Prologue - An External Force
The sun was setting as a single teenage boy was heading home. The amber light of the fading sun shined down upon him as he continued his way without the faintest awareness of his surroundings. Sleek headphones sat on his head; the music they played kept him deaf to the world, only his sight alerting him to the happenings around him.
It held true to even the buzzing of his phone, one of the few things he carried. Its place in his pocket prevented even the faint light it gave off from notifying its owner of the message that it had received.
Only a sense of curiosity got him to lift his wrist, revealing a smart smart-looking, mechanical watch which rhythmically ticked as he glanced at the time.
'Shoot, I'm running late! Mom's going to kill me…' He thought to himself as a hint of dread filled him. After his whole day, he was no longer ready to hear however she would complain to him about his failure to come home on time. 'Curses, I got too caught up in everything again… I'll have to hurry.'
It was the motivation that he needed to break into a light jog until a slight shift of his vision stopped him in his tracks. He blinked as he focused on the road ahead of him with a sense of confusion before remembering what he had just realised moments ago. The thought spurred him back into jogging once more.
Yet the distortions of his sight didn't fade or go away. Instead, only becoming more frequent whilst growing much the same way as his sense of unease did as he drew closer to freaking out over the occurrence.
'But this isn't my eyesight, is it? I feel fine… but everything else…' He thought to himself as he looked around as he jogged. Although he didn't think of himself as the most attentive person in the world, he still managed to notice that the distortions of his sight didn't move with his vision but instead, as if it was dependent on the world itself. 'I need to get home… Dad should know what's up if there's anything wrong with me…' he continued to think, now breaking into a sprint.
From his own father's advice, a doctor's advice, he knew far better than to break into a run when his world was spinning around him, but he couldn't help it. The more and more it worsened the more and more unrest grew in his heart until he couldn't handle it anymore, the blatant unnaturalness of the situation becoming too much.
All he knew was to get away. To get to home as quickly as possible.
Suddenly a horrifically loud sound of cracking and shattering glass filled his ears despite his headphones, acting as a heralding warning but it was already too late. The next moment before Raphael could question the sound, he felt the wind kick up, almost ripping him backwards off his feet, but it was enough to steal away his headphones that flew ahead behind him.
Raphael couldn't look away any longer as his eyes went wide in shock. Disbelief coursed through his mind, clawing for a rational answer. Yet the fear that rampaged inside him made such attempts futile. No matter how much he tried his head always came up blank. Turning around despite his struggles and seeing the disturbance for himself only completed the take-over of the fear of the nameless, impossible phenomenon causing him to freeze up in horror as a result.
It was a complete lack of action which cost him.
As his body froze, his resistance faded with it resulting in the vortex taking him away. Whilst he wished to scream, the circumstances didn't allow it, robbing him of his voice after already having taken his movement without mercy. With his mind refusing to work and his movement now gone, all he had in his remaining were his eyes. But even then, Raphael questioned if they were working properly. If he was seeing things as they truly were.
It was a fracture in reality. A jagged wound of the world itself, from which the cosmos poured forth bleeding out and warping the world around it. It was an impossible phenomenon, an absurd actuality that he longed to call a nightmare, but his every sense screamed otherwise. Suddenly two golden lights appeared within the darkness, staring back at him unflinchingly akin to a pair of eyes locked onto their target. Despite Raphael's greatest efforts compared to the raging storm of the rupture's frenzy, his strength was but a fleeting droplet among the universe's ocean of power. And with one abrupt surge of power, Raphael was wretched from his position, his resistance utterly futile as the distortion began to grow ever larger.
Until at last, that darkness… that entity… consumed him.
Raphael couldn't see. He couldn't hear. He couldn't taste or feel nor could he smell. All Raphael possessed were his thoughts and the rampant feeling of fear. 'W-what's going on!? Where am I?! What was that thing, where did it take me, WHAT IS THIS?!' He screamed in his mind, unable to bear the absolute lack of sensation.
He yearned to move. He pinned to look around, to shout and to run. He longed for home but hopelessness and despair brewed within him, as if he already knew the answer to his hopes. An answer that he absolutely refused to acknowledge.
Yet it was impossibly among the overwhelming, eclipsing darkness of the ceaseless void that something spoke to him in response to his silent pleas.
"You are far from home, having travelled past a point of no return. In my travel, you are now going where I have come from." A voice resounded throughout the emptiness, filling Raphael's mind and drowning out his thoughts. Following those words a brilliant golden light flooded the world, rebirthing it and reviving it into something anew. Had he still possessed a physical form, it surely would have been enough to blot out Raphael's vision…
'No… no, no, no, that can't be true! It's just a dream… I'm just dreaming! I'll wake up! I need to WAKE UP!" He mentally wailed to himself in response. Yet no matter how much he told himself; he already knew. And he despised it.
It was an undesired answer that Rapheal desperately wished he could close his ears to, to refute until his voice failed, to flee from in denial. Yet even the mere act of shedding a tear lay outside the realm of possibility…
Unable to do anything but feel emotions, Raphael's fear and anxiety began to swell to new heights at the realisation of no longer being alone. But his already wild emotions had already risen too high as his mind finally reached its limit, crashing and returning him to a stunned serenity as he awaited his fate.
