A lone planet revolved around a large star, absorbing the light as it traversed through the galaxy. It took humans 230 light years, all their resources, and countless lives to arrive here. The space around the planet went quiet for millennia after their arrival, no newcomers to be found.

This planet is Gaia, roughly 4 times larger than Earth, having a stable atmosphere, water, and all the other necessities for life. Yet, it also had Dust, a miracle material capable of doing anything. The planet was inhabited by various races, starting from the natives such as

* The Eldinare - A long eared, long lived race with sharp mental capacities as well as strong physical bodies. Humanoid, this race is considered as ‘elves’ by the humans, due to their love of nature as well as their longevity.

* The Silvarian - Another humanoid race who appear to be the ‘beastmen’ from human lore. They have sharp eyesight and hearing as well as superior vision, yet they are separated into many factions as they have many subspecies within themselves.

* The Rowans - A race with remarkably short height, this race has a history of being trapped beneath the earth for centuries before finding their way back up. They are experts in mining due to this, and are fiercely aggressive against the Eldinare, as their values differ.

* The Asnians - A race renowned for their strength, these creatures are massive reptilians with wings, they are also the caretakers of the planets peace. They are regarded by many as the ‘superpower’ of Gaia, as they are not only physically superior, but they have expert knowledge of Dust.

* The Yasnians - A solitary branch of the Asnians, this race is even larger, and stronger then their cousins. Yet, they are solitary in nature, and have a low fertility rate, adding up to be rather low in numbers. They are regarded by humans as ‘Dragons’ while Asnians are called ‘Wyverns’.

Though there are more races, they are considered to be ‘not sentient’, and are the subject of subjugation and eradication. Humans have named them ‘Orcs, Ogres, Giant Arachinia…’.

Finally the Humans, a immigrant race from far away, this technologically advanced race is considered weak by others ,as they are mere fledglings in their understanding of Dust. Yet, what they make up for their lack of knowledge is numbers, being the most fertile race out of all the races.

Gaia is in a period of uneasy peace, as each race prepares themselves for the inevitable. Unbeknownst to these races, a unique existence approached.

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Mathewson was always either drunk, or fighting. Sometimes he was doing both at the same time, a canteen full of beer in his mouth as he unloaded his weapons in the Arab war. A mercenary he was, part of a group called, ‘The Liberators’. An embarrassing name, yet Mathewson always enjoyed himself, drinking with his buddies as they flew around the world on their next contract.

On his 35th birthday he left the crew, and settled for one more party with them. He enjoyed himself, drinking, laughing, playing pool in the small bar as he saw his friends for the last time.

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< Mathewson POV >

“Wake up child of Earth, we have much to do and little time to spend.” I heard a patient voice boom as it woke me.

“Ugh….Why do I feel as if I have a massive hangover?”, I groaned.

“Amusing. To think even a soul can get motion sickness from wormholes.” The feminine voice chuckled. Her voice was similar, yet different from Earth’s, it had more depth to it, almost male in tone.

“Anyways, we have much to do. I have one simple request.” I saw two large green eyes gaze at me from the murky haze.

“What do you want?” I asked. This was too similar to how my first mercenary contract went, my contractor amused at my green face after a long ship journey.

“Watch carefully.” she said, as her eyes disappeared, and in it’s place a planet came to view.

A beautiful world. That’s all I can truly say. Luscious green jungles and forests sprawled widely, mountains souring up to the milky clouds. Sandy patches of desert spread across continents, and the ocean was a pristine blue. The 13 continents spread wide, and I could see a vast ravine, sprawling across 5 of them. A stark contrast with Earth, as it had been almost black in colour after a horrible accident.

Suddenly the world zoomed in, onto the largest of continents. We could see a plain, filled with strange creatures, and men with strange armour.

“This,” she said in a sad voice, “Is me. This is Gaia, home to many foolish races. My children, I should say.”

I saw werewolf like creatures dashing across the field, holding large, brutal crimson swords as they met with the fierce resistance of the humans, who held up massive tower shields as they fired bows and slashed with daggers.

