*WARNING: Strong language & graphic violence*

Volume I: Chapter IV: Symphony of Chaos:

I stood there for who knows how long until I was finally brought to my knees by the sight of my father's lifeless body as I cupped my hands over my mouth, trying to fight back the sea of emotions. I felt like a dam on the verge of collapsing or like someone had hit me in the heart with a sledgehammer. After a few interminable moments, I just placed my hands on the top of my head and pressed my forehead on the hard floor that was now wet with his still fresh blood.

"No." That was all I could bring myself to say.

I can feel myself slowly starting to lose it.

Calm down. Just please calm down. I desperately pleaded to myself in my head.

I begin to tightly grip a handful of my hair while trying to maintain myself by taking deep breaths. It wasn't working. With each breath I took, I could feel myself giving way more and more as my heart rate accelerated and my breathing quickly turned into hyperventilating. I can't take it! I'm going to break!

"No no no no NO NO NO!" I yelled, my voice breaking more and more with each "no" that managed to escape my lips.

I let out a scream of anguish while still in my current position. First my mother and now my father! This isn't real! This can't be real. This has to be some kind of nightmare. Right? Yeah. That's probably it. This must be a nightmare. I'm still dreaming. I have to be. I never woke up. None of this is real. I'm probably still sleeping right now and any second, I'm going to wake up and this day will have never happened. I close my eyes waiting for me to wake up and for the nightmare to end.

Any second now, I'll open my eyes and when I open them, I'll be staring up at the ceiling of my room, laying in my bed, and successfully escaping this nightmare. And… and I'll head downstairs, greeted by dad and Bruno, and we'll eat a nice breakfast. He'll head to work, I'll spend some time with Bruno, and I'll feed the animals with Aaron and train with my dad after the day is over. I'll open my eyes and it will just be another normal day.

I open my eyes and I am once again greeted by the body of my father, still lying in a pool of blood. Seeing my mother's knife buried in his heart felt like there was one being buried into mine as well.

No! This isn't real! I refuse to accept this as real! Wake up, Simin! Wake up! Please wake up!

I can feel my eyes start to well up with even more tears as I am now drowning in denial. I once again lower my head and face the floor. After taking a second to look at the dark, wooden surface I slam my head down, desperate to escape this nightmare. When that didn't work, I did it again and again and again, until I could feel the warm, thick, red liquid flow from my forehead. Why am I not waking up?!

"This isn't real! This isn't real! This isn't real!" I kept yelling as my voice started to break in between bashes.

At this point, the blood pouring down from my forehead was now starting to mix with my tears that were now rolling down my cheeks. Some of it even got in my mouth during one of the times I was shouting. After getting a taste of my own blood and the throbbing headache I just gave myself, I could no longer deny it. I could only bring myself to mutter, quietly, one more sentence. Three more words.

"This is real."

I'm not dreaming. This certainly isn't some figment of my imagination. This is real. This entire day was real. The breakfast, the feeding, the training, the fountain, all of it. And now, I can no longer deny that my worst fears have been realized. I am kneeling right beside the body of my recently deceased father- the same man who I just had dinner with and trained with no more than a few hours ago. The fact had finally set in. My father is dead! He's actually dead! Murdered! And there's not a damn thing I can do about it! At this point, all I could do was wail in agony over the situation as the question, "Who could have done this and why?" began to occupy my mind.

After a few moments passed, my thoughts then became interrupted by the faint, low noise of what sounded like a distant bell being rung. Wait a minute… That's not just any bell...that's the warning bell! I then heard a distant screech, followed by a very loud sound- the sound of one of the gates being broken down. It didn't take long for the silence in the streets to be replaced with the screams of people that were rushing this way like floodwaters. That must mean it was the Luna gate that was broken down judging from the direction of the initial screams of terror. It didn't take long for those screams to start to be overcome with howls and roars as they became so loud, I could barely hear Bruno who was now barking behind me.

Why is this happening? I thought to myself as I was living my nightmare all over again. It's almost as if the world itself picked this one moment for everything left in my life to start crashing down. Why tonight? Why now?

