~There are universal truths that have existed since the dawn of time. One of which is the existence of multiple planets, multiple worlds, and multiple dimensions. The big question however is this... Where did all of these originate from?~
YEAR: UNREGISTERED
LOCATION: VALERIA (RUINED WORLD)
The truth behind the emergence of the supernatural, the appearances of monsters, the extinction of mankind, among other countless races, and the masterminds behind them all... 'The Reapers'
"I'll tell you all about it," Michael said, with a serious air around him.
"Finally... I've been dead curious" Tenny spoke, then noticing the serious atmosphere, realized he was interrupting a very important moment. He smiled sheepishly, finally letting out "Go on..."
Michael sighed, smiling a bit, amused at Tenny's reaction. Well, the time was finally at hand. By the looks of things, Kyron knew quite a bit about the Reapers. Not only because Kyron had warned him about them, but also he had seen his memories when he was extracting his abilities with DEADMAN MONOPOLY. At the very least Kyron had seen them, something Michael was yet to do.
"Firstly, all that has occurred so far, ever since the RIP, no... before that, have all been part of the Reapers' grand plan. For Tenny, who has no idea, just like the rest of the world who think it's just an unfathomable phenomenon, well it's not!" Michael spoke, looking a bit aggrieved.
"They are Otherworldly beings, and not much as to their origins are known, even to me. Unfortunately, my knowledge of them is limited. I, however, know their plans and intentions, and that's plenty enough." He paused looking at his audience.
Kyron paid close attention, even though he most definitely knew all Michael had said so far. Tenny looked quite confused but hesitant to speak up.
"Tenny, you have something on your mind?" Michael inquired.
"Oh, yes... Um, so... I am lost in all this. Why would these guys appear out of nowhere, go out of their way to give people powers, and a couple of decades after, destroy them...?" Tenny spoke frantically, trying to piece his words properly.
Michael smiled a bit, happy Tenny was following what he was saying. He looked Tenny in the eyes and spoke
"It's all for the Harvest. The RIP was just a prelude. The Reapers create Ability Users, but not to destroy them, but to capture them..."
Tenny still looked confused, and so he decided to elaborate.
"Okay, let me start from the beginning then," Michael said sighing.
"To understand the rationale behind them, you must first know their nature. The Reapers, are in a word, Farmers." Michael said plainly.
"What?" Tenny said, appearing even more confused
"The Reapers are originally not from this Dimension. There exist multiple dimensions, this one is just one of them. I don't know much about the others." Michael said, hoping he was getting through to Tenny.
"So the theory of the multiverse is true?" Tenny spoke excitedly.
"Sure, you can say that. It's not exactly the same, but let's go with that." Michael said, a bit relieved Tenny was beginning to grasp his complex explanation.
"They are a complete mystery, especially their voyage before arriving at this Dimension, but one thing's for sure... It was most likely similar to this."
"Similar?" Kyron spoke, surprised to hear this part.
"Yes. The Reapers travel through Dimensions and carry out their conquest on various worlds, or rather, planets within the Dimension. Once they've achieved their objectives, they leave the Dimension and head to a new one." Michael said.
"Those bastards! Just how many innocents have suffered at their hands?!" Kyron lamented bitterly.
"Hold up, I'm not following..." Tenny spoke, looking lost once again.
"Don't be confused, it's simple. The Reapers carry out their grand plans on multiple worlds, it's the system known as the Conquest. They cause a Rip, which pours Otherworldly energy into the world, then after the people within it have matured and the abilities reached a milestone and threshold, they return for Harvest." Kyron said, facing Tenny, looking agitated.
Michael noticed Tenny trying to take all the information in and decided to break it down even more.
"Remember I told you, the Reapers are farmers. They sow, cultivate and harvest. These three processes are the major phases of their plan." He stated.
