Chapter 4.2: History

As they headed towards an ocean of lava, Matty and Anna closed their eyes and hid away from their reality. Noah on the other hand, had no plans of dying today.

He surrounded himself with a thick bubble-like layer of hoshi, big enough to capture the twins along with him. He outputted a powerful wave of energy from the bubble instead of himself and rocketed them straight up and landed right behind the ship.

It’s important to note that the bubble-like barrier cushioned their fall.

Noah dispersed his barrier and boarded the large model of steel. Naturally the twins followed.

The scenery was completely out of this world. It was like looking into the future. The room alone could easily fit 50 people.

The most noticeable thing was the podium that displayed a large hologram in the very center.

The image was like a static 3d model of the entire galaxy spinning. It was surrounded by three long, white, floating seats, each facing its direction. Each seat was long enough to fit at least 3 people.

On both the left and right walls were metallic double doors. At the very head of the ship was a red seat facing an array of controls along with a large screen that displayed the outside.

“Access Approved. Welcome Noah!”

A voice that sounded to be female echoed through the ship. The hologram of the galaxy mutated into a hologram of a skull.

“Please have a seat Noah. I will enter travel mode in 10 seconds.”

It seemed to have been ignoring the twins all together. Noah grabbed the girls and headed towards the seats when a sudden shake erupted.

Another earthquake had broken out and destroyed the plates under the ship. The ship was headed straight for the sea of lava below them and metal or not, was going to be melted into ash.

Noah wrapped the entire ship with a bubble of starlites and tried discharging energy in hopes of canceling its momentum. ‘

Though this worked for him earlier, there was zero possibility that he could lift an entire ship from falling. However this wasn’t his goal to begin with. His goal was the count down.

He focused all his energy into killing the ships momentum or atleast slowing it down for 10 seconds.

“GET ONTO THE SEATS!!!”, he ordered the twins.

They jolted from his sudden roar and scrambled to the closet seat. Planting themselves onto the machine, a bubble wrapped around the girls, holding them to the seat.

Noah succeeded in slowing the ship's fall but all the same, it was inches away from contact with the lava.

“Travel mode in 3… 2…”

With one final discharge of energy, Noah transformed the bubble of energy he had wrapped around the ship into a bowl of energy under the ship. Then, with every last ounce of his starlites he discharged one last push.

Noah fell unconscious from draining his hoshi so much, but the force was strong enough to halt the ship's fall for a moment.

“1… Travel mode activated.”

A black mist was emitted from the bottom of the ship, raising it above the broken plates and into the skies. Then the ship tilted upwards and released a powerful wave through its thrusters, mailing the ship right through space itself.

Matty and Anna felt perfectly fine as they were protected from the heavy pressures by the bubble that surrounded them.

Unfortunately for Noah he had no time to seat himself and was sent flying to the tail of the ship. The sudden shock forced him to be awakened from his unconsciousness, but the pressure sandwiched him to the walls. Another second of this and Noah’s body might have crushed under the pressure.

Luck seemed to have been smiling upon him since just then, the ship suddenly slowed down completely, and was now cruising along the stars.

“Destination Arrived!”

The sudden change in speed sent Noah flying towards a wall.

“Heavy-Gravity mode activated.”

Before he made contact with the large sheet of steel, his momentum was killed immediately and he was sent to the floor.

“Normal-Gravity mode activated…To ensure as little damage as possible, I changed the gravity settings and prevented your collision.”

“Really now? Who could have guessed?”, Noah said with sarcasm.

“You are very welcome.”

The bubbles that protected the twins popped like a balloon. They hopped out their seats and headed for the front seat.

One would think that they wanted to control the ship but they could have cared less about that. What they wanted was to see the outside of where they were with the monitors.

The monitors displayed a sight that would leave anyone speechless. From the beautiful stars to celestial bodies even more gigantic than earth, they viewed nothing but the vast space and everything that inhabited it. They were captivated by the view. Truly a gorgeous sight indeed.

