Eternal Malediction (RE)

Except not the London they knew. Smoke rose from distant chimneys while old brick buildings stretched across the horizon beneath a hazy orange sky. The roads were narrower with stone pathways and vintage shopfronts.

Everything looked worn with age yet alive with movement. The city breathed differently compared to the modern world.

Tanaka stared upward blankly. ”...Why does everything look like a history documentary from history class?”

”Because it’s the eighties,” Roy answered.

People filled the streets with men in old-fashioned coats and women carrying shopping bags. Music drifted faintly from nearby stores. Nobody paid the group much attention beyond brief curious glances due to their accent and clothing.

To the people of 1985 London, they probably just looked like exhausted travellers. Which worked in their favour.

Kaelen quickly divided responsibilities. ”We need three things immediately,” he said.

”Food. Shelter. Information.”

Orion crossed his arms. ”And the missing survivors.”

Kaelen nodded once. ”Yes.”

Graham just stood beside them nodding, mainly because he didn’t want to take the lead and the extra responsibilities.

So, the group split into smaller teams.

Search parties moved through nearby districts looking for anyone who might have been teleported separately.

The Celestial Watch members naturally took leadership because people trusted strength, and after everything they survived, strength mattered more than comfort, except Graham, of course.

Roy ended up grouped with Kieran, Tanaka, Graham, and several others while they searched through crowded streets.

The city felt surreal with children playing beside old stone roads. Newspapers displayed dates from 1985. Posters advertised old films and political campaigns.

Everything confirmed it.

This was real and not an illusion. Somehow... they had been thrown backward in time. They found survivors gradually.

As evening began its approach, exhaustion settled heavily across the group. They eventually regrouped near a quieter district further from central London.

Kaelen counted everyone carefully. ”Still, there might be a few missing near where we all grouped up.”

The group has already told the other members as to what occurred in the trail chambers; nobody liked hearing that, but it must be said, as information is key to everyone.

Using their combined valuables, the group eventually managed to secure a large countryside cabin several miles outside the city.

It was old, wooden, and crowded; however, it was safe for now.

The walk there forced them through the centre of a massive public rally. By then the sun had already begun lowering.

Approximately four in the afternoon. Crowds filled the streets carrying signs and banners while voices echoed loudly through the city.

”PEACE FOR ALL!”

”END THE VIOLENCE!”

Music played somewhere deeper within the crowd. Speakers stood atop temporary stages delivering speeches to hundreds of gathered civilians. The atmosphere contrasted violently against everything the survivors had experienced. Hopefulness, passion but overall human

Roy slowed slightly while observing the rally. It was interesting. People shouting for peace while standing in a world completely built upon violence. How ironic isn’t it?

Mella looked around curiously from beside him, hand in hand. ”...What’s happening?”

”A rally,” Roy answered.

”For what?”

”People trying to convince the world to stop being terrible.”

”Does it work?”

Roy looked toward the crowd who were jumping and agreeing with the speaker, as if it were going to do anything about it. ”...No.”

Nearby, Graham watched the rally silently, and unlike the others, his expression carried something colder. Thoughtfulness. One speaker’s voice echoed loudly through the streets.

”We must build a future free from conflict! A world where humanity stands together in peace! For the present and for our future Londoners”

The crowd cheered, and Graham smiled faintly. ”A peaceful world doesn’t exist,” he said quietly.

Roy glanced toward him. ”All these people throwing away their lives chasing an illusion.”

The cheering continued around them, and Graham spoke to the group. ”A world without conflict cannot exist while human desire exists.”

His voice remained calm. ”No greed. No envy. No fear. No ambition.”

Then his eyes shifted toward the distant skyline. ”Peace built upon human ideals is fragile because humans themselves are fragile.”

Kieran listened quietly beside him.

Graham continued. ”These people call for harmony while standing atop centuries of violence that allowed them the freedom to speak at all, the slavery they have pushed onto others, and the oppression.”

The contradiction fascinated him. ”I will show the world a true form of peace one day.”

Tanaka blinked. ”That sounded slightly evil.”

”A little,” Roy admitted.

Graham laughed it off softly. ”Perhaps.”

Then another speaker began shouting passionately into the microphone. ”LOVE IS STRONGER THAN WAR!”

Roy physically recoiled. ”...That sentence cringes him physically.”

Tanaka nodded seriously. ”I agree.”

Meanwhile, Ethan quietly held Lily’s hand while they moved through the crowd behind them. Roy unfortunately noticed again. Disgusting. Actually unbearable.

Eventually, the group finally escaped the overwhelming crowd and continued toward the countryside. The cabin waited near the edge of a wooded area a mile beyond the city. Large enough for everyone.

Barely.

The building looked old but sturdy. A wooden two-floor structure surrounded by overgrown grass and crooked fencing. The owner accepted their money with very few questions.

Probably because Kaelen handled the conversation, people naturally trusted her and somehow liked her.

As night slowly approached, the survivors finally entered the cabin together. Exhaustion immediately spread through the group.

Some collapsed onto chairs. Others sat silently against walls. Several people looked close to tears simply from relief. They were alive and they had shelter.

And for the first time since the that pull... Things almost felt stable.

Almost.

Roy quietly stood near one of the windows while looking outside. The sunset stretched across the distant fields in shades of orange and gold.

It was beautiful and unfamiliar due to the reduced amount of light pollution.

Kieran eventually walked over beside him.

Neither spoke immediately.

Then Kieran quietly asked. ”What are you thinking about?”

Roy stared out toward the darkening horizon. ”...That this situation is absurd.”

”Fair.”

A brief silence followed.

Then Roy spoke again. ”If this really is the past...”

His eyes narrowed slightly. ”...Then history itself might not be stable anymore.”

Kieran frowned slightly. ”You think we can change things?”

”I think we already have.”

The thought settled heavily between them.

Because somewhere out there... The future they remembered might already be disappearing.

And neither of them knew what that truly meant.