Chapter 4.1: History

(A story from a solar system far, far away)

The civilization of this time was quite similar to that of modern men, and though the inhabitants looked human, these monsters couldn’t be more alien.

They aged extremely slowly compared to humans of modern times. In fact, the average life expectancy was as high as 1000 years.

They shared the exact same qualities of human society, such as: their responsibilities, duties and dreams for their future. As well as the will to thrive forward and spread amongst the entire world. But this also meant that they shared the same evil qualities such as: hate, murder and destruction.

War plagued the globe to a point that even children -only of 200 years- knew how to properly and cleanly take a life. Killing was even easier than breathing. Any dispute was handled by a duel to the death, or worse, cold murder in broad daylight. The concept of assassination was known by all, and trust me when I say, not a soul was safe. There were no laws, no strict government, just humanity’s cold and raw instincts to guide them.

Some were killed as an act of self defense. Most killed for enjoyment as if it were sport. But there was a select few who killed to get their hands on “his” coins.

He didn't live in the common plane of existence. He either appeared to you though your dreams, or at the end of your road. That's what most thought anyway. There was another way to get to him, through an offering. Anyone who offered a soul to him, could make a deal with him, and attain his “coins” which could grant almost any wish you desired.

“He” went by many names; The Devil, Wickedness, Prince of Darkness and even Evil. Though these could only be classified as nicknames, as his one true name… was DEATH!

Anyone who met with him can only recall the scenery of thick fog and a large dark green ocean. In the distance you would see a dark shadowy boat, paddling across and on the boat was the grim reaper himself.

Even those with the worst of the worst vision could clearly see that large deathlike smile. He may have looked to be meters away, but somehow you would know that he could hear any and everything.

He would slowly padel to your location from the middle of the ocean, but no matter how long you waited he would never get any closer. That is, until you blink.

The very moment you opened back your eyes, you would see his staring right back into yours. Like he teleported right into your very soul. Then with a sinister and demonic voice he would ask, “would you like a wish.. Or would you like a coin?..”

If you picked a wish, then he would wait for you to state your desire. Depending on the magnitude of the wish, he would ask for a greater amount of sacrifices. For example, if you wished to be the physically strongest human in the entire world, then he would demand 1,000 sacrifices. But if you wished for the ability to take flight and defy the laws of gravity, then he would require 10,000 human lives.

If you chose the coin -which most did- , then he would materialize a coin from the very air around him, and hold it out in his palm.

Grabbing the coin would immediately bring you back to the normal plane of reality, with the coin still in your hand.

This coin could grant a small miracle to whoever used it, such as: ridding yourself of any illness, disabilities or even stumbling upon huge sums of currency. Though it was mainly used as a form of trade with the “other” races.

These coins were used as a standard currency in the underground world. World leaders from around the world were involved with their use to the highest degree. They would even go as far as to randomly accuse men of treason, gather them up and butcher them for coins. This sacred coin was treated of higher status than their bible and people all around the world used them for their own selfish and personal gains.

Society continued to thrive on these coins for about another million years, and would’ve gone even longer if that day never came.

On January 1 of that year, bright beautiful golden light engulfed the skies. Its rays were visible from all corners of the globe, for all to see. That wasn't the only thing that traveled around the world however. The sound of a trumpet could be heard by all ears. Even those who were deaf could hear its roar.

Everyone stopped and dropped anything they were previously doing and locked their focus on the bright rays and the sound. It played for about 20 seconds and then disappeared completely.

Then the rays got even brighter, so bright that it was blinding to witness, but for some reason, it was impossible for anyone to turn their heads. They just beheld the light as their eyes scorched and the tears swelled. Through the light, a strange being showed itself.

Their image was the pinnacle of beauty. They were wearing pure white robes and had two majestic white wings following his waist. In modern terms, Its figure was also that of a young man in his late 20’s.

He held his right hand out and magically, blight glittering stars appeared around his palm. Then they condensed into a single point and from thin air, he summoned a yellow cone and held it to his lips.

“I have come on behalf of the almighty to deliver his message, humans…”, he said.