Raising himself from the floor, Noah asked the ship “Hey ship. Where are we?”.

The hologram in the center changed from the image of a skull to the display of the entire milky way galaxy. It highlighted a certain spot on it by surrounding it in a transparent cube.

“This is the location where we were originally, 5 seconds ago.”

The cube moved over to the other side of the galaxy display as if highlighting another point of location.

“This is where we are now.”

Following that, the hologram reverted back into a skull.

“You blasted us to an entirely different solar system?”

“Precisely.”

“Another planet would have done just fine.”

“Unfortunately, X100 was the only habitable planet in that solar system so that wouldn’t work. Infact, I almost would have had to leave this entire galaxy if this planet did not exist.”

“Another galaxy?? Is our galaxy that horrible?”

“Yes actually. X100 wasn’t the only planet to be destroyed by the gods. This galaxy in particular is known as the testing domain and about 90% of it has been destroyed by some kind of external source. By my calculations even this solar system has about 3 million years or so left.”

“I won't be living nearly that long enough so that doesn’t sound like my problem.”

“The planet you're headed to is a fairly new planet called Earth. Please practice precautions, as the life forms here are none that you have seen before”

“What do you mean by new?”, Noah asked as he blocked off the last part of the warning.

“Formed from the collision of two planets, Earth has only been around for about 4.3 billion years. Comparing it on a universe scale, that happened quite recently.”

The ship slowly approached the blue planet. It was mostly covered with sea with large sections of green clumped together at the very center.

The twins’ eyes sparkled as they beheld the large planet before them while Noah didn’t seem to be very impressed. His only priority was landing and thinking of what came next.

The ship slowly landed on the lowest of the green sections. The ship released a heavy black mist as it planted upon the field of grass.

“Entering mobile mode.”

The hologram of the skull vanished and the podium under it rose higher. Its top opened up and out came an even smaller podium, on it rested some kind of strange device.

Noah and the girls walked to it for closer inspection. It was a miniature monitor that displayed an all black screen. The device was small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

Noah grabbed it and inspected it from all sides.

“Please attach me to your wrist.”

The sudden demand from the watch scared the twins and even jolted Noah’s shoulders. The voice coming from the device was the exact same as the Ai from earlier that navigated the ship.

“...So what exactly are you?”, the twins asked.

I have been waiting for that question. Ehehehe… I am a prototype alpha model, G1X001. I was built by a genius engineer named Dr. Frankenstein.

“Frankenstein huh… so how is it that you know so much about our world? Also that name’s far too difficult to remember.”

“I was actually created in an advanced galaxy east of this one…Well I guess it's better to say that I was originally built in heaven and later, there. And you may call me 01 if you would like.”

In complete shock, they all slammed the podium where 01 rested. “HEAVEN?!?!” they all screamed in unison.

“What do you mean heaven?” Noah questioned.

“Unfortunately, that is classified information.”

Noah knew all too well how it felt to jail secrets away behind your lips. But this was an entirely different level.

In this Ai weren’t just answers about a country or world leader like the ones he held, but secrets about the almighty man himself, God. He was beyond curious to drain the information from 01 but he understood its predicament and dropped the subject.

He followed 01’s earlier command and placed the mini screen to his wrist. From both sides, it emitted a white band that wrapped around Noah's hand like a watch.

“I shall accompany you on your journey, so please take good care of me.”

Noah took a deep breath from the information that laid bare to him. “No matter. Your origins are of little concern to us now. All that matters is that we arrived at these new lands safely. Now open the doors so we can see our new home 01.”

“As you command. But please exercise caution as this is a foreign planet filled with quite deadly creatures.”

Noah couldn’t help but let out a smirk. The metal rose and in came a bright and beautiful ray.

The inpatient twins rushed towards the exit while Noah slowly marched towards the light.

