Chapter 1: The End

[New York City, United States, 8:13 PM]

The streets buzzed with voices. Unsettled conversations wove through the crowd, passing hushed whispers from one person to another.

A murmur rippled through the throng, "Did you see the news?"

Mobile phones chimed and buzzed with a relentless onslaught of notifications.

Ping: ["Crisis in Tokyo"]

Ping-Ping: ["Tokyo: 13 Million Casualties"]

[Barcelona, Spain, 2:53 AM]

In a small apartment, a lone figure was hunched over a laptop, the bright screen casting an light glow on his face. His eyes, wide with disbelief, scrolled through his news feed as he hovered near the window, seeking the comfort of the moonlight.

[Tokyo: No Survivors?]

[Moscow, Russia, 3:04 AM]

A security guard huddled in conversation with a colleague, their breath fogging up in the cold Moscow night.

"Man, you've got to see this!"

"Yeah, I saw it already. 13 million dead in a single night. Terrifying, isn't it?"

[Tokyo, Japan, 10:26 AM]

Overlooking the devastated city, a solitary figure stood at the apex of a stairway. The man, clad in a biohazard suit, cradled his helmet under one arm while the other held a slowly burning cigarette. He seemed to be in contemplation as he surveyed the disheartening scene of rescue teams frantically moving bodies and searching for survivors.

He drew in a long breath of smoke, filling his lungs with the harsh nicotine and the underlying dread of the situation. "One single night, thirty minutes, all electronic devices rendered useless, a city of life turned into a city of death..." His voice trailed off into the grim morning air.

Exhaling a cloud of smoke, he closed his eyes and murmured, "How can I make sense of all of this?" The unanswered question hung heavily in the smoke-filled air, echoing of the city's inexplicable tragedy.

Engrossed in his own reflections, Takamura barely registered the sound of approaching footsteps until another man materialized beside him, wrestling with his own helmet.

"Can't breathe in these things," the newcomer grumbled as he stood beside the first man. He squinted at the bleak scene before turning towards him. "Any new leads, Takamura-san?" He queried.

Takamura took his time to answer. He calmly puffed on his cigarette until it was spent, then tossed it onto the blood-stained ground beneath him. He stared at it for a moment, the smoldering stub serving as a potent symbol of the extinguished lives around them.

"Nothing yet. This is so unusual..." He finally replied, a sad look etched onto his face.

The other man exhaled a worried breath, "Could this be some kind of virus or something?" He asked, desperate for an explanation.

Takamura, silent once more, descended the stairs with a fresh cigarette between his lips. The other man, followed him until they came to a stop beside the corpse of a young man.

"Minato-san, do you see these slashes on his back?" Takamura gestured towards the corpse.

Minato nodded, acknowledging the cruel marks. "Those are clean cuts. They were made with a very sharp object, each strike targeting vital body organs," he observed.

After a moment, he looked up, his eyes reflecting a grave understanding. "This was a mass murder, not some sort of natural disaster," he declared, the weight of the revelation bearing down on them both.

"Mass murder!" Minato echoed incredulously. "But how is that even possible? In less than 30 minutes?" He stammered, attempting to reconcile the gruesome reality with the limitations of his understanding.

"I know, that's what's been gnawing at me... How can 13 million people be murdered in such an insanely short time..." Takamura added grimly. "And besides all electronic devices being fried, the city infrastructure is completely unscathed!"

Lost in their depressing speculations and observing the rescue teams working feverishly in a desperate attempt to locate any survivors, Takamura's phone disrupted the eerie silence.

"Hello, Sato-san," Takamura answered, his voice low and cautious.

"It's happened again, Takamura-san! Everyone is dead! This time it's New Delhi, India!" Sato's voice pierced through the phone, trembling with shock.

The horrifying pattern of Tokyo's tragedy had repeated itself in New Delhi. The same inexplicable event, the same staggering loss of life, the same mass murder.

"What!" Takamura exclaimed, his blood running cold at the chilling news.