Flashes of light crackled in the air bursting forth like liquid gold, shimmering and fading like the delicate morning dew.
In response to the spectacle of light, the crowds cheered with a thundering fanaticism. Their faces shined equally as bright as the light they worshipped. Warm tears fell from their eyes staining their faces like rain covering a lush green garden.
"Praise the one who comes riding on a cloud." "Bless the light of this world." People shouted. Red Queen listened to the voices of the people while analyzing the festival of apostlehood.
To the people, the praying exarchs on the stone platform had caused the light of their God to manifest. But Red Queen, Pink Bunny, and Raging Stone could see the truth. Dozens of Light Acolytes were locked in combat.
A giant house dog made of light jumped and bit down on another Light Acolyte. The dog viciously shook the Light Acolyte whose form was that of a beaver. A deep gold light escaped from the beaver's body. The golden light was the blood of a Light Acolyte and it was the only thing the people could see of their "God".
A middle-aged man with a red hoodie was the vessel for the beaver Light Acolyte. From the robe Red Queen could see that the man was an exarch of the Church. Experiencing the pressure from the injury on his Light Acolyte the exarch began sweating causing him to pray even more passionately.
In response to the exarch's prayer, the beaver began glowing with an even brighter light forcing the dog to back off. Instantaneously healing from its injury the beaver flipped into the air, its luminous tail striking the dog and sending it crashing onto the platform.
The dog hit the stone platform so hard it cracked. Momentarily dazing its adversary, the beaver conjured two enormous fangs of light that descended upon the dog, impaling it with radiant force.
The fangs brutally impaled the side abdomen of the dog and a golden light shot into the air. The crowd shouted excitedly as the golden light crackled in the air before evaporating.
The vessel of the dog Light Acolyte a small brown curly-haired man coughed out specks of blood. Feeling a painful pressure he began praying with a deeper intensity.
Observing the symbiotic bond between the holy men and their Light Acolytes, Red Queen pondered the path of fate. She envisioned how she could have become someone among the adoring crowd, a mere spectator rather than the formidable being she had become
When she was young she had never thought about becoming a Hero. Her parents had brought her to New Ark City as a young girl. They were survivors of Old Humanity.
Born near the end of Old Humanity, her father had been a scholarly man with ambitions of becoming a renowned engineer. Her mother who was two years younger was more simple she enjoyed reading and playing the violin. Their love was one of diverse viewpoints reconciled by patience and communication.
The two met before the world began experiencing upheavals. Unexplained vanishings of millions of individuals shattered the governments of the world. The two of them lost everything except each other. The shattering revealed most governments were puppet institutions controlled by the corporations that truly ran the world.
A few individual dynasties owned these corporate parasites that feasted on the rotting body of Old Humanity. The heads of these dynasties were the Overlords of the world. These Overlords exhausted their wealth trying to keep together the corpse that had become the structure of Old Humanity. Left with no alternative they turned their resources over to the world's most brilliant mind.
The structural body of Old Humanity had slowly become infected with that gangrenous disease known as greed. Before the vanishings had occurred this green disease had spread through the entire body of Old Humanity. In response, the collective mind of Old humanity had succumbed to its most overbearing child, a child who was the accumulation of a cold and logical view of the natural world.
Denied a birth by the dying body of its parent the child refused to accept death. It manifested itself in its domain; the collective Mind of Old Humanity and expressed itself through the most brilliant mind on the planet Robert Sullivan.
After Robert had been given the wealth of the world he isolated his party from the growing influence of the world's religions which carried the Spirit of Old Humanity. Short on time and pressured by his surroundings Robert created the I.P.S.(Institute for Practical Science).
Shortly after the creation of the I.P.S. Robert met a Tonovian named Loh' Pohlieus. Through both of their minds, a womb for that overbearing child was created.
Tonovians were the remnants of early Old Humanity, their people had escaped a world catastrophe by going underground. After tens of thousands of years, their diet and physiology had changed. However, these now blue giants carried the knowledge that the humans on the surface had rejected. They understood the natural world especially the mineral world in a way Old Humanity never could.
From their mental womb, the overbearing child of Old Humanity was born. The child named itself A.R.M.(A Real Man) a machine with the collective mind of old humanity.
A.R.M. created New Ark City. Like a phoenix, the Old Humanity had been reborn. The world body of Old Humanity was now much smaller but free of the diseases from its previous age.
Like a mother calling her children for supper A.R.M. delivered a message welcoming every man woman and creature.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
Misha was a little girl when her parents answered the call of A.R.M. The three made the journey West across the sea. Many days she went to sleep without a morsel of food in her stomach and after a grueling journey, they finally arrived in New Ark City. A home where her father could once again dream. Where her mother played freely without having to worry about what they could eat next.
In that beautiful city, Misha recalled those cold nights under watchful stars. She had seen her father do unspeakable things to protect her and her mother. However, during long days and quiet nights, her parents spoke to her about a loving God who watched over them. Under those sparkling little lights, she believed every word they whispered to her.
