That day was quite ordinary.
It was a fairly plain, uneventful day.
From the radio I was listening to idly.
Until that story started flowing from it.
"It's very unfortunate, but,"
"today the Earth ends,"
"a president of some country"
"speaks through tears, until then."
Outside, a traffic jam swallows the sky as huge birds fill it.
Swallowing the crescent moon, it heads somewhere.
The game I was playing has no save.
Reference books sit mostly untouched on the desk.
I quickly put on the headphones, as if to quiet my trembling body.
An entry for an unknown artist
The number with an unknown title
Suddenly flows into my ear
"You want to survive, don't you?"
The writhing world arena
Skyscrapers swaying like waves
This voice, undeniable, no matter how you listen
Is the voice of my own that I've grown tired of hearing.
"If you cross that hill, in twenty seconds
You'll inevitably know what it means."
"Don't doubt it. If you listen closely, twenty seconds ahead."
[Full Version Continues]
The intersection is, of course, gridlocked
Age and gender no longer matter.
It fills with shouting and the cries of babies
People rampage, a girl begins to cry
I pass the praying priest
The only one I aim for is the opposite direction
Beyond that hill
The voice still comes from the headphones
"There are twelve minutes left," it says
If everything were to disappear like this, there would be no more recourse.
The rising chorus of screams
For ten seconds, with tear-filled eyes, I skim past
I want to doubt it, but no matter who or how
The endless anthem of humanity
"Run through it, there's only one minute left."
To the point that you can no longer hear that phrase.
Beyond the hill I had been aiming for
Is right there in front of me
I reached it, breathless
In front of a wall that reflects the sky
There, in white coats, the scientists
"Wonderful," they clapped
I doubt it.
From there, the cityscape looked
Just like a laboratory.
"It's no longer necessary."
The scientist casually threw a bomb.
In the small world inside the box
I realize we've lived like this all along.
The things that had been a city burning away
I simply watch, dumbfounded, at my ear.
From beyond the headphones
"Sorry," a voice said.