Elsewhere in an unknown time and space….

The screams echoing around the void pause after what seems like an eternity.

“Better... you didn’t fall to your knees this time.” The Origin says with its ever-present monotonous voice.

Ragged pants answer it.

“We will move on to the next stage of pain.” It continues on.

“There’s another one? I thought this was the last course?” Montear asks tiredly. Although he has become far more resistant to the effects of general pain, it still exhausts him every time he’s tortured.

The wounds on his body are still closing after the lashes its razor-sharp tentacles unleashed on him.

It was only one stage of a long chain of beatings he’s taken. Others would be blunt trauma, being set on fire, crushed by an immovable object, eaten alive…both from the inside and out, etc.

“Although all pain is registered in the brain, different ways of being hurt can affect how you respond or feel the pain within it. Someone may not be too badly affected by sudden terrible pain, but a less intense burn over an extended period of time can completely incapacitate them. You must have a tolerance to a wide area of attacks on you, and thus...” The Origin motions behind Montear.

He swivels in place, and finds someone he’s never seen before. It’s a young boy. Though Montear has no knowledge of race, he knows that the boy has different features from himself.

“Hi. Who are you?” Montear asks curiously.

“Isaac.” The boy responds cheerfully. “And you mister?”

“I’m Montear.”

“Nice to meet you Montear. Can I call you Monty?”

He cocks his head to the side. “Why would you do that?”

Isaac giggles. “It’s called a nickname. Your funny Monty.”

The young boy merrily hops in front of him and sticks out his hand expectantly.

Montear recoils in alarm and stares at the boy’s hand warily. The Origin did say that they were moving on to the next stage.

Isaac raises an eyebrow and laughs. “It’s called a handshake. You have shaken hands with someone before right?”

Montear looks back at the Origin helplessly. “What is this? I thought we were going to continue training?”

The Origin’s appendages change from their tentacle forms back into replicas of his arms. It crosses them and shrugs his shoulders. “The people of your planet call it “human interaction.” You’ll need to know it when you start your path since it can be applied in other areas. We can continue where we left off at another time.”

He nods uncertainly at the entity and turns back to Isaac.

“It’s easy. Just grab my hand and shake it.” The boy says, as if oblivious to the black mass that is watching them.

Montear still looks lost but decides just to go through with it. When he reaches forward and grabs hold of Isaac’s hand, he proceeds to shake it left and right, and back and forth in an awkward manner.

This causes Isaac to start giggling hysterically. When he finally stops his laughter, he wipes a tear-off of the corner of his eye and looks at Montear with joy.

“I was right. You are funny Monty. Do you want to be friends?”

Montear doesn’t understand the concept of friendship, but decides that he should just say yes and nods his head.

When he agrees to Isaac’s offer, the boy starts jumping up and down happily.

He rushes forward and grasps Montear’s hand before finally pulling him in the direction of a video game console and t.v. that appeared out of the darkness. Soon after Montear’s questions about the devices, the two are playing and laughing, oblivious to the watchful gaze of the Origin. It’s cold, passive face analytically observing the pair while fading into the background.

After what seems like an absurdly long amount of time, Montear and Isaac are standing in front of a workbench, slaving away over a piece of tech that Isaac thought up. The young boy has gradually grown into his current teen body. He is still far smaller than Montear but has clearly matured into his own. Sharp features are drawn into an expression of deep concentration.

Over time they have grown close. Montear can barely remember a time that Isaac wasn’t in his life. This is odd, considering the fact that the time Montear spent with the Origin far succeeds the time he's spent with Isaac.

They have spoken at length about themselves to each other, though admittedly, Montear has far less information to give. Isaac still seems extremely interested though, so Montear always goes along with it, theorizing with his bright companion about what he could be. He spoke to him about his trials. How he was supposed to improve his capability of withstanding pain, and his regeneration. Isaac seemed determined to help Montear after that. Tests such as cutting off his own arm, or piercing his stomach with something incredibly sharp were frequent after the fact. He asked the Origin to give him more information so that Isaac can help, but it would never elaborate on the information he had previously given, and Isaac never acknowledged its presence.

Apparently, his friend was from the same planet his father's people come from, a place called Earth. He had lived with his father and mother in a nice house and had been given a full-ride scholarship to MIT when he was 6. According to Isaac that was quite an accomplishment to people from Earth. Articles around the world would speak about his achievement, not to mention the buzz that followed the many inventions he created that garnered billions in revenue in the two years that followed his acceptance into MIT. He had been creating another one of his contraptions in his private lab when he was suddenly knocked unconscious. When he awoke, he was here with Montear in the void.

Isaac’s face would always look a bit strained when he would speak about things concerning his past, saying how he missed his family, but would quickly revert back to his cheerful personality in a matter of seconds. Over time, however, he gradually switched their focus from having fun to testing out Montear’s powers. The main area of focus would be his resilience to damage and his incredible healing factor. As soon as their tests would end, his skin would patch itself up. Even lost limbs would regrow themselves with little pause, and he would be back to his previous self though at the cost of no small amount of pain. At one point they even chopped off his head. Which was equally painful as it was confusing. One moment his vision was swimming as his head fell to the floor, the next he was seeing through the new head that sprouted from his body.

