The Story

In the strategy room
Everyone had gathered around the giant round table. It was not the same room where Jessie and Sark had once been briefed about Special Force Alpha and the dark weapons.

Seraphina sat face-to-face with Commander Nootra, and Dean was to her right. Larah sat next to Dean, and the others were scattered around the room.

‘So,’ Seraphina began, ‘it’s time to tell you the story of the darkborns and the brightborns.

Brightborns, darkborns, and humans have always existed—each on their own planet. They were supposed to stay there. For a long time, brightborns and darkborns fought their wars without knowing that Earth existed. But one day, they discovered it. I believe their endless battles tore a hole between worlds, and Earth was unfortunate enough to be found through that wormhole.’

She leaned forward. ‘Now, there were two reasons why both darkborns and brightborns wanted to invade Earth. First, the constant wars had begun to destroy their own planets. And second, they needed to strengthen their forces—and humans, it turns out, make good nourishment.

Still, there were a few among them who opposed consuming, hunting, or using humans for personal gain. They were the minority, but they decided to help in their own way. They shared their blood with humans—those later known as the ‘immune ones.’

‘Damn, so we are darkborns or brightborns ourselves?’ the commander muttered, slamming his fist on the table. ‘All this time we were monsters hunting monsters. Hah! How ironic!’ He massaged his temple, calming down his temper. ‘Sorry. Please, go on.’

‘It’s fine,’ Seraphina replied calmly. ‘As the time passed the blood became one with the blood of the chosen humans, something new formed. That’s how the Monster Clan came to life. Thanks to that gift, humans gained the power to resist darkborns and brightborns. Some became strong enough to fight them, developing their own nique power. Others borrowed their power by becoming possessed. But because they were immune, they kept their sanity and could end the possession at will. The war continued with no winner—until two powerful individuals entered the scene. The prince of the darkborns and the queen of the brightborns. They turned the tide in humanity’s favor. The darkborns and brightborns were sealed away, and peace followed. Sure enough, followers of the darkborns and brightborns remained—light and dark priests—but they were few and posed little threat. Those two warriors hunted them down, and humans grew soft. Too soft.

By marrying outside their lineage and not using their powers aymore, their bloodlines thinned—became impure. That’s where you come in. Yes, you carry the blood of the ancestors—but far too little. When you get possessed by a darkborn or brightborn, at first it feels manageable. But slowly, they take over. Even after operations that kill the entity and let you keep its power, you’re not safe. Depending on how strong the darkborn or brightborn was, its ego can linger. It won’t take over your body—but it can turn you into a beast.’ (Commander Nootra: How many times can I still fight before I become one?)

‘The same goes for the weapons you wield,’ Seraphina added.

‘Then what do you want us to do?’ a soldier demanded. ‘So we just happen to get dragged into this mess, and now we’re not even allowed to defend ourselves? We need this power to fight them!’

‘You’re right,’ Seraphina admitted, though her expression darkened. ‘That’s why we’ll kill them—quickly. To return the moon to normal, we must destroy the altars scattered across Earth. The biggest one is in America—and that’s the one that would summon both darkborns and brightborns. Now here’s the catch: we also have to destroy the smaller ones.’ Dean nudged her.

‘What happens if the big one is destroyed first?’

‘Then everyone nearby will have their energy drained. The more people, the better—for the altar. It’ll use that energy to open a gate. And the bigger the sacrifice, the longer that gate will stay open.’ She turned to the commander.

‘There’s no time to lose. If there are other things you want to discuss, we can talk on the way. But we need to move. Do you know where the altars are located?’

‘Yes,’ Nootra answered firmly. ‘And we’re ready to strike.’