“...He is thoroughly disgusted by the evils humanity has committed, and he plans to start over…”

“...Throughout the next 6 days, humanity will be faced with the harshest of disasters. On the 7th and last day he will flood the lands with sea and wipe humanity off the face of the earth.”

The angel declared all of this without showing even the tiniest drop of remorse.

As he viewed mankind from above his face was that of extreme disgust. Like he wanted to erase them himself but couldn’t.

“I don’t really care what you do with the time but I want to inform you of one fact. Every last one of you shall be going to the depths of hell. AND I MEAN EVERYONE!”

This was the first time he shouted since his arrival. He looked like he was trying to hold back his vomit from just the sight of mankind.

“That is all.”

With two flaps of his wings he returned to beyond the clouds. The first flap jolted his body upwards, like he was reading his engine for a drive. The second flap tossed him into the beyond and he had seemingly vanished into the unknown.

People from all eye to eye, left to right and top to bottom were panicking around the globe.

Questions like “what do we do?”, and “why has god forsaken us?” were the most common.

None of them seemed to have the slightest clue as to why this could be happening to them, like they swore up and down that they hadn't done anything evil a day in their lives.

Mankind was on the verge of extinction and there seemed to be no escape from it. Some layed down and awaited their death, others committed acts such as homicide, theft and even even rape.

Humanity on all corners were thoroughly doomed and everyone seemed to have just accepted their outcome. Everyone except a young man named Noah.

The line of military dated far into Noah’s family tree as if it were their destiny. As a military soldier for about 500 years, Noah fought for his nation on a plethora of occasions and was quite familiar with the “coins”, as he himself frequently used them.

He owned a large plot of land that was located on a distant island, isolated from the rest of society.

On the island was a very large mansion that housed 12 people in total excluding Noah.

The oldest pair in the home were Noah’s parents, Andrew and Kimberly. Andrew was 1036 years of age and Kimberly was entering her 1000’s.

The second eldest pair were his wife's parents, James and Heather. The former was 1024 years of age, while the ladder was 980 years.

Then came his precious wife, Hanna. A bit younger than him, she was 705 years of age and was married to him for 600 years.

Following her, were their 5 elder sons and 2 youngest daughters.

From eldest to youngest:

Cameron was 431 years old

Jacob was 401 years old

Donathon was 370 years old

Daniel was 362 years old

Kon was 312 years old

Lastly, Matty and Anna, the youngest of the family. Both only 100 years of age, Matty and Anna were twin sisters who shared a bond so tight they were inseparable.

The children grew up, in the natural selection of the wild and watched as each animal fed on the last for their own survival.

They were even trained to hunt and prepare these same animals and naturally, they too became proficient in killing and hunting.

Noah occasionally sent them supplies to support their big family so there was never any real need to hunt the animals in the wild. However, the children never needed a reason.

Even miles away from all civilization, they grew to be cold blooded, bloodthirsty monsters.

They killed and hunted for their own sport and even competed amongst each other. From caging rabbits and watching them starve to capturing bears and slaughtering their cubs right before their eyes, they did any and everything that seemed “fun” that day.

Even without seeing the murder and hate between humanity, they created their own. It was an infinite cycle that kept spawning no matter the situation. From the very beginning, humanity really was the most doomed of them all.

But no matter how tough life became, how hard destiny struck or even how deadly their own kin grew, humanity lived on.

No matter how dire the moment, or how overwhelming fate seemed, the soils of humanity never failed to blossom a hero. A hero who had the ability to rip destiny like wet paper.

So in this regard, I guess they would also be the most persistent of them all.

While the masses panicked and threw themselves into a loop of chaos, their hero stayed as calm and composed as he could be and desperately thought of a solution to his situation.

With humanity already on her last legs, he murdered his military commander and offered his soul to Death for the chance of a wish.

Surely enough he had been transported to the same green waters that he had seen so many times before, and just like every time, Death was on his same boat, paddling slowly but surely. Noah blinked instantly, as if he were skipping the terms and agreement of a video game he was excited to play. Just like always, he opened his eyes to see Death glaring right back into his.

