**Back on Earth**
"The Tiger's Monitor Guild raid camera feed is ranking number one, sir!"
The excitement in the young reporter's voice was almost tangible as he delivered the news, but his superior's response was tinged with an unease that hadn't been there in years. The old man, seated at his cluttered desk, lifted his weary eyes from the paperwork in front of him, a frown creasing his forehead.
"Number one? That's the first time since... then," he murmured, his voice trailing off as memories of past horrors surfaced.
Without another word, the manager of the Country Hunter's TV rose from his seat, his joints creaking in protest. He needed to see for himself what was causing such a stir. Pushing through the crowded newsroom, he made his way toward the large flat-screen TV mounted on the far wall. Reporters were clustered around it, their faces reflecting a mixture of disbelief and horror.
As he finally caught sight of the screen, his blood ran cold.
"Oh, shit! What the hell is happening... Are they all dying?" His hand instinctively flew to his mouth as the gruesome scene played out before him. A young woman's skull was crushed like a fragile egg under the monstrous fist of a towering Fatek, her lifeless body crumpling to the ground in a pool of blood.
It wasn't just her. All around her, hunters were falling like flies, their bodies torn apart by the Fateks that seemed to emerge from the very walls.
'This is insane. No wonder it's ranking number one,' the manager thought, his heart pounding in his chest. The whole world was watching this massacre unfold in real-time, unable to tear their eyes away from the carnage.
For years, cameras had been implanted into the gear of hunters entering alien portals, broadcasting their battles to the world. It had started as a way to raise awareness, to rally support for the hunters risking their lives. But now, it felt like something much darker—an unintentional snuff film that everyone was glued to, horrified but unable to look away.
"Dear God," someone whispered, echoing the manager's thoughts.
***
Annie Teras felt like she was in a nightmare she couldn't wake up from.
She had been in her college dorm, hanging out with friends, when the emergency broadcast had interrupted their evening. Her heart had skipped a beat when she saw the Tiger's Monitor Guild's raid ranking number one—her brother Axel's guild.
'His sister... oh God, how is she going to handle this? And his mother... what about her? Her hospital bills are already overdue... without him... they're both going to suffer, aren't they?'
The nurse wiped her eyes quickly, trying to push those thoughts aside as she headed down the hall. She had to check on Axel's mother, the frail old woman who had been fighting for her life just as her son had been doing on that alien warship. The thought made her heart twist painfully.
When she entered the room, she was relieved to see that the old woman was sleeping peacefully. The tray beside her bed was empty for the first time in days. Maybe things were looking up for her, the nurse thought, forcing a smile.
'She must be getting better. Maybe she won't need those ten years the doctor mentioned after all.'
The nurse moved quietly, not wanting to disturb the patient. But as she turned to leave, something caught her eye. The television mounted on the wall—she was sure she hadn't left it on.
'What the...?'
Her blood ran cold as she read the words on the screen:
**Hunter's TV viewers discretion... Please read the news via paper.**
The tray slipped from her fingers, clattering loudly to the floor. The nurse's breath caught in her throat as she turned slowly, her heart pounding in her chest. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.
"No... please, no," she whispered, stepping closer to the bed. Her eyes locked onto the heart monitor, the steady beeps that had been her reassurance now eerily silent.
The monitor flatlined, a long, piercing tone echoing in the room.
The nurse's legs gave out, and she collapsed beside the bed, her hands trembling as she reached for the woman's cold, lifeless hand.
"D-Doctor!" she screamed, her voice filled with a despair that echoed through the empty corridors of the hospital.
Axel's mother was dead, and the nurse knew that it wasn't just her body that had given out. She had died of a broken heart, the moment her son's life had been taken so cruelly.
In that cold, sterile room, the world felt like it had stopped, leaving nothing but the echoes of lives shattered by tragedy.