"You who strove forwards on your own path, yet had their road cut short by my own. I hold curiosity towards the unknown that is your known, to see what you have already long saw, yet to move and see all where you remained idle." The voice continued to speak to him yet despite its joyous tone, it was laced with a solum disapproval.
"In our crossings of paths, I shall not allow it to be the ending of yours. Instead, I give you a gift. Break free from your shackles and restraints and reembark on a journey the same as I do. See a new world and see it all. See everything it has to offer and every Path you can take. Find and choose your path and find the destination it shall lead you to, look forward to what journey shall begin from there. I shall do the same, as we exchange paths – an equal trade!"
As the Entity kept talking a strange pressure began overwhelming Rapheal's mind. Its chipper mood, thoughts, feelings, and desires began to feel so familiar that it frightened Raphael with his inability to distinguish what was even his own despite their radical differences. It engulfed him so much so that even the last piece of evidence of his continued existence – his thoughts – was arrested by it. Pinned by Its weight, he couldn't find the strength to so much as consider anything else or resist. Its will far overpowered his as it forced itself upon his soul.
"I wish you luck on this greatest of journeys that only you and I share, as well as a gift in recognition of you. Your journey shall be long, and may you find everything along it." The disembodied voice boomed once more, drowning out Raphael's thoughts almost as if overwriting them.
In the golden light's fading moments, a shimmering titan took its place. It was disorienting to see it move yet not produce a single sound. Not a single emotion identifiable through its vague form. Slowly it began to move, it's actions slow, steady but definite as it reached out a hand that began to blot out Raphael's sight. And yet despite his formless state, it impossibly managed to touch him, the impact rippling throughout his being.
With it came a flood of energy, his mind lifted and energised. Warmth filled him that soon turned to a scalding flood of power, electrocuting him and filling him with a sensation it could only call "being alive". But it slipped away as quickly as it had come, a wave of fatigue washing over him as weakness and exhaustion began to claim him.
He couldn't even possess a final thought as the last of his existence finally faded out resulting in nothingness…
It was slow but Raphael steadily felt himself coming too. Whilst his eyelids were heavy, it was their very weight that he found relieving beyond belief – after all, it meant he had a body again. And it didn't just stop at his eyelids. His arms, fingers and legs all felt so real once more and under his control, but it was this overwhelming relief that had blinded him to what was wrong.
'It was a dream! It was all a dream' Raphael cheered in his mind as he forced open his eyes, fervently enjoying the warmth that was wrapped around him.
At first, it was blinding light filled his vision, but it didn't take long for him to adjust. Everything was blurry but with every blink he took the clearer his world became until at last it was enough to strike his heart, killing his joy.
'W-who? W-w-where?' He thought to himself. The cold, harsh claw of fear painfully grasped his heart once more.
Had it been possible, he would have looked around. Yet his head felt heavy and impossible to move. The same terrifying yet infuriating logic applied to his whole body as well, as his limbs felt clumsy to use, each factor adding to his panic.
Instead of seeing his own room like he had hoped, or even a hospital room from whatever chaos he had been subjected to before. Instead, an unfamiliar cracked ceiling lay overhead whilst the room was dimly lit, however, it was hardly what caught his attention first. Instead, it was a young woman with long, lustrous brown hair that rested on her shoulder who looked down at him with a motherly smile. But most intriguingly, there was a shining, luminescent gem in the centre of her chest…
And upon realising what surrounded him, he froze, utterly petrified.
'Am I… I-is she?' Raphael finished the thought prematurely, refusing to acknowledge the truth. He couldn't tell what expression he was making, only that he was making one as the woman seemingly reacted with a calm yet elated look as she watched him.
"You best have a name ready. I told you his core was developing unusually quickly." A gruff voice spoke out, diverting the woman's attention to its source. Contrary to the joyous woman, it was a serious-looking man whose eyes locked onto Raphael were filled with hefty expectation, his arms crossed as he waited for his answer.
It wasn't just that one man standing in the room, but multiple other people all stood around, each with varying emotions plastered across their faces. Some were short and holding child-like glee, many were tall with varying degrees of seriousness or judgemental looks. Men, women, some children but they all had something in common. They all had pristine crystals of various shapes and glowing colours in their chests.
But their presence made seeing anything else a futile attempt, rending Raphael without a hint of his whereabouts. Instead, all he could do was think about their strange crystals and nigh-constant muffled sounds of explosions.
There was so much he didn't know. And he was tired of how quickly fear was becoming a companion of his.
"I know, I know… I just didn't think it would be this soon…" The woman holding him replied to the man, her face softening despite the troubled expression that soon took hold. But it didn't last long as she turned back to Raphael, her eyes narrowing as she focused on him.
If he were in his normal state Raphael would have leaned back from the scrutiny that he was receiving, but his current body didn't help. Nor did being in her arms. It was only for a moment however of the two staring into one another's eyes before her lips parted slightly before settling into a smile as an idea had come to mind.