“Would you like a wish.. Or would you like a coin?..”

“I NEED A WISH!...”, Noah shouted from the top of his lungs. “...PLEASE GIVE ME A WAY OUT. A WAY THAT WILL TAKE ME FAR, FAR AWAY FROM HERE! TO A PLACE THAT I CAN LIVE!”

Death’s normal grin, enhanced largely from his request. Like he was preparing for a feast among feasts on thanksgiving day.

“I’ll need 1,000,000 sacrifices…”, he said.

Noah’s face grew in despair. How was he ever supposed to complete such a task? The task was far too demanding for him to ever complete in his lifetime.

“HAHAHAHA!! I just love to see that face of agony! It’s the absolute best!..”

His grin grew even wider and larger. The thing before Noah could only be described as evil incarnate.

“How about this? If that's too hard for you, then I'll offer a very special offer. A special offer just for you. I’ll do it for just 10 souls… of your family. HAHAHAH!”

Noah was sweating bullets from the words he just heard. The expression in his face drained and was filled with absolute despair. But Noah knew what had to be done and realizing that was a deal of a lifetime, he accepted.

“I-I.. I’ll do it.”

Then he was transported, right in front of the entrance to his lovely home. He steeled himself for the actions he would commit and unlocked the door with a key forged from his Hoshi. He rarely got to visit his family since he was on duty so much, a shame that this time it was for a very special visit.

He pulled out a small dagger that he held in and opened the front door.

Normally, he would contact his family about his visit and they would be ready to greet him at the door. They would throw a massive celebration and have the time of their lives. This time, there wasn’t any of that.

Other than Noah’s sudden visit, the entire household was in shambles over the news they absorbed from the angel.

Noah navigated through the front hallway as he followed the extreme loud cries he heard from the living room.

In the living room was his wife, Hanna, who was balling and crying to the gods on all fours.

She had long black hair with gray roots from age. She was a little on the chubby side and was wearing a burgundy woolen robe.

Noah couldn’t bring himself to murder her so he just stood there, observing her as she pleaded for forgiveness. But it was all for not. The gods had no interest in helping them and had already declared that planet a “failure”.

As if she knew her cries and pleas were being ignored, she tried to bargain with the gods.

She clenched her palms together and proposed a deal to the skies.

“PLEASE… PLEASE… JUST SAVE ME AND ONLY ME! IF YOU DO I WILL EVEN BE YOUR WIFE! SO PLEASE JUST SAVE ME ATLEAST!”

For the first time in a long time, Noah shed a tear. He knew didn't want to blame her, since she was in a state of complete despair.

After all, here he was, ready to eliminate almost all of his family just to save his own skin. But all the same, hit deeper than hell itself.

Like a chain reaction, one tear led to another, then another and so on.

He walked slowly to his wife’s unguarded body and drilled his blade straight through her temple.

Blood drenched his fist and you could even see the other side of the blade on the other side of her head.

Her pleas for help and forgiveness ceased, as her lifeless body flopped to the side. Her blood leaked out the side of her head and covered the wooden floor. It was almost too much for Noah to bear but he had to overcome, after all… he still had eleven to go.

“Father… WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?”

The youngest son, Kon, was watching from the kitchen as he saw the life in his mother’s eyes fade. He was terrified from the sight, so much so that he dropped to his knees. His sudden cry caused Noah to meet his gaze as he slowly crept over to him.

Kon had short blond hair with golden eyes. He was on the skinny side and was fairly short. His outfit of choice was his favorite crimson colored jumpsuit.

“Why would you do that father? I don’t understand, didn’t you get the message. We're all going to die, so why kill mother???”

Noah didn’t utter a single word to Kon. He just continued walking, step by step with an intense, malicious gaze in his eyes.

TAP! TAP! TAP!

Every step Noah took echoes inside Kon’s brain as he awaits his turn. Petrified from fear, he sat there on his knees and accepted his dark fate. His heart was racing faster than the speed of light and his emotions fluctuated between distress and confusion and tears began to swell.