Montear snaps out of his thoughts and continues slaving away on Isaac's newest invention until finally, they finish.

Sitting on the desk is a gun with a spout at the end of it. In the center of the gun sits a glass chamber housing a large glowing ember of light. According to Isaac, the plan is that once it’s turned on, a liquid will pour out of it. It should react to the air once it’s expelled and basically turn into a plasma-like substance that burns hotter than anything on earth.

Next to them sits a chamber constructed from a material that Montear asked the Origin for. Isaac was amazed upon receiving it. It was something new to him, so it wasn’t from his planet. A material that is pliable when cooled and hard when heated. It is impervious to heat, and to Montear's punches, which when tested by his small companion, were above anything a human should be capable of.

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The next test Isaac was to perform on Montear was to have him be engulfed by the heat of the plasma. Isaac would of course be on standby with a large robotic arm he had previously constructed that would haul him out of the chamber if things went wrong. They knew now that his body was resistant to immediate deterioration, and that his regeneration can outpace the destruction that fire causes on his body.

So this was the next logical step in Isaac's eyes.

Once Montear is standing within the tall confines of the metallic chamber, he looks up to give Isaac an ok sign. Once the teen gets his confirmation, he places the spout of the gun on the edge and pulls the trigger.

The plasma falls like syrup into the chamber at a speed far too slow for Montear’s liking. This is due to the fact that every inch that the substance rises, pulls another scream from Montear’s lips, as new skin is introduced to the sensation of being burned by an indescribable heat. His lungs feel like they are on fire when trying to breathe in the hot air. Beads of sweat fall down his brow, and into his eyes. He wipes at them ineffectively and looks down at his feet in horror. Where before he could see the substance only covering his ankles, now it’s almost to his knees. He can see the skin above the line of the plasma being burned to the bone. Slabs of skin seem to effortlessly peel off, and drop into the vat of the hellish red substance.

“Somethings wrong,” Montear notes to himself in a panic. He soon realizes what when he almost falls over into the plasma, but luckily catches himself on the walls of the chamber before he’s able to completely dropdown. He’s sinking into the substance.

“What’s happening?” He calls out.

The plasma continues falling over the side and into the chamber, as a distorted voice rings out.

“You’re melting. Even your bones can only take so much before they’re gone too. I realized when I was cutting into you, that your bones would be the last thing to give in. I made sure I made this plasma hot enough to take that into account as well as the regeneration. It should have melted everything below your knee by now. It’s only a matter of time before you’re completely gone.”

“Ok, I think that’s enough for the test. I can handle the pain, but I can’t handle the melting. I’m not regrowing my limbs fast enough!” Montear calls out in a panic.

The faceless mask of a heat resistant suit peers down at him from the edge of the chamber. It continues its silent stare until Montear yells at him. “Isaac, I said that’s enough!”

“I’m sorry Monty.” The distorted voice responds. “I really am. I’ve always liked you, but I need to do this. To get back home. To see my family. I’ve been away for 6 years Monty. I miss them so much.”

“What?! B-But I had nothing to do with that Isaac. I don’t know how to get you home!”

“I know you didn’t, and I know you don’t…. but IT does.” He looks to his side.

Suddenly, the Origin peers into the confines of the chamber. Its dark face looks at Montear coldly.

“You voluntarily stepped into his trap…how disappointing. It’s as if I taught you nothing.”

Montear looks at the Origin in confusion before turning back to his long time friend. “I thought you couldn’t see him, Isaac? Was that a lie?!”

The suit nods at him. “It’s what brought me here. It told me that I had to find a way to kill you to get home. Six long years Monty! Six YEARS it’s taken me to finally figure out! I am going home today.”

He aims the spout of the gun at Montear’s head. “I’m sorry.”

He presses down on the trigger, and the piping hot plasma splashes against Montear’s face.

His bloodcurdling scream rings out in a crescendo of pain that would cause any normal person's heart to stop. The trapped man thrashes out in a panic as pain fills every inch of his being. The pain of being betrayed by his first friend, the only family he’s ever known, and the pain of being melted alive.

“This is your final trial of pain Montear. This is the truth of life. Living beings are willing to do anything to reach their goals. To complete their plans. Even if it means trampling over yours. Even if it means taking your life. They are willing to upset the balance of things for their own gain. They are a danger to themselves. Even those closest to you can’t be trusted. You can only trust yourself. You cannot think like a mortal...You have to be more. You have to be willing to do more. To make the hard decisions. Whether it affects those closest to you, strangers, or even yourself. To accomplish your purpose.” The origin whispers in his head.

Montear continues thrashing around in agony. His face is almost unrecognizable. Bone is covering more of his body than skin and hair.

“There must be a balance in this universe. There must be an equalizer. An overseer. To ensure that neither life nor death can overflow out control.”