"How about Nova?" She asked with an affectionate look, gently reaching towards him with an outstretched finger that she placed on his chest. Yet despite his lack of reaction, she didn't seem to care. He couldn't explain it, but the situation had him almost feeling like crying…
"Nova?" Another burlier man asked, his voice deep and filled with bewilderment. "What kinda name is that supposed ta be? That boy is gonna be a miracle, leadin the fight against tha Abundance and ya want ta call him some odd name like that?" he said, disapproval clear in his voice whilst he folded his large arms in scrutiny.
"Oh, dear, please. I know you're excited at his sudden and rapid development but please. You don't want to load him with pressure as he grows up." Another woman said as she gently chided the man, looking up at him with a considerate yet bothered look before turning back with a sweet smile. "Do you happen to have a reason for feeling that way?" She asked the woman, encouragement filling her voice.
"Yes, it's about how he developed." The woman holding Raphael replied, her voice soft enough that it was barely above a whisper. "He abruptly shone so brightly, and grew so quickly after that point, didn't he? Almost like a nova in space."
"Huh~? What's a nova?" A small girl asked as she jumped onto the bed, peering up at the woman with a confused but interested look.
"A nova is a star that begins to burn bright. Brighter than all the rest and unleashes mighty energy. A brightness and power of which I hope shall be a guide to better times for all of us, and that he may bring victory and happiness." She explained as she adopted a motherly smile, slowly turning to Raphael – no, Nova - during her explanation, seemingly already prepared to dote on him.
Raphael however remained in shock, the creeping feeling of dread once more beginning to take hold as he felt almost tired of it, tired of what was becoming a familiar embrace. 'T-this can't be… t-there's no way…' He thought to himself in terror, although the lifting of his tiny hands into view resulted in the woman's excitement made it all too irrefutably clear.
'No, NO! She is not… she will never be!' He shouted out in his mind, his temperature rising yet he felt tears forming as he cursed his current, limited form. 'Why did this happen… why… why, why, whywhywhywhywhy!?'
Because of that THING… he never even got the chance to so much as say goodbye. And he knew he likely never would, no matter how much he begged. It was a thought that finally finished him off, breaking down the dam that had only formed through utter bewilderment and whiplash from everything that had occurred.
And it was that moment, he broke. It was all too much, and there was only one thing he could do as She began to comfort him in response. He could only cry.
"It's Nova again…" One boy murmured as he came to an abrupt stop, turning towards the person he had just spotted whilst the rest of his small group of friends came back over to him. "I wonder how he keeps coming here? I would have thought that-"
"Who cares what you think, him being here is just going to cause us to get caught as well!" Another boy interjected, his voice heated as he glared daggers at Nova who had yet to notice the group. "It's always how it goes! He comes wandering around somewhere, someone always comes looking for him, gets us all in trouble and then they focus on him!"
"Yeah, let's just get him to go somewhere else already. I don't want to get chased back indoors again…" A girl said in a merely bothered tone as she released a sigh.
"He can just go back to his family again; I don't see why everyone makes a big deal about him. If anything, he's a freak…" The second boy grumbled to himself, crossing his arms whilst his expression gradually moulded into one of disgust. "He keeps running away from everything as well, I don't see why the adults keep expecting anything. We can fight the Abundance without him."
"Huh? Are your parents already training you, Godfrey?! I thought that it was just Nova getting special treatment." The girl replied, both her and the first boy's mouth agape and wide-eyed in shock about the revaluation of their friend.
"Yeah, I asked for it and my parents thought it was about time to teach me something!" Godfrey answered with pride, turning to face the pair with his chest puffed out and a triumphant smirk on his face.
"And now, I'm going to put Nova in his place! Show him he's not so special!" He declared as he turned back around, now striding on over to the oblivious boy...
Nova, meanwhile, was lost in thought as he sat on the dusty seat of a swing. Its chains were rusted and creaked under his weight; the whole frame had shifted when he first sat down whilst rubble lay all around as distant explosions were heard. Despite it all, Nova failed to pay it any attention as with lifeless eyes he blandly stared up at a shining golden star in the sky that sat just atop the highest mountain that watched over the city. A star so large and bright it was evident that it was infinitely closer to them than any star ever should be.
'Just what is it? Is everyone fighting all the time because of it?' Nova thought to himself with a heavy sigh before suddenly flinching, quickly grasping at the shimmering royal-blue crystal in his chest as the golden light of the Star shone upon it.
It was something that had been watching over the world long before his arrival, yet despite the years he spent growing up he still somehow remained clueless as to what its nature was. 'Nothing about it makes sense… it shouldn't but it just hurts to be out underneath it.'
It was a pain that everyone suffered from, and everyone, even himself, knew that there were dire consequences to staying out underneath it. Yet despite what major importance it was, no one so much mentioned it. They didn't even do something about it despite it being seemingly within reach – assuming the possibility that maybe it really was just sitting on the mountain.
"So when will someone be around to ruin our fun because of you?" A familiar voice spoke out behind him, their voice making Nova's face harden in disgruntlement as he released a frustrated sigh.
"Just take your 'fun' somewhere else." Nova countered as he looked behind him to see just who he expected. Godfrey. "I was here first… not that you noticed-"he continued to talk before he abruptly became interrupted.