I could hear the grimm slowly, but surely, getting louder as they were starting to barrel through in hordes as they were quickly taking over Luna and, soon, the rest of Dorado. This is just like that night, three years ago. What could have brought them here- and in such numbers too? There's so many! Why are there so many? Between the death of my father and the oncoming grimm attack, I just mentally broke. I couldn't even bring myself to even think or process anything anymore. I just feel... tired. Finished. All I felt like doing now was to just sit there. And sat there I did… on my knees, staring at my father's corpse, with blood and tears now dripping from my chin that were creating a small puddle on the wooden floor as the fair moonlight filled my vacant eyes. My world as I know it is sinking. I guess I might as well go down with it.

"Agh!" I suddenly yelped in shock and surprise as I suddenly felt immense pressure on my forearm, followed by a sharp, stinging pain.

I look over and I see Bruno with his jaws clamped down onto my arm and tugging and jerking, like he was trying to pull me somewhere. It was almost as if he was trying to snap me out of my current state and was doing anything he can to try and get me out. Though it hurt, it was enough to put whatever sense I had just lost back into me. I then thought back to the words my father spoke to me earlier: "Simin, this world will push you. It will try to knock you around. And it may even break you. That is an inevitability. And in times like that, weakness stops becoming an option and strength starts becoming a requirement." I can't die here. Not like this. And especially not to the grimm, of all things. I won't die to those monsters! They took my mother from me and I refuse to let them have me too. I have to keep living. I have to keep fighting. But more importantly, I have to be strong!

I go over to the corpse and wince as I pull the pocketknife out of my father's cold chest. I open my eyes and take a look at the blade for a few seconds. The once shiny and reflective blade is now cloaked in his blood. I put the blade in my pocket and go grab my father's weapons that were laying at his sides, as well as the ammo cartridges for the parts of his sais that doubled as firearms (that could fire six bullets each). I decide not to load them yet. With nowhere to put them, I hook the sais into my pants with the middle spike on the inside and cover the back ends by pulling my shirt over them and put the knife and cartridges in my pockets. Before I head out the kitchen and toward the door, I take one last look at my father and kneel at his side, placing and gripping my warm hand on his cold, dead one.

"Goodnight, dad… I love you."

I get back up and head to the door with Bruno at my side. Now that I'm ready, it's time for me to get out of Dorado before it's destroyed.

...

As I head out, the first thing I see is terrified people- men, women, and children- fleeing in droves in the direction of the Sol gate to escape. Some were covered in dust and debris. Others were bleeding from the arm, a leg, the head, and other places. Some were adults who managed the taverns in Noche. Others were some of the few farmers that worked in Día (none of which were Aaron). Some were children being carried by their mothers. Others were the elderly being carried by their (much older) children. Mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, elderly and young, husbands and wives, farmers and tavern owners, citizens and outsiders, all these people came rushing in the same direction. It was like watching death parade through the streets.

I then heard a loud (much closer) screech and I was soon overtaken by a massive shadow. I look up to see what was looming above us. A massive, black, bird-like grimm that resembled a raven with a bone, mask-like structure on its face with four red eyes. I believe they call it a nevermore. The nevermore then swooped low and picked up one of the villagers, a short, pale, red-haired woman (the same woman I saw earlier today in the market). As it was flying away with the terrified, screaming woman, who was being crushed in its massive, black talons, it took out one of the towers-the Noche tower- with one of its enormous 75-foot (22.8 meter) wings. As the Noche tower fell, it destroyed another gate—the Noche gate, allowing the grimm another entry way into Dorado. It then made one more flight back around to us and started to shoot a flurry of its own feathers at us like a volley of arrows. One of the arrows ended up impaling the man who left the peach pie for me and my dad this morning. I immediately looked away from the grizzly sight, but I could hear his pained groans clear as day. The nevermore then let out another screech as it perched itself on the wall near the now destroyed Noche tower and proceeded to swallow the woman whole, her screams instantly being cut off as soon as she entered its beak.

