[Year 2025 – Age 29]

The war against the unknown had reached its breaking point.

At first, humanity responded with overwhelming firepower. Hypersonic missiles, and others the pinnacle of military technology, proved devastating against the monstrous creatures emerging from the depths. Warships and aircraft rained destruction upon the sea, pushing back the initial assaults. For a time, victory seemed possible.

But the monsters endured.

No matter how much firepower was thrown at them, they continued to grow stronger as time passed. Their bodies became increasingly resistant to heat, impact, and sheer force. Their flesh hardened into dense, armor-like scales, and their sheer size and power escalated beyond anything humanity had seen before. The second year of the war saw the first definitive loss—entire fleets were destroyed, their wreckage swallowed by the sea.

Faced with the threat of extinction, the world turned to the ultimate weapon. Tactical nuclear strikes were authorized. The ocean burned, massive explosions vaporizing entire regions. Once again, humanity felt hope. If the planet’s deadliest weapon couldn’t stop them, nothing could.

The ocean grew silent, eerily so. For months, no new attacks came. Some dared to believe the threat had been eliminated. Governments focused on rebuilding, soldiers returned home.

But anyone with a shred of intelligence knew better.

If the creatures had survived nuclear annihilation, then nothing in humanity’s arsenal could stop them. Their return was not a question of if, but when. And when they did, they would be stronger.

The end was no longer a distant fear—it was an inevitability.

But in the face of crisis, evolution answered.

Samuel had been the first, but he was no longer alone. Others had begun to awaken, their bodies attuned to the ever-present force of Natural Energy. These new beings, dubbed Metahumans, possessed abilities beyond scientific understanding. Some wielded the elements, others displayed superhuman strength, and a rare few could even bend reality itself.

More than soldiers, they were humanity’s last hope.

Governments formed elite units and deployed Metahumans to the front lines against the monstrous threats. These warriors became the new weapons of war, pushing back against the tide.

And yet, amidst them all, Samuel remained unmatched due to the overwhelming quantity of natural energy he had contained.

For years, he had dominated the battlefield. The Sun Gaze, his golden energy beam, had incinerated creatures no weapon could touch. His body had transcended human limits—faster, stronger, and more resilient than any other Metahuman.

But there was a problem.

He had reached his peak.

His body had absorbed all the Natural Energy it could contain. No matter how many battles he fought or how much energy he gathered, he could no longer grow stronger. Others continued to evolve, their powers increasing with time, but Samuel remained the same.

And the war was not slowing down.

He had seen it firsthand. The creatures weren’t just growing stronger physically—they were becoming tougher, their raw power increasing at a terrifying pace.

Samuel knew that if he stayed stagnant, he would eventually be surpassed by the monster or even other metahumans.

But he was no ordinary metahuman. He had spent years studying Natural Energy, unraveling its mysteries. And now, he had found the answer.

Absorption was not the final step of evolution.

To transcend his limits, he had to do something different.

[Year 2026 – Age 30]

The world had long struggled against invasions from mutant creatures, particularly the relentless waves of insects. But with the emergence of Metahumans, the tides had turned. Losses dwindled, humanity adapted, and fragile stability settled over the planet.

Progress surged forward. Scientists discovered new elements and materials, their properties defying conventional physics. Mutant trees and plants imbued with Natural Energy flourished, their wood harder than steel, their leaves brimming with untapped potential. For the first time in years, the world seemed to be heading in the right direction.

Yet, Samuel remained unsatisfied.

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The war had forced him to his limits, and he refused to remain stagnant. For an entire year, he pushed himself beyond exhaustion, searching for a way to evolve. Then—he succeeded.

By harnessing Natural Energy at the deepest level, he refined his body down to its very cells, triggering a transformation unlike anything before. He transcended the boundaries of Metahuman and stepped into an entirely new stage—Megahuman.

His strength multiplied tenfold. His body became a living fortress, more durable, faster, and more powerful than ever before. His abilities sharpened—his golden energy beam, once a simple linear attack, now moved with his will, twisting mid-air to strike with impossible precision. His control had reached perfection.

But not everyone celebrated his evolution.

With the world stabilizing, the ruling class turned its wary gaze toward him. Samuel was no longer just a hero—he was a force beyond their control. A being so powerful, so unpredictable, that even the leaders of nations feared what he could become.

To them, stability was fragile. And a man like him?

He was a threat to the balance they had fought so hard to maintain.

[Year 2030 – Age 34]

Ten years had passed since the emergence of Natural Energy reshaped the world. Humanity had adapted, but not without cost. The global population had been halved, with half the world's nations erased, their lands overrun by mutant creatures. What remained of civilization had stabilized, and technology advanced in new directions, harnessing Natural Energy as an endless power source.