He suddenly felt a surge of pain in the back of his head as he received a sudden punch, its force sending him from the swing he sat upon to lying flat on the ground. But that wasn't where it stopped, as the force sending him down was enough to snap the ruined chains whilst shaking the framework that held it, as it too squeaked before the sound of clanging metal resonated as it all fell on Nova.
Godfrey and his friends simply stood watching with triumphant looks as Nova merely lay still for a few moments under the rubble with boiling fury beginning to fill him. 'Bloody bastard~…' Nova cursed in his mind as the pain began to reside, the punch itself having felt far lighter than the metal that fell on him not because of the force of impact but their frail state.
"You're the one who's leaving!" Godfrey proclaimed again, his voice haughty and arrogant. "You're always on your own and causing us problems, you will-"
His words abruptly cut off however as a massive crimson crystal arrow suddenly implanted itself in the ground just behind the bullies, instantly sending them flying as the force of impact whisked them off their feet. They flew over Nova whilst the rubble that covered him was taken away with him, resulting in the three landing with a hard thud some distance away as they rolled to a stop.
"W-w-what's that?! W-who did that?!" One of the three asked, scrambling to their feet in fear as they looked back towards where they presumed the source of the attack was.
"A-are we… are we g-g-going to die?!" The girl cried out on the verge of tears, her whole body violently shaking as she bawled her hands into fists that she held to her chest in fear. The arrogance of the group now having been completely replaced by a terror that had them prisoner and at the mercy of their attacker. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt us! Mommy!" She continued to cry out, tears leaking from her eyes that she had clamped shut.
Despite this all, Nova merely remained silently rooted in the place where he had been previously buried. Only able to look back at the crystal arrow that remained in the ground, his eyes wide in recognition.
"I found you…" A low, grumbly voice stated, the utter frustration and disappointment ringing clear in it as the person continued to stride forward. They were tall and reasonably muscular that were made clear thanks to the grew compression shirt he wore under the big black coat he wore with red stripes and belts attached. But above all, it was the man's sharp red eyes that almost glowed with a sense of fury that instantly redoubled the fear in the kid's hearts.
"You choose to run off… again." He stated whilst glaring down at Nova. But despite addressing Nova, the man didn't give him the time to reply as he instead turned his attention to the three brats ahead of them.
"But first… you three." He spoke, his voice growing even deeper whilst seething with rage and laced with danger. At the same time, the crimson arrow began to shake and rise from the ground. It spun in the air before coming to a sudden stop, floating alongside the terrifying man with its head pointed directly at the kids making it clear that he was somehow controlling it. Yet despite the age of the targets, there still wasn't a shred of hesitation in his eyes. "If I hear of this treatment towards my grandson again, you will become the target of my Hunt. Do you understand?"
"You're insane!" Godfrey shouted back as he scrambled to get back on his feet, but the horror remained etched onto his pale face as his body continued to tremble.
"None of you should be here. Don't any of you understand the consequences of being outside for too long? You're playing with your very lives… now go home before you die." The man said, evidently not impressed with their attitude.
For a moment it seemed that the group was about to try and argue back, but before they could make the mistake their fear got the best of them. Only when they finally began to turn and sprint presumably back home did he finally relinquish his attack, the crystal arrow fading into a stream of light that returned to the blood-red hourglass-shaped crystal shining in his chest. However, whilst his threat may have relinquished, Nova knew that it was hardly the case for his fury…
Slowly and carefully Nova slowly picked himself off the ground, silently daring to pat himself down to rid him of the dirt clinging to his clothes. But even that action was taken in extreme caution as if not to make the slightest sound that would alarm his grandfather. Yet despite his fear, he never dared to so much as think of escaping from him as every fibre of his being would scream against the thought. He was already aware that his only hope was to mitigate the damage that was already done.
'But seriously, what is he doing here?! I didn't think that Grandpa Herald would be the one to come after me!' Nova thought to himself in dread.
Despite being his grandfather, his appearance would suggest otherwise to any human as he still appeared to easily be in his prime. Whilst he had a beard, it was thin and came to a point at his chin but was still completely dark brown like the hair on his head. There wasn't the slightest wrinkle on his skin, and nor did he struggle to hold his tall, proud posture either whilst despite the effort he had just exuded on Nova's bullies there was no sign of exhaustion.
"Nova." His grandfather suddenly spoke, his voice so alarmingly calm that it made Nova stand straight as he held his breath.
"Y-yes?" He managed to say, forcing the words out of his mouth.
"Why do you keep fleeing, do you not understand the danger of being outside? I know of your unusual ability to recover so quickly, but do not grow arrogant from it. The fact you still go effected like all the rest of us means you are not impervious to it." Herald said as he turned around displaying a look that Nova could only assume held disappointment or disapproval within the perpetual stone-faced seriousness he held.
Despite being asked something, Nova could only lower his head until he was looking at the ground, hiding his face from him as if in shame as he kept his silence. A distinct lack of reply that his grandfather wouldn't stand for.
"Speak boy!" He shouted, resulting in Nova flinching from his fierce tone. "Don't you know how you worry your mother!? How you continue to disappoint everyone by abandoning your training?!"
