《Ashes of the Unforgettable》


 Chapter 0: No Regrets..

    "???: After all this time seperated.. You have some nerve to come to this unholy land.. Hideaki.. Ishikawa!"


    (The man lands on some rubble and stares at Hideaki.. He points his sword at him while the swords blade glows with weird markings that are engraved on it.. Hideaki gets on one of his knees and looks at the ground..)


    "Hideaki: Why did you have to destroy my homeland.. We had nothing to do with your plans.."


    (He takes a glass shard from the ground and stands up.. He looks at the person and then cuts his hand open with the shard.. The blood pouring from his hand turns into a blade and he gets in a stance and faces him directly.. He charges his sword with his blood and charges at the person, but then everything goes to black...


    It was an pretty sunny day in Tokyo , Japan.. The world has been at a constant threat after the 2nd and hopefully last Trait War... The world as we knew it back in 2014 has changed.. Trait population has skyrocketed to 20% of the world population and the so called.. Hybrids are still 0.001% of the Trait population..


    But ever since the "4th Trait God" Kikuchi changed the way Traits mutate and grow in strength.. It isn''t anymore about the persons will to fight or their weaknesses.. The powers grow on their own.. Well.. The researchers think that''s what he did..)


    "???: Hide.. Hide wake up!"


    (A sharp feeling is in his head and he suddenly opens his eyes.. It''s his doctor.. He looks around and realizes he is still in the hospital..)


    "Mr.???: Your diagnosis came in.. You seem to be one of the lucky few who have recovered from the trait mutation. You''re officially 100% Trait free!"


    (Hide smiles and closes his eyes.. The doctor sighs and proceeds to read the file..)


    "Mr.???: There''s also bad news.. There is a chance that the mutation might return and then you might lose your life or you might not be the person you know right now.. That''s all.. You''re free to leave the hospital.."


    "Hide: Alright.. Thank you Mr. Tamaki.."


    (Hide gets upright and then stands up.. His legs feel a little wobbly so he supports his weight against a cabinet next to the bed.. He inhales deeply and then grabs his bag and gathers enough strength to walk out of the door.. An unfamiliar face walks up to me and holds me tight in a hug..)


    "???:Good to know that you are alright.."


    (The girl suddenly kisses him and then looks at him.. Her faces blur starts to uncover.. It was his girlfriend.. Well It used to be.. Something seems weird about this world.. Wasn''t he just in a battlefield with one of Earths strongest warriors.. He tries to walk away from her grasp, but she keeps holding on..)Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    "???: Where are you rushing off to..?"


    "Hide: Home.."


    (The girl lets go and Hide walks to the exit of the hospital and walks out.. The city looked intact.. and not destroyed.. Hide rubs his eyes and then checks his phone.. It''s 19th of May 2022.. Exactly the same day the attack happened.. Hide quickly cuts his hand slightly... He couldn''t use his trait anymore.. He looks around and everything seems normal.. Too normal.. He spots a bus stop and then walks to it and exactly when he arrives at the stop his bus comes.. He walks in and it''s completely empty.. The only person in there is the driver.. Hide sits down and then waits for his stop.. A few minutes pass and he finally arrives at his stop and walks to his apartment.. He walks inside and then he sees a familiar face sitting on his couch..)


    "???: Your still alive Hideaki.. Very interesting.."


    "Hide: So... You''re not a part of my trait huh.. I guess we are just the same person.. Jeron.."


    "Jeron: And you remember my name too huh.. Even more interesting.."


    "Hide: Alright, make room now.."


    (Hide walks to the couch and sits down.. He grabs the remote and turns the television on.. It''s static.. All the channels were static..)


    "Hide: Did you break the TV..?"


    "Jeron: Hideaki.. I don''t exist in the real world.. I can''t interact with anything anymore."


    "Hide: Oh right... You''re basically a ghost that''s in my mind.."


    (Hide throws the remote at the TV and the screen breaks.. He lays down on the couch and pushes Jeron off.. He closes his eyes and falls asleep.. He doesn''t even feel like a minute passed and his alarm starts blaring.. He opens his eyes and he feels like he is going slowly insane.. His eye slightly bleeds.. He stands up and checks his school bag.. It has the stuff it''s supposed to have..)