By all logic, the world should have been a better place.

But it wasn’t.

A new conflict had emerged—not against monsters, but among humans themselves.

Governments and non-Affinity individuals sought to regulate the evolution of Enhanced Humans and Metahumans, imposing restrictions to halt their growth. What began as policies and laws soon escalated into oppression. Some nations developed specialized weapons to hunt their own Metahumans, using hostages, coercion, or outright force to bend them into tools of the state.

And it wasn’t just ordinary humans who harbored hostility. In certain regions, particularly under authoritarian rule, powerful Metahumans had seized control, overthrowing governments and establishing their own reigns. This only deepened the paranoia of other world leaders, who now viewed their own Metahumans as ticking time bombs. Surveillance tightened, trust eroded, and an invisible war began brewing.

Samuel was among the most closely monitored individuals. As one of the few Megahumans—the rare beings who had surpassed even Metahumans—he was not just powerful. He was the first and strongest of them all.

His parents, once ordinary civilians, were now under the government’s "protection"—though Samuel knew the truth. They were hostages in everything but name, a safeguard to ensure his loyalty. He had no intention of betraying his country, but their actions left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Still, he played along.

At the very least, their so-called "protection" ensured his parents lived in comfort, away from threats. He rarely spoke to the president, but when he did, it was only for one reason—to remind him to make sure that he would keep his family safe.

[Year 2032 – Age 36]

For years, humanity had feared the return of the sea monsters. But no one expected them to come as an organized force.

They struck without warning.

One moment, the oceans were calm—then the tides roared to life. A global tsunami, towering higher than skyscrapers, surged inland, swallowing entire cities in mere seconds. Millions perished before emergency systems could even sound the alarm. No nation was spared.

This was not a mindless disaster. It was a declaration of war.

And at its center stood a nightmare given form—the Sea Dragon.

This was no mere beast. Unlike the monstrosities that had plagued humanity before, this creature was aware. Its intelligence rivaled the greatest human minds, and its power dwarfed even that of Samuel, the strongest Megahuman alive. Towering above the waves, its scales gleamed like living metal, reflecting the lightning storms it conjured at will. The very ocean obeyed its commands, shifting and rising at its slightest whim.

Nations fell in a single night.

The strongest fleets were reduced to scrap metal, torn apart by water sharper than steel. Cities vanished beneath the waves as the creature summoned whirlpools that swallowed entire metropolises. Even nuclear strikes failed—whenever humanity launched an attack, the Sea Dragon raised towering walls of water, shielding itself before the bombs could detonate.

The world’s defenses crumbled.

There was only one option left.

Samuel Barlow—the strongest human alive—stood alone against the coming tide.

The battle lasted seven days and seven nights.

Samuel met the Sea Dragon in the heart of the storm, where the sky bled fire, and the ocean churned with enough force to crack the seafloor. Their first clash split the heavens—his Sun Gaze met the dragon’s tidal blast, colliding in an explosion that vaporized miles of ocean.

The world watched in horror as its greatest warrior faced an enemy beyond comprehension.

Every exchange reshaped the battlefield. The force of their strikes shattered islands. Tidal waves the size of mountains crashed into continents, altering coastlines forever. Samuel fought without rest, his power burning like an unyielding star—but the Sea Dragon was relentless. For every wound he inflicted, the beast retaliated with twice the fury.

By the sixth day, Samuel was faltering.

His body—pushed beyond its limits—was failing him. His once-unstoppable Sun Gaze flickered, struggling to gather energy. Blood stained the ocean, his wounds refusing to heal against the suffocating force of the abyss.

And the Sea Dragon knew.

It spoke—a human word, its voice rumbling through the very depths of the sea.

"You are strong. But not enough."

The seventh day arrived. The final clash.

Summoning the last of his strength, Samuel pushed past his limits—ascending beyond Megahuman, into something greater. Superhuman.

In that instant, he became the Sea Dragon’s equal.

He gathered the raw power of the sun itself, forging his ultimate attack—one capable of incinerating an entire continent. The Sea Dragon roared in defiance, summoning the full weight of the ocean to crush him.

A final explosion consumed the battlefield, Creating a large hole in the middle of the ocean, as if drilling through the earth and going down into the underworld.

And then—silence.

When the storm cleared, the ocean was still. The Sea Dragon was gone.

Samuel had won.

But at a terrible cost. His body—once unbreakable—was barely holding together. Before anyone could find him, before the world could celebrate his victory, he vanished.

Many believed he had died alongside the Sea Dragon, swallowed by the abyss.

But the truth was far more mysterious.

Samuel Barlow had disappeared from the face of the Earth.