PROLOGUE: FEAR

PROLOGUE: FEAR

Creators. Destroyers. Absolutes. Words that cannot be ignored when thinking. Omniscient. Omnipotent. Omnipresent. Words that cannot be omitted when speaking. Transcendent. Infinite. Untethered. Words that cannot be voided in conversations. Such beings are called, GODS.

From the furthest reaches of the observable universe to the earth's very core, they remain all-pervading. Yet, there exists a coordinate in reality where they gather without the weight of their presence disrupting existence. 

Untethered from fate, it is their exclusive sanctuary. Here, the only laws; theirs, the only beings; themselves, the only morals; their whims. It is here the Absolutes exert their full potency and authority without shattering the fabric of the world.

Yet, a peek inside would leave anyone astounded. Dumbfounded even. That is, if one, was authorized to peek. If not, peeking would be as impossible as, gripping the whole universe in one's hand. However, whether authorized or not, those who peeked, witnessed the unfathomable.

Not the absolute void of black or the colorful layers of reality are to be seen. The huge void unwritten from fate screams elegance, resplendence and ethereality. Everything screams sublimity. 

The greenest of green gardens, the bluest of blue fountains, the yellowest of yellow sunrises. Everything expands as far as mortal eyes can see and further. Surrounded by those are an even grander sanctum sanctorum, grand beyond vision.

The golden radiance radiance emitted, blinded those below. Living or non living. The golden steps floating making a path whenever the superior one wanted. Making the impossible, possible, it existed serving as a reminder that even in the grandest place, something grander exists. It's name, THELEMA EXPANSE.

This dimensional anomaly; created by Gods, for Gods; by deities, for deities. Neither person nor thing is permitted entry. None may pass; nothing may cross. Entry is not a matter of power, but an impossibility of existence. Known or rather, unknown as, THE ACAUSAL SANCTORUM.

Although every deity may traverse the Acausal Sanctorum as they please, one God and one God alone resides within the Thelema Expanse. Among the absolutes, only this Being proved superior in every imaginable way, thus becoming the Master of the realm.

When the Gods are called to council, they gather throughout the Sanctorum under the Master's silent supervision. Due to their omnipresent nature, physical attendance is rarely required; yet, they come as a matter of courtesy and to indulge in the luxuries of a domain considered better than paradise itself.

Whether their presence is necessary or not, many Gods are found here at all times. Allwhile, the Superior One maintains eternal order within the Acausal Sanctorum.

Yet order is destined to be broken. One day or rather at a certain moment in reality, where every grain of sand was in its place, every breath normal and the Absolutes were at their most ordinary,- a figure appeared.

The Goddess of Love reminisced with her angels, the God of Water tended the flora, the God of Fire ignited forests for sport. High above, the Goddess of Time rewrote history to scrub divine atrocities from the memories of the faithful. 

But most important was the Superior One, who watched over the Acausal Sanctorum from an elegant golden throne. It was shaded by the shade of a massive apple tree next to a majestic fountain.

In this place where time is void and space is subjective, a figure carrying a small creature emerged. Right in the middle of the limitless gardens, someone had bypassed the 'impossible' threshold.

For eons, the law of the Sanctorum was absolute. But eons are nothing to the void, and even perfect laws are ignored by those who do not recognize them. No deity saw it. Except for the Superior One.

A dead calm loomed. The vibrant echoes of the gardens died as if sound itself had been purged from reality. The Gods capable of halting time found themselves frozen; even the Superior One, whose authority was absolute, could not move. His omniscience failed him. His power was ineffective.

From his locked perspective, he watched the only two things that moved: the mysterious figure and the small creature, the size of a head, accompanying it.

They strolled, unbothered. They did not look at the gods or the Thelema Expanse. They passed the seat of power as if it were a children’s playhouse. The figure cradled the creature, whispering sweet phrases that the Superior One; the literal architect of language could not comprehend. They appeared, walked past the masters of existence, and vanished.

As the figure faded, order returned. The other gods continued their tasks, ignorant that an intruder had ever touched their soil. The Superior One searched the gardens with his restored abilities, but found nothing. No trail. No residue.

