Morning arrived. Khai woke up from his deep sleep and headed to the bathroom.
While he was freshening up, Khai caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror, showing off his muscular physique.
"Wow. Who is that handsome guy? Look at all the muscles on his body. So tempting!" Khai praised himself.
"What are you doing in there?"
Ilyas, who was standing outside the bathroom, overheard Khai talking to himself.
"Aw come on, can't I even compliment myself a little?"
"Hurry up. After you're done showering, meet me outside. Pack your stuff too. We're continuing our journey today."
"Ugh, yeah yeah. So pushy," Khai replied.
After freshening up, Khai packed his clothes and sleeping bag. Then, he met up with Ilyas, who was waiting in front of a small convenience store.
"Before we continue our journey, Khai."
"Yeah?"
"Have you noticed any changes in your body?" Ilyas asked.
"Hm… Now that you mention it, I just realized. My body feels unusually light. Like a leaf blown by the wind."
"That means your body is now ready to start learning how to control the Evo-Virus, said Ilyas."
"Seriously? Didn't you say it would take three weeks?"
"Yeah, I did say that. But last night, I checked the Evo-Virus inside your body..."
"...And I didn't expect it to activate so quickly."
"That means I've got talent, right?!"
"You could say that."
"Let's gooo!"
"Now I can finally teach you how to control the Evo-Virus..."
"… First of all, I want you to know this, the main medium to control the Evo-Virus is this."
Ilyas pointed his index finger to his head.
"The brain?"
"Yes. Brain is a crucial medium for controlling the Evo-Virus. I'm not the type who likes giving long-winded explanations, so I'll keep it simple…"
"... First, I'll teach you how to enhance your senses. There are five important human senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch..."
"... You've seen how I can detect living creatures from afar—that's because my sense of hearing has been enhanced."
"Oh, I get it."
"Now, close your eyes."
Khai closed his eyes.
"Listen to my voice. Don't think about anything else. We're going to try enhancing your sense of hearing first..."
"... Focus the Evo-Virus in your body, guide it toward your ears. Let it flow into the epithelial cells and the nerve cells inside your ears."
Khai concentrated with all his strength, trying to channel the Evo-Virus toward his ears.
After several minutes of trying, he stopped to take a short break.
"Hah... hah... hah... Il, why does my body feel so exhausted? I didn't do any physical activity right now," Khai asked, catching his breath.
"Our bodies will slowly adapt to the Evo-Virus inside us. Right now, the Evo-Virus has become an essential energy source for your body..."
"... When you do anything using the Evo-Virus, it's basically like using your hands or any other part of your body. It tires you out the same way."
"Oh."
After regaining his energy, Khai tried once more to channel the Evo-Virus toward his ears.
"Calm your mind as you guide the Evo-Virus. If your thoughts wander and you lose focus, the Evo-Virus might flow into your brain— and that's not a good sign..."
"... Focus all your thoughts on the Evo-Virus inside your body. Guide it specifically toward your ears."
Khai tried to clear his mind, focusing entirely on the Evo-Virus.
But after several minutes, he still couldn't get it to flow into his ears.
"That's enough. For now, take a break. We'll continue our journey after you've rested."
"Hah... hah... hah... okay..." Khai replied, lying weakly on the ground, completely exhausted.
After resting for about 10 minutes, they resumed their journey to Teluk Intan.
Along the way, Ilyas asked Khai to keep trying to channel the Evo-Virus toward his ears as they walked.
Throughout their journey, they didn't see a single person still alive in the area.
"Woah, this place has turned into a ghost town. It used to be one of the liveliest spots compared to anywhere else. Now, I can't even see a single ant," Khai remarked.
"Because it used to be overcrowded and hot, it's highly likely that most of the people here ended up undergoing monstorization," Ilyas replied.
Before they could leave the town area, suddenly...
Waa... waa... waa!
"Il, did you hear that?"
"Yeah."
"What's that sound?"
The crying sound echoed once again, catching both Ilyas and Khai's attention. They searched for the source of the crying.
Ilyas and Khai spotted a baby girl, wounded and soaked in blood, abandoned in the arms of a woman's corpse.
The woman had died from blood loss due to injuries caused by a demigon attack.
Waa... waa... waa!
"Il, there's an abandoned baby!"
They found a piece of paper on top of the baby.