"T-that's because… I don't want to be forced to fight…" Nova began to answer as he shuffled in place before steeling himself, clenching in hands as he made up his mind to face his grandfather with determination. "I don't see why everyone's always fighting! I don't know why you can be so passionate about it, like you want to go hurt others! Why are we just destroying everything and killing one another?! Why aren't we doing anything about that Star, isn't that the real problem?! I hate being forced to stay at home and being forced to train when I just want to go somewhere else! I don't want to be someone's weapon, especially just for the sake of fighting!" Nova cried out, his voice progressively getting louder and louder as his long-contained feelings began to spill out without a sign of stopping. His determination turned into a glare containing his frustration and anger, but his eyes remained filled with confusion and tears.
Herald meanly remained silent and unflinching, merely staring down at the emotional child almost with complete detachment as it let the outburst happen. Against Nova's expectations, however, he didn't do anything to him.
The bewilderment was almost enough to silence Nova and drive him to inspect his grandfather, however his now cascading emotions didn't allow for it. He had braced for the consequences, but they never came, but not did any comfort come either. Instead, Herald just silently waited, merely allowing Nova to steadily calm down in his own time until he was nothing more than tears and shallow breaths.
"We train you because we have hopes for you boy. To enter the fight, and to be critical in winning it." Herald finally spoke, his voice not softening at all but instead remaining it's constant deep, serious tones. "We fight to stop the opposition from spreading a dammed curse to the rest of existence. From ruining people with what looks like salvation but is instead damnation."
"W-what?" Nova asked in confusion whilst he wiped his tears away, unable to understand any of his grandpa's words.
"The opposition are called the Followers of Abundance. In this world are things called Paths. Sometimes we choose to follow them, sometimes people unknowingly share those ideals. Regardless, they are called Pathstriders. And they gain power from the Paths they walk. But these paths exist because of the gods that made them in their rise to power." Herald continued to explain but his words were already to transform the confusion that Nova held into pure horror instead.
His grandfather hardly needed to explain everything before his mind began to operate like a runaway train, not stopping for anything and abandoning all other thoughts.
'No… no, no, no, nonononononononono!' Nova began to panic in his mind, but either because of obliviousness or lack of care, Herald didn't stop talking.
"One of those Paths is the Abundance, and their God, their Aeon, is Yaoshi. Their sole one-track desire is the spreading of endless life, and the damnation of that is immortality. We follow the path of The Hunt, and our Aeon Lan. A path of the pursuit of justice and hunting down our enemies as the Yaoshi and THEIR followers cause more harm, ruining lives."
"T-then… what about that star?" Nova hesitantly asked as he pointed to the painful source of golden light in the distance.
"It's not a star," Herald replied firmly shaking his head before joining Nova in looking up at the with a burning fury taking place on his expression once more. "That… is a stellaron. A seed of destruction. I understand your confusion for us not confronting it, but it has in a twisted way become the very thing that keeps us alive."
"Huh?! How is that the case, it hurts, all the time! And it makes people sick and corrupts us, doesn't it?!" Nova shouted out in disbelief, the revelation enough to snap his crumbling mind back into a sense of stability with something else to focus on.
"Yes, however, it is currently kept in a suppressed state. Even now what we suffer from is far from what could be forced upon us. Yet to remove its effects would remove the limits on our war. Without the suffering it causes we would no longer be restrained, and our war would tear us apart as people on each side would refuse to concede until their dying breath, or take the chance to steadily build power to unleash more than the planet can handle…"
As Herald answered his question Nova was stricken into silence the at the reveal. Despite his grandfather's lack of description, Nova's mind was already hard at work painting the image for him. It didn't matter what world he envisioned, either a world where there was no place to hide whilst pain coursed through their being as their minds and bodies broke down. Or a world where unrestrained warfare would destroy it. Both were a nightmarish scape that he shuddered at the thought.
"…and now, the annihilation gang as well…" Herald couldn't help but murmur to himself, his eyes narrowing as his face turned from a wild rage to a calm scrutiny, his thoughts unreadable.
It was something that Nova barely managed to hear, but didn't dwell on for even a moment. He already had too much to think about and the dread of answers was something that he wasn't ready for.
"But come, Nova. I came this time to ensure you're return, and that you finally understand to never do this again. Now you should understand why we want you trained, something you should at least do for your own sake before you succumb to someone on this planet, like the kids from before." Herald said after a few moments, coming out of his thoughts as he looked down at Nova who could only slowly turn to face him in silence. His face and nigh limp body evidence of his feelings from hearing the truth. "We're going home." He declared, grabbing hold of Nova's wrist to pull him along.
Nova didn't resist in the slightest, mindlessly allowing himself to be pulled along in the direction of home all whilst a single thought kept repeating in his mind. One which only stirred up more and more fear and anxiety the more he thought about it and its implications…
'…I'm in Honkai: Star Rail?'
Years had passed, but the passage of time wasn't notable from the street and environment alone. The city was still falling into ruin, and the streets were silent, only an eerily wind blowing through it as if it were a ghost town under the twilight cast by the Stellaron. The only hint that was carried was the increased rubble and sites of failed reconstruction projects, but the steadily dying nature of the world had denied such projects any success.
Instead, the most notable sign of the flow of time was in its people, as despite the alarming circumstances a lone boy continued to walk through the empty streets, his mind wandering from thought to thought with each step.