The figure spoke to no one. He took nothing. He did not even break his stride. He simply walked from one end of the 'impossible' to the other. He left behind no footprint, but he left something far more destructive: Doubt. 

The Superior One; the Absolute of Absolutes felt overwhelmed. He felt small. He felt contempt. For the first time since the beginning of all things, he felt.... FEAR.

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EARTH.8 : 2099

"Vezyne, they need you at an extermination site asap, I'm sending over the location now, get there immediately", read the message received directly to Vezyne's earpiece.

"Around 3500km to the Northeast.... not very distant, let's get it over with and make it back to breakfast" thought Vezyne while taking out the necklace under the top. At the end, hung a white, V-shaped ornament with dual horn like curves with small arcs bending backwards. 

With the press of a small button at the bottom of the V- shape, the small ornament transformed. Making a continuous hizzing sound, as air escaping an air tight container, the white V-shape started expanding until it could no longer be covered by a hand. 

Vezyne brought the V-shape closer to the face. Now as big as a mask, the top part consisting of the two half-horns which bent backwards, rested on the head as a crown with two horns emerging from the back. Meanwhile the V-shape now rested flat on the face going over the eyes and the pointy end reaching just below the jaw.

As soon as the mask like ornament settled in place on the face, the ornament's sensors activated with a neon light radiating from within. The opening mechanism turned the ornament into a full on mask with black parts covering the whole head. 

Soon after, Vezyne pressed the ring on one of the fingers, which in turn activated the costume Mechanism, and in less than a minute Vezyne was ready.

"How long till Vezyne's here?" Screamed a middle aged man wearing a typical soldier outfit, if not for the huge golden logo on the chest. All the while running through debris of fallen buildings and trying to avoid the actively falling debris too. 

"It hasn't been even 5 minutes since the request for help, hold out a little more!!!" screamed another soldier while taking cover after throwing the last 3 grenades in his arsenal into the huge mist towering above buildings, which were formed by the ones thrown before.

"A little more.... please god... just a little more... " murmured the soldier with trembling lips and shaking hands. With nothing more to do, the soldier opened his mouth again, "Please Go-" 

However before he could finish whatever he was going to say, a white line flashed in the sky. But It didn't disappear. It was actually getting closer, however before the soldier could realize how closer it got, the flash hit the ground, right in the middle of the enormous mist, clearing the mist and the thing in it without a trace.

With the clearing of the mist, the scene became clear and all remaining soldiers saw what was standing in the middle of it. Even with all the debris, a glance at the iconic red cape, blue and black costume would be enough. 

If for some reason all that wasn't visible, a glance at the black and white mask with neon undertones would immediately identify thier savior.

"Aaaahhhhhhh" screamed all the soldiers in unison but the screams didn't feel screams at all. They were victorious shouts.

"GLORY TO OUR HERO, GLORY TO OUR SAVIOR, GLORY TO THE ONE AND ONLY"

The shouts of one name echoed through the night. In the extreme coldness of the world the fire of the aftermath still burned bright. The disaster, and devastation still present, yet the despair vanished as a single name rang in the darkest night illuminated by the burning buildings-

"VEZYNE, VEZYNE, VEZYNE"

"GLORY TO THE HERO VEZYNE!!"

Vezyne raised a hand as if posing for the crowd and in a few seconds lowered it. Walked forward and asked the nearest soldier for a situation debrief. As the mechanical voice of the mask echoed through the immediate vicinity.

"Yes sir, due to your arrival we didn't suffer any casualties in our side.... however, when we came, we saw a few civilian casualties, the exact number is still been verified, I apologize for that-"

"No need, continue"

"The remaining civilians are being loaded to our vehicles to be transported to the nearest shelter as per superior orders. Sir, That concludes my debrief."

"Thank you, then I suppose you can carry the rest without me, is it okay if I leave?"

"Sir, yes sir, we will take care of the rest"

The soldier who had only dreamed of talking to Vezyne, was now actually talking to the real thing. Which explains the overly polite and tense speech pattern. Yet, Vezyne, hearing all kinds of things in every kind of situation, mostly every single day, had learned to filter out everything unrelated and take in only the necessary information.