    -Hideaki Ishikawa - Age: 15 - Trait:???????????? - Occupation: Student -


    -Jeron ... - Age: ??? - Trait: Nonexistent- Occupation: Unknown-


    (Hide walks to the kitchen and grabs a piece of bread and walks out of the door.. It''s another beautiful day.. A lot of people are on the street and sees a few familiar people too.. He takes his phone out and sets a route for the train station.. He puts on his headphones and starts listening to the news..)


    "???: Today it''s another beautiful day in Tokyo.. There''s a huge chance that that will change because there is a huge storm coming towards the whole country.. In other news.. 3 people were found dead near the old meteor crash site.. It is believed it''s a mutated trait user but it isn''t confirmed yet.. There was a massive train crash near Hiroshima.. The reason for the crash is unknown, but the driver said that he saw a weird figure on the tracks and then suddenly they derailed.."


    (Hide arrives to the train station and buys a ticket and walks around and sees Jeron sitting down.. He walks to him and kicks his leg..)


    "Jeron: Oh.. Morning Hide. You going to school already?"


    "Hide: Well yeah.. It''s Monday so I have to go to school.."


    "???: The Train to Shibuya district is leaving in 5 minutes.."


    (Hide hears the announcement and then runs.. Jeron stands up and starts to follow him.. Hide arrives to the platform at the last minute and runs onto the train.. He sits down and then looks out of the window and sees a mysterious figure staring at him with a weird aura... The train starts to move... Hide looks at the roof of the train and raises his hand up and forms a fist...)


    "Hide: This is a new chapter for me... For the rest of the world.. Even the strongest of opponents always has a weakness.."


    (To be continued...)

 Chapter 1: For Myself..

    (The train arrives at the station and Hideaki starts looking for the bus stop... He walks through the station and finds a food stall that sold tacos. He walks up to the stand and orders a taco, the guy places the taco on a plate, and Hide pays for it... He finally finds the bus stop and stands there while Jeron appears behind him..)


    "Jeron: Are you sure you can go back there without a trait..?"


    "Hideaki: It''s still a school... Why shouldn''t they let me be there.."


    (Someone taps Hide''s shoulder and he turns around..)


    "???: I haven''t seen you for a while Hide! How have you been?"


    "Hideaki: I''ve been alright... Akihiko Raiden.."


    - Akihiko Raiden - Age: 15 - Trait: ??? - Occupation: Student -


    "Jeron: How is the son of the lightning god still alive.."


    "Akihiko: Damn. You''re already coming back to school? I thought you said that you were never going to come back.."


    "Hide(Mind): I''ve never said something like that.. Odd... He must''ve thought I said something like that.."


    "Hide: I changed my mind? I mean school is great! We can learn to become the greatest Trait users alive!"


    "Akihiko: Alright... That is true... At least it''s good to know that you''re still coming, Best Friend!"


    (Hide looks at Akihiko confused and then smiles... They do some sort of handshake and they step on the bus... He keeps showing him his lightning trait and some old pictures of him and his old man..)


    "Jeron: Jack looks so different in those pictures... I guess he and Chloe ended up as a good couple."


    (Akihiko picks out a picture and it has Jack, Jeron, Chloe, and 2 other people posing... They all look pretty happy... Jeron looks at the picture and smiles... The bus drives on a bridge and suddenly stops... Hide looks in front of the bus thru the windshield and sees a lot of cars stopped ahead... A huge explosion happens in front of some cars and a person jumps out of the smoke... It had 6 spines coming out of its spine like a spider..)


    "Akihiko: Tch... What''s the deal with these trait users..."


    (Akihiko gets up from his seat and walks to the front of the bus and kicks the door open. He tears a pipe from the bridge and looks at the person. The Trait user notices him and tries to charge at him... A spotlight shines on the person and 3 helicopters come out of nowhere and start firing at the trait user... A mech jumps onto the bridge and 10 people run out of it and throw some sort of rope onto him. The Choppers stop shooting and the rope activates and suddenly the spikes turn to dust and the man starts screaming.. 2 of the officers run up to him and quickly inject something into his neck and spine. He falls and they both start carrying him to the mech... The choppers start to fly away while the mech clears the road from broken cars and jumps off the bridge... Akihiko looks amazed and then drops the pipe and walks back in..)


