continued, the words barely above a whisper, as though he were speaking to himself more than to Veneri. His shoulders slumped and for a moment, he seemed smaller, defeated by the weight of it all.

Veneri opened his mouth to speak, to say something but... the words stuck in his throat.

What could he say to a friend who had just lost everything? What words could he offer to someone whose hope had been extinguished so completely?

He had lost everyone too but to him, he lost the love of his life. Someone who promised to get married to him once they got out of the orphanage and had a new life.

Before he could respond, Stephen's hand shot out, grabbing something from the ground near him. Veneri's gaze snapped down to where Stephen was holding a small, dirty kitchen knife. It looked out of place in the chaos of the ruined city, as if it didn't belong in the carnage that surrounded them. But in Stephen's hands, it seemed like the only answer.

The smile on Stephen's face never wavered as he looked at Veneri, his expression eerily calm, as though he had already accepted what was coming.

"I guess... this is it. There's no fighting anymore. No coming back. It's all over."

He gave a slight, almost humorless chuckle.

Veneri's breath caught in his chest as his heart started to race. He wanted to stop him. He wanted to do something, anything, to save his best friend from this path.

"Stephen, wait. Wait!"

"Goodbye, Veneri. It's been a hell of a ride. Don't follow me, alright? You're still breathing... for now. Don't waste it."

Veneri took a step forward, his hands outstretched, his mind screaming for action, for anything to stop this moment, but his body felt like it was moving through water. He could feel the cold sweat on his palms, his heart pounding against his ribcage as if it were trying to escape.

"No, Stephen! Please, don't—"

But Stephen wasn't listening anymore. His hand was already at his throat, the blade of the kitchen knife cold against his skin. He didn't flinch as he positioned it, as he drew it across his neck in one smooth motion.

Veneri's voice caught in his throat, a scream trapped behind his lips. Time seemed to slow, every movement stretching out painfully as he watched the blood pour from the wound, the crimson liquid pooling on the ground below.

Stephen's body jerked for a moment, his eyes fluttering, but the smile remained. It was a strange, twisted smile as he sank slowly to the ground, the light in his eyes flickering and then dying.

"Stephen!"

Veneri shouted. His hands shook as he reached out, as though he could stop it, undo the damage, but it was too late. Stephen's body slumped forward, lifeless, the last breath escaping his lips in a faint, rattling sigh.

Veneri fell to his knees beside him, staring at the blood staining the ground, the lifeless face of his best friend staring back at him with empty eyes.

The world felt like it was spinning out of control, the weight of the moment suffocating him. His body shook, a cold, icy fear settling in his chest as the reality of what had just happened crashed down on him.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Not for them. Not for anyone.

Veneri reached out, touching Stephen's cold hand, but it was as though he was touching the very end of everything. He couldn't save him. He couldn't save anyone.

Now, he was truly alone.