Prologue: The Sacrifice

It is the year 2071. Mankind is on the brink of extinction as it faces a threat that appeared over 20 years ago. Terrifying beings that devour anything and everything, including their own kind. Some called them Gods while others called them monsters; however the whole world would come to know them under a single name…

Aragami.

My name is Kamino Yukimoto and this is my… No, our story.

The story of the God Eaters.

Before I became a God Eater, I was raised in an orphanage somewhere in Malaysia, just outside the Fenrir Western Malaysia Branch. From what the owners told me, I am half-Chinese and half-Japanese. My parents were killed during an Aragami attack, and I was one of the only survivors. I never thought about it much, never having the chance to meet them. I was more concerned with why was I born in such a place.

No, I don't mean the orphanage. I meant the world we leave in now, full of Aragami. Every day, we live in fear of an Aragami attack, wondering whether the place we live has sufficient protection. Sure we did have a number of God Eaters and an Anti-Aragami Armored wall, but even God Eaters can be killed by the Aragami and the walls have been breached before, meaning we have no sure way of maintaining our survival. I personally saw that happen at a young age. Before that, I thought the peace we live in could last forever, as naive as any little kid could be. Just wish the wake call wasn't so... drastic. I was envious of the Gods Eaters, given the ability to fight. For us normal folks, all we could do was worry all the time since we had no way to defend ourselves.

Is the wall secure? Are we really safe? Did they post enough Gods Eaters to protect us? And whatnot. Over time, I actually grew to resent the Gods Eaters. That's right, I wanted nothing to do with them.

So how did I end up having the determination to become one? To get where I am now?

Well surprisingly, the determination to become a God Eater came when I was 6 years old. Yeah... that was when I met HIM…

Remember when I said that the wall had been breached before? Well, it happened again. Several Ogretails have managed to bypass the wall and were wrecking havoc all over the place. Everyone was either dead or trying to run away from the Aragami. Me? I was outside the orphanage when it happened. I could barely remember it now. I hid, I ran, I was scared out of my wits. But what I do remember was being impaled through the chest by a spike, and lying on the ground barely alive. An Ogretail was standing right next to me with its mouth and I thought, 'I finally get to leave this God-forsaken world."

I was wrong.

The Ogretail was stabbed by a huge sword through the head, a God Arc as I recall my tutor had told me, the only weapon in existence that can kill Aragami. My 'savior' was a man, I think in his thirties, though I could barely make out his face with my blurring vision. In silence, I cursed whatever deity that was watching me right now for prolonging my torment. It wasn't enough that you didn't let me die, but you let a Gods Eater, a fricking GODS EATER save my life to boot? Did I offended you in my past life or something?

"You alright, kid? Damn, you're a tough one." He said as he gently picked me up. I didn't want to be rescued, I wanted to DIE. Oblivious to my thoughts, he quickly brought me to one of his teammates in nearby building, a male medic who then treated my wounds. Yet, another Gods Eater I owe my life to.

"This kid's tough. A spike to the chest and he's still clinging to life. Good thing you found him in time, Prophet." The medic remarked as he bandaged my wound. The man called Prophet nodded his head. I was pretty weak and barely able to move, but the pain kept me awake. The medic finished patching me up and went to look for more survivors and wounded while Prophet remained.

"..et..ie" I muttered. Prophet heard it and came closer, "What is it kid? Are you trying to say something?" Struggling to get up, I repeated what I said a little louder.

"You should have let me die."

Upon hearing that Prophet frowned, "I can't do that and you shouldn't think like that either." I glared at him. What do you know about me? You're a God Eater, one of the chosen who can fight the Aragami. What do you know about what it's like living day after day, fearing and attacked from them? At least you can fight back. As if reading my thoughts, he said, "Hey kid, let me tell you something. All God Eaters was once a normal person like you and they have loved ones who were killed by Aragami. That didn't stop them from living. In fact, some God Eaters died in the line of duty." I looked at Prophet, puzzled as to why he would tell me stuff my tutor already taught me. "Hey kid, you got a name?" he asked suddenly.

"…. Kamino. Kamino Yukimoto." I wasn't sure why he wanted to know my name, but it's not like he could do anything even if he knew.

A roar from outside caught Prophet's attention and he went outside with his God-Arc. Apparently the Ogretails had found us; Prophet smirked as he glanced at me. "We got company, and they look like they're eager for party. I don't want to disappoint them, so wait here."

I rolled my eyes with that last part, I couldn't move due to my injuries and my consciousness was fading. Knowing that the God Eater would not let me die, I closed my eyes. I woke up a few minutes later when something wet splashed on my face. Thinking it was Aragami blood, I opened my eyes to find I was half-right.

It was blood, just not Aragami's. And it belonged to Prophet.

The God Eater stood just beside me, his blood dripping from several chest wounds made by Ogretail spikes. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he grinned at me. "Guess I showed them, huh?" I couldn't say anything due to the shock I was having. "You shouldn't give up so easily just because things look hopeless. If everybody did that, there wouldn't be any humans left, would there?" It took a while for me to process that, but I understood what he meant. If that had happen, Fenrir wouldn't have existed. Neither would the Gods Eaters nor God Arcs.

Hell, I wouldn't even be here.

Collapsing just beside me, Prophet looked at me, "As you can see, I'm practically a dead man walking now; I don't have much time left." Popping up a cigarette, he lit it with a lighter before turning to me, "I want you to promise me something, Kamino. That you would live your life to the fullest and protect those important to you and others. Do the things you wanna do, do the things you can do. I can't do all that anymore but you can, in my place. Make it a life worth living for. Can you do that, kid? Can you promise me?" Tears trailed down my cheeks as I nodded in understanding. Prophet blew a small cloud, frowning, "Nodding ain't enough, kid. I need to hear say it. I gave you my life, wouldn't heard to hear a verbal confirmation." Slowly getting up and wiping my tears, I said out loud, "I promise you, Prophet. No matter what happens, I'll keep on living my life with no regrets." my voice started to choke. Good, good." Prophet smiled as he brought cigarette to his mouth, only to cough up blood. "Oh to hell with this…" He flung the cigarette to the side, "Oh, and one last piece of advice… Whatever happens to you…"

I could barely make out his last words when the God Eater closed his eyes. At that moment I knew he was dead. Moments later, the medic from before along with several God Eaters arrived. I blankly looked at them then back to Prophet, my promise to him fresh within my mind…

It's a funny thing. I saw several Gods Eaters die before, yet it took one particular Gods Eater to change my view of life and teach me what it really is all about. But, I guess that's what sacrifice really is. You're not giving something up; you're just passing it on. And while Prophet died, he left me something truly invaluable. Something irreplaceable, just like life itself.

That was 10 years ago. I had long left the orphanage and travelled the world. True that it has its risks, but what I've seen and experienced made it all worthwhile. I had tried several Fenrir Branches along the way, to see if I was a match for a Bias Factor. Unfortunately, it never happened and I left feeling disappointed with myself. Now I'm staying in the Outer Ghetto, close to the Fenrir Far East Branch, doing odd jobs for a living. At times I would look at the sky, I would sometimes think to myself that I'd probably never become a Gods Eater, that I'd never get the chance to protect others and I truly believed that.

Until an official from Fenrir arrived one day and told me that I am a match as a New-Type God Eater. While I was puzzled by the term 'New-Type', I quickly accepted, eager to follow in my savior's, Prophet's footsteps. That day, I thank the same deity that had Prophet save my life for giving me this chance.

And with that, my life as a God Eater had begun.

...

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