LONE: The Journey Beyond-Chapter 3: The Lunar Doom.

A week passed.

Reven was able to move his body now, but the boy never once talked to the colonel.

Inwardly, Reven didn't want to leave this house.

At least here, he was getting enough food to eat. He was a mere 3-year-old boy; what else could he ask for if not this? But he knew this was impossible.

That night, Reven was sitting on a chair in the gallery watching the night sky shine because of the stars and the full moon, when suddenly the colonel came from behind and said, "The sky looks peaceful, doesn't it?"

"Yeah."

"If only Earth could be this peaceful too."

Hmm… Hmmm.

"Hey kid… You should stay with me."

"What?"

"Seriously… Because of the war, I never had a family. So, I was thinking maybe we could make a family of our own. You and me... What do you say?"

"Why me?"

"I guess... You can say it's fate. I joined the patrolling division to get out of the border. I am sick of it now… The World Wars destroyed the very nature of humanity."

"But the rumors..."

"Well… It's true, there are high chances that the 5th will start soon... That's why I want to have a family; I don't know when I will die if the war starts.

Sigh! That's why I stopped dating or looking for a girl.

Still, after seeing you, I realized that except for fighting wars, I didn't do anything... So, at least, I deserve to have someone carry my legacy, don't I?"

Reven kept looking at the sky for some time, but soon tears came out of his eyes. The 3-year-old boy didn't know that this warmth was enough to melt his little, cold heart.

He also didn't know that this very incident would give him enough strength to go on and on in his endless journey, which was about to come…

The colonel turned towards the kid and said, "There... There kid, don't cry. My child, it will hurt this old man."

The boy wiped his tears as he kept looking at the sky and said, "First, I am not a crybaby, and second, how old are you again?"

"42 years, kiddo."

"Heck, you really are an old man!"

They both looked at each other and laughed loudly for a moment, finally turning silent.

Reven turned to look at the moon again and, with a smile on his face, said, "Thank you. Old man."

The old man, no, Aarav, looked at the moon too and said, "Thank you too."

And...

Shoosh-!

It was at this moment, the moon suddenly vanished into thin air as the sky darkened. Reven and Aarav looked at each other again, this time in confusion.

"Is it me, or has the moon suddenly vanished?" Reven asked as he kept looking at the place where the moon was…

He tried to focus his eyes more to realize that it's not that the entire moon has vanished, but about 2/3rd of it has vanished, leaving behind a crescent moon with not much shine in it anymore.

"It's not the full moon that vanished, but 2/3rd of it!" Aarav expressed with a shocked face.

"Did they nuke the moon this time or something?"

"No. No matter how powerful the nukes may be, they wouldn't make 2/3rd of the moon vanish."

"Just what the fu*k is happening?"

"Wait, let me contact the officials from the military."

The old man went inside and called someone. After 10 minutes, he came back and said, "Something serious has happened. They have red alerted the military. They do not know the cause, but it's serious. I need to go, kid."

"Okay! Just return safely."

Little did they know, this very incident changed the entire course of human history on Earth and brought out their doom…

-----

"We call it 'The Lunar Doom', and we do not have any scientific reason behind this incident." A scientist answered, looking back at the reporter sitting across him.

Following him, a reporter stated:

'The Lunar Doom'. That is the name that the scientific community has decided to give this incident.

Reven switched off the television, as the same topic has been going on in the T.V. for days now. It has been a month since that incident.

Reven was now completely healed, and his body was also in better shape now and was no longer malnourished. He looked healthy and fit, fitting for a boy his age.

'The Lunar Doom' had many consequences.

The ecosystem, which was already on the verge of collapsing, deteriorated even more; cyclones, tsunamis, and other disasters struck Earth due to the drastic gravitational changes on the planet.

But the most disgusting thing was that a few countries still kept on blaming others, as if they wanted the 5th World War to come even after this happened.

Some cultist groups proclaimed that it was the work of some God who was dissatisfied with us.

The most interesting thing was that there was some kind of energy that had started to enter the atmosphere.

None of the scientists could find anything about it and said that this thing didn't obey any laws of physics, which caused them to have zero knowledge about it.

Some nerds even started to call it Mana, Qi, Ether, or Essence, but there was no response from the scientists.

Some Chinese geeks even tried to train themselves with this energy, which they call 'Cultivation', but they were not even able to intake the energy.

"What do you think this is? Old man." Reven asked as he looked towards the old man, who had just woken up from his nap and came to the living room.

"Dunno… But I have a bad premonition about it."

"Same here."

"It feels like 'The Lunar Doom' was just the tip of the iceberg."

"Did the scientist send someone to the moon to check what happened?"

"No, they are still researching using the machines... And it will most likely take several years for them to finish... As for the moon expedition, I think it will need at least 5 years."

"Anyways, I think I will have to go back to the borders again."

"I heard the tensions are increasing."

"Yeah, I hope there is no war again."

"Old man, I want to join the army training school." Reven spoke seriously.

"I thought so too... With the current situation, it will be good for you to join it. At least you can ensure your own protection. I think with my connections, you can even get to the Special Forces training course.

But you need to be at least 6 years old to join the training; all the other children do the same too."

"I see."

Due to the 3rd and 4th World Wars, humanity had even changed its teaching standards; now everyone had to enroll in the army at the age of six, whether they were nobles or orphans; it was the same for all.

All the other jobs could only be granted after passing out of the army, and was under strict government control.

-----

Two months later.

A boy looked at the mirror in front of him.

He saw a kid with pitch black hair that reached his shoulders; his eyebrows were like twin swords with a small 2mm cut mark on his right eyebrow, which wasn't visible easily but if someone looked closely, they could notice it; this cut didn't really look ugly but added mystique to his charm.

His black eyes, which looked like they could devour anything that got in their way, had a tinge of maturity in them. He had a perfectly symmetrical nose and beautiful thin lips. There was no baby fat in his cheeks, and his body was quite well built for a 3-year-old.

This was, of course, Reven.

"Get ready; we are going somewhere."

"Huh!?"

"Don't, huh!, me. I have to leave for the borders, so you have to live somewhere, don't you? You can't live alone, kiddo."

"Okay, but who is it?"

"My junior… She is like a nephew to me. Her father was my friend when we fought in the 4th together, but he died in the war.

The girl was just 23 at that time, but then she joined the army too. Hell, she is a natural talent... You can learn a lot from her in my absence, as she is also in the Special Forces."

"Fine."

They got ready and left the house in the old man's car. They lived in a house near a hill, which was to the north of the army base.

They traveled to the east of the army base, where scientists usually lived under protection. The car took a turn near the alley and then went straight near a small hill.

A small stream of water was coming out of that hill.

Aarav stopped the car and said, "C'mon, we have to walk from here."

"Okay."

They walked for a few minutes and soon saw a house.

Aarav went ahead and tapped the doorbell as he said to Reven, "Kid, she is very strict with rules, though she is usually easygoing, so be a good boy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just don't anger her much, or else you are screwed."

The boy was about to say something, but the door opened first, and his jaw dropped…

…..