After seeing the massive crowd of people heading toward the gate, I realized it was best for me to head the opposite direction toward the marketplace before the grimm completely take it over and leave me trapped. I have to make my way toward Día. With all those people desperately struggling to get out of the only gate left in Dorado, there is definitely going to be major bottlenecking and if I get caught up in that, I'm as good as dead. My best bet is to go back through the marketplace and get to Día. I remember they were supposed to tear down that large tree with the branches that reach the wall. If I can get there, that is my ticket out of here.

As I make my way through the street to La Estrella Marketplace (with Bruno not very far behind), another nevermore swoops in low and tries to carry me off. I manage to get out of the way, but as it was coming through, it demolished some of the houses in the process and knocked a ton of debris in the path and blocking the way back and cutting me off from Bruno. I get up and dust myself off and look back to see if Bruno was okay. Unfortunately, once the dust cleared I didn't see Bruno next to me. Please don't be dead?

"Bruno!" I scream at the top of my lungs, believing my dog had just been crushed under the rubble. I waited for a few seconds and, to my relief, I was greeted with barks on the other side. Thank the gods! But how is he going to get through? The path is blocked and there is no way across. I don't want to leave him. I could barely see through the wreckage and Bruno was moving across the blocked path, back and forth, trying to find a way to squeeze through. Fearing for his safety, I had to tell Bruno something I wish I didn't have to say:

"Bruno! Get out of here! Go! Just run away!" I screamed, hoping he would listen to me and get to safety.

Bruno wasn't listening. He kept trying to find a way through. He didn't want to leave me. He even clamped his jaws on a large wooden beam that was too big for him to move and tried (and was failing) to get it out of the way. I try again.

"I SAID GO, BRUNO! Please just go! NOW!"

Bruno just sits there and stares at me, not wanting to leave his best friend- the same person who took him in and gave him a home- gave him a family.

"NOW!" I say one last time, throwing a stone that ended up hitting him in the body, to which he responded with a surprised yelp. I felt horrible for that, but I pointed in the opposite direction and hoped that he would stop being so stubborn and get out while he has the chance.

Bruno reluctantly and hesitantly follows my order. He turns around and runs away, but not before giving me one last look and disappearing behind the dust and smoke.

After watching Bruno run away, I head into the marketplace solo. What once was a peaceful, sanctuary at night has now been turned into a chaotic slaughterhouse. Just like this morning, the marketplace was once again filled with people. Only this time, I see people crying over the corpses of their family members who were killed. I see people with mangled up limbs, bleeding out, or both who are lying on the ground either screaming in agony, begging to be put out of their misery, or both. The fountain and the star statue on it that was once so bright and beautiful at night are now in ruins. The once clear water is now red with the blood of a recently deceased person who probably was tossed into it, got injured, and drowned in there while he was bleeding out, too weak to call for help or get out by his own power.

I began to make my way out to the entrance of Día as there were a few stragglers from Luna who were trying to escape. Once they saw the path was blocked upon entering the marketplace, they all immediately stopped dead in their tracks. Knowing there was no escape for them since the Noche gate was also broken and Día didn't have a gate, they all immediately fell into despair. Some fell to the ground and proceeded to wail and cry, knowing those were their final moments. Others, knowing they couldn't fight the grimm and didn't want to get killed by them either, proceeded to pull out their knives and kill themselves on the spot.

A few of the stragglers were getting out of Noche too and were also making their way to the marketplace. But no more than a few seconds later, grimm began storming into the area right behind them, one of them being an alpha beowolf (which is basically a normal beowolf but bigger (about 10 ft/ 3 meters), faster, more durable, and they have that stony armor on their knees and shoulder as well as what appears to be a rib cage encasing its mid-torso). The alpha beowolf caught up to and pounced on a tall, tan-skinned man wearing a green tunic with gold accents (the same man from this morning who was trading with the woman who got eaten by the nevermore) and it proceeded to maul and maim him. It didn't kill him though. After it was done with that, the alpha proceeds to swipe his torso with one of its dagger-like claws, slicing him open and disemboweling him in the process. The now disfigured man lied there screaming, filling the marketplace with his agonizing and terrified screams as he began to bleed out and die while the alpha let out a howl as if it were celebrating its kill. Seeing that triggered flashbacks of my mother's death and was enough to freeze me in my tracks.

