The Good Evil

Seven gods reigned over the earth, observing the downfall of a frail young man. He cried profusely towards a woman in a statue-like state, never to recover again. The gods discussed amongst each other their concerns about the events unfolding on earth. Lakshmi, the god of prosperity and fortune was the first to speak.

“What will happen to him, Saraswati?”

Her nerves were showing as she bit her lip embarrassed to admit the reality of the situation. The god of wisdom went to speak up but was stopped by a man lather from head to give in fine jewel. Several gold chains dangled from his neck and had rings for every fingers and all occasions.

"She doesn't know, do you, Sara?" Shiva shook his head chuckling away.

She shied herself from the other turning around she said, “It’s beyond even my wisdom.” She said, "It’s never happened before. I’m still learning as we speak, but as of now, his paths are too chaotic. I’m sorry, my lord.”

Shiva capitalized on the moment, digging into her humiliation even further. “You had one goddamn job, Sara, and you constantly keep messing it up. JAJAJAJAJA!”

A rage was brewing in Saraswati. She contemplated abandoning their mission with all her knowledge and wisdom. She saw only one path, and it led to failure not only for them but for all the gods.

"Enough, Shiva," Brahma said, startling the god of destruction.

Shiva's eyebrow twitched in response, physically moving backward a few steps out of pure shock. "You—you haven’t spoken in a while."

"I know what happens. That’s all we need to know," Brahma said, defusing the altercation with only a few words. "And it's magnificent."

Back on Earth, the frail black-haired individual, who cried, was thrown into a blind rage. "Come back to me!" He threw his arms up into the air, screaming with a hateful passion. "AHHHHH!"

Behind Kamiya, a kind and gentle voice of another, strong and sturdy, spoke. You could feel his conviction and his regret for what he was doing, for what he had already done. "It’s for the greater good, you know, Kamiya," Rami stated. Alongside him were the six virtues: kindness, patience, temperance, truth, justice, and courage.

Kamiya turned around. It was his father figure, Rami. He was tall and had a gentle demeanor to him. His skin was fair and light, and he had long, silky blonde hair, reminiscent of a woman's head. All of Kamiya’s attention, contempt, and dejection were now focused on the man. "YOU DID THIS?!"

Rami's seven wings sprang out from his back as an automatic response to battle, one of them acting as a shark’s fin. They were large and made from a crystal-like ice substance. The color wasn’t blue, but a turquoise green that sparkled and shone when exposed to light. The bottom half of his face was covered in the crystal ice as well, used as a mask or, in this case, a piece of armor. Condensation formed with every exhale he took. His clothing shifted off his body, revealing a special grade of armor: white with dark blue specs of Shakti (Divine Energy or Life Force) flew off of him. His wings grew bigger, and a halo began to form around his head, changing his hair from blonde to white. “This must be the Christian divinity known as a halo. Huh? I’ve been deemed an angel.”

Kamiya contemplated out loud, “But why kill her? Why not me?! You want me to die, right?! To fix your karma?!” Neither Rami nor the other Virtues responded.

Rami then said calmly and truthfully, “You are right about one thing. We are trying to fix karma, but we had nothing to do with Aria’s death.”

“LIES!” Kamiya exploded, beginning to hyperventilate.

Rami shook his head, explaining, “You think I or any of us would lie? You should know by now that it’s impossible at this point. I cannot lie any longer. Despite the circumstances, we are the just ones. You don’t remember, do you? Exactly what have you done?”

Kamiya always had a problem remembering the most important things; it was as though he blocked them out of his mind to alleviate his worries. He brought misfortune upon the entire world, leading to the demise of every last organism. Aria was in that state because her misfortune was to be hidden away from the world, not displayed as she should have been—a statue made by a careless sculptor.

He hung his head low, gazing at the dead ants on the ground like the gods were observing him from above. Clouds began to form overhead, darkening to nearly black and blocking all external light sources from the planet. The world now embodies darkness, requiring one to squint and focus to see even an inch in front of them.

Shiva asked from above, confused, “What’s going on now?” seeing that dark clouds covered their view of Earth. “Vishnu, can you go back to them? It was just getting better.”

Vishnu replied simply, “I can’t.”