It seemed like almost an eternity would go by before his father could reach him, the anticipation was driving him insane.

Finally reaching arms length of Kon, Noah kneeled down to match his son's altitude.

Then he reached out to him with open arms. He cuffed his arms around his son and embraced him with a large warm hug.

It felt peaceful for Kon, like he was in the middle of a flower garden. He closed his eyes as he lost himself in his fathers arms and the former despair he felt was emptied and filled with happiness.

(There's no way father would kill mother for no reason. Maybe she didn't take the news well and asked him to end her despair. Yeah that's gotta be it.)

He made every excuse possible to justify his fathers murder.

(Truly, father is the only victim here. How could she ask him to fulfill such a selfish request?!)

“Father, you did what you had t- - -”

SNAAP!!!!!!

Kon eyes popped out of his skull and his upper body folded over Noah arms, just as how sheets do when you're folding them. The sudden pressure didn’t stop with his eyes however.

His ears exploded and launched off his noggin. Blood spurred out his nose and his mouth.

Noah released Kon’s folded body and picked himself from the floor. He looked down and stared at Kon’s deformed head and raised his right heel. Then he slammed it down with such a vicious force that his skull was completely smashed and brain matter flew in every direction.

He closed his eyes shut and completely cleared his mind and started clicking his tongue. Sharpening his sensory skills for over 500 years, they reached the highest degree. Even without the loss of his vision, he was a master of “echolocation”. A very handy skill that allowed him to detect the position of objects by the reflection of sound waves.

With it, he could feel ten sources in total, emitting from the higher floors. Four on the floor above, and six on the floor higher than that.

Noah stood and observed how they moved, as if he was trying to identify each one just on behavior alone.

The four above him were divided into pairs and hadn’t migrated an inch for quite a while. He surmised that they were his and Hanna’s parents from their lack of movement.

On the floor above that were four sources scrambling around, in complete chaos while two sources seemed glued to each other.

Noah guessed the six in chaos to be the remanding of the sons, and the two together to be the twins.

Suddenly, the sources that were previously in chaos, all collected themselves one by one and headed in one singular room.

The sons seemed to be running around in complete chaos, desperate for a way out. The twins remained magnetic to one another, away from all the madness of the sons.

Confused on their motives, Noah set up a bit of insurance for himself.

He released an ever growing, thin layer of hoshi until it enveloped the entire mansion.

This ensured that any plan they had for escape would be reduced to ciders.

Silently, he navigated his way up the wooden stairs while keeping his blade at eye level, preparing for anything that may come his way.

Memorizing the earlier locations of the people he heard, he opened a bedroom where a pair was keeping themselves. Inside was his father, Andrew, and his mother, Kimberly.

Andrew had short gray hair, a gray chevron mustache and wore a blue Romen robe. Andrew was also ex-military and had survived his own vast numbers of war. Though he may have survived such a life, that isn't to say he did so unscathed. He was missing both legs which he lost in a battle and was completely deaf in one ear. He also suffered from extreme cases of ptsd, rendering it impossible for him to ever glance at sharp objects in the same light ever again.

An important thing to note would be that he was planted on a wooden wheelchair that was mostly moved via hoshi or on rare occasions, someone else's assistance.

His mother, Kimberly, had medium length, gray hair, with no facial hair to speak of. She matched with her husband and wore blue roman robes. She looked so delicate and fragile, but even she too had seen her fair share of war on that rough battlefield. Her and Andrew actually met while deployed at sea, but that's a tale that holds no value to share.

It’s also important to note that Kiberly was resting on a couch near Andrew.

Noah stood at the door, motionless as he gazed upon his parents. He was moments away from massacring the very people who had taught him everything he knew. He knew what had to be done, but didn’t know if he could do it. He clenched his teeth from the frustration, to the point where they started to bleed.

He didn’t have the heart to use his blade on his father. What would be the easy way out to him, would be a blessing to his father who suffered from ptsd.

He raised his right palm upfront and pointed it towards the pair.

