Prologue

Destiny Calls





        Long, long ago... when the Universe was not, there existed only one world... Paradiso.

        Twas a breath taking world, truly worthy of its name. A sole paradise floating amid a endless black sea of desolation and isolation, the last bastion of all things against the tides of decimation... But not all things are to last, and so even Paradiso fell when the First was made...

        But it was not the end of all things, no no.

        It was the beginning of another... for when the world fell, a new expanse was born as a mighty explosion and a deafening roar signaled the birth of anew. A new chance... thanks to the First. And as time marched, more would join the First and new realms would be born.

        But even then, vileness were to come. A survivor, a scientist gone mad with dreams of nostalgia, threatened to destroy all the First and its kin worked so hard to create with mighty demons. Another survivor, one who had obtained deification and wished to protect the creation, fought against her fellow with demonic turncoats and defeated him, redeeming himself, but at a high cost. The realm would need to be reborn, and the repented scientist its key. In time, he would be reborn as her flesh and blood...

        Many eons have passed since, and the realm rekindled, but at a smaller scale, and whispers of more wicked threatening to end more began to reach many ears...




        That's the more... glorified version of the story anyway... that's how Mother tells it... but the story of my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother is one that had been told time and time again, and one that has gotten stale, but... i shall try to make it more digestible and easier to understand. This is how i chose to begin my story, after all. 

        So, once, long ago, longer then anyone thought possible, there existed a single world, left after all others have been destroyed: Paradiso. Nobody knows how long it existed until it was destroyed, but it eventually did, thanks to a conflict between two friends: Molin and Auralite. 

        What lead up to that fight was something else entirely: they had created God- a monster, a beast, with unlimited, omnipotent power. They didn't know it at the time- it looked like a cute lizard during its infancy. Auralite called it Ultrillas. Molin called it an abomination and wanted to kill it, viewing it as a mistake that needed to be rectified. Auralite did the smart thing and said no, and thus a war erupted, one that ultimately destroyed Paradiso...

        But while he was young, Ultrillas was still a God and used its power to destroy, then rebuild the universe. The survivors were raised to be Gods themselves, with Auralite being their ruler. And Molin... he had vanished, presumed dead.

        Billions of years would pass since then, but Molin did return, this time with a army of powerful, invincible monsters he called Reapers. Taller then any skyscraper, these monsters were impossible to kill and mind-boggling powerful- one wiped a whole galaxy off the face of the universal map with a single blast. Molin, having grown delusional in his absense, seeked to destroy Ultrillas and return things to the way they were.

        Auralite was not alone, though: she had her fellow Gods with her. And not all Reapers sought to follow in their creator's ambitions: three turned against him and fought alongside Auralite. It was a long and bloody conflict, lasting thousands of years, until finally, there was nothing once again except Auralite, the last God, and the three turncoats, and Molin and his monsters. In their final battle, the energy they unleashed destroyed the universe proper.

        Seeing the destruction he had wrought, Molin begged for forgiveness, hoping there was a way to repent. There was, but it would cost him his life. Using his lifeforce, and the lifeforces of all who had fallen, Auralite recreated the universe, transcending to a state beyond Godhood. Such a title does not exist, so for now, she is merely referred to as the God of Gods.

        The lifeforce of all who had fallen recreated the universe, which had been reduced to just the size of a single galaxy. In the center rested a reborn Paradiso. While the universal galaxy was small, it would be more then enough for the survivors to live in, as it would take millions of years to reach the level they were at before. The three turncoats vowed to Auralite to serve those worthy enough to harness their power, with her transferring their essences into gemstones for those in the future to wield. And in time, those who had died would be reborn, Molin included. Auralite would carry him personally, and those that followed in this bloodline would name the first-born son of every generation Molin, after the mad scientist turned rependent savior. 

        So... yeah, my grandmother is a God. That technically makes me a demi-god, though i don't have the power she does. I'm Perseus to her Zeus.

        And as for the Reapers, they were banished, trapped in a pocket universe, with nothing but themselves to fight and to consume. It was a dark fate, to be sure, but one to be expected on those who destroyed all.

        Of course, all this can be found in any history book. Auralite is worshiped here and her legends spoken as truths. It's easy to believe in her when there are so many records, including actual video footage, to back it. All joking aside, things did go along swimmingly for a time... until it didn't.

        ... it's amazing how one single act can change the course of all things. And for this universe, as small and as fragile as it was, that was indeed true. Evil would come back once more, and the only hero that can stand a chance didn't want anything to do with it in the first place.

        I suppose this is where i should truly begin the story, on the last normal day before things turned sour, before darkness descended once more. 

        This is the story of a final war... 

        And it began with a discovery that should not have been made















2/5/1002 A.R (After Rebirth)








        On the outer most reaches of the universe, near the border between it and what lies beyond, a small field of ice and rock floated aimlessly. No systems were nearby to threaten- all this was was a harvest zone for ice, which can be melted down to water for mining starships, and minerals such as Iridium and Tungstan. 