However, Before Vezyne could take off after thier conversation, an elderly couple shouted the hero's name and caught Vezyne attention. Before the soldier could order them to remain in silence, Vezyne headed over there in a silent flash, as if Vezyne had teleported there. 

"Oh great hero, thank you so much for saving us!!! Our lives are on the verge of the end and we had made our minds too. But when the real thing happens before our eyes, we couldn't stop but pray for a miracle. And now that miracle is standing before our eyes."

Wiping the tears on their faces, the old couple countinued by handing Vezyne a small plastic bag.

"Our small farm produced a couple of natural pears the past week, it's the first time in 3 years something grew here but with old people like us these are wasted, it's not much but please take these with you"

"Ah.. I can't possibly do that, your work and dedication finally got rewarded, it's wrong for me to take these from you" Returning the bag, Vezyne refused but the old couple didn't accept it back. 

"Please hero, you are the only hope Remaining for this world, please let us do at least this much to help, please..."

"I understand, then I will humbly accept these. Then i will be going, thank you again for the extraordinary gift."

With that, Vezyne took off into the night sky. You could see the old couples faces brighten up with joy as children who received their favorite meal. Whatever the reason for that was, the only thing confirmed was that the hero Vezyne plays the biggest part.

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Pass the reinforced glass doors, standing right infront of a meeting room, Vezyne was talking, or rather expressing her dissatisfaction towards something.

"Why did you call me here? The soldiers at the scene said they received your orders and everything is under control." Asked Vezyne rather annoyed but not irritated or angry. Same as always.

"Another uprising has started in the northern border, we may need your help so i wanted to include you to the discussion regarding the course of action.... but you don't seem into the idea very much so I'll just send over the details after the discussion."

"Thank you, then I'll be leaving"

"Okay... Oh right, If you see my secretary around, let her know i need her now. Didn't answer when i called for some reason. "

"Okay" said Vezyne while turning back and going straight where the exit was, however right before the exit, Vezyne took a right into the long corridor and then a left which leads to the dorms. 

Going straight Vezyne stopped infront of a door having a name sign on it with the secretary's name and flowers surrounding the letters. The door opened automatically. Vezyne entered the empty dark room and reached for the mask. 

As soon as Vezyne touched the mask, the mechanical parts retracted leaving only the white V-shape with horns. And it too, soon diminished to the size of the pendant under the top. 

As the mask disappeared, black hair passing the shoulders with light blue highlights appeared. As the shoes, or rather boots disappeared the 188cm tall hero was gone and a 168cm slender figure appeared. As the suit disappeared, or rather retracted into the ring, the silhouette of a young girl appeared. 

By clicking another ring, a different costume engulfed the slender girl. This time, it was more fitting and formal, highlighting her feminine features. Or at least the little features she had. 

But surprisingly, what could be considered mesmerizing wasn't the instant costume Change. Instead, it was the light blue highlights on her hair, completely disappearing making her hair a single color. Black.

The girl took a step back, turned and left the room. As the door closed her naturally pale face began to fill with a smile, but not before inhaling and exhaling a deep breath. She ran as if late to a meeting in the corridors looking for someone, as soon as she saw her boss, she went to her and started apologizing.

"Bossss, I'm sooo sorry... I heard calling but you know what, fate wanted me to be at the bathroom in that moment... I'm sooooo sorry" , said the girl with 100% remorse or with 0% remorse, it was impossible to read her cute and innocent face accurately.

"Doesn't matter...considering it's still night"

"Thank you... thank you"

"I wonder how you can be so competent most of the time yet so whatever this is sometimes"

"It's called gap-mo-"

"Let's go Zuuri, we have work to do"

"I'm Right behind, let's go..."

Said Zuuri with a pout on her face due to her unfinished joke. And so goes the hero, goes the secretary, goes ZUURI VEZYNE. Unknown of what the future will hold.

However, there was one thing sure in that upcoming future. No matter what faces she made, Either as the unbeatable hero in the battlefield, or as the upbeat and competent secretary to one of the most influential people in the world, there was and will be an face she will never make. 

As etched in stone, Yesterday, today or tomorrow, she would never glitch her face and scream or freeze with... FEAR.