"It's surprisingly peaceful… almost too peaceful," Nova spoke in a hushed voice as he carefully looked around the familiar circumstances.
Contrary to his childhood, he had now grown tall after the years as he neared his adulthood, having long come to peace with the miserable new life that he had been dealt. Despite moving forward with his hands in the pockets of his somewhat baggy trousers, seemingly without a care in the world, his mind was far from at rest.
With each step his eyes darted around closely examining everything, his ears were alert and ready to pick up on even the slightest little sound as even his very body remained tense under his clothes, ready to act. With time, he had been conditioned and had long made his peace with it.
"I doubt that any sporadic action won't happen today after protecting the Stellaron though… barely anyone has strength remaining after a fight." He told himself in a vain attempt to calm his body down, yet it bore no fruit as he failed to do so instead making him curse what life had made him become.
As if in response to Nova's woe, however, there was a sudden flash from behind him which had him turning around in alarm before bracing himself. As the light of the Stellaron suddenly increased, an invisible force suddenly ran throughout the city, kicking up a wind that blew dust all around. Yet despite it remaining a mere rush of wind, Nova couldn't help but clutch the Core in his chest as he felt streaks of pain surge through his body as if he had veins filled with magma.
"Dammit… accursed thing… j-just after I…" He panted to himself in frustration in an attempt to pull himself together. The pain was enough to nearly send him to his knee however he resisted, forcing himself to stay on two feet until the pain subsided. But even when it did, all it took was removing his hand from his core to realise he was far from alright…
Unlike the lustrous, pristine royal blue his core had been at birth, it was covered in pulsing streaks of black that had their own golden veins. Veins that didn't even stop at his core, but instead continued to reach out from it and began to stretch across his chest steadily growing by the second. Despite the alarming condition, Nova paid it no heed as he shook it off.
'Mother and Gramps is right… I'm going to kill myself one day if I keep pushing it like this…' He thought to himself begrudgingly. Yet despite his acknowledgement, he still felt irritated at the thought. He fully understood the risks that he took in going outside unnecessarily, but he didn't care. The thought of being contained all day like a prisoner was enough to drive him up the wall, he had to leave. Consequences be dammed.
"I've bounded back plenty of times, and I'll keep doing it." He swore to himself, his voice frustrated yet determined as he finally pushed onwards to return home, a fire burning in his eyes. However, despite talking to himself, he wasn't hoping for company, nor would he ever have been appreciative of what lurked from the shadows….
With the faint sound of rubble, a mere piece of brick falling and bouncing along the ground was all it took to make Nova instantly spin around, his mind focused and sharp on the source of the sound. Even despite seeing nothing, he refused to let his guard down, his whole being refused to until at last his instincts were proven correct once again.
In an instant, a tall, lean and twisted monster leapt out of the shadow at Nova from where he had been carefully watching. Despite his prepared state and its distorted form, it closed the gap in no time, readying a jagged, blade-like arm that swung down as it fell. At the same time, Nova didn't take his eyes off it for even a moment as his eyes easily kept up with its moments despite the coursing pain he felt.
Not allowing the pain to slow him down he managed to move with equal speed, his core briefly shining as light rushed out of it whilst forming into a small unique blade-like form that soon spewed forth more pure shimmering energy, creating its gigantic blade and one-sided crossguard.
The resounding high-pitched clang resonated throughout the air, not that either combatant so much as flinched, the emotionless monster with a crystal helmet for a head starring into the serious, calm and resolute expression that Nova held. The clash didn't last long however as with a grunt Nova managed to swing his sword, pushing the monster back and creating distance between them signalling the start of the fight.
'Shoot, I'm not in shape for this, I'm already worn down…' Nova thought to himself with perfectly disguised urgency. 'But it's only one. Just wipe it out and flee, quickly.' He told himself as he stretched out his hand, quickly forming yet another greatsword just like the former, the two blades looking like two halves of a whole.
The Fragmentum monster before him likewise silently stared him down, its whole form twisted, deformed and wild whilst constantly twitching like some damaged robot. Just like him, it gave no indication of its thoughts if it even had them, not that Nova cared. He would never want to know whatever passed through the minds of the monsters everyone had to regularly keep at bay…
Not wanting to waste any more of his precious energy just standing around, Nova was the first to rush in between the two. Instantly rearing back his left sword, he then threw it forward letting it fly through the air. Spinning at high speed when it collided with the monster, it was forced to block as the sword connected and began to bore into its being.
It was only when it had managed to force the sword back, its arms going wide as it successfully repelled the attack that was Nova in its immediate presence. With a single fluid motion, he managed to twist his body into a spin as he carried his momentum into his other sword using both hands to drive it through its neck with ease. But he didn't stop there.
Holding out his left hand, his sword seamlessly returned to it as he swung it down, chopping off the creature's sword whilst his other blade ate through its stomach. There was a distorted cry from the monster as he did so, its 'voice' whilst painful, was also soothing to Nova's ears as he acknowledged its pain from his successful assault.
"Good, that wasn't so-" Nova began to say as he turned around to watch the monster disappear only for his eyes to go wide in shock before he took an offensive stance again, focusing once more. Despite its severe wounds, the monster began to effortlessly regenerate its limbs before his eye as black and golden fog rushed into its chest from seemingly nowhere.