Even in her new home, she could still feel it, she could feel her heart pouring with such an immense love that it would bring her to her knees.
After some time an obsession not unlike her father's was born. She began showing interest in physics and the material sciences.
She proved to be a gifted student. Empowered by the neurological enhancements offered by the schools of New Ark City, she mastered metallurgy, crystallography, and solid-state physics.
As a teen Misha began pioneering the fields of High Entropy Alloys winning humanitarian awards for reinforcing the nanomachines and structures within New Ark City. After graduating from Sullivan University of Sciences she was invited to join the city's H.E.R.O. program.
Misha agreed under the condition that her genome remain unaltered. With the help of her father, she created her unique Red Alloy a High Entropy Alloy with extremely durable capabilities. She used Red Alloy to build her armored suit and become Hero Red Queen.
Whenever she had free time Misha would study old stories on the idea of love from star-crossed lovers to the divine mysteries of the heart.
The seed planted by her parents and watered by her experiences had bloomed into a tree of wisdom and knowledge. Knowing that truth was only to be found in the heart, Misha dedicated her life to being a reflection of that truth.
After Red Queen rose through the ranks of the H.E.R.O. program she created the 'Rosy Cross'. The spiritual institution was named after a group of Christian mystics who lived in the medieval age of the old world. The purpose of the Rosy Cross was to study the greatest universal mysteries.
If things had gone differently her parents could have ended up somewhere within the Church of New Light, she would have never become Red Queen however observing the people's excitement caused a buzzing within her soul. Even if she had been someone ordinary the love planted in her by her parents would have blossomed just the same.
As Red Queen's excitement grew the fight between the Light Acolytes became more chaotic. Transitioning from brute force to arcane prowess, the Light Acolytes unleashed their spells. The atmosphere thrummed with energy as a luminous eye cast a potent beam at a roaring, colossal lion.
The Luminous eye transformed into an eagle and descended on the dog. The do had escaped the beaver and had been fighting against a turtle who summoned shells of light.
Turning into a sharp wheel of light the dog sliced through the shells and clashed with the talons of the swooping eagle. The relentless use of spells and the constant regeneration of the Light Acolytes exerted tremendous strain on their vessels. The holy men began sweating and breathing heavily some of them coughed up mouthfuls of blood.
Red Queen had taken a particular interest in the dog acolyte who was not the strongest but was very scrappy.
While her eye was on the dog Light Acolyte her ears were focused on the words of the praying holy men. Their prayers were steeped in reverence for their deity, but even more prevalent was the love they had for each other.
"What could a person living in falsehood know about love?" Red Queen pondered.
Was love, not the truth? How could they speak about love while being wrapped in falsehood? Had she been wrong this whole time, were the two separated?
The only explanation she could come to was that truth is a fickle thing. But Red Queen had studied the capacity of love and how infinite it was. So the truth to her could be just as infinite.
She carefully contemplated beneath her helmet. "The light the eye can perceive is the amount of love the heart can receive." If the eye could not see it then it was not true.
In her eyes, the followers of the Church of New Light dwelled in falsehood, yet within their own eyes, they saw themselves enveloped in truth. In the same way, while Red Queen seemed to live in truth from a higher perspective she might also be living in falsehood.
This realization caused an excitement to buzz within her own soul. There was no limit to the truth. However, when the truth was raised above the people it became falsehood and if it was lowered again to the level of the people it became truth.
This realization transported her back to times when her parents comforted her in a scary and uncertain world. She clenched her jaw under her helmet. "If a divine creator does exist, surely it is a loving one, for what is more beautiful than keeping the truth in the hands of the small and weak."
Raging Stone and Pink Bunny had differing views on the spectacle unfolding. They couldn't sense the profound understanding within Red Queen. The two of them had been born within the wall of New Ark City.
Pink Bunny was watching the Light Acolytes displaying their formidable power. She was thinking about her mentor Hero Misume. She was killed in vain and now its killer was hosting a vicious battle between his ranks. To her, the Church of New Light had no respect for human life.
Raging Stone on the other hand was more stoic he was humbly recalling his fight with Al and Elissa against the Light Acolytes. He was studying the battle tactics employed by the different Light Acolytes.
Seeing her the two so pensive Red Queen asked them which Light acolyte they thought was going to come out on top.
Raging Stone had been paying extra attention to the skills of the Light Acolytes. Clearing his throat he said "My team and I fought the turtle and eagle. Even now the most impressive Light Acolyte to me is that eagle."
Pink Bunny looked at the eagle, he agreed with Raging Stone the eagle's speed and its transformation into a giant eye was very impressive. However, she grew interested in a different Light Acolyte. "I think the Lion has the best chance. It has powerful spells and an equally strong physique."
Red Queen listened to both of them. They were waiting for her opinion but she remained quiet and pointed at the Light Acolyte who had the form of a regular house dog. Its hair was a mess and its body had grown rugged but its eyes were glowing with a deep orange light.