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“This is a mere battle, yet war rages across every part of me. From the depths of the oceans, to the floating islands above, everywhere war rages. And where it doesn’t it is waiting to happen.”

Gaia sighed as she rid herself of that image.

“My dear child of Earth, you are the lone memory of her legacy, the only one who knows of her existence besides me. Your mother has long since been destroyed, by your brothers and sisters who now wage war here.”

Gaia opened her green eyes yet again as she examined me.

“Truly, I wish Earth had destroyed your race sooner. Your race is like a cancer, spreading from one place to another, leeching and destroying everywhere you go. Yet, I understand Earth’s emotions. You are her children, and though you may have killed her, she loved you all.”

“I will NOT let this happen here.” Her eyes turned a brutal red colour as she glared at me. “If I so wished to I could have destroyed you, Dust tainted soul or not. Yet, I saved you for one reason.”

“What is it?” I simply asked. I could see that she vehemently hated all humans, and she would not tolerate the existence of us. But, I could also see that she would not, no, could not get rid of us. Maybe because of Earth’s last wish, I thought, or maybe because she is unable to intervene. Either way, I would not accept a genocide deal. It’s one thing to kill a man. It’s another to kill a race.

“End this war.” She replied softly, her eyes turning blue this time, “End the war, and save my children.”

“Save your children?” I asked. “From what? Humans?”

“No…I….I am dying.” Se replied tearfully. “I have, until now, always repeated the cycle of destruction and rebirth…yet now….this is about to end…the end…is nigh..”

“You are my only hope. You are the only one who can hear me, who can do something about this.”

“Please…save my children…I beg of you as Earth begged me…”

I stared at her, or rather her eyes. I saw despair, terror and hopelessness welling up as she begged me.

That violent storm of emotions reminded me of something. Something I used to see everyday as a mercenary in the slums. Mothers clutching their children as they begged for me and my crew to take them, anywhere better than there.

My mother was the same. Not Earth, but my real mother. A German woman who lost her husband, and begged for jobs as she desperately searched for ways to raise me. My mother, who toiled from dawn to dusk as she earned less than the minimum wage, and was finally forced to abandon me. My mother, who died, hit by a motorcycle when she finally returned with money in her hands.

I calmly looked back. Normally, my personality is all play with not the slightest bit of rationality. But now…

“I’ll do.” I replied. Gaia’s eyes returned to a calm green as she quietly replied.

“Thank you.”

“So how am I supposed to stop a war? I mean, it looks like you’re even bigger than Earth, and I’m a single man.”

“That…is something…you will have to figure out…”

“…You don’t have a single clue now do you…”

“It does not matter…I simply wish for you to take as many of my children as possible…and flee this world…”

“Ha…..so how am I gonna go down there?” I asked, “Are you gonna shove me in a body or something?”

“No…Each world has their own pool souls they use…they follow a cycle, a reincarnation system…some souls come back faster than others, and sometimes they have slight memories of their past…If Earth had vessels to contain souls, or bodies, you would have reincarnated with all of your memories…due to your soul being tainted with Dust…I am going to have to put you in my pool of souls in order to reincarnate you…I will not be able to control your race either…”

“Just one thing. What is this Dust thing you keep on talking about. Earth said she didn’t even have any and that it tainted? my soul.”

“Simply put…Dust is similar in nature to your fantasy mana…it is a nano particle I designed to help my children…It obeys the orders of sentient beings, their brainwaves…and creates magical phenomenons…As for why your soul is tainted with it…I truly have no clue.”

“Great… So do you have any clue as to when the Apocalypse is gonna come?”

“Only 300 years are left…”

“Only? You mean there is that much time left?”

“The thing is… you are to end all wars and create a suitable spaceship to carry every race into outer space…not only just the sentient beings…but the feral ones as well.”

“…so a goddamn Noah’s Ark is what you want me to make.”

“Yes….”

I mentally face palmed myself. This situation is unbelievable. Something out of a fantasy.

“Well, I guess I can say that time is ticking. So beam me down, Scotty.”

“My name is Gaia…not Scotty.” Gaia grumbled as she swept me away.