Doomsday: My Football System In The Apocalypse

Several minutes later, Emmy could be seen lying on a small bunk bed in a dimly lit room. The room was incredibly small, with most of the space taken up by luggage. Sunny sat by his side, staring at him with a distant expression on his face.

Now that he had brought his brother home safely, he began thinking about the consequences of his actions. He knew the man had seen him emerge from the shadow, and knowing he was the only one with that type of ability, they would surely come for him.

He just hoped they wouldn't.

All he wanted was to save his brother; he didn't intend to make enemies of the most powerful people in the world.

Just as he was lost in thought, Emmy slowly opened his eyes. For a moment, all he could see was the blurry image of his brother sitting beside him, staring blankly into the air. Slowly, his vision became clear, but his head hurt.

"Sunny?"

He called, a hint of confusion in his voice. If he remembered correctly, the last thing he saw was some kind of text in his line of sight, telling him about passing out. That had happened right after he followed the man into the room with the other students during the awakening ceremony.

'Why did everyone pass out, and why am I back in our room?'

He thought.

Thankfully, the person likely to have an answer to that question was right there.

Sunny turned around upon hearing his name.

"Hey, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

He asked, placing a palm on Emmy's forehead to check his temperature.

"Stop it, I'm alright."

Emmy said as he moved his brother's hand away, feeling a little embarrassed. Then he got up and asked,

"What happened? Why are we here? Has the ceremony ended?"

"It's a long story,"

Sunny replied, turning back to stare into the air.

He continued,

"You remember how I told you that something strange was going on in the Heavenly Tower…"

Sunny explained everything to Emmy, starting with his suspicions from two years ago, after his friend died when he failed to awaken an ability. He made it clear that everyone who failed to awaken an ability met the same fate after the awakening ceremony. Of course, everyone knew this fact, but their belief was different. They all thought the failures died because they were weak, which reinforced the belief that this world was not for the weak.

Sunny detailed what had been happening to those poor students over the years, revealing that Emmy himself was only a couple of minutes away from meeting the same fate.

"If not for your incredible brother,"

Sunny said, punching his chest.

Emmy seemed dumbfounded and remained silent for a long moment before finally sighing and saying,

"If what you're saying is true, then they'll surely come for us. What do we do now?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking about before you woke up,"

His brother replied, his expression distant.

Emmy moved closer to him and sat upright.

"But it's still hard to believe they're actually doing that. I mean, why? I still don't understand their reason behind it."

"My only guess is that they don't want weak people alive in this world because of what the future holds. They all believe that anyone without an ability is weak. But that's where they're wrong because not all abilities are useful. Look at mine. Although it's not entirely useless, I'm only among the strongest in school thanks to my martial arts skills."

Sunny paused for a moment, then continued,

"I mean, everyone could do the same if given enough training. So, I don't even see the need for abilities in the first place. Yes, some abilities are incredible and make someone superhuman, but still…"

"It seems you're starting to sound like a disciple of Grandfather. His words are really getting to you."

Emmy interrupted him.

"Let's not talk about him,"

Sunny said, with a strange look on his face.

"Now, how do we deal with the matter at hand? I'm sure they'll likely send someone after us, but that's not even the main problem. As long as they don't step in themselves or send a high-ability user, everything will be under control. But we need to make people believe that you've awakened an ability. That's the only way you can live."

"And how do we do that? Don't tell me I'll be going around telling people I have an ability whenever they ask?"

Emmy asked, an expression of disbelief on his face.

"Of course, that's the best option, but what ability can we use? We need to pick one that suits you. Elementary abilities are out of the question. Ranged abilities are also out. What…"

"I'll just go with super speed. My speed is already above that of people my age, so I can say it's currently low at the moment. But are you sure it'll work? How can I prove it? And how long can we keep it up?"

"It will surely work. Once we get an ability-measuring wristwatch—fake one, of course—we won't have a problem. And we won't keep it up for long. You just need to grow stronger fast enough to live freely."

Emmy thought for a while, then suddenly said,

"You seem to be forgetting something. Remember the device they use in school to rank students? That device doesn't just tell people's strength; it can also detect abilities."

"You're right, damn. They'll surely try to measure your strength again to update the rank after the awakening ceremony. Damn!"

Sunny complained.

"What do we do now?"

Emmy asked, a sad expression on his face.

Sunny remained silent for a moment before finally speaking.

"I think we'll have to ask that old man for help,"

He said dejectedly.

Emmy stared at him with wide eyes.

"You mean… you want Grandfather to create a something for me? But that's a bad idea. He'll ask me to become his disciple in return!"

"But we don't have a choice. He's the only one we can count on. And about him taking you as his disciple—that's something we'll have to deal with in the future."

Both of them disliked the idea of asking their grandfather for help, but they knew they had no choice. Their grandfather, one of the best monks alive before the descent of the Heavenly Tower, had lived more than a century and knew more about the world than most people. He lived in a temple on the mountain, where he took in disciples and taught them martial arts and how to harness their inner energy.

Sunny had once been his disciple before their parents died. Their grandfather bore a deep hatred for the Heavenly Tower and the people who used its power. He wished for nothing more than for the officials and big families to disappear along with the Heavenly Tower.

Sunny didn't want Emmy to undergo the same harsh training he had experienced. But now, needing their grandfather's help, they knew what he would demand in return.

"I'm scared of that man,"

Emmy muttered under his breath.

"You should like him more. He always treats you well. He hated me more because I left the temple without completing my training. You see how he always pays my bills a few days after paying yours."

Sunny had fled the temple at age ten, unwilling to endure the intense training. He had been living in the temple since the age of seven, doing nothing but intense training. He stays in the temple for three years and ran away at the age of ten, move back to his parents after missing his little brother, and from there, he never return to the temple again.

Their parents died a couple years after, their grandfather had asked to take them in and take care of them, but they both disagree. Their grandfather had been taking care of them from distance since the death of their parents, paying their school fees, clearing their bills and giving them monthly money. He also visits them time to time and always ask to take them in, but they never agreed.

Sunny had always claimed that the man hate him while Emmy will hide behind his brother, saying the man is scary.

"But I don't think he hate you though, he's just mad at you because you left the temple without his permission and never return. If he really hate you, he wouldn't have come to congratulates you two years ago after you awakened your ability."

Emmy commented.

"Yeah that's right, he would come to congratulate you too, that means we don't need to go to him. We'll just explain the situation to him here and ask for his help."

Sunny said happily.

Emmy looked down dejectedly, then sighed.

"Does that mean I'll really have to put up a fake life?"

He said.

"It seemed you're more angry at the fact that you'll have to put up an act than the fact that you fail to awakened an ability. Aren't you scared that you won't be able to play football again? And what really happened when you were in front of the divine rock, you spent more time than anyone else, how come you didn't awaken an ability, did you really feel nothing inside you?"

His brother asked, worried. Emmy had spent close to fifteen minutes during his ritual, something that hasn't happened before, and yet he didn't get an ability, that made his brother worried alot.

"I also didn't know what happened right there."

Emmy said, now with a more serious expression.

"At first, I was trying to sense the feeling you talked about, but it never came, I tried and tried until I suddenly fell asleep, I think."

"You did what?"

His brother asked in disbelief.

"I fell asleep, but when I woke up and got back on the altar, I saw something strange."