“Y’know 01… We’re also quite deadly creatures… We might even be deadlier”, he said.

“We?? I hold no data on the twins’ fighting capabilities, so what do you mean by we?”

Noah didn’t answer 01’s question. Instead, he just grinned.

Catching up with the twins the three of them behold a beautiful but monstrous scene. The air smelt pure and fresh. This was quite different to what Noah had become accustomed to over the decades of war.

Noah took a deep breath and felt the fresh air fill his lungs. It was completely devoid of any smoke, poison, or blood. One’s depression could be cured simply by breathing.

The ship was hibernating at the edge of a large and wide cliff. They peeked down the edge to behold the view below them.

“Woooooow!!”, the twins let out. Even Noah was left in awe from the sight.

The scenery was a beautiful land filled with greenery, mountains, and valleys. It was about midday so they had no issue withholding the lands and all their beauty.

There were three distinct regions that separated the lands. The biome closest to them was filled with luscious green flora. Miles into the beyond, they saw what seemed to be a more rocky and hill filled land, but they couldn’t make out anything on it.

The third and last region they could see was the vast and glossy sea on their right side and all organisms that sailed through it.

From grass to animals, everything was enormous. Each blade of grass was long enough to compete with modern day trees. The fields were littered with trees everywhere; some big, others small, but all elegant.

From eye to eye there were new and interesting creatures to analyze. While most navigated the lands on their large fours, some sored through the skies, flapping their large wings and screeching through their long triangular, hard lips.

On the planet they came from, all sky based animals had long been extinct so this was the first time they witnessed a specimen glide through the air.

In the distance there was a river that flowed through the valley. It was clear water that dazzled in the sunlight.

“Oh look at that one!” Matty shouted while pointing.

Noah and Anna turned their heads to follow Matty’s finger.

Hovering their head higher than any tree, higher than any other animal, was quite an interesting creature. The most noticeable feature was its gargantuan neck that seemed to stretch on for infinity connecting its massive round body to its small and scaly head.

This monster was later labeled a “brachiosaurus” in modern times.

“It's kinda cute”, Anna said.

“That's what I was thinking too!”

Any thoughts of the past washed away from the twins’ minds as they took in this fresh and new world. The planet that they were coming from was plagued with 1000’s of years of endless wars and battles that left it a desolate wasteland. There was little food and it wasn’t uncommon for those classified as “weak” to starve to death in the worst parts of the land.

In a land where power dictated your life, Noah commanded almost unlimited amounts of it. Not only was he a military general, but he was adept at a plethora of assassination skills. And that's not to mention his mastery of hoshi. But even with these privileges along with the fact that he and his entire family lived in the best parts of the region, they still never saw a view so filled with greenier and deprived from any aftermath of war.

“I am happy you love it. After all, this will be your home for the rest of your long lives… I shall store the ship for safe keepings for now.”

The ship transmuted from a metal substance to a green blob. Then it was absorbed into the monitor on Noah’s wrist. They were left speechless from what they witnessed.

“Onward now. We must find the necessities of sustaining human life.”

Noah wrapped his eyes with an aura of hoshi, enhancing his vision to a level far higher than an hawks. He could see everything, even insects that were miles away weren't safe from this gaze.

He was now able to make out everything in the second biome.

He scouted the region and he soon came to a realization of just what 01 meant by his earlier speech.

From vampires and werewolves, to scaly dragons and blazing phoenixs’, laid bare on the rocky biome where monsters that would pay homage to modern day mythological creatures.

The region was like an arena, welcoming any challenger to its clutches, and it was clear that this arena belonged to the more deadly organisms.

“What is it father, what do you see?” asked Matty.

Noah let out a wide smile. “Dinner”, he said.

He grabbed both girls and leaped miles into the distance with crushing speeds that easily floored the sound barrier. The girls screamed their lungs out as they flew while Noah kept his large smile.