        A lone ship slowly and lazily made its way through the rocky ice reef, moving ever so slightly to avoid collisions. This particular ship is called a Beetle- they are a versatile, yet small ship that can be modified for a wide range of purposes. Military's often use them for troop transports, but they can be used to haul cargo and other such things. This one in particular is modified for scouting and scientific purposes. 

        Beetles are divided into two sections- the box and the dome. The box part is its main storage space- running 30 meters (60 feet) long, 4 meters (12 feet) wide, and 7 meters (21 feet) tall. They come off the line looking basic grey, leaving the owner to paint it however they please. This one, however, is the basic color- the faction it belongs to doesn't really care for the personlization of starships when they can so easily be destroyed. The dome is where the cockpit sits, and it is also where it gets the Beetle name, as it is shaped like a ladybug, or Coccinellidae, if you want the really technical term. Connecting the dome to the box is a tube that stretches up out of the ship by 5 meters (15 feet).

        The pilot of the vessel, a old, weary sailor who is close to retirement, leaned back in his seat with a cup of coffee as he watched the readouts from the scanning that was going on. His co-pilot, one much more younger, leaned back as well, but it was in annoyance. A ranchy magazine was draped over her face as she groaned out of sheer boredom.

        "I'm booooooooooored..." the young co-pilot complained.

        "I've noticed."

        "Nobody told me this was going to be so boooooooring."

        That brought his attention. "Really? Nobody told you that scanning run, one of the most laid-back jobs out there, was going to be boring?"

        She pulled the magazine off her face and moved her head. "... well, yeah."

        He slowly shook his head in disapproval. "You are hopeless." He returned his attention to his task as she gave him the stink eye. 



        The Beetle turned to avoid collision with a sizeable asteroid, flying around it to avoid crashing into it. The box part passed over a seemingly ordinary and not-at-all-housing-anything-dangerous block of ice. The moment the engines passed over, a yellow glow came from within it.



        The sensors on the Beetle went crazy, picking up massive energy, as an alarm blared from the console. The pilot slowly lowered his coffee mug while the co-pilot sprung up, the magazine falling away to the floor. "Whoa whoa whoa, what the heck is doing that?"

        The pilot put his mug in the drink holder and sat up. "Those would be the sensors."

        She rolled her eyes. "I know that. But what is causing them to lose their shit?"

        "We're about to find out." He grabbed the control stick and turned it to the left, turning the ship as it slowly flew around a very slow-moving comet. In a few seconds, they came upon the block of ice that made their equipment go nuts and are perplexed as to why. "... huh."

        The co-pilot scoffed in derision as she looked on in disbelief. That thing is making their sensors go loopy? "It's just a block of ice." The pilot maneuvered the ship closer to it. "Why in the world would a ice block make our stuff go coukoo?"

        The pilot pressed a button, which opened up the forward boarding ramp, which spanned the entire width of the box. "Well, the easy answer would be that something is encased in it- could be a weapon or an escape pod."

        "When was the last time you saw a weapon or escape pod do this?" She pointed to the instruments before them flickering off and on as needles waved every which way. The pilot merely shrugged and pressed another button. A control panel came up from the floor in the middle of their cockpit. "Ok, ok, fine, i'm on it." She got out of her seat and went to it while muttering under her breath, "Stick in the mud..."


        
        A hatch on the left wall of the box opened, and out came a remote-controlled crane arm, with a claw shaped like bird talons heading it. The talons clanked opened and shut as the co-pilot tested it, to make sure it was working properly. It was. Viewing it from a camera on top of the claw, the co-pilot maneuvered it, swatting away any small rocks and ice sheets that came close. The glow from the block of ice diminished as it got close. From the center of the claw, came a blue glow- it was scanning what was inside it, or if there even was anything.



        The co-pilot was genuinely surprised to learn that there was something encased within as it painted a outline. "Huh. There is something in there." With the press of a button, the ice on the image faded away as the screen went black, except for the outline. It looked like it was a person, but they made that mistake before. Space is a mysterious place- try explaining the Face of Mars. "Looks like a person."

        "If it is, he or she is likely dead. But that doesn't explain how it was able to glow and sent our instruments into a tizzy."

        "Only way to find out is to bring it onboard and head back home to have the eggheads look at it. That's what you would say, right?"

        "And right you are." He flicked a few switches, flaring the engines to life and warming up the light drive. "Bring the block on board and we'll head back and let them look at it."



        The claw opened up as wide as it could, sliding towards the block of ice before closing around it. The metal scrapped against the frozen water, but didn't crack it. It retracted back into the box in a slow, steady manner. At the same time, the Beetle slowly turned around, with engine lights flaring behind the box and the dome.

        Once fully in, the ramp began to close up and the claw set the block of ice gently on the floor. The claws retracted and returned to its nook in the left wall. Once things had settled, the block subtlety moved, almost unnoticeable. 

        The glow returned agian, accompanied by a sudden opening of sharp, glowing eyes and a deep guttural growl...




Evil has returned...













 

War X