To anyone who reads this letter... I ask for your help in taking care of my child. While my husband and I were on our way back home from the hospital after the birth of our first child, suddenly, the people on the road turned into monsters. We tried to escape, but we had an accident. My husband tried to carry me, as I was injured in the stomach, and our child, but the monsters saw us running. My husband tried to hold them off and told me to escape with our child. That's what led to my husband's death, as the monsters attacked him. I don't think I can survive much longer due to the wound on my stomach. I hope you can take care of my child in this broken world. Forgive me, my child. I can't take care of you. I hope you meet kind people who can take care of you.
From,
Carmilla
Ilyas and Khai turned the paper over and saw the name of the baby girl written on the back: Luna, along with her birthdate: 20/12/24.
Khai attempted to pick up the baby, but this caused Luna to cry even louder.
"Oh Shot. Il, what should we do? This baby won't stop crying. I'm worried there might be Crawler nearby." Khai asked.
Khai didn't hear any response from Ilyas.
"Il. Are you listening..."
Khai turned to see Ilyas, his face filled with confusion and shock, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Il. Are you okay?" Khai asked.
"How..."
"Huh?"
"… How can there be a baby still alive?!"
"What do you mean? This baby is alive because she's not dead."
"Do you remember when the first Armageddon happened?"
"20/12. Why?"
"20/12 is when the Evo-Virus started spreading rapidly in the bodies of all humans, including the elderly and children..."
"... Only a few people were able to resist the Evo-Virus when it began spreading..."
"... The survival rate for people over 60 years old was only 50%, while for children it was just 10%. And for newborns born on that day, their chances of survival were..."
"… 0%."
Khai was shocked by Ilyas's statement. Both of them looked at Luna, who was still crying in the arms of her deceased mother.
"What is happening? Why is there a change in this time as well? I didn't do anything that can change the course of fate in this timeline. No...no... I have to kill this kid before any changes happen in the future."
"Seeing Ilyas lost in his own world again, Khai tried to snap him out of it."
"Il... Il... OI, ARE YOU DEAF?!"
Ilyas jolted back to his senses after Khai yelled into his ear.
"What's with you? Are you okay or not? I called you three times and you didn't hear me," Khai asked.
"I'm fine. Something just came to mind, suddenly."
"Sigh... So, what about the baby? What are we going to do with her?"
"Leave her." Ilyas replied without a hint of hesitation.
"Do you even have a heart? You're seriously okay with leaving a baby—who I don't even know how long she's survived—completely alone, in a place this dangerous, in a world that's already falling apart?" Khai shot back, a little angry.
"Remember, our goal is to get to Teluk Intan, not to pick up every abandoned kid along the way. Besides, do you even know how to take care of a baby?" Ilyas asked.
"We can figure that out later. Right now, this is about a human life."
"At this point, other human lives don't matter as much as your own. If you still want to take that baby, fine. Do what you want. Just don't follow me again." Ilyas replied coldly.
Khai knew that once Ilyas said something like that, he wouldn't hesitate to follow through.
Even though Khai couldn't bear the thought of leaving Luna behind, he didn't have the strength to argue against Ilyas.
Ilyas and Khai looked at Luna one last time before continuing their journey.
They saw a Crawler standing right behind her. The creature crept close to Luna, who was still crying in her mother's arms.
Khai tried to rush in to save Luna, but Ilyas stopped him.
"What are you doing?"
"Shh."
They watched as the Crawler simply walked around the area, not attacking Luna despite her cries.
Khai knew that Crawlers had incredibly sensitive hearing and would destroy anything that made noise.
This moment left them stunned.
After the Crawler moved away from the area, Ilyas began walking toward where Luna was.
Ilyas picked up Luna and held her close. The moment he did, Luna stopped crying.
Khai walked up to him.
"Hey, Didn't you say you were going to leave the baby behind?"
"I don't know... I feel like… there's something special about her," Ilyas replied.
"So... are you going to take care of her or not?"
Ilyas fell silent, his eyes fixed on the lifeless body of the woman before him. Still cradling Luna, he stepped toward Carmilla's side.
"Ma'am, don't worry about Luna. I'll take good care of her. Now... you can rest in peace."
Ilyas and Khai returned to Tanjung Malim to search for some supplies for Luna, along with a baby carrier.
Once they were ready, they continued their journey—with a new companion, a baby girl named Luna.
After they left, it seemed as if a tear rolled down from Carmilla's lifeless eyes.
"Thank you."
On that day, Ilyas and Khai found a baby girl named Luna— who, in the future, would come to be known as one of the Three Fallen Stars.