The Year is 20XX
Added 2021-02-02 17:42:34 +0000 UTCThe year is 20XX. Everybody plays Ness. Life is suffering and the living envy the dead. In the perpetual gloom of this stillborn planet, I search for a home I know I will not find. A scream pierces the endless cacophony of death and decay, a cry that haunts my dreams: "PK Fire."
The cold wind blows over a desolate landscape as if to scream in anguish. From the hill, I see a solitary figure walking toward me. He is dressed in a gray robe, his footsteps tinged by the dust of the dead. He approaches me, and in his hand, he holds a candle which bears the symbol of mourning. I know not who he is, but he calls me by a name I do not know.
"Remember the Dead," he says. "The time has come to remember, and so you will."
"How can I remember them?", I ask. "I can't even remember who I am."
"In due time, you will remember everything. For you alone have the power to bring us back from the brink. You must show the world what is worth fighting for."
"But I," I begin, my voice trailing off. "I can remember now. I remember my parents. I remember the screams. I remember the blood in the snow. I remember the great, terrible fire that engulfed us all. There were others. I remember. I remember my brothers and sisters. They cried and they screamed and I could not help."
"You couldn't have saved them. Nobody could," the figure interjects.
I begin to cry. The hooded figure puts his arm on my shoulder. "When the time comes, boy, you will be ready. But not a second sooner."
"But what am I supposed to do?", I cry, holding back tears.
"Do what you always have. Just keep fighting."
The figure began to walk away, then turned back. "And remember the Dead, boy. Always remember."
