The end before the beginning
~*~
All was desolation and darkness. No matter which direction you looked to, the only things visible on the horizon were the debris of planets – once-thriving worlds – and countless lifeless bodies floating in the void. Death reigned supreme as the glow of the very last star was fading. The universe that would later become known as the Anteverse was in immediate decline. This unfortunate fate was the result of a singular event, destruction caused by legendary beings following the actions of one race: the Morrigans.
A couple of cycles ago
On Asioic, a planet the size of Jupiter located in an isolated solar system of the Anteverse, a conflict of unprecedented scope had just begun. The Asiocs who had been living more or less peacefully until this moment were all astonished to see an armada of spaceships arrive at the gates of their world, and even more so when a being whose head was literally a flame with yellowish hues appeared above one of their cities.
At first, this individual who was reading a book of some kind aroused wonder and curiosity, as the Asiocs had never seen such a creature in their lives. However, this amazement soon turned to horror when this same person, with a simple movement of his hand, conjured up a gigantic sphere of flame and sent it hurtling towards the buildings below. On impact, everything within a radius of two kilometers was immediately charred, marking the beginning of the conflict between the Asiocs and these beings from elsewhere: the Morrigans.
A few minutes later after this first attack, seeing that the Asiocs had still not launched their counter-offensive, this being whose head was only a flame launched other attacks just as devastating as the previous one.
“Pathetic. Simply pathetic. No reaction from them. At this rate, we won't even need to bring out the heavy artillery,” he thought, as another of his flame spheres melted the surrounding buildings.
Just then, another individual suddenly appeared behind him, this one being a sort of human-shaped black cloud with white lightning bolts running through her body at all times.
“You seem to be having a lot of fun, Weell.”
““Having a lot of fun” are not the words I would use, Commander Dyh. This harvest is uninteresting. These insects don't even have the will to defend themselves. They don't deserve to have so much Spark. It’s completely wasted.”
“We’ve only been here for a couple of minutes. Things are bound to be uninteresting at first. Give it some time and maybe your interest might change. And as for their will to defend themselves, I wouldn't be so sure about what you just said.”
Just then, a swarm of flying machines appeared in the distance. The Asiocs had just launched their counter-offensive, much to the delight of Weell who then turned a page of his book.
“This harvest just got a little more interesting,” he said.
“So it would seem. To all Morrigan units, heed my commands. Spare only those who show particular faculties. For the rest, show no mercy.”
“Aye, aye, Commander!”
An army of individuals just as eccentric and colorful as Weell and his commander disembarked from the spaceships that had already landed and began firing on any civilians still in the vicinity.
For his part, the man with the flame head also decided to take things a little more seriously. The Asiocs had finally accepted his invitation and he had to honor their will to fight and survive. Therefore, he closed his book and placed it carefully in one of his jacket pockets before conjuring up a hundred fireballs – which he unhesitatingly hurled at the approaching fleet on the horizon.
Asioc Command Center
On the other side of the planet, far from where the clashes were taking place, an Asioc was nervously entering a room where many of his kind were. Without missing a beat, he asked them how their counter-offensive was going.
“The first fleet has been destroyed, sir!”
“What?! When did it happen?”
“A few seconds ago, sir. We lost contact with all our pilots when they came into contact with the enemy.”
“Hang on a sec. “The” Enemy? Singular?
“Yes, sir. According to the latest images we've received, a single individual is responsible for the complete annihilation of our First Fleet.”
The Asioc commander was visibly shocked by what he had just been told. He hadn't expected their first counter-offensive to be ineffective against the invader, let alone for their entire fleet to be destroyed by a single person. If just one of them could do such a thing, what was their army capable of? This simple question struck fear into his heart and he wondered whether his people would be able to survive this crisis.
“Deploy all our artillery. I want every town to send their soldiers. This individual must be their main weapon. If we eliminate him, we'll be able to win this war.”
“Yes, sir!”
It was the most sensible thing to do. By eliminating this being whose head was a flame, he was certain to put an end to this conflict and save his people.
*
Back in the conflict zone, things were not going as Asioc Commander had hoped for. Indeed, Weell was not the only invader to inflict significant damage on their army and buildings. No, other Morrigans with an appearance just as eccentric as his own were showing destructive abilities beyond anything he could imagine. Some civilians, soldiers, and buildings had found themselves completely frozen while others had suffered a much more terrible fate.