“All useless. I’ll handle him myself,” Shiva said, reaching to crush the world, intending to destroy their mistakes in an instant.

Brahma raised his voice and said, “Stop being a fool! Do you really want the other pantheons to find out what we’re up to? What do you think Buddha would do to us? Or the Christian God? Stay where you are. That is your place.”

Shiva was again shot down and forced to stay put like the rest of them, no longer able to watch the unluckiest person in all of existence.

Kamiya held his heavy heart, his sorrow becoming too much for him to bear. “You pretended to be my family. You tricked her! Manipulated millions! This shouldn’t have happened…”

The virtue of patience became concerned and antsy, observing the clouds forming and colliding together. A red static charge deep within the middle of the cloud formations illuminated them, revealing a face was actually forming. “Raim, we have to make a move.”

“Now, now, Zelfa. There’s no rush.” Raim explained, “Since becoming an angel, I’ve learned every invocation and mastered all angelic skills. There is no hidden knowledge among the heavens. No secrets. Only the truth."

"Ribbit." Habala, the virtue of kindness heard. "SPLASH!" Blood splattered over the seven; frogs rained from the clouds; and droplets of blood flooded the land. The seas ran red in pools of hemoglobin. The virtues wiped the blood from their faces, frightened by his power.

Raim asked, antagonizing Kamiya, who stood knee-deep in the gore, “So. Do you want to kill us yet?!”

Human bodies, or what looked to be human bodies but were instead empty shells of people, began to pour down, and the noise of falling individuals became too unbearable. The impact of slamming heads on the ground, along with other corpses' bones snap and contort as they land.

Justice sided with Zelfa’s first introspection of the situation, saying, “We have to pull the trigger now!”

Kamiya lifted his head, looking back at them with his ocular power, The Evil Eyes, and told them, “I’m going to make you all beg for forgiveness.” His red eyes shimmered, his pupils were replaced by six overlapping circles forming a spherical blossom, with each circle overlapping each other.

Raim finally listened to the rest of his fellow comrades, raising his finger to the sky. A small blue orb formed on the tip of his index finger. “Divine Constant Invocation #100: World Over + Crystal-Ice Skill: Oblivion Ridden = Below Absolute Sub-Zero.” The orb dissipated into the air, freezing all the land and oceans in the world. The black clouds became frozen over, and a bridge of ice connecting the Earth to the Moon was created. Kamiya’s surroundings were the only thing unaffected by this technique.

Kamiya said as nicely as possible, “I’ll let go of this once. I forgive you all.” The ice from the divine technique disappeared; nothing remained left on the Moon or Earth.

The blood, the carcasses of dead frogs and shillings, and even the clouds were now gone. Everything was returned to normal. The earth was beautiful once again, and they were back in the pasteurized open fields of Taiga. “Odd, isn’t it?" Kamiya’s demeanor changed, and he himself seemed odd. The tears were gone, and he had a bright, big smile on his face. “My Luck.”

Raim nodded his head with the same big smile Kamiya embodied. They were as happy as they could be. “Well, if it isn’t my lucky day, now’s the time for me to save the world.” Three of the virtues rushed to blitz the mere mortal. Patience, kindness, and justice slipped on the ground itself, crashing into each other. “This will be much more difficult than I initially planned for,” Raim announced, watching the spectacle that had just occurred. Some of the strongest beings known to man tripped and fell over each other, appearing as amateurs.

Raim held his right arm out, opening his palms outward, facing Kamiya. His index and pinky fingers were detached from his body and used as a sacrifice.

Raim said calmly and collectively, “Come forth, my familiar. Allion." One hundred crystal-ice creatures in the form of reptilians appeared behind him, seemingly out of thin air. “These are my familiars. The Allion Family of Ice Serpents.”

A long jade dragon made of ice flew over the other mountain-sized reptiles that included: a two-headed king cobra, a golden dart frog, a Komodo dragon, a white-headed dwarf gecko (the smallest member of the family), a Lepus (an ancient reptilian Dryptosaurus), and a chameleon, just to name a few.

“Rod of Asclepius,” Raim said. Immediately afterwards. A sword made from ice impaled the king cobra from the top of its head. The cobra did not split in two nor shatter; instead, it shifted and curled around the blade, forming the double Asclepius (the Greek symbol for healing and medicine).