Slowly, glittering, sparkling stars began forming around his palm from thin air. They compacted into a single point at the very center and formed an orb of raw energy. Then he fired. A burst of blue energy shot from his palm like a beam and completely eradicated all in its path. It reduced the pair into ash and even destroyed the floor under it.

The shockwave was strong enough to tear apart the entire room from top to bottom. It would've obliterated the walls as well but Noah’s thin layer of hoshi over the house protected them from destruction.

Noah lowered his hand and walked out the room, closing the door behind him.

He was certain that the kids heard the loud wave he shot so once again he cleared his mind and began clicking his tongue. Using echolocation he heard all their movements and zoned in on their location. But to his surprise there was nothing important to note. The sons had all gathered in one room and were just… there. The sisters had also stayed inside a room and were still glued together.

Noah migrated to the other side of the second floor, and stopped at the room where Hanna’s parents mostly stayed. He opened the door, gently and quietly, as if he didn’t want to wake them. A little too late for that though since any chance that someone was sleeping was out of the question after shooting that blast.

He slightly lifted the door and peeked through the creek. He saw four dark eyes staring directly into his, through the small creek. Noah leaped back and brought up his guard. He raised both of his hands to eye level. He left his left palm open and ready for countering, while keeping his blade in his right hand.

Hanna's parents, James and Heather opened the door fully to face Noah. They were both unarmed and had their arms up as a way of showing their surrenderance.

“We don’t want to fight you Noah”, James said. “I just want to ask a few questions… Did you kill her already?”

Still holding his stance of self defense he answered James’ question.

“...Yes I did.”

“We won't condemn you for it, but tell me… Was it painless?”, Heather asked.

“I went clean through the temple. She died instantly.”

“...Thank you”, they said with a colossal bright smile.

They lowered their hands and lowered themselves to the ground, sitting on their knees. They closed their eyes and lowered their heads as they waited for their deaths.

“I don’t have the right to ask for a painless death with so much blood on my hands. But I beg you to find it in your heart and make it quick”, James said.

“I will.”

Noah raised his hand and began charging a beam similar to the one he shot earlier.

SWOOSH!!

Noah reflexively jumped back as he dodged a slash of sharp wind.

In a fraction of a second, James had gathered hoshi into his hand and tried to cleave Noah’s head right off his body.

“Tcht. I missed”

Heather who was once bowing on the floor had vanished from all sight.

Noah instantly decapitated James and felt not a shred of guilt doing it.They’re little surprise attack didn’t catch Noah off guard in the slightest because he noticed that they were trying to hide their present during his use of echolocation. Before James could register what had happened to him, his head was already rolling across the wooden floor and his body flopped on its belly.

By raw instinct, he was already clearing his mind to use his echolocation. As he closed his eyes, Heather appeared, launching to his right side, holding a blade of hoshi. Before she could make contact with his clothes, he gripped her by the neck and slammed her to the floor.

The impact caused her to spit an ample amount of blood from her mouth. Then he squeezed. He watched the life fade from her eyes as his grip got tighter and tighter, eventually crushing her neck all together. He released her body and watched as it flopped to the floor.

Stepping over her body, Noah makes his way upstairs to where his children were.

Reaching the top, he took a right and was met with a very elegant, brown wooden door.

He took a deep breath as he gripped the doorknob.

SWING!!

Unlike before with Hanna’s parents, he didn't creep the door open. This time he swung it open with maximum force.

Waiting behind the cover of the door was Cameron -the eldest son- who charged his left kidney with a knife.

The blade seemed to have made contact and pierced his skin, but it was stopped by a thin layer of Noah’s hoshi.

Hoping to blind him, the second eldest son Jacob flew towards Noah’s right left eye with a dagger he held in his left hand. He was a hair's length away from his eye, but Noah tilted to the right and cleaved the boy’s arm right off his shoulders. This resulted in Jacob to fly straight out the room, and landing head first into a wall.

Noah proceeds by firing a deadly kick to Cameron's gut with his left leg. The force was powerful enough to launch him to the very back of the room.