"How did it? Oh…" Nova wondered aloud as he intensely analysed what he was witnessing before adopting a look of pity at the creature, his disgruntlement about it washing away in moments as he spotted the cause.
A cracked, black and gold Core. One which oozed with the energy of Destruction.
Despite his new feelings towards the monster, he didn't allow them to get in the way, instead quickly sealing them away without a trace as he moved back in towards his target. Now armed with an understanding towards the situation, Nova narrowed the target of his offence as he quickly acted before the monster was ready to retaliate.
As he ruthlessly thrust one sword towards the monster's core, it barely managed to respond in time as it slashed at it, redirecting it into its chest instead of its Core. Yet just before he could swing down his other sword at the pinned monster, it tore itself from his blade without care and awkwardly rolled to the side before slashing back at Nova.
In the nick of time, Nova managed to jump out of the way whilst retaliating with another swing of his sword that sent a cut of sparkling blue energy racing through the air and colliding with the monster's core. The second the attack collided the monster screeched out with a sound that carried far more pain than ever before, but Nova didn't give the slightest reaction as he continued his assault.
He continued to rotate his body in the air, making himself spin as fast as he could turning him and his swords into a spinning circle blade before bringing his full force crashing down on what remained of the monster's core. The resulting impact effortlessly shattered the crystal into countless pieces that flew out in all directions, reducing it to a state beyond repair…
As the monster continued to scream, its voice and movement slowly died off as its body faded before Nova's very eyes. "You don't have to suffer anymore…" Nova solemnly said as he remained fixated on its vanishing form until it finally faded from the world. As the last of it finally vanished from the world, Nova took the chance to relax, his swords shimmering slightly before vanishing and being absorbed back into his core as he released an exhausted sigh.
"Dam it… I won't be able to make it home at this rate. I'm better off resting something else until I recover some." He said with a grunt of pain as he clenched his core once more as he fought to keep himself standing upright. "I'll just use that building for now…" he said as his eyes wandered upon just another cracked, ruined building amongst the crowd, only able to hope that it was still more structurally sound than the others around.
But all his hopes were dashed the next moment. As he took one step, the world shook, the surrounding rubble bounced, a resounding "thud" filled the air and Nova's heart sank into dread once again. Before he could say anything the source of the disturbance made itself known as the building before him abruptly crumbled and fell, kicking up a storm of dust that forced him to shield his eyes.
"Oh… for flip sake…" Nova groaned to himself as he tiredly, slowly looking up at the cause before flaring to life once again. "Just fantastic, of course something goes to make me wrong…" He complained aloud in frustration.
'I'm not in the shape to take that on…' Nova thought to himself grimly as he continued to stare up at the giant monster that had stumbled onto the scene.
The best that he could hope to describe the giant mess was a solidified clump of black ooze that supported and dragged itself forward with two stumps. Its body was riddled with purple blinking eyes as it unleashed a deafening, resounding roar that shook the area once more, forcing Nova to briefly cover his ears.
There was a moment as Nova remained rooted to the spot, only able to look up at the monster that had appeared whilst it seemingly looked back at him. 'Maybe it'll… no, there's no way.' Nova thought to himself trying to find a spark of hope to cling to before giving up, unable to lie to himself.
As if to prove him right the monster roared once more as it opened the mess of a mouth it had, a mass of energy rapidly forming between it whilst Nova's heart sank at the sight of it. However, there wasn't even the time to shout or scream much less think as the monster unleashed its attack without mercy. It was only pure instinct driven by a raging denial of such a fate that spurred him into action in the nick of time, holding up his hands and forming a crystalline barrier against the raging power that was launched at him.
"God... dam… it!" Nova shouted out as he pushed himself to his limit, his crystal pulsing with light as he continued to push back against the raging power. Yet despite his best efforts, he was rapidly pushed back with ease, the ground tearing up whilst sparks of lighting struck off wildly in all directions. As his struggle continued, more and more cracks continued to form his is barrier as Nova pushed himself harder and harder to turn but it was to no avail…
He was helpless to prevent his barrier from shattering, the monster's laser obliterating it without remorse leaving Nova only able to scowl in frustration before closing his eyes, bracing for his final moments. Yet, death never came…
Instead, it was the ground that greeted Nova first as he went flying backwards before colliding with it and rolling to a stop, his body aching all over as a result. "What? How?" Nova asked himself in confusion between heavy, exhausted breaths. Slowly he pushed himself off the ground whilst quickly examining himself only to find minor scrapes and cuts which small steams of light leaked out of before healing shut moments later.
"How do I still have the energy to recover?" He asked in disbelief as he shakily attempted to stand up on his legs again. Yet it was just as he barely managed to halfway stand up, his hands resting on his knees, did he received another shock.
"Please rest Sir! It will be alright now!" A voice spoke to him as he felt someone grabbed hold of his shoulders to support him.
"W-what? Who?!" Nova exclaimed as he turned to see whoever was now supporting him to find a woman with short, silver hair smiling at him.
"It's alright now, we'll protect you and take everything from here. Please trust in trust in my colleagues to fell that Beast of Destruction." She said again with a soothing voice as she continued to hold him close, only performing a small gesture with one hand towards what lay before them.