Montear roars out as he leaps out of the chamber with glowing eyes. His legs have regrown in an instant. He crashes into Isaac, sending them both to the floor. The enraged, god-like being, climbs onto the smaller boy and wraps his hands around his throat.

Isaac’s choking cough barely sounds out over the vice-like grip of Montear’s hands. “M-Monty.”

“You BETRAYED me!” He snarls. His voice sounds akin to a whirling tornado. Multiple voices overlap in different tones. His eyes glow in a maelstrom of energy.

“M-my family...” The frightened voice rasps out.

Tears sting Montear’s eyes, as he slightly loosens his grip.

Isaac gulps in large amounts of air. “I didn’t want to. It made me. I just wanted to go home.”

“Lies…” The Origin whispers in his head again. “No one made him. He had a choice. He chose to kill you.”

“Then why didn’t you just tell me?” Montear spits out. “Why didn’t you just tell me the truth? I would have found a way to help get you home. You had a choice!”

“No more anger Montear. No more fear. No more sadness. All of this is too human. Too weak. The only good thing that comes from being a mortal is having a soul. You already have it. Strip away everything else. All emotions. Think clearly and make your choice. He’s a risk to have around. Kill him.”

“K-kill...” Montear hesitates.

“This is the next step Montear. Losing your humanity. Losing your weakness.” The Origin materializes over him and Isaac. “Do this and you will be ready to continue in your purpose for being.”

Montear looks down at Isaac’s fearful eyes.

His face slowly loses its creases of anger. The tears that were once flowing down his face, dry up in an instant. His cold eyes examine Isaac’s face.

“Please Mo- “

A loud crack sounds out. Isaac slumps to the floor in a heap. Montear's mind is a hectic symphony of noise, and he looks up in a dazed state. His eyebrow crease and twin beams of light shoot from his eyes, into the darkness.

Unbeknownst to Montear, it's not exclusive to his mental void. His real body, the infant body floating in the nothingness of the Origin, shoots those same beams of light, out of his face. They rip through the protective covering of the Origin and fly into the distance.

Outer space near Planet Earth...

In the real world, a chaotic war rages out. Luckily, Earth has so far avoided the immense amounts of energy shooting out in different directions of space. Suddenly a pair of beams shoot out of nowhere burning several floating beings in half. All at once, everyone on the battlefield stops. The energy signature had been familiar to a few almost instantly.

“Montear?” A voice calls out hopefully. Sani’s eyes look far into the distance in an attempt to locate the origin of the beams.

Oddly enough, the opposing side also seems careful not to attack. They too seem preoccupied with finding the location of the beams.

“He’s still out there.” A second voice whispers to Sani. Aristi nods to her Mother reassuringly.

“How did he get that far?” A deep voice asks. Jabez gestures behind him. “I estimate that the origin of those beams is about a light-year that way.”

“I don’t know… but we must get to him. Jabez, you stay here close to Earth and make sure the Trinity doesn’t overtake this planet. Aristi, take half of your siblings and head towards Montear.”

“What will you do Mother?” Jabez asks.

“I will go with Aristi, but first…I have to check on something down on Earth.” She says as she notices the barrier around Earth start to fall. Most of the Trinity seems to be racing in the direction the beams came from.

Aristi gives her Mother a knowing look. “I’ve got my strength back. If he’s there, no one will touch him.”

Sani nods to her children and dismisses them.

“Hototo. Whatever happened to you, my love?” She thinks to herself as she flies towards Earth knowing it has changed quite a bit in the last 100 years.

Current Day (East End)

Montear opens his eyes with a quick intake of breath. He has a thin layer of sweat covering his face. His clothes cling to his body as if unwilling to part with their owner.

“Another nightmare?” Isaac's voice calls out in the darkness. He’s lying next to him in his own pile of haphazardly piled pieces of cloth.

“Yeah…” He murmurs.

“About what?” Isaac asks curiously. He turns and rests his head on an outstretched hand.

They’re currently sleeping inside of a small cave, formed by the mountains of scrap strewn about the place.

“A-About...” He pauses after a moment. “Hey Isaac, do you remember when we first met?”

“Yes,” Isaac says slowly. “When I first moved to the orphanage after Ma passed away. I was spending my first day there, and the other kids decided to “initiate” me out on the street. They started hitting me, and you walked out to fetch that month’s allowances from Eden for the orphanage. You took one look at me and rushed over like a crazy man, tossing people around like a bull.”

He giggles to himself, obviously enjoying the memory. “You looked like you had seen a ghost. Why do you ask?”

“Nothing just reminiscing…” He trails off. “Anyways, do you remember the plan for tomorrow?”

Isaac nods to him.

"Ok...then get some sleep buddy."

The young boy shuts his eyes and quickly falls back to sleep.

Montear rubs his eyes tiredly. "Was it all just a nightmare?" He rubs the scars over his arms lightly and sighs to himself. "No use in wondering about something so ridiculous."