"Ooh, I think I get it now. The RIP was the sowing phase, right? And the Harvest is the Harvesting phase. But what about the cultivation... Wait, don't tell me...?" Tenny spoke in realization as he began to unravel what the mystery was.
"Indeed, It is what you're thinking. The Reapers use calcified and refined Otherworldly energy to grant special abilities to their targets. The Energy source is known as The Seed, and extensions of it exist within our genes, down to every single cell." Michael spoke, his voice getting grave.
"The most crucial part, however, is the cultivation phase... And that's when the catalysts of the plan appear, and the Harbingers surface..." Michael paused, hoping for its meaning to dawn on Tenny.
"The Harbingers...?" Tenny gasped.
"They are the agents of cultivation? But how? They cause numerous deaths and destruction. They're also mindless monsters. How?"
"The Harbingers are originally creatures from other ruined worlds, and so Gates appear which link them to the worlds still undergoing their second phases. I'll give you a breakdown." Michael said.
"This planet, Valeria, is an example. After going through Harvest, it became a ruined world, and its unintelligent creatures mutated into VampCyclops, a type of Harbinger. A Grandmaster even emerged, which occurs for most ruined worlds. The reason these creatures exist is not due to the kindness of The Reapers, neither is it a miscalculation..." Michael said.
"It's strategy..."Kyron completed it.
"The Reapers use the Harbingers to invade other planets for the Cultivation phase."
Kyron appeared to be engulfed in rage toward the vile beings being discussed.
"But, why? Don't they need us... For the Harvest?" Tenny asked, puzzled.
"A seed sown on good soil needs nutrients and specific conditions to mature" Michael spoke.
"Remember what I told you way back? A general condition for Awakening is danger. The Harbingers serve to achieve that. Without their presence, most won't awaken, and even the ones who awaken won't develop their abilities to maturity, due to being raised in lax conditions. The Harbingers nurture the seeds sown within us all and enable them to reach full bloom. Once the approximate time for this phase is concluded, Harvest occurs." Michael finished.
"Wow... So we're just being cultivated... to die?" Tenny said in utter despair.
"According to what I've seen in Kyron's memories, it took shorter than 50 years for the Reapers to commence Harvest. The timing must vary as a result of certain factors, some including the rate of proficiency of the abilities, as well as its integration in the society. On Kyron's homeworld, over ninety percent of its inhabitants had Awakened by the time of the Harvest, unlike Earth which has a slower rate. By the time of the Harvest, barely ten percent of mankind would possess abilities ." Michael pointed out.
"That adds up..." Kyron spoke thoughtfully "This means you can't afford to act carelessly, or you'll speed up the Destruction of your world."
"Exactly! I did not expect this situation to exist, but I have countermeasures in place, so not to worry." Michael said reassuringly.
"The Harvest occurs within ten years, probably shorter now due to certain changes in events. We can not afford to be lax at this juncture. We must stop the Harvest's success at all costs! That is the goal of PROJECT INVERSION" He said in all seriousness
"You mentioned it before, but what exactly does your grand plan entail?" Tenny probed.
"It has five major phases, one has already been completed." Michael continued
"I might not be able to go into the details as of now, but I can at least tell you the next step we'll be taking."
"What's that?" Tenny asked.
"As you know, while we are all comrades, our numbers are still too small to combat the force of The Reapers. The first order of business in the second phase is to gain more allies, and I know just the place to search." Michael said smiling.
"You don't mean...?" Tenny looked, surprised by what his brother intended to do.
"Yes. We're going to enroll in the Special Ability Academy, ORION." Michael said.
Other than recruitment of allies, he had other reasons for choosing the academy as his next stop, but he decided against mentioning them at the moment.
They would be enrolling in the only Academy for Special Ability Users like themselves, one which hosted members of all the countries in the world, and nurtured their abilities, paving the way to their threefold career paths, Orion Academy.
"Get ready fellas," Michael said with a wild smile on his face.
"We're going to SCHOOL!"
TO BE CONTINUED...