First Encounter.
The calm plains were calm as ever. Too calm, in fact. The silence was hellish for people who don't like staying alone. The gentle wind was comforting and painful at the same time as it meant that they still haven't come closer to exiting this hellish yet heavenly(?) place.
It had been five days since Ray and Lina entered the Calm plains. Five days of Lina being safer than ever yet still in danger. Five days of starvation for Ray though. He had long since decided to not eat a single meal until they get out of the calm plains.
Everyday, Lina ate to her heart's content. And Ray starved silently.
Even now, the bag was filled with fishes and a few fruits but Ray hasn't eaten anything.
Ray was walking like usual, carrying a bag on his back and Lina in his arms while she looked around.
"Papa," she said as she poked at his chin. "Why aren't there any animals or people here?"
"Well that's because we're in the Calm Plains." Ray told her without hesitation. He was planning to lie to her again, by the way. "In this place, everyone stays quiet. Everyone minds their own business."
"But why haven't we seen anyone yet?" she asked innocently.
"That's because everyone hide from each other to not disturb anyone." he said while smiling as always, covering his lies and hiding the truth to protect her like always.
But Lina, who was so used to his lies and never suspected a thing, was fooled once again.
"Really? But I wanted to play with someone." she exclaimed her sadness and loneliness.
But suddenly, she spotted something in the distance.
"Papa, Papa! There's something there!"
Ray looked to where she was pointing and saw a herd of small animals in the distance.
Ray sprinted towards them instantly. When he got there, he realized they were rabbits.
Calm Rabbits.
Either the one who named them was too lazy to think of something else or he just gave them an accurate name.
Calm Rabbits:
They're animals that live in the Clam Plains and are not found in any other part of the world. They're different from the usual rabbits because they don't reproduce like crazy. Calm plains is a place of comfort so the animals living there don't bother to reproduce much. They do when their colony is about to end and it desperately needs new members. They don't really have any predators as Calm Plains don't allow any.
Usually, that is.
Ray noticed blood stains on their fur. He even noticed some of them hurt on their feet as if they were running for a while from something. From a predator that should not be in the Calm Plains.
Ray looked around and he noticed something in the distance.
A group of Annihilation Anomalies. They're monsters created by the Calm Plains to annihilate a whole colony, sometimes a whole species living within it if they ever start reproducing a lot.(Rabbits be like.) They look exactly like the species they're about to annihilate but darker and with sharp teeth and more intelligence.
Thankfully, they were really far away(about a few kilometers) and hadn't noticed the ones near Ray and Lina.
"Annihilation Anomalies?" he thought to himself. "First time I've seen those."
Ray sighed and looked at Lina playing with the rabbits. While she wasn't paying attention, he picked up the rabbit that was injured before she noticed it and turned around. Before it could even make a sound, he made a knife, killed it, skinned it, and put it in his bag in just a minute. This time, he didn't let any blood on himself. And to cover whatever fell on the ground, he made a wooden plank and placed it on the ground to cover it. He then made a whole mattress and placed it on top of the plank(maximum comfort for Lina).
"Lina," he called out to her. "Come sit on the mattress. Play with them on here."
"Okay!" she picked up one of the rabbits and walked towards the mattress. The rabbit started jumping around on it. "Papa, look! It's playing."
"Yes it is. You join it too." He said as he placed the other rabbits on the mattress too and saw Lina play with them.
Seeing this scene unfold in front of his eyes, Ray's heart started aching. He wished that Lina would be happy like this her whole life. And for that to happen, he has to destroy The Crimson Null Order at all cost.
"If for Lina's sake, I would destroy not just one, but a hundred of them."
He was determined. Determined to protect Lina. Determined to protect her happiness, her innocence, and her innocent, beautiful smile that drives him to do all this. To suffer while she stays happy forever. He's determined to go through all this pain and agony once again if he has to. For both Lina and ----.