Chapter 27: Before Breakfast

Humans are the most dominant species on the planet.

This line was not entirely true but there was some semblance of truth to it. It all depended on the metric which defined ’most dominant’. There were three metrics to consider.

The first was biomass, which unquestionably fell on bacteria.

They were the oldest, most numerous, and most diverse life form to ever exist. They are everywhere, totaling up to 15% of earth’s biomass.

The second metric was pervasive presence, claimed by arthropods.

Insects, arachnids, crustaceans etc, by sheer number of individuals and species, they conquered the land, skies and the very depths of the sea.

The third was environmental presence, and that crown belonged to plants.

They formed the foundations of nearly all food webs and produced the oxygen that filled the sky. Through collective biomass and manipulation of the carbon cycle, they had terraformed the planet for billions of years.

All other life are merely tenants, living rent free in a world plants have built and continue to maintain.

In front of such rulers, where did humans fit?

There was no doubt that humans are something else entirely.

They are the undisputed apex predators. The most dangerous ecological force to ever roam the planet.

What humans lacked in biomass, numbers or foundational necessity more than made up for it with the unique ability to reshape environments, redirect energy and manipulate the genetics of other species to suit their needs.

Such actions have caused the cascading extinctions and alterations of planetary systems.

That must have been what led to the current state of the world. Why humanity has lost control of the planet.

Centuries ago, the boundary between the Spirit World and the Material World collapsed, forcing the two into an event known as the Merger.

Everything possessed a spiritual counterpart, so when the two overlapped, it had some drastic life changing effects.

Apart from bacteria, most animals and arthropods grew to monstrous forms as their spiritual forms manifested physically. Some plants twisted into oversized, predatory organisms with newfound intent.

It had always been said that everyone possessed a spirit guide, a non-physical entity that was believed to watch over us and help us navigate through life.

So, what happens when those spirit guides merge with humans?

There were two known outcomes.

The first was that most humans were swallowed by the negative energy of their spirit guides until nothing remained. And those without the capacity to endure the Merge faced spiritual energy overload, thus leading to them losing control.

Both paths led to the same outcome.

They became Wraths.

Man-eating monsters who quickly overwhelmed military forces and plunged the world into an early apocalypse that led to the deaths of billions and the end of the old world.

However not all was lost.

The second outcome was the awakening of an extraordinary species.

The minority that didn’t lose control possessed strong positive spirituality which allowed them to tap into the supernatural force of their spiritual essence.

They built Biomes.

Massive, enclosed territories sealed behind advanced barriers designed to keep the horrors outside at bay.

After a couple of centuries, a new world order was established.

At least.... That was how it was taught in the academy.

Rhos had been 17 years old. Hundreds of years removed from the apocalypse, so he had never seen the world before the Merger.

He did not know how much of what he had been taught was truth, how much was propaganda and how much history had been forgotten over time.

Not that it mattered anymore. As far he was concerned, the world outside the Biomes was dangerous. He did not need anyone trying to convince him of that since he experienced it first hand.

Knowing that....

’Where the hell am I?’

It had been a couple of minutes since Rhos opened his eyes. He didn’t remember much of what happened before he blacked out, but he did remember accepting some kind of deal with a strange winged creature, something about the Wrath.... Then nothing.

Now he was no longer at the expanse forest but at a place that looked so eerily familiar it immediately became unsettling.

His fingers brushed over the smooth fabric of what sank his body in comforting softness. He was lying on a sofa stuffed with cushioning that welcomed his exhausted muscles.

He didn’t move for several minutes, almost afraid moving too much would cause the strange comfort to disappear.

Rhos had already confirmed he was in a manmade structure. His amber eyes wandered around the small living room.

It had wooden flooring and a faded gray rug that stretched across the center of the room beneath a low coffee table littered with empty cans and scattered papers. Shelves lined one of the cream colored walls. A window let in the warm rays of morning light, illuminating the countless tiny dust particles floating through the air.

Everything about this place felt... lived in. Like someone actually stayed here.

Rhos frowned. His first thought was that he was dreaming or perhaps that Wrath actually ate him and this was whatever came after death.

"Did someone drag me all the way back to the Biome?"

He slowly pushed himself upright. His muscles felt heavy, but it was nothing like the agony he remembered. As his feet touched the floor, they sank into the thick fabric of the rug.

"Barefoot?"

He blinked, looking down at himself. His shredded Ranger uniform was gone and replaced with loose white sleeping clothes that felt really comfortable against his skin. When he sniffed them, he picked up a feminine floral fragrance.

Rhos pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Ah, fuck. Did I get stripped naked by a crazy woman again?"

On the upside, he woke up with clothes this time. But just to be sure he discreetly checked underneath the oversized shirt to confirm if he was wearing trousers as well.

"If you’re awake, make yourself comfortable in the kitchen. I’ll be there in a moment"

Rhos straightened up immediately at the sound of a woman’s calm voice. He looked toward the hallway it came from while saying nothing.

He hadn’t even realized there was someone here. Whoever lived here was absurdly good at hiding their presence or his senses were still foggy.

Still, curiosity outweighed caution. There didn’t seem to be any malice in her tone to warrant suspicion. So he stood up and made his way to the kitchen.

The apartment wasn’t particularly large, so the kitchen connected directly to the living room, separated only by a long wooden counter with 3 stools tucked beneath it.

He pulled one back and sat down.

Seconds stretched into nearly a minute before soft footsteps finally reached his ears. A young woman that looked around his age emerged from the hallway.

Short ash blonde hair framed her face unevenly, several longer strands hanging beside hollow pink eyes. Beneath them were dark circles which made it difficult to tell whether she had just woken up or she hadn’t slept in several days.

Some of her petite figure was hidden beneath an oversized shirt that slipped off one shoulder and a simple black underwear.

With a quiet yawn, she walked toward the refrigerator, opened it and reached inside to retrieve a chilled can.

Pssht!

The tab popped open. She tilted her head back and drank nearly half the contents in one go. Only then did she let out a small satisfied breath.

Afterwards, she finally acknowledged the young man who had been silently watching her. Her expression barely changed. She pulled the tab closer to her lips before asking;

"Tell me... what you would like for breakfast?"