'They seemed to overwhelm Arcania in an instant…'
'Why are they here? Why are they obliterating our homes?'
'Family… companions… all gone…'
'What have we done to deserve this?'
"The thoughts hurt. Our people are dying. But you still must concentrate," echoed the voice of an old man.
He did as the elder instructed and proceeded with his meditation, despite the systematic destruction of his people all over his home planet. Arcania was under siege. And the thought of their combined suffering weighed heavily on his conscience
"Tell me one more time why we do not aid our people in vanquishing these monsters," the voice of an Arcanian teenager softly spoke.
"There is no honor… in sacrificing yourself for a lost cause. There are millions of them, and you are but one entity. Strong as you are, you will not survive, let alone defeat an armada," The elder responded in a stoic tone.
The planet of Arcania. It was a planet of purity, with violet skies and marvelous landscapes which were willingly left untainted by the humanoids of the planet. The inhabitants made strives for better lives without destructive aftermaths on the planet that would sustain their existance. An advanced race; a religious one; one of purity, and one in turmoil.
It started at nightfall. The dark brings out the dreads of night, and this night was no different. They came in the millions. Ravenous "theys", acting on animal instinct. "Only the strong survive" is merely an understatement. From out of nowhere, these indescribable beasts ripped emerged and ripped a population of a near billion into a small several thousand during the night cycle. Men, women, and children; all thrashed and disemboweled in mere instants by beastly unknowns.
Night turned into day, and the sun illuminated a land littered with the lifeless. Not all necessarily the Arcanians. Some of the beasts were slain due to small resistances here and there. But to make a long story short, warriors are guaranteed a grave when they combat a near-invincible force.
Arcanians seemed to drop like a chain of dominoes, but it is indifferent to the elderly Shojo and his teenage apprentice.
"We must make good use of our time left. Your training is near complete," Shojo softly spoke.
To the planet of Arcania, Shojo is the equivalent of some of our greatest heroes, such as Son Goku or Liu Kang. Throughout his prosperous life, he has honed his martial art skills. Through the use of martial arts and supernatural talents that emerged from the arts, Shojo has become one of Arcania's most powerful entities of all time. However, anyone can be mighty, but a select few put that might to good use. Where there is good, there is evil, and for many years, Shojo has made it his work to thwart the forces of evil to the best of his abilities. Unfortunately, time does not recognize the good deeds of man, and Shojo found himself in the position to pass off his learnings to a suitable sucessor.
As frail as Shojo has become, he made a lightning-fast lunge towards his meditating apprentice. The long sleeve of Shojo's violet tunic failed to rustle due to the elder hero's swift finger thrust. But even with no signs of action or reaction, a finger belonging to the apprentice intercepted the elder's, blocking his lunge. With a look of contentment, Shojo withdrew and rose to his feet.
"It is complete," Shojo said, "You may rise, Katatz."
Katatz was a boy with middle-length red hair, sharp eyes, with white pants and an opened white short-sleeve shirt with a red undershirt revealing itself through the open and on the boy's arms. Thanks to Shojo, Katatz had become a prodigious warrior, even though he was merely four in Arcanian years, which is roughly around seventeen in our world. Needless to say, Shojo had selected Katatz to "carry the torch" when he could no longer do so.
"Congratulations, young one. An arduous four years of training has instilled upon you the knowledge of my years," Shojo's soft elderly voice said.
"I thank you for the training, master," Katatz solemnly responded, "However, I must know. What were your intentions on furthering my training whilst our people get annihilated by the invaders?"
"My son…" Shojo replied, "I am nearing the end of my days. 21 is a long time for an Arcanian to live in bodily form. While the Spirited World is the most prosperous land to ascend into, those that still exist on our physical plane still need a champion."
"I do not understand. First, you instruct me not to sacrifice myself in a fight against the invaders. Now you're telling me that I am intended to be the champion of this world?" Katatz questioned.
"Not Arcania. Our race is a doomed existence," Shojo answered. "The physical plane extends far beyond our world."
"If you're implying that I leave my home world, even you are mistaken!" Katatz shouted out.
"Do not be a fool, my son. I did not bestow upon you my fighting knowledge so you could squander it with your premature demise!" Shojo retorted, "Arcania is dying. There is no sense in being a champion to nobody…"
As Shojo was about to complete his thought, one of the bestial invaders crashed through the walls of Shojo's quaint home. A monstrosity with evil, yellow eyes and dark gray scaled skin. It's sharp nails and it's muscular physique could easily rip apart nearly anything, and justified it's ability to plow through structural walls with ease. It's mighty tail whipped around and demolished some of the home decorum, and joined the demonic head of the beast in a mighty roar as the tail tip split into quarters, revealing a sort of a mouth.
"I sense only one. Can I punish one of these monsters?" Katatz requested.
"You may proceed. A lone Xeno pails in comparison to your might." Shojo confirmed as Katatz took a fighting pose.
As the Xeno made a pounce, Katatz darted towards the invader and elbowed it in the stomach.
"You are not welcome on this planet, let alone Master Shojo's home!" Cried Katatz as he continued his attack.
The beastly Xeno regained itself and lunged it's tail at Katatz, who continued his charge. A forceful fist through the tail opening split the tail into two halves. With an arm drenched in green blood, Katatz channeled energy into his drenched arm and fired an energy blast at the Xeno, launching the beast back a distance as it howled in pain. Katatz leapt into the air and mightily stomped on the head of the recovering invader. The face was crunched in between a foot and the earth; "a rock and a very hard place", and the beast promptly died.
"Well, that was not too difficult…" Katatz assured himself.
Shojo approached Katatz from behind.
"An adequate display of what I have taught you, my son." Shojo commented. "Might I suggest that you make haste and flee before other Xeno arrive in the vicinity."
"That monster was no match for me. I should be able to fend for myself…" Katatz replied.
"No! The fall of a single adversary does not mean you will conquer an entire fleet of adversaries!" Shojo interrupted. "You must go, now!"
"I'm not going anywhere. Now that I've seen what I can do, there may be hope for Arcania." Katatz said.
Shojo sighed to himself as he swiftly punched Katatz in his stomach. The force of the blow was enough to knock out the young, yet mighty fighter.
"My son. I will not permit you to commit suicide like this. It is too late for Arcania, but it is not too late for you. You can do good for many people, but not if you or the people are dead…"
Using the mystical energies from within, Shojo teleport himself and his protégé to a remote region of Arcania with lush vegetation. The elder hero shrugged some vegetation to the side and revealed a spherical pod.
"This escape pod will enable you to flee from a dead world. I had this constructed for an event such as our Apocalypse. You will not be killed this day…"
As the pod opened, Shojo placed his unconscious apprentice inside and programmed a flight destination. The pod closed and ascended into the atmosphere at an amazing speed.
"You will go where you are needed… which is anywhere but here." Shojo took a fighting pose. "As for you Xeno that have been awaiting to strike, I suggest that you do now. Destroy me if you must, but do not taunt me with your hesitance."
Shojo braced himself and prepared for the worst as the Xeno began their attack. For about three seconds, Shojo was able to fend for himself with a flurry of punches, kicks, and energy attacks, but one Xeno struck, and the elderly hero was soon disemboweled…
The escape pod zipped through space, carrying an unconscious hero-to-be. In a matter of moments, the pod found itself aimed at a planet of blue and green. Additional moments passed and the pod entered Earth's atmosphere. A black and starry atmosphere changed into a blue and cloudy one as Katatz cracked open his eyes just in time for his escape pod to collide with the ground below.