“You can stop with all that flashy power of yours. It pales in comparison.” Kamiya raised his arm, putting it behind his head, reaching and grasping for empty air. A small corporeal space opened up, and out came a blade. Not a sword, but a red blade with no hilt or handle. It appeared to never be properly sheathed and showed signs of being beaten and exhausted from use in combat, with chips, scratches, and memories of warfare carved into its frame. The weapon also generated its own dark red aura, but not like the red blade itself. It was a near black aura, with only a shade of red.

“Come forth, my familiar: Kizutsui ta ba no Gatsu wa Kirai," he said. (translation: If you are hurt, then be hurt, the red/black blade).

Upon grabbing the blade, he cuts all his fingers. The blood coming from his hand trails down the blade, falling off the tip.

This shocked all virtues from the inside out, stopping them where they were. Raim fell to a single knee, puking up blood. “His familiar is a weapon and not a spirit or creature?” Raim thought to himself.

Kamiya appeared in front of Raim with his blade already raised above his head, ready to execute his main target.

“Goodbye.” Kamiya said, swinging downward at such speeds that Raim couldn’t perceive the attack.

"HOW IS HE THIS FAST? FUCK!" Raim tried to raise his arm in time to mitigate the slash, but he wasn't quick enough.

The other virtues attempted to get there in time, but every mistake they could have made occurred at the worst possible moment. The three that had slipped—justice, kindness, and patience—struggled to get back up to their feet, climbing on one another and frustrating themselves. Temperance tried to help but couldn’t stop himself from puking. Truth couldn’t do anything from a range. Courage tried to get to his brethren in time but had a prior injury from training on his own accord and was too slow to make it this time.

It was just Kamiya’s luck.

The blade was an inch away from Raim’s neck. Suddenly, it was blocked. Three other angels with halos and wings stopped and rejected Kamiya’s attack. The blade was flung out of his right hand, cutting off all of his fingers. The backlash from the attack leveled the entire mountain range of the continent they were occupying, Asia. Kamiya held his hand, compressing the wound and stopping the bleeding. Upon removing his hand from the wound, it was gone, and his fingers were back.

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Raim got up from the position he was in, holding his stomach and struggling to stand, too sickly for any kind of physical movement. “They came faster than I thought... I’m not some ordinary, chip-off-the-ole-block kind of angel. I’ve been ranked as a Guardian Angel,” he explained, catching Kamiya's attention amidst the entire encounter. “Not an Arch-Seraphim nor a part of God’s Cherubim. No. Nothing like that.” Despite his condition, Raim wore his smile once more. “I’ve actually been ranked in the middle order as, “The Guardian of the Christian King’s Throne.” I would have preferred Buddha’s protector, but I'm not complaining. Haha. Now I can call upon lower-order angel saints at any time.” As Raim thought to himself, “It's only allowing me 3? I should be able to summon more as I progress through the angelic rankings.” He released his hand from his stomach, cracking his neck, and took a large inhale followed by an exhale. Turning to look at the rod of Asclepius, he remarked, “It’s kicking in. The Asclepius is adapting to your kizutsui ta ba no gatsu wa kirai’s poisons. That’s how it works, right? Dosing our blood with the blood that falls off the tip of that foul blade. Now, what will you do without it?”

Without hesitation, Kamiya swung, acting as though he was going to slice through one of the angel saints summoned. The blade reappeared in his hand, cutting down one of the summonses across the torso. “The kizutsui ta ba no gatsu wa kirai can never leave my side. We are bound by blood,” he declared.

The two other angels stood over Kamiya, angered at their fallen brother’s killer. They crashed their blunt weapons down at Kamiya with such killing intent that Raim himself got spooked by their power and teleported out of the vicinity, leaving only a frost clone behind.

Kamiya stood apathetic, showing zero reaction. Both attacks missed him by a wide margin. Kamiya spun in a 360-degree motion, swiftly beheading them with a single strike.

The Allion family’s Long Dragon, Degirsu, blew his frost breath directly at Kamiya, throwing him thousands of miles backward into several different ice glaciers and mountains, hydroplaning on water before hitting land. The breath also formed mile-high ice formations. Kamiya landed somewhere in the Himalayas, getting up and patting the frost off of him. Dead bodies surrounded him.