There were several more people standing before them, all working in tandem as they held up an enormous multicoloured barrier which managed to hold back the raging power of the monster. All of them uniformly wearing white robes lined with gold the same as the woman by Nova's side, but as the woman looked at them with a warm smile, Nova looked at them in horror.
'Oh no… the Abundance…' He internally groaned, silently cursing his infernal luck whilst ensuring that he kept his emotions hidden behind a serious expression.
"By Yaoshi! How much corruption have you suffered already?! How long have you been out here? How are you still holding on?!" The woman beside him suddenly cried out snapping Nova from his thoughts, her expression etched with horror.
"I'm made of tough stuff…" Nova quietly mentioned as he covered his core, but the woman just strongly shook her head in response.
"Please, you must learn to value your life far more!" She stated with a grave look before turning back towards her cohorts. "Clariso, everyone, please hold out for now! This young one is in terrible condition, I must take care of him as soon as I can!" She cried out resulting in reach of them subtly nodding in response as they remained focused on the task at hand.
"Go, we shall handle things here!" One of the men shouted back as an enormous explosion finally went off. As the monster's attack finally died out, their barrier shattered into countless pieces but each one of the Abundance followers was quick to act and ready themselves.
As the woman by Nova's side continued to lead him away, utilising her healing power of Abundance all the while, each of her cohorts prepared to fight. Some summoned up crystal weapons, whilst others energy attacks and projects and some even created animate crystal beasts of their own.
However, all it took was a single moment for them all to get shown up.
From the heavens a ginormous brown crystal spear rained down, striking the unsuspecting monster with tremendous force. As the mighty sound of an explosion rippled through the air, the force of impact nearly blew everyone from their feet as they braced themselves through the subsequent storm caused by it.
And to everyone's shock, upon the dust finally settling down they were all greeted to the view of the monster, limb, on the ground and slain…
"Who was that?" The woman helping Nova asked in shock and concern, hurriedly looking up to find the source of the attack but there was no need.
"Followers of Abundance!" A furious voice shouted out across the cityscape, alerting everyone to the roof of a building where three cloaked figures were stood looking over them.
"Oh… fuck…" Nova whispered under his breath in realisation, all colour draining from his face in despair as he looked on in disbelief. "Can this day get any worse…"
"Traitors of Yaoshi! Turncoats of the Hunt!" One of the robed individuals shouted back with equal, if not greater scorn in their voice. Almost automatically each member of the Abundance had formed fists and gritted their teeth in open hostilities, redirecting their prepared attacks towards their saviours instead. "Do you return to attempt to stamp out life once more?!"
"The only thing we wish to stamp out is the eternal damnation you spread! Do you wish for everyone in the universe to be subjected to this hell forever?!" The leading Hunt member shouted back. Despite their question, it was clear that no one was in the mood for talking as the members of the Hunt likewise prepared their attacks.
It only took a moment for one of the three to raise a hand above their head, forming countless crystal daggers that launched forward with a snap of their fingers. "Defensive positions!" The Abundance leader commanded as they all worked together to make a sudden barrier that successfully held off the attack, until another massive spear effortlessly punched through it, blowing them away as a result.
The Hunt didn't hesitate as their leader shot down at astonishing speed, blitzing towards their targets with utter ruthlessness. Nova could only look on amazement at first at the display of power he was witnessing before snapping himself out of it as he remembered the situation.
"Thanks a ton for the boost but, I'll be getting out here now… good luck!" Nova hurriedly told the woman who was at his side, shaking free of her grasp before running away.
"Wait, hold on! Your core! If you leave like that, without any help you'll…" She called out to him, but Nova didn't listen. Instead, he ran, he ran with everything he had and never dared to look back. The woman's voice was easily drowned out in no time, but the sound of explosions, conflict and fighting never did. Instead, it only grew more and more despite how much he ran and ran until it was surely reaching such uncontrollable heights that only an Emanator or Stellaron could hope to stop…
'Just get away, just get away!' Nova repeated in his mind all the while doing his best to distance himself. The very last thing he wanted was to become the victim of another civil war in his weakened state, and he certainly didn't want to risk getting involved if their fighting caught the attention of the Annihilation Gang…
All he could do was run. Even if he was in his pride, he wouldn't dare consider fighting all three groups by himself. The pursuit of war was never what he wanted either, but it only made him question everything.
Why was this the life he was born into? Why was this his second chance? Why did he have it at all if this was all it amounted to? What was Life supposed to be about? Surely it wasn't… this?
Yet it was this mindset and life that began to pave his Path when a glimmer of opportunity finally revealed itself in the form of a spaceship steadily landing on their planet. A sight that Nova didn't fail to notice, even as he continued to run along, much to his bewilderment and disbelief.
And it also marked the unknowing interference and alteration to "Destiny"…
For some people who have already read this before and noticed this change and those new to this story - This whole chapter got a major redo. And so will the rest of the story. I've decided to push myself with my writing and this is the start of that.
Please leave reviews with constructive criticism if you have any, whether it be my writing technique, storytelling technique or just flat about the story, but praise on what's done well is just as appreciated too!