After the blast, the once flourishing nature had now become a graveyard. Rubles and debris lay everywhere. And the grassy land now looked burnt.
A huge deep crater the size of a football field had now replaced the tranquil and serene forest. Outside the crater, trees and wildlife weren't spared. Fire was spreading and the shockwave the blast created had killed much of the weaker creature.
The mood was dark and gloomy as the clouds above gathered.
In the middle of the crater a black charred object can be seen. It was Henry's mechanical arm. Or what was left of it that is.
A couple of metres away a half buried man can be seen. He was missing an arm. He was deathly pale. Bruises could be seen on the exposed part of his body. Half of his body was burnt and he was barely breathing.
*cough*
Marcus opened his eyes as he coughed out blood. He was too weak and too tired to move anymore. His eyes were also losing its luster.
"Haaa...Haaa…Haaa"
'...it's finally over…'
'You guys...can rest now''
He looked up at the sky and saw that it was about to rain. He smiled with sadness.
'I heard that I was born when the weather was like this...to think it would be the same as I die'
As he was about to close his eyes and just let nature take its course he heard rustling sounds.
He looked sideways and saw that Jericho was crawling towards him. He looked like a mess. Jericho's arms were gone. His whole body was burnt. He was using his legs to push himself forward. When he was near Marcus he flipped his body so he could breath easily.
Jericho only managed to survive because he was blown away by the force when Henry used his power. After he was blown away his instinct kicked in and he immediately ran the opposite direction. Sadly the blast still caught up to him.
After regaining his consciousness he hurriedly looked for Marcus. But since he was too weak he could only crawl around. The effect of liquid aura was already fading, good thing he found him immediately or else he would've ran out of energy.
"Haaa...Haaa...Haaa.." Jericho breathed heavily.
"What's up?" Asked Marcus as if meeting an old friend.
"Nothing much...just about to die"
"Cool...same"
_
After a moment of silence, Jericho spoke...
"Tell me, are you part of the Ophidian Tribe?"
Marcus' eyes looked distant as memories flashed by in his mind.
"I am...or I used be. There's no longer a Tribe...only me"
Jericho already knew. After all, only the Ophidian Tribe has the ability to manifest a snake using aura. He just wanted to make sure...so he could...
"How-..How did you survive?" Jericho hesitated to ask. He knew what the boy went through wasn't easy.
Marcus didn't answer the question, instead he told Jericho...
"Let me tell you a story…"
He then closed his eyes as he recalled it.
"Long ago, a cheerful and happy go lucky girl once lived in a village. She was always getting into trouble and would always play pranks on the other villager." He began while chuckling. Jericho also couldn't stop smiling as if remembering something.
"She was the troublemaker of the village yet nobody can truly get mad at her. She would pick on anyone, elderly, children, her siblings, her own parents, even the village chief wasn't spared from her pranks."
Marcus was subconsciously smiling while telling the story.
"Her harmless pranks were what brings joy to the village. She would always get scolded yet even that was a happy scene."
Marcus' smile vanished...
"But of course, nothing lasts forever. When the girl turned 16, her body started to weaken. Her joyous laughter echoed no more in the streets of the village. Her smile that radiates warmth can no longer be seen every morning. And her harmless pranks? Those were long gone. Only a happy memory is what remains."
Jericho trembled.
"One day….one day the girl got permission to leave home and go to a nearby river beside the village to get some fresh air. That was her place, her safe haven, she would play there everyday when she was young. And when she was sad she would go there to find comfort. Watching the flowing river calms and erases her worry for some reason."
Jericho's eyes widened when he heard this. He was shocked to the core. And how could he not be. He was all too familiar with this story.
Marcus continued not seeing Jericho's reaction and even if he did see it he wouldn't give a fuck.
"While she was by the river, she decided to dip her two feet in the water. The water was cold but she didn't mind it. In fact she found it soothing because of the hot weather. She looked ahead and she saw something floating downstream. The thing got stuck on the rocks so she decided to head upstream to check what it is. And then she saw it. A body of a man….
Jericho was no longer paying attention. He was lost in his own thoughts as his mind travelled to the past...
---------------------------------------------------------
(30 years ago)
"TAKE COVER!!!"
BOOOOM!
A huge fireball hit the ground.
"Who are those people?!!"
Asked a soldier wearing a black uniform as he looked at a distance. He saw a group of men numbering in 100, they were all wearing black hooded attire. They were all mutants, the Projectors amidst them were sending fireball after fireball to the soldiers location.
"I don't know! They don't look like they're from any Tribe!" Said a female soldier.
"Shit! They just had to show up! We are still miles away from the Empire so back up will take at least an hour to arrive!" Said by another soldier in a panicked tone.
"Commander what are your orders?" Asked another soldier as he got close to his commander.
The Commander was a youth in his early twenties. He was wearing a tight black uniform which looked like it was made from latex and silicon. Despite how it looks, it is actually made from a very durable substance. He has a head of auburn hair and hazel eyes, he has a huge body frame for his age, he was also currently injured and in a weakened state. He was none other than Jericho Stratenheid. They had just finished fighting the terrorists called Tribe Pact and he had to use blood burning so he was quite weak at the moment.
"Let's go North and head to that mountain range. We will ambush them there. We currently can't fight them head on or we will be overwhelmed!"
"MEN FALL BACK!!! HEAD TO THAT MOUNTAIN RANGE!!!"
Shouted the soldier who asked him. He was the second in command after Jericho.
Currently the soldiers head count was 50 people, they were a huge battalion before but now they are all that remained after the fight with Tribe Pact. When they were on their way home they were suddenly assaulted by those mysterious people.
They were weak and tired so they couldn't fight them openly. They needed the cover of the forest if they wanted to survive or at least boost their chances of survival.
The assailants were riding on hovering vehicles which varied in shapes and sizes. They would close in on the soldiers if they stayed for a minute so they all ran hurriedly.
The group then immediately headed straight for the mountain. They could hide in the forest but they knew it was equally dangerous as those mysterious attackers. That mountain range was home to millions of dangerous wild beasts, mutated wild beasts!
Surviving in those woods would be hard but compared to those mutant humans. They would gladly risk it.
But not even a minute passed since the soldiers ran for their lives a missile came whistling and hit the ground in front of them!
BOOOM!
They had to halt their advance to brace for impact. The Manifestors quickly summoned shields to defend from the blast while the others hid behind them.
"FUCK!" Cursed Jericho as his muscles bulge.
"The enemies aren't gonna give a chance to escape! We'll fight them as we run towards the forest!"
"Generators in the front! Manifestors follow behind, do not fight on your own! As for Projectors, stay behind and provide support!"
Jericho commanded as he faced the hooded figures.
The other soldiers didn't need to be ordered twice to move. They quickly followed the formation while advancing.
"The enemies are catching up! Brace yourselves!"
BOOOM!
Another missile headed straight for them but it was deflected by a shield!
"CHARGE!"
The enemy got off from their vehicles and dashed straight to them.
Booom! Booom! Booom!
Generators and Manifestors engaged in close combat as Projectors fired one attack after another!
And so begins the battle that would lead to the birth of a peerless monster across the multiverse.