The Morrigan heavy artillery also advanced without encountering much resistance. In fact, it was almost non-existent – the Asioc's technology being no match for that of their attackers. This confrontation, which could now be considered a one-sided massacre, had taken a hellish turn for the inhabitants of this planet and their hope of emerging victorious was diminishing as the minutes passed.
Some time later, as Weell was flying over a city that had not yet been attacked by his fellows, the latter acted as he had done with the previous city. He created a huge sphere of fire above his head, preparing to wipe it off the map. However, just as he was about to launch his projectile, the temperature dropped suddenly and his target found itself trapped under the ice shortly after.
“Sorry, Weell, but I saw this city first.”
The Morrigan turned to the person who had just spoken to him only to find himself in front of a pale-skinned woman with ice rings covering her upper face, waist, and wrists.
“Kyan Khann. Of all the populated places on this planet, you had to choose this area.”
At that moment, the flames on the Morrigan's head took on a slightly reddish hue, indicating a change in his emotional state.
“There's no need for such hostility, Weell. My presence here is purely coincidental.”
“You and I both know there is no such thing as coincidence. The fact that you're here in front of me is proof of that. You deliberately followed me in order to steal all my prey and take all the credit.”
“I'm so displeased by what you just said.”
“Then, you are not going to like what comes next,” he declared, conjuring fireballs above his hands.
“Show me what you got, Weell Vhern.”
Morrigan Command Center
As Commander Dyh had just arrived at the command center of her ship, which was stationed above one of the cities they had destroyed, another one of her subordinates – a Morrigan with part of his body made of metal – told her that Weell Vhern and Kyan Khann were fighting each other on the battlefield.
“Those two are at it again,” she says in an exasperated tone. “I'll deal with the two of them when we're done with this harvest. Is there anything else?”
“Yes, ma'am. The Asioc second enemy fleet is currently heading to their position.”
“Vhern and Khann will take care of it. Let me know when it's time to extract all the Spark from this…”
Commander Dyh didn't have time to finish her sentence when an alarm suddenly sounded in the command center.
“Report!” she shouted.
“Ma’am, abnormally high quantity of Spark detected! Our instruments are unable to properly measure it. I've never seen anything like it!”
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“Location?!”
“1500 kilometers southwest of our position!”
“That’s where Weell and Khan are at. Visual of the area! And contact them immediately. I want them to stop playing around and be on guard.”
“Ma’am! Something is interfering with our instruments. We’re unable to get a visual or contact Lieutenants Weell and Khan.”
Commander Dyh seemed very concerned about the situation that had just arisen. Not only was something or someone emitting an abnormal amount of Spark, but she didn't know if this thing or entity was a threat to her men.
“Shit! I'm going over there myself. Contact Yaull and Zarathos, and tell them to meet me at the following coordinates.”
Her orders having been given, Commander Dyh left the command center, then her ship, and made her way as quickly as possible to her two subordinates.
*
Fifteen hundred kilometers away, the horizon had been transformed into a mosaic of fire and ice as a result of the confrontation between Weell Vhern – a Morrigan whose specialty was the handling of fire in its many forms – and Kyan Khann – another Morrigan whose control of ice and its properties rivaled that of her adversary.
Weell whose body was partially covered in flames created five spheres around himself, sending projectiles towards Kyan one after the other. The latter counter-attacked with her own ice projectiles, but the very nature of the elements they controlled gave a certain advantage to the man whose head was a flame. Realizing her disadvantage, Khan had no choice but to dodge his offensive.
“What's going on, Khan? Are we afraid of fire?”
“Don't be so presumptuous, Weell. We're just warming up.”
“Is that irony I hear? Come closer, I've got all the heat you need.”
“Dick.”
While Kyan was avoiding Vhern's consecutive attacks, she noticed the presence of an individual a few hundred meters below them. He, who seemed to be taking notes while observing their confrontation, was wearing a black three-piece suit and a bowler hat that covered the upper part of his face. Not knowing why he was acting this way instead of running away, Khann simply attacked him. He was just another insect among those she'd killed so far, so it would be easy to get rid of him.
Kyan sent ice projectiles towards that strange man, revealing his presence to her fellow sparring partner. But just as the ice spikes were about to pierce him, they suddenly disappeared.
“What?! What just happened? Where’d my spikes go?” she wondered. “Weell!”
“I saw it! That’s an interesting specimen. We've got to take him in alive. The higher-ups will surely be very interested in the ability he's just demonstrated.”