Passing the first biome in a blink they now entered the domain of the second. Unlike the first, the atmosphere in this biome felt like “wildlife”. It gave off an almost savage feeling.

“Now this feels like home”, Noah said while his delight grew even larger.

Through all the rocks and hills they spotted a green scaly organism -even larger than the brachiosaurus from earlier- feasting upon some 8 legged large lizard.

“Found you”, Noah whispered to himself. Then in a flash, they collided.

You see at first he was flying head first with a daughter in each hand. But when he was close enough to the creature he rolled his body forward so that his legs were now extended before him. This allowed him to quite literally dive into the beast.

With both daughters in hand, he drilled his legs straight into the beast’s scaly head, completely blowing it into only spots of blood and landing into a large rock near it.

It’s important to note that before the collision with the large rock, Noah raised the girls above him and used his own body to break their fall.

With the monster’s head completely decimated, It died instantly. it didn’t even have time to let out a cry. The beast hit the ground and its gargantuan weight caused what felt like a small earthquake in the area as the ground rumbled.

Matty and Ana were on the floor with tears in their eyes while they were coughing from the cloud of dust.

“Look girls. We’ll have a splendid feast tonight”, Noah said while pointing at the giant creature.

“I am about 110% sure you cannot eat all of that, with a 10% margin of error”, 01 said.

Noah laughed from 01’s comment.

“I didn’t know you were capable of cracking jokes 01.”

“Well I am an advanced Ai. Ehehehe”

“Well, the creatures of the wild can have the rest. It’s my offering to them, to celebrate our arrival”.

They girls -regaining their full consciousness- were slowly rising from the floor, as they dusted off their dresses.

Suddenly The earth below them began to rumble. The rumbling swept the girls right back to their feets. Animals from all around scattered around, as if they were running from a storm. Then clouds above them distanced apart. Bright rays emitted through them and covered Noah and the girls.

The rumbling came to a close, but by no means did this mean the end of their disaster.

In this moment Noah realized something. He massacred his family and even made a deal with a devil, but all of that was for naught. Just what fantasy of reality made him believe he could escape a god’s wrath. After all, this was the person who could see everything.

Just like before, from the skies came an angel of absolute divine beauty. In fact, it was the exact same angel that initially informed them of their demise.

And just like last time, he lifted his right hand to his lips, and forged a yellow cone from nothing as he gazed upon the insects.

“I have come bearing two grand messages, Noah…”, he said.

“...He knows of your transgressions, Noah.”

Noah's face, originally that of laughter and joy, was now filled with absolute despair and sunk to the floor. There really was no escaping the overseer of all. You had better probability winning the lottery 8 times over than being overlooked by him.

“But…”

Noah’s face of despair regained a bit of light from hearing those words. He raised his head and gazed upon the angel.

“He has decided to forgive your actions, if you submit to him and answer to him as your true god. Doing so means to NEVER use those hideous coins from death, EVER AGAIN! Are we clear?”

At first Noah was a bit stunned and left speechless by the generosity. Then he regained his mind and answered the angel quickly.

“...I PROMISE TO CHANGE MY WAYS!! AND I WILL NEVER SPREAD THE USE OF THOSE COINS!! I'LL RAISE MY CHILDREN TO EMBODY KINDNESS AND LOVE TOO!!”

“Excellent. As for my second grand message, he is allowing this test of humanity a brand new system. Any mortal may be permitted one singular wish of their choosing, if they can complete 12 labors of his choosing, and I assure you they won't be easy. And of course, only one wish may be permitted in each lifetime. Anytime you wish to take part, all you have to do is pray and you shall receive.”

With two flaps of his wings, he was shot into space, leaving earth and all its inhabitants. The rays of light faded and the clouds attracted back to one another.

Noah fell to his knees and was breathing rapidly.