    "Hide: Who were those people..?"


    "Akihiko: I''m surprised you don''t remember... They are the Task Force in charge of killing all of the Trait population.."This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    (Hide looks at him shocked and then looks at his hands as blood slightly emerges onto the hands..)


    "Akihiko: I''m joking! They just arrest the bad guys... Like the one who was just here... Well, I hope at least. There have been a few reports of them killing innocent people too.."


    "Hide: I mean it is understandable.. Look at how much the trait users have done to humans in the past. 3 wars.Torturing.."


    "Jeron: The wars were the best part!"


    (Hide looks at him confused..)


    "Hide: What do you mean the wars were the best part... You sick motherfuck-"


    "Akihiko: Uhh... Hide who are you talking to..?"


    (Hide suddenly realizes that he might look insane if he is arguing with Jeron in public places... Due to Jeron being in only his vision and no one else..)


    "Hide: I''m just.. Talking to myself Raiden.."


    (Traffic finally continues to move and after a few hours, they finally make it to the school grounds... The school hasn''t changed a lot... The only difference was that there was a wall around the school.. 4 other buses are parked in front of the school and about 100 other students are in front of the school..)


    "Hide: This has truly changed a lot.."


    "Raiden: It looked the same last year too though?"


    (Hide is utterly confused and decides to ignore what he said... It feels like he hasn''t existed in this world before due to the transplant. The sky around the school suddenly goes black and all of the lights turn off... Suddenly everyone''s faces were sealed with some tape and a light suddenly shines upon a man holding a microphone... He had his hair tied up and had an eye patch and one arm..)


    "Person: Welcome students! To your first year... Of Trait School! As you all know... It won''t be easy at all.. There will be a lot of battles and studying.. Also recon missions and you assisting some legendary trait users.. I am your headmaster Chris Egorov.."


    - Chris Egorov - Age: ?? - Trait: Blazing Sun - Occupation: Headmaster -


    "Chris: The man next to me is your primary teacher. His name is Toda Sho."


    - Toda Sho - Age: ?? - Trait: Delusional Deception - Occupation: Teacher -


    "Chris:You will now be assigned to classes and dorm rooms. Please stand still and wait for your maps and assignments."


    (Toda snaps his fingers and 10 clones appear and they grab the papers from the headmaster and they start spreading them around.. Hideaki and Akihiko get their assignments and they are assigned to the same dorm and classes.. They all go into their first class and Toda''s clone grabs a book from the shelf and opens it..)


    "Toda(Clone): Today we are going to teach you about the "Masks".. You have all heard about it in the news probably. They grant the user unrealistic powers.. There are 6 masks in the Japanese Empire.. Ressurection, Petrification, Shadows, Geologic, Illusion, and Destruction.. In this school, we have the Mask of Illusion.. It is the most useful one since you can use illusions to confuse your enemies and friends.."


    (Suddenly the school bell rings and the clones disappear.. The speaker starts to screech and then suddenly Chris''s voice started talking.)


    "Chris(Speaker): All students please report to the gymnasium to get your weapons."


    (All of the students stand up and start walking to the gymnasium.. There was a wide range of weapons.. Katanas, Long-Swords, Spears, Daggers, Pistols, Scythes and Hammers..It was Hide''s turn to choose a weapon.. He looked at the Katana and Jeron suddenly appeared..)


    "Jeron:Hide~~! Choose the katana! You won''t regret it.."


    (Hide looks at the katana and weird energy comes from it.. Hide hovers his hand over the katana and it starts shaking and flies into his hand.. A weird carving starts to form on the blade... Hide looks to his side and sees that Akihiko chooses the spear..)


    - Location: ??? - Time: ??:?? -


    (


    A man walks around a corridor and opens the door.. A man seems to be sitting on a throne.. He tells his right man something and he starts walking towards the door. The man on the throne adjusts his mask and his eye suddenly starts to glow in the colors of the rainbow..)


    (To be continued...)