Through the Evil Eyes', Kamiya saw six of the virtues and the army of serpents rushing in from a distance. He could perceive their energy levels, life forces, and even their exact destinations. It wasn’t a future sight, but clairvoyance showing Kamiya where they would go instead of a path to them. Everyone was accounted for, except— “Where’s Raim?” Kamiya thought.

Raim's voice came from behind: “Divine Constant Invocation #6: Locket from the Henlein + Crystal-Ice Final Incarnation: Pillar of the Ice Deity, Tengliu = PermaFrost.” The upward slash cut Kamiya from the stomach up. This technique had a secondary containment effect, creating a pillar of ice that would reach the heavens, unbreakable, a sort of forever-living crystal ice. “Gotcha,” the other, arrived to aid Raim. “I’ve already got it handled.”

Kamiya couldn’t hear them. All was sealed from this pillar except for sight and light. He hadn’t the slightest clue how to get out. “NO. NO. NO! This can't be happening. I’ve never won a fight I’ve needed to. My luck is a true torturous curse.” If he could cry in that pillar, he would.

Raim put his hand with lost fingers on the outside of the ice like it was a menagerie, his blood smearing onto it, saying, “I thought you were going to make me beg for forgiveness?” He mouthed it out loud and clear. He did it slowly, so Kamiya would know. Kamiya couldn’t hear, but he understood every word spoken.

Kamiya went crazy, affecting everything in the outside world. High winds, lightning storms, and earthquakes ripped open the ground and parted the seas. Volcanoes erupted, and plagues of every kind were brought forth. “I WON’T DIE! I WILL KILL THEM FOR WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO ARIA AND THE WORLD. JUST DON'T DIE!"

The Sun began to drop position, and the earth's gravity was thrown off, tossing the planet off its axis. The Sun was on a direct course towards them.

Raim pressed on the pillar. “Don't be too humiliated. Not a single god could escape this fate,” he said, chuckling a bit before regaining his composure. “This combination of techniques I'm using is known as Heavenly Equations. This is a special two-part equation: the unbreakable ice seal and its second half. The only means to unlock it... and what happens to you inside when it disappears?” Raim’s halo grew brighter, spinning at light speeds and siphoning Shikta, or the life energy from the surrounding area, which included all other virtues. “Divine Constant Invocation #999: Theatrical Tragedy + Crystal-Ice First Incarnation: Winter’s Solstice = The Disappearing Ice act, Oncore.

The Sun got closer, and everything became incinerated in seconds. Flairs brighten the world as the world becomes more chaotic.

“NOT YET!!! NO. FOR ARIA. I WON'T DIE.”

Raim pressed even further, shattering the pillar into small pieces like glass, with every shard breaking down further. The pieces of ice broke themselves down to the point where they no longer had an atomic or physical state. It was as though the pillar was never there to begin with, completely erased from existence, with not a particle left. Raim spoke for the final time to Kamiya, who was watching with his evil eyes through a small piece of shard that was slowly dissipating, and he saw every word being spoken. "I get it, Kamiya... The humility… You see, that’s my virtue. The one thing we have in common is our humility. Now, begone, you hideous monster."

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

His life flashed before his eyes. He saw his first steps he took on the side of dark backroads, all the way up to when he met Raim, in hell, as an infant, along with a handful of other demons that took care of him growing up. He saw the flashes bring forth a sweet girl that when he was 16 years old, he kissed her by a fountain with doves playing in the background. He relived the moments he fought for her love over the Hindu gods Asura and Indra and won her love over them. He will never forget her death. Of this betrayal. “I’ll have my revenge-”

Rayguard awoke in a deep sweat, finding himself in a field of grass. Children were chasing each other and tackling one another, and tents were set up with banners from the Dragon Slayer Corps camp nearby. He looked at the sun as it was nearly setting, its rays casting a beautiful glow around the surrounding area as it dimmed slightly above the mountains.

“The sun’s… Going… Down…” Rayguard squinted at the sun until his eyes began to water. “Why does that sound important?” Suddenly, Rayguard remembered, “Oh, Shit. Maestre Bjorn.” With a sense of urgency, Rayguard flew up, rushing down the hill he was on, but tripped on a stick and tumbled downward.