The twins sat behind him motionless. This was the first time they saw Noah in such a vulnerable state. If they wanted to avenge their fallen family, this would probably have been their one and only opportunity to do so. But they had no such thoughts in their mind.

They both hugged him from the back, each on one side of his shoulders. Matty on his left and Anna on his right.

“It’ll be okay father, he’s told us all we have to do”, Anna said.

Continuing from where her sister left, Matty said “So all we have to do is follow it and everything will turn out okay.”

Growing up in such a war filled world, it was definitely more than a miracle that the twins turned out so loving and forgiving. Almost too good to be true in fact.

Before they knew it, two centuries had long passed and the three of them had built quite a stable sense of “home”. Or should I say, the six of them.

Over the long years, Anna and Matty promoted from mere children to proud and loving mothers.

Anna gave birth to two beautiful boys. The oldest of the two was Solomon. An intelligent boy who enjoyed hearing the stories of Noah’s journeys.

The youngest son was a quiet boy named Finral. Finral spent most of his free time practicing and training his hoshi. He was beyond fascinated by it. Everything from shape, size, and color, he was truly invested by the limitless possibilities of hoshi.

Matty gave birth to one child. The middle child of the siblings, was a loving and caring girl named Mary. She was always dragging Finral from his hiding spots when it was time to have delights.

It was almost an ordinary and uneventful day. Almost.

This was the day where the three of them would fight to attain…their wish.

They left for 23 years for it took that long to complete their 12 chores of god, other words known as “the 12 labors”.

Allowed to do so as a team, they completed the 12 nigh impossible tasks given and their request was granted by the gods.

Rays of light shone upon the three, and with it, a sincere and father-like voice asked them from the skies.

“For cleaning my garden, I shall give you 1 wish each! Now state it.”

The first to answer was Solomon, who was about 220 or so years old by this time.

“MY LORD!! I WISH FOR THE INFINITE KNOWLEDGE OF THE UNIVERSE!!!”

Shortly, stars appeared around Solomon's head and filled his brain with everything about the universe whether it be past or future. This did not come cheap however. Solomon dropped to the floor and was screaming his lungs out from the pain of it. He felt as if his head would burst open like a rubber ball.

Finral and Mary just watched as their brother went through his suffering. Eventually, Solomon’s eyes popped right out his head, leaving him blind, but with that, his pain came to a close.

“What is your second wish?”, asked the voice.

Even after watching Solomon go through such pain, the thought of having any wish granted tempted them like no other. Their gluttony devoured them and they stated their own wishes.

“DEAR GOD!! I WISH- I WISH- I WISH TO LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO SEE ALL THE POSSIBILITIES OF HOSHI…”

A sudden silence befell the scene.

“As it has an almost infinite number of possibilities, are you saying you want the curse of immortality?”

Finral was a smart boy you see. He knew that the curse of immortality was a terrifying one, so he asked for a loophole within it.

“NO MY LORD!! I WISH FOR ONLY ETERNAL YOUTH!! THAT WAY, AT THE END OF MY JOURNEY I MAY DIE PEACEFULLY!”

Shortly, glittering stars wrapped around Finral’s body. His wish came with no pain however. Instead, his body shrunk, his voice grew higher and his image transitioned from that of a teen, to that of a little boy.

It was now Mary’s turn to state her desire.

“Um- UMMM! MY LORD!! I- I WISH TO REINCARNATE INTO THE FAR FUTURE!! A FUTURE WITH A COMPLETE CIVILIZATION!!!”

Glimmering stars engulfed Marry’s body and in an instant, she vanished. She simply poofed from existence, never to be seen again for a handful of millennials.

This didn't surprise the brothers because they had long ago discussed their desires and hypothesized what may happen because of them.

“I will be taking my leave but for the future… Do not call me “your lord”. Despite the circumstances, I am not god. For he has no time for such insects. He has simply allowed me to answer your desires through his power.”

This marked the beginning of humanity and marked the end of “the coins”.