Hence, the Morrigan sent two of his flaming spheres spinning at high speed around this strange character, creating a tornado a few moments later. This, he thought, would be enough to asphyxiate him and make him lose consciousness. However, the individual seemed unaffected by Weell's action and kept taking notes.
“There's something wrong with him. Not only is he unaffected by your flames, but he's also made my projectiles disappear,” Kyan retorted after she found herself next to her comrade. “I didn't expect these insects to have such an asset in their ranks.”
“All the more reason for us to capture him alive and study him.”
“While I appreciate your interest in me, I must decline your invitation,” the strange individual said, now standing behind them.
Weell and Kyan immediately turned towards him, their faces full of astonishment. And for good reason: neither of them had seen him move.
“How did he get there?” Kyan wondered after taking some distance.
“This guy's dangerous. Capturing him alive may prove to be an impossible task for both of us. We need more people.”
“Morrigans, it's not me you should be afraid of, but rather the one who's about to set foot on this world.”
At that moment, he pointed to the horizon behind the two of them who turned around only to observe a phenomenon they'd never seen before.
*
A few minutes earlier, over two hundred kilometers away, Commander Dyh and the two lieutenants she had summoned, Zarathos Khann and Yaull Iggs, were speeding towards the position where Weell, Kyan, and the mysterious man were. The young woman hoped her two subordinates were still alive, as the thing they had in front of them not only emitted a phenomenal amount of Spark, but could also prove to be very hostile.
“Commander, according to what you've told us, with this amount of Spark, we'll be able to power ourselves for thousands of cycles,” Zarathos retorted.
“Why did it have to be your sister and Weell who stumbled across such a marvel? I'm so jealous.”
“We know nothing about the thing beside them or whether we'll be able to acquire it. Our objective is to assess the situation and act accordingly. So, don't let your guard down and be prepared for any eventuality.”
“Aye, aye, ma'am!”
The trio continued on their way, preparing to make contact with the second Asiatic fleet a few dozen kilometers away.
“These insects keep coming back. It's getting tiresome.”
“They don't seem to have learned their lesson. Ma’am, permission to eradicate them all,” Zarathos retorted.
“Denied. We don’t have time for that right now. We'll just get through this and keep moving.”
Just then, Commander Dyh received a communication from her ship. One of her subordinates informed her that they had just detected a second Spark emission just as large as the previous one if not larger.
“What?! It's a joke, right?” she exclaimed, coming to an abrupt halt. “Where's this energy coming from?”
“From… from the sky!”
The three Morrigans raised their heads only to be shocked by what was in front of their eyes.
“What the heck is that?”
“The...the sky is cracking.”
Indeed, like a mirror that had just been smashed, the Asioic sky was now containing numerous cracks stretching over several hundred kilometers and whose epicenter seemed to be above Commander Dyh's ship. Suddenly, chunks of said sky would begin to fall towards the ground, revealing a gigantic eye watching them. However, the trio didn't observe it for long as it soon disappeared, giving way to a sort of cloudy tunnel behind the cracks.
“Commander, something… approaching!”
At that moment, a dull noise was heard on the other end of the line and the communication with her subordinate abruptly stopped.
“Report! What’s going on?! Report!! Shit!”
Their situation had just taken a very dramatic turn. This was supposed to be a normal invasion like all the previous others. They had the technological and military advantage, so why weren't things going their way? Now they had on their hands two entities emitting abnormally high quantities of Spark, entities that were, moreover, in opposite locations.
“Commander, what do we do now?” Yaull asked.
“We've got no choice. We have to get back to the mother ship and deal with the threat there. I'm sure Vhern and Khann will find a way out if things go south,” she replied after a few seconds of thought. “Let's go.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Unfortunately, I can't let you go back,” someone behind them suddenly retorted.
Commander Dyh, Zarathos Khann, and Yaull Iggs all turned around only to come face to face with the man with the bowler hat who had been with Kyan Khann and Weell Vhern a couple of second before.
“We have other plans for all of your group, Morrigans.”
*
Moments earlier, as another Asioc defense fleet was about to make contact with the invader's Mother ship, the sky above them suddenly cracked into several pieces, and from these cracks burst later a white beam that struck the enemy craft and sent it crashing to the ground. Asiocs and Morrigans alike were greatly astonished by this turn of events, especially as a young boy dressed in white armor and sporting three pairs of wings emerged from the ship wreckage.