The flashbacks began to make my head throb to the point that it felt like someone was driving an ice pick into my brain. I just got down on my knees, wide-eyed, my breathing now heavier again and uncontrolled, and held myself in a way that one would if they were trying to keep themselves warm on a cold night. I then closed my eyes tight and pressed my head into the ground due to the pain that now felt like my brain was trying to break out of my skull as the images flashed through my mind like a rapid slideshow. The pounding in my head was so bad, I couldn't even hear the beowolf that was now rushing up to sink its teeth and claws into me. Just then, no more than a second later, I feel something wrap around my torso and grab me, essentially tackling me out of the way and somewhat snapping me out of it in the process. I look up to see that it was Aaron that saved my life just now!

"KID… WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE?!" Aaron shouted.

Though not a very warm greeting, I'm still very relieved to see him. I would have died where I stood if he didn't tackle me out of the way just now. I wrap my arms around my savior tightly as a way of saying "thank you." My heartbeat and breathing are still a bit rapid, but it feels a tad bit steadier now.

"Yeah, yeah! You're welcome! Now let go! That thing isn't finished yet!" He orders while brushing me to the side as I release my grip from him.

The alpha turns its attention to Aaron and begins charging toward him. Just from Aaron's positioning, I could tell what he was planning. As soon as the beast got close enough, Aaron leapt out of the way, causing it to crash into one of the wooden pillars holding up the porch to a house. The alpha ends up pouncing into the beam and causes it to break and brings the porch down on its head, but not killing it. But it did buy us enough time since it was pinned down for the moment.

"Come on, kid! We're getting out of here!" He orders. "Shit! I haven't seen things get this messy since I was in Harvey's mine!" He continues, this time speaking to himself.

Harvey's mine? What's that? Who's Harvey? Nevermind, that's not important right now. Wait, I hope Aaron isn't going to take us in the direction of the Sol gate!

"B-but the bottleneck-"

"I know!" He cuts me off, running toward Día while grabbing my wrist while I try not trip due to him practically dragging me. "Those people are literally a buffet for the grimm right now. None of them are getting out alive. That's why we're going to be using that tree by Día as our ticket out of here. Also, nice to hear you talking again. It's been a while."

As we ran, I couldn't help but notice that Aaron is running a little funny—like he has a bit of a limp. I then look at his leg and notice a large gash in his thigh. That alpha must have grazed him with its claws when he saved me.

Aaron and I reach Día, which was now illuminated by the fires in the surrounding quadrants that were now ignited in quickly growing flames. One of the grimm must have destroyed a few of the lamps in the marketplace and caused a fire in the process. The livestock in Día were now running rampant and were desperately trying to find a way out of their situation filling the area with a chorus of distressed animal noises. The grimm at this point have already infested the marketplace and are probably already slaughtering the people at the bottleneck near the Sol gate and picking off any people who managed to get out. We run past Aaron's home and as I glimpsed over, I could see that it was completely destroyed, most likely by a nevermore swooping down and attempting to snatch him up as well like it tried with me. I'd ask him what really happened, but we don't have time for that now. I can only just assume. We eventually reach Día's tower and Aaron kicks open the door. Before we climb the stairs I stop him for a quick second and ask him something:

"Wait, Aaron. Will we be able to avoid the grimm? What if they catch up to us?"

"I'm not sure if you're aware of this kid, but grimm are attracted to negative energy…" He answered. "… and with all those people still over there caught up in that bottleneck, there is a lot of negative energy concentrated in that one spot. That means we'll be able to get away under the grimm's noses while they're distracted. Now come on!"

We then rush up the spiral steps of the Día tower. As soon as we get to the top and exit the tower and step onto the wall, another nevermore flies close to us and crashes through the tower. Aaron again tackles me to the ground and moves under the cover of the ramparts and places his body on top of mine to shield me from any falling debris. We almost get crushed by the rubble, but we somehow managed to end up unscathed by what just happened. We take a look to see whether the nevermore will turn back for us or not. Instead it heads straight for the Sol gate, where the bottleneck is. Aaron was right. We really can get away unnoticed. But it hurts knowing those people are all going to die. They don't even stand a chance. But we need to keep moving.

