Chapter 120: There was Nothing, Everything was Nothing

Once upon a time.

There was nothing.

So everything was nothing.

Then, with nothing...

A bang!

Came in...

A huge explosion.

Then suddenly, nothing became something.

Since nothing was everything, something became everything.

The Seven Gods and Goddesses came from nothing, so they were everything.

With their great power, they dotted nothingness with the twinkle of the stars.

Celestial bodies with unimaginable sizes materialized upon their whim.

Thus, the world was created.

=Page End=

'What the fuck is this nonsense?' Calvin couldn't help but curse.

He flipped open the next page and the title of the page was...

The First Cataclysm.

"Oh, I heard Captain mention something about the First Cataclysm..." Calvin's interest was piqued.

His eyes were glued to the page as he started reading.

The world was born but without any creatures. The Seven Gods and Goddesses quickly became bored. But without a prototype to create the very first creatures. They pondered, 'Just how can we create these creatures when we have no idea what they should look like and what they should do?'

A dilemma descended upon the omniscient and omnipotent Gods.

But then the Goddess of All-Encompassing Light proposed, 'How about we make the very first creatures on our own likeness? Surely, we would be pleased by them too if they look like us?'

The Goddess's proposal was accepted and thus, the very first creature was made.

The creature was no man, nor animal, it was a beast.

A beast made based on the image of the God of War and Infighting— It was a beast of enormous proportions and it had the ability to swallow the moon. Thus, it was named— Bakunawa.

With the creation of the Bakunawa came the creation of other creatures based on its image. The world became filled with beasts, and the gods designed an eco-system where the strong would eat the weak, while the weak would eat what was weaker than them.

But then, millions of years later...

Something happened.

A great explosion occurred somewhere out there in the cosmos.

It created a rift in space which became the reason why there were so many unusual creatures in the world today.

These creatures were including but not limited to moonwraiths, bloodwraiths, ghouls, and vampires.

The great cataclysm also, known as the First Cataclysm became the reason why these monsters became trapped in the dimension and material plane where the world of Las Felipinas exists.

Calvin's eyes wandered over to the next paragraph but he discovered that there was none.

"What...?"

"That was it?"

"I need answers! Where's the rest of it?"

Calvin flipped to the next page but he discovered that the next page was filled with nothing but gibberish and theories from the author as to why the First Cataclysm had occurred.

Seeing the crazy theories that the author made, Calvin felt a headache. So this is what I am going to summarize and turn into more understandable texts, eh? So this is my job?'

Calvin perused the document and pondered if the author of the book ever thought about how humans came to being.

Why were the humans created?

Were the humans also based on the first primordial creature, Bakunawa?

'The Seven Gods and Goddesses came from nothing? That sounds bullshit. Someone ought to have created them. You can't just create things from nothing.' Calvin rolled his eyes perusing the line that said something about the appearance of the Seven Gods and Goddesses.

'But the million pesos question is... Who was it that created the Seven Gods and Goddesses?' Calvin though hard and long, but he couldn't find the answer to his question. It was understandable though, for no one— maybe even the Seven Gods and Goddesses knew about who created them.

Calvin felt his head hurt. He stood up and closed the book.

Then, he approached the lever beside the shelves and brought it down with one fell swoop.

A few seconds later, the wall turned transparent and Calvin hesitatingly passed through it. When he realized what just happened— he found himself standing in the kitchen of the Captivating Fragrance Coffee Shop.

"Wheeew... I'm back... That was such a weird sensation." Calvin subconsciously shivered. It was obvious that he disliked the feeling of being shifted through dimensions. He walked out of the kitchen and saw Bruce, James, and Ron Samuel playing cards.

"Oh, you're back? How is it, can you handle it?" Ron Samuel asked.

Calvin nodded his head, "Yes, I can handle it just fine."

"All right, then you can officially start tomorrow." Ron Samuel casually replied. Then, he slammed a card onto the table and cried out, "Reverse Sweep! You lose!"

"No, no, no... Captain! Using that card is cheating! Where are your morals?"

"What morals? This is war! There are no morals in war! Hahaha!" Ron Samuel boisterously laughed and then swiftly collected the coins on top of the table. Turning to look at Calvin, he hurled a few joselian coins at him and said, "Take it, it's your wage for today. Five pesos."

Calvin nervously caught the coins in mid-air. It was astonishing, even for him that he managed to catch five simultaneously flying coins while they were in the air.

"Wow... You sure have some skills." Ashlynn praised with a smile.

Calvin scratched his cheek in embarrassment, "Well, thank you..."

"Hehe..." Ashlynn let out a grin witnessing Calvin's innocent reply. She wanted to tease him even further, but James's stern words brought her back to the game.

"What's with the lollygagging? The second round is already starting! Place your bets!"

"Ah! Wait, I want to join!"

Calvin observed the Cavaliers having fun with their cards. Slightly bowing towards their direction, Calvin then existed the Captivating Fragrance Coffee Shop. But as soon as Calvin came out of the coffee shop. The rowdy group of Cavaliers turned silent at once.

Ashlynn looked at Ron Samuel and asked, "Captain, did you see that?"

Ron Samuel nodded, "Yeah... Those movements. He's not someone ordinary."

"What do you mean, Captain? Are you saying that he's still possessed?" Bruce asked.

Ron Samuel shook his head, "I had my suspicions earlier and that is the reason why I brought him to the Library. But when he came out of the library looking fine. It's obvious that he's no longer possessed..."

"All of you do know about the number of talismans and formations in that Library, right? Not even a rat can get inside that library without permission."

The Cavaliers firmly nodded.

But if Calvin wasn't possessed, just what were those movements?

The Cavalier fell into deep contemplation.

At this moment, they all had a single thought.

Calvin was a man that wasn't so simple.

Near the Yang Bridge, Calvin was walking towards the direction of the Northern Borough.

He forgot to hail a carriage-taxi for he was too shocked as to what had happened earlier.

Even for him, his movements when catching those coins earlier was too fast.

It was the first time that he witnessed himself exhibiting such movements.

Staring at his hands, Calvin thought to himself.

Just what kind of a person am I before I lost my memories after that possession?

Am I a human?

Or am I a monster?

He carried these thoughts with him as he continued his journey.

Soon, he arrived at Hampaslupa Street, but upon arrival near the small hut where he lived. Calvin could hear the familiar stifled sobbings of Cecilia. Charlotte's loud protests and cries could also be heard within the small hut.

"Please... I'm begging you... I will pay you money... I will pay you double— no triple the rent every month. Just don't do this to us... At least... Spare my daughter! Don't kill her!" Charlotte's voice was begging.

"You should've handed it over... It's been three months since you last paid your rent... I don't want to force you either, but you know how things work in this shithole... It's either you die, or you pay!"

Calvin's pupils constricted.

He directly kicked the wooden doors of the hut and as soon as it collapsed...

The scene that he saw in the house immediately ignited his anger.

There, on the ground was Charlotte who was being pinned by a man who seemed to be a mountain of fat due to how huge he was. Breathing roughly, the knife he held in his hand was placed close to Charlotte's neck. His eyes radiated not any other desire than the desire to kill.

However, he abruptly stopped upon hearing the noise.

On the other side, Cecilia was also being pinned onto the ground by another man. Her mouth and cries were being sealed by the man's hand as the man licked the knife that he held in his hand and was about to plunge it into Cecilia's neck to silence the little girl forever.

Seeing the despicable scene in front of him...

Something was unlocked in Calvin's mind.

His eyes instantly turned bloodshot as he gave a guttural growl reminiscent to that of a beast.

"Bastards..."

"You're dead!"