Faced with such a spectacle, the Asiocs could not help but celebrate and cry out in victory, thinking that they had obtained an ally in this disadvantageous conflict. For their part, the Morrigans were very baffled by what had just happened. What was this eye that had manifested itself a few moments before? But above all, who was this young winged boy who had suddenly appeared on the battlefield? Was he an ally of the Asiocs or an outsider? His last action seemed to prove that he was on their side. He had to be eliminated, not only because he had inflicted significant damage on their leader's ship – thus interfering in their harvest – but also because something sinister was emanating from him.
“What about Commander Dyh?”
“She wasn't on board. She went to check on Lieutenants Khann and Vhern,” a survivor of the crash answered.
“Contact her immediately and explain the current situation. In the meantime, I'm taking command.”
Immediately afterwards, the Morrigan ordered all his fellow soldiers in the vicinity to attack this individual who had dared to destroy their commander's ship. Unfortunately for them, the boy with ten crystals constantly spinning behind his back transformed one of them into a purple sword nearly twice his size with strange inscriptions on the flat of the blade, and used it to annihilate everything in front of him in a flash of light. No Morrigan had ever seen such an unleashing of power, especially as he had done it in a single blow. In front of the winged boy now lay an immense crater stretching for miles and whose origin was the tip of his weapon.
Fear immediately settled on the faces of all the invaders who had been lucky enough not to find themselves in the path of this formidable yet horrific white energy, but also on those of the Asiocs who had also suffered losses in their ranks. Without exchanging a single word, both parties instinctively realized that they had to work together and do everything in their power to get rid of this boy who was now threatening their very existence. By common accord, all those still able to fight attacked this formidable adversary who this time decided not to move. A rain of lightning, plasma projectiles, and other energetic rays rained down on him for several minutes.
“Did we get him?!”
“I don't know!”
Everyone was waiting for just one thing and that was for the dust generated by all their attacks to dissipate and reveal the remains of the winged boy's body. Unfortunately for them all, when the cloud of dust disappeared, they all discovered to their horror that none of their offensives had done the slightest damage. The fear was heightened when he vanished a few moments later, appearing before a Morrigan whom he cut vertically in half before disintegrating him and everything behind him in a wave of white energy.
The young boy's attacks continued, consequently reducing the presence of both Asiocs and Morrigans on a battlefield that was now a succession of immense craters. Finally, as a small group attempted to coordinate an evacuation strategy, their assailant stopped abruptly and turned his gaze towards the gigantic rift in the sky.
“Mother… I'm hurrying to clear the areas you've entrusted to me, then I'll go there.”
Returning his gaze once more to the enemies he still had to exterminate, the young boy suddenly let go of his sword, which transformed back into a crystal before returning to its place with the others behind his back. He then closed his fist and concentrated an astronomical amount of Spark inside. Less than thirty seconds later, a small blue sphere was floating above the palm of his hand. One of the surviving Morrigans, who had been observing the whole scene, immediately realized that what he was up to did not bode well for anyone present and ordered an immediate retreat.
“There's nowhere to fall back to!”
“He's destroyed all the ships.”
“This is the end.”
The young boy finally let go of the sphere before flying off abruptly towards the rift which he had arrived through – which closed immediately after his passage. Meanwhile, the ball of blue energy was continuing its slow descent to the ground, leaving barely enough time for the survivors of this horrible encounter to stand up.
As it came into contact with the surface of the ground, the sphere left by the winged boy was transformed into a dome of pure white energy that grew in size as the seconds ticked by. As the Morrigans tried to flee from this white wall, which was gaining more and more ground, the Asiocs also realized that this was not a good sign. Horror and despair took hold of everyone as the first person to come into contact with this energy emitted agonized screams before disappearing without a trace.
It was now clear for every single Asiocs present on this battlefield that everything they had known and everyone they loved was about to disappear. The dome of light continued to grow larger and they had nowhere to take refuge. Some gave up hope, while others tried to flee as far away from danger as possible. Unfortunately, the dome eventually spread across the entire planet and beyond, destroying everything in its path. Similar events took place in many areas throughout the universe, leaving behind only a single star whose light was slowly fading away.
*
Billions of cycles had passed since the tragic event that claimed the lives of all life forms in the Anteverse. Darkness and cold was now reigning supreme. Suddenly, in the midst of the darkness, a spark shot out from a gigantic hand, a sign of renewal, followed by a massive explosion. A new big bang had just occurred, heralding the birth of a new multiverse: the Alphaverse. Hundreds of thousands of cycles later, in a small town on a planet in Universe 7, a young teenager named Gadriel awoke from a horrible nightmare. This was the beginning of a new adventure that would have an impact on many lives.
To be continued!!!