A young girl with two long braids and a rainbow band over the top of her bright blonde hair stood above him, shaking her head in disappointment. She had freckles that were only around the nose, and her eye color was odd—it was purple. “Aren’t you and all the hunter boys supposed to be doing something special today?” she said.

"Helena? And if by 'special' you mean hunting for Wyrmlings (hatchling dragons), we do that every day," Rayguard replied. He hopped up from the ground and got into different funny stances, including one where he got back on the ground to kick his feet. "I want to learn how to kill a real dragon. Not these stupid little babies."

“You’re a baby!” Helena laughed. “You couldn’t even beat me in a fight.

Rayguard scoffed. “Whatever, I have to go anyway. I'm late, as you can tell.” The girl stuck her tongue out, throwing her hands to her side. Rayguard ran off in the opposite direction, sticking his tongue back towards her. “You suck, Helena Jean.”

“You’re even worse, Emil Rayguard!” She yelled back so he could hear.

Rayguard just kept running, ignoring her. He ran through the camp, jumping the sheepherders' fence. He ran next to the animals, scaring them.

“Hey, kid! You can't do that!” The sheepherder yelled.

“Sorry.” Rayguard apologized, tripping up on some sheep before jumping out to the other side. Soldiers' horses got startled by him running across on the crossroads. “Sorry.”

The soldier scolded Rayguard. “Watch yourself, brat! This is a stallion you’re dealing with.”

Rayguard reached the back of the camp, heading into the woods. He made it to the clearing, where his instructor, Bjorn, was teaching the rest of the dragon scouts. Bjorn's face turned red upon seeing Rayguard. “Young Emil! Why are you half an hour late for the most important day of your pathetic life? What if Conrad had found a wyrmling and died? That would’ve been on you because you were gallivanting around camp!”

Rayguard replied logically. “Actually, Maestre Bjorn, that would be entirely your fault. I’m 12… and you're the Maestre... It’s basically your job to protect us.”

Bjorn was left speechless. “Once I figure this out, you’re getting a big punishment. Now, young Emil Rayguard, go search with the rest of the scouts right this instant. I’ll have you with Elric, Cassian, Bard, Lancaster, and Jeremiah. They’ll fill you in on the rest.”

"So soon," Rayguard cried to himself on the inside.

He turned and saw his group talking amongst each other, as well as every other group, as a matter of fact. Everyone was so focused and assertive, with groups etching sketches of plans and the surrounding area with tree branches.

He saw multiple different classes from five other houses: the House of Sigrid, the House of Valium, the Sab, the Fareham House, and the home of Lord Godfred. Confused, Ray thought back on what Helena had said: "A special day." He finally remembered: Today was the last day for the dragon hunting qualifiers! How could he have forgotten?

Bjorn announced this to the classes. “Good luck to you all!” He said it in a lower voice, stepping over to Rayguard’s ear from behind. “Worst of luck to you, smartass," he whispered.

“You don’t even know about luck, kid.” Rayguard said back to his Maestre with a look only he’d given in his past life. “Reincarnation sucks...”

Bjorn raised his left eyebrow, yelling, “Who are you calling, kid?! And what the hell are you even talking about—reincarnation? I’ll reincarnate you into a donkey, Jackass!”

Emil Rayguard was a normal boy by this world’s standards. Born with no title, no special gifts, and very little soul source, the silver spoon of wealth hadn't been gifted to him, neither in this life nor the last. At least that’s what he could piece together. His father, Tyson, was a miller, and his mother, Jonana, was a housewife. She was on constant watch over his two younger twin sisters, Molly and Molly, who were troublemakers to the highest extent. Their names were the same because Tyson and Jonana were not expecting twins. So now they both have the original baby's name, Molly Ann Rayguard.

Emil Rayguard was of average height for his age, standing at 5'8". His torso and arms were slightly longer than his lower half and legs. He wasn’t skinny or muscular but had solid, bulky shoulders. His face took after his mother Jonana's side, with many features resembling Bards and Indo-Europeans. Unlike his sisters, he didn’t inherit Joana’s fiery ginger hair or his father's straight-stranded blonde hair. Instead, Rayguard’s hair was unique; the right side of his head was white, while the other half was black, resting nappily. His hair was neither curly or straight, but wavy and messy, yet somehow clean at the same time. The real reason for Emil’s unconventional hairstyle was that he only ran his hand through his hair as if that were a comb. His family always found it odd that Rayguard's hair was black and white, and he believed it to be the one characteristic he had kept from his past. There was a slight alteration in his hair’s pattern compared to Kamiya’s; the neatness and health of the follicles were all there. The top hair was about 4 inches longer than his short sides and was combed over to his left side.