Aaron and I spot the branches of the large tree stretching over the wall and we begin to head toward it. With only a few yards now left between us and the tree, Aaron finally lets go of my wrist and suddenly stops. He then turns around and takes a couple seconds to look at Dorado. I follow suit.

The two of us stand side by side as we look at Dorado, now set ablaze, accompanied by a choir of screeching, roaring, and howling of grimm, as well as the terrified and agonizing screams of all those people who are dying as we look on. We could even hear the houses collapsing and crashing to the ground with heavy thuds almost like a bunch of drums being beaten to a rhythm. I couldn't even see the moon anymore as it was completely blocked by a thick screen of smoke and flames. I never wanted to see my home in this way but at the same time, knowing this will probably be the last time I'll ever get to see it, I couldn't bring myself to look away. My world and everything I know and love in it, is literally burning to the ground before my very eyes. The only things left are me and Aaron- two lone silhouettes standing atop a wall facing a village engulfed in a mountain of flames as the symphony of chaos crescendos into its final act.

After a brief period of silence between us, Aaron speaks up in a very low, somber tone:

"I never planned to stay long, to be honest- only until my work was done. And I even managed to finish my job today and then next thing you know… shit hits the fan. But still, I'm going to miss this place… and the people. They don't deserve this shit… no one does."

"Goodbye, Dorado." I quietly say to myself with a tear in my eye, as my home- my life as I knew it- was being sacked by the grimm who have officially taken everything I have left away from me. I then felt Aaron's hand on my shoulder.

"Come on, kid." He says in a quiet voice. "We can't stay here much longer. Dorado is lost. Up and at 'em."

He then puts both hands under my arms and lifts me to put me on one of the branches of the tree. Before he places on a branch and follows suit so we can escape, we hear a loud rumbling followed by what felt like shaking, causing us to lose our balance.

"SHIT!" He yells visibly shocked.

With little time left, Aaron just tosses me onto the tree. He then tries to jump to a branch as well, but the gash in his thigh wouldn't allow him to push any further. Aaron doesn't make the jump and misses the tree by just an arm's length away as the inner side of the wall collapses, sending him back into the burning village and trapping him with no hope of escape.

"Aaron!" I yell not wanting to be left alone and worried for his safety.

"Don't worry, kid. I'm fine… for now that is." He says, followed by a few coughs due to the dust.

"For now?" I ask, hoping he would confirm that he isn't saying what I think he's saying.

"Kid...I'm going to be straight with you here. It was probably going to end like this anyway. You may not believe it, but this was a long time coming for me. You shouldn't worry about people like me anyway. In fact, I think it's best if you just forgot about me altogether. You may not know why I'm saying this or know exactly what I mean, but I pray for your sake that you never do." He says in a somber tone as if he is accepting his fate.

"Aaron just try and climb up! Please! Maybe you can climb the tower again or get some boxes or something and build a staircase or-"

"KID!" He yells cutting me off again, holding his palm toward me to signify to stop talking. "Just stop! After tonight, Dorado is going to be wiped off the face of Remnant by the grimm and you will most likely be the sole survivor. If you want to live, then I suggest you get the fuck out of here...NOW! – Wait!... Do you hear what I hear?" He says holding his hand to his ear to listen.

It's silent… dead silent.

"You hear nothing, don't you? Those grimm over there," He points toward where the bottleneck was. "They've already killed everyone by now or are almost done and will be heading this as we speak very, very soon. You don't have a lot of time! You need to get out of here and survive! I will do whatever it is I can to distract them for as long as I can, but I need you running by the time I do okay? Can you do that for me?"

I nod my head yes.

"Good. Also, kid, do me one last favor: when you get down that tree and start running, no matter what, under any circumstances, DON'T...LOOK...BACK! Are we clear?"

"Y-yes!" I say, giving him one final nod.

"Thanks." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small red object and tosses it up to me. I catch it in my hands and see that it's an apple. "Eat it when you get the chance. You'll need the energy. See you around, kid."