Landing from the ceiling -the second youngest son- Daniel was ready to split Noah’s head open like a coconut. He was diving at insane speeds and was holding a machete in his right hand.

Parring the slash, Noah flicked the machete with his left middle finger and slammed his right fist straight into the center of Daniel’s face. The punch blew his head clean off his head and his body dropped to the floor.

His blood poured from his neck and covered Noah’s boots.

From the back of the room, came Cameron who was previously sent flying by his kick. He wasn't alone however.

With him came the middle child, Donathon, who was hiding under the bed.

Donathon was unarmed but all the same he charged Noah’s lower body in a grappling motion. While Cameron charged Noah’s upper body with his dagger.

Noah tossed his blade straight between Cameron’s eyes. Before the body even had time to drop, he charged his right leg and was aiming for Donathon’s chin. He pulled his heel back and emulated a stance similar to a football player right in front of the goal. He had timed it perfectly and was moments away from drilling his foot into his son's brains. But to his surprise his leg wouldn't move.

Latched onto his ankle was his son Jacob who was using hoshi to create a temporary left arm, as well as strengthening his right.

To pull off something like this in such little time could only be described as genius. Not only had he erased his presence with a technique he mastered from hunting, but he was also halting his bleeding with his hoshi. He could have been a great soldier, had his situation been different. Shame that this enemy was a great soldier.

Noah strengthened his entire body with hoshi and dragged Jacob across the ground as he fired it into Donathon’s chin. The force didn't just blow his head into legos, but his entire body and his kick tore away Jacob’s hand as he tried to desperately hold on.

The momentum carried Jacob back into the room and tossed him directly to the ceiling. On a normal occasion, the force would have sent him past the ceiling and outside the house, but Noah had sealed out any possibility of that when he trapped the house with hoshi.

Jacob landed head first into the ceiling and was pancaked by the impact. His temporary arm vanished and his deformed body dropped straight to the floor.

(How did I let him sneak up on me? I must be getting out of touch.)

Noah wrote the situation off as him simply being “rusty” but there's no way he could be as he was just on duty hours ago. Maybe deep down he knew Jacob was behind him, he just didn't want to finish him. But who's to say really? The deed was already committed and he had finally eliminated 10 members of his family.

It’s important to note that Noah was still standing under the door frame while all of this transpired so all he had to do was grab the doorknob and pull the door to the exit.

He walked to the other side of the floor towards a very fancy closet. The closet was a beautiful brown, lathered with designs of snakes and had two doors as an entrance. He grabbed both handles and pulled both doors open simultaneously. As he had guessed, hiding away was his two daughters Anna and Matty.

They trembled with terror as if they were staring at a monster hiding among men. They were hugging each other tightly, but it was hard to tell if they were trying to protect each other or if they just wanted the other to protect them.

Noah lifted his hands in the air.

“Relax. I know how this looks but I’m not here to hurt you.”

(He murders our entire family, covered head to toe with their blood, and he says he’s not here to hurt us? Is he mad?)

Though they questioned his words, they understood the situation they were in quite clearly. Before them was a military monster who could easily wipe out an army if he wanted. A monster who just massacred his entire family but two. If he really wanted them dead, they would have been long ago.

Knowing they couldn’t resist him, they rose from the floor and hopped out the closet.

“Now please, follow me”, Noah issued.

They didn't reply with words, they instead shook their heads to show their corporation.

Leading them outside the large home, he shouted out.

“DEAAAATHHHH!!!... I HAVE DONE MY END OF THE DEAL, NOW IT’S TIME TO DO YOURS!!!”

Before their feet appeared an enormous green bubble. At first glance you could mistake it to be some kind of bubbly swamp, but after closer inspection it was in fact a portal. The bubble pancaked on itself and turned into a flat spiral of green. It released a thick black mist that blinded anyone near it.

Noah and the twins coughed from the sudden smoke and were clearing their eyes from its clutches.

The smoke finally cleared and revealed a massive yellow coated spaceship. A door on the back opened as if it were welcoming them aboard.

Right as they made their first step towards it, a grand earthquake erupted. A level high enough to split the plates they stood on apart.