Rayguard’s eyes were brown, like those of his mother and sisters. The only thing that he inherited from his father was a single freckle on his face. While Tyson’s freckle was located on the side of his left eye, underneath the ending arches of the eyebrow, Rayguard’s freckle was spotted on the bottom right side of his chin. His highlight feature was arguably his caramel skin complexion, a perfect tan, which was again an uncharacteristic family trait as they were on the paler side. It was because, at a young age, he would expose himself to the sun, a byproduct of vigorous training, resulting in the pinnacle suntan.

Kamiya’s misfortune and bad luck had fallen off in this world. Finally, peace… Yet Rayguard needed that power back to kill the gods and those he called friends. Family. “Revenge for-” He did not know, but he soon will. After 12 long years, he thinks he may have figured out the solution to his problems. He must follow the anecdotes and acts of his past life to restore his fragmented memories, thus returning him to his former glory. First, he must pass the Dragon Hunting Qualifiers, the chance for scouts to prove their mettle and become official hunters for the corps. The Houses of Atlas entrust a family member to recruit scouts into their very own Dragon Corporation. Depending on how well you do in the qualifier and/or how much soul source the spirit contains, you could be adopted into one of three classes of family. Main, Major, and Minor.

Main: the highest class of houses, partially refers to the rich, wealthy, and the original five families of Atlas: The House of Sigrid, the home of Lord Godfred, Queen Elizabeth’s residence for the extraordinary, Ceaus, and the Citadel of Atlas, the only formed government house. Not a part of any kingdom, the Citadel of Atlas was brought together with the intent to oversee new spawning kingdoms before becoming its own house of selected individuals consisting of generals, royalty, appointed political figures, and knowledgeable wise men only five years ago.

Major: the middle of the social classes and the largest, includes blue-collar workers, the average Joe, the 99%, and working-class citizens like the dragon hunters, yet they themselves have their own dragon corps. Here's how this system works: Major, Minor, and Triad start with little to no power and are seen as rogue groups. These classes and the houses in them have the chance to become kings of their own kingdom. This is where sovereign artifacts come into play.

The only hope for humanity is this world's scapegoat, a gift from the gods. Sovereign artifacts, also known as Zayain in the elder language, were powerful, rare weapons used to fend off waves of dragons during the First Dragon Invasion. Not much is really known about them. They have no real origins, and some say they came along when the dragons did. Aside from being powerful weapons, there is one other unique property. This connects back to the main family houses and how royalty naturally occurs. "Anyone can be king," that was what Atlas stood for, what was fought for. And this is what these weapons provided.

Depending on the sovereign weapon’s rarity, with the highest being emperor, it will grant you a kingdom from the ground up. A city will rise, and a rogue group will become a family of royals. The right to be king is determined by a weapon. They say that’s how the first nations rose: the kingdom of Western Yern, the nation of Blue Note, the Lion Nation Trifold, the Eastern Empire of Yern-xaui, and the capital of England. There are only 10 known emperor artifacts in existence. Five were passed down to the Main family’s heads; one other belongs to a general of the Citadel; and the remaining four are located in unconquerable dungeons and towers.

Major is the next step after Minor, having more resources, authority, and a broader reach on the political scale, working alongside the main houses and the upper class of society.

Minor: is the lowest class, consisting of the House of Fang and the House of the Claw. These two form the dragon corporation Wallowa, responsible for exterminating wyrmlings and stingers, mainly staying out of harm's way.

Rayguard took a step back in introspection, observing his team from the enemy's perspective. "Weaklings… all of them," Rayguard thought. "They couldn’t kill a dragon if they tried. I bet they think they’re strong, hoping to one day become a hero or at least a good person. Ha. Haha. Hahaha. HAHAHA! HAHAHA!!" He couldn’t help but uncontrollably laugh at humanity.