With that, unable to even speak, I wave Aaron one last goodbye and begin my descent down the tree. I started to hear the sounds of gimm coming in this direction and just dropped down. With tears in my eyes, I booked it for the woods, keeping my promise to not look back. I ran as far as I could and as fast as I could. I could still hear the sounds of my home being destroyed- the screams now completely silent- such as buildings being destroyed, and the slight, distant crackle of the houses being burned to the ground. The more I ran, the quieter and more distant the noises got. I kept running and running and running until I simply just couldn't anymore and eventually I come across a small and narrow crevice in the ground that I could hide myself in where the grimm won't be able to enter. I quickly scurried my way in and made sure it was completely safe. After catching my breath, I pulled the apple out of my pocket and stared at it, thinking of Aaron, my father, my mother, Bruno, and Dorado. At that moment, all my emotions began pouring out of me as I began eating the apple as it disappeared more and more every time I bit a chunk out of it. After finishing the apple, I then just stared at what was now reduced to just the core and stem. After gaining some composure I managed to blurt out one more word:

"Goodbye!" I then proceed to bury my still (now slightly) bloody forehead in my arms as I proceeded to cry myself to sleep.

Everything and everyone I once knew and loved is now gone.

...

The next morning, I woke up to sunlight creeping into the crevice and into my eyelids. As I woke up, the heat of the sun's rays immediately took me back to the inferno of the previous night and made me jolt myself awake. Forgetting I was sleeping in a crevice I accidentally hit my head on the hard, vertical surface, giving myself another headache. Well at least I'm awake now. I squeeze myself out of the ravine, accidentally tearing my clothes a bit in the process, and dust myself off and make sure I have my father's sais and my mother's knife on me. Not only are these my most precious possessions since they are all that I have left of them, they will also serve as my primary tools to survive.

After waking up a bit more I noticed that despite what happened last night, it's a surprisingly nice day. Birds singing Flowers blooming. Clear sky. It's almost like last night never happened. But it did happen, unfortunately. I really wish last night were just another nightmare, but unfortunately, that will never be the case, no matter how many times I wish that.

I'm honestly jealous of those birds right now. Not a single care in the world. They're not even aware of what happened last night. And even if they were, I doubt they would care. They'll just keep on living and keep moving forward as if nothing ever happened. But then again, that's the world of Remnant for you. This merciless world doesn't care… and I just learned that the hard way. It will keep moving forward regardless of anything. And if I don't want to get left behind, then I need to do the same and keep on living… no matter what. Weakness is no longer an option, meanwhile strength has officially become a requirement.

*CHAPTER END*

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Hey, everyone! I know I said I wasn't going to upload on Holy Week (or at last I think I said that), but I didn't upload last week, so I thought it would be fair if I made up for that by uploading this week. Which reminds me, sorry for missing last week. I had a math exam coming up and I needed to get studying in early (I'm not the best at math :p ).

Which also reminds me, I most likely will not be posting chapter 5 next week or the following week since school is going to have me pretty busy for the next couple of weeks with a few essays, a project, and a presentation. So I wouldn't expect chapter 5 until about maybe 3 weeks from now at the earliest.

Anyway, this is essentially the end of act one of Volume I of this SLVR fan fic and I wanted to end the first act with a bang while also setting the stage for the rest of Volume I. By the way, Volume I is going to have 20 chapters (not including the set up chapter for chapter 13, the 6 planned anthology chapters between chapters 15 and 16, and the epilogue chapter). We will be meeting new grimm, new characters, old characters, and a couple new semblances.

I'm especially excited about the new types of grimm I will be introducing. We will be meeting two of them in this volume (one of which is based off one of the seven ancient wonders of the world: the Colossus of Rhodes, and the other being based off an urban legend called the kuchisake-onna).

With all that said I will conclude with fun fact #4:

Fun Fact #4:The line I wrote earlier in this chapter, "as the fair moonlight filled my vacant eyes," is meant to be a reference to a song called Befall, which is from the game, Honkai Impact 3rd. The original line in the song goes, "Fair moonlight, will you fill my void eyes?" Also, this chapter went through two name changes. The other potential names for this chapter were "Escalation" and "Don't Look Back."