Blood and ashes.
Fire and screams.
It was as if the Earth had descended into hell itself.
The Sun was a reigning inferno that dried the lakes and oceans in an instant, but that was nowhere near the worst part.
Strange beings began to invade Earth and slaughter all of those who tried to escape the star's impending doom.
Conventional weapons like firearms or bladed weapons had no affect on these creatures, and they were able to reach distances of a hundred feet in the blink of an eye.
These beings had powers that were unexplainable to men, given as how they were able to scorch a person with fire or blast a hole through a metal wall with a bolt of lightning by merely raising a finger.
Only a few hundred thousand Humans out of the billions that populated Earth were able to escape into the cold void of space, ultimately escaping extinction.
Though the Humans had already conquered Mars, Venus, and Mercury, as well as established small bases of operation for small groups of scientists, but these planets were inevitably destroyed by the Sun when its core collapsed, causing it to supernova.
Though the remaining Humans had thought their lives forfeit when the blast reached their ship before they had yet to escape the solar system, a mysterious barrier surrounded the ship and prevented the scorching heat from burning them alive.
When the barrier lowered, another, larger, ship appeared from the depths of space. This ship harbored a friendly alien species known as the Vor'u. The Vor'u expressed their sympathy for the Human's plight and offered to take them to an uninhabited planet.
The Human inevitably agreed and found themselves on a planet that was eerily similar to Earth. It's name? Liobos.
After many years, the planet was home to over a million Humans now, and new materials were being uncovered daily. It wasn't until one fateful day that the course of all life had changed forever.
A single miner had uncovered the find of the century. A metal named 'Kastite'. Kastite was elastic, auto-insulated, extremely durable, and it even exhibited qualities of super-conductivity at times.
With this new metal, the conventional house now looked like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. There were flying cars, rifles that shot super-heated lasers, and even giant mechs that you could see helping with construction efforts.
Though this metal became a blessing for Humanity for many years, it soon turned into a curse. The metal leaked an energy that could enhance the bodies natural attributes, and allow Humans to perform feats similar to the aliens that invaded Earth, once refined, and this energy eventually soaked into the planet itself.
With Liobos soaked with the energy now known as 'Ki', it had become a prized possession for any species already adept at using Ki. This, in turn, had made the entire planet of Liobos a landmine for Humanity, who had only tapped the surface of using this mysterious energy.
The aliens that invaded Earth in search of worthy opponents had now set their eyes on Liobos, but instead of simply slaughtering the Humans like before, they instead opted to enslave them. This didn't mean that they didn't kill the majority of the Humans inhabiting Liobos, however.
Most cities and states were controlled and regulated by the Urnoir, but very few settlements remained controlled by Humans. Through the use of special technology to render their cities invisible, or by building underground, the Humans managed to gain a hold on the chains that bound them.
Every Human controlled city was made into a military base that worked to produce soldiers capable of using Ki to its full extent in order to drive the Urnoir from their home. In one such city, codenamed Noct since it was in a perpetual state of night ever since a certain accident, the newest batch of trainees had entered the academy.
---
Though the sky was as black as tar, at least in Noct, the temperature was that of a desert during midday. A group of, at least, two-hundred kids, all sixteen years of age, began to flock toward a large, white, five-story building dotted with windows. The outside was quite nice with its evenly cut grass, clean sidewalks, with countless parks, neatly maintained shrubs, and blossoming flowers.
Each child was stunned by the sight as they eagerly walked up to the Kastite gates ready to learn how to control the Ki laying dormant in their bodies; eager to bring glory upon their families and planet. One boy, however, shared no such delusions.
His unkempt aqua hair fell in tangles about his face as his silver eyes gleamed with disdain as he glanced at his peers, their smiles and laughs serving no other purpose than to fill his mouth with the taste of vomit. Though Lance hated the Urnoir with a passion, as they had stolen the only person he had ever truly cared for, he hated Humans even more.
When his mother was being abused by his father, no one dared to intervene, even if it was in public. When his father abandoned Lance and his mother when the Urnoir attacked Liobos, no one tried to help them, and when his mother was being burnt alive by the Urnoir, no one even glanced back, for they were too busy tossing their friends underneath themselves so that they could run.
This selfishness...this greed and violence and impulsive behavior is what Lance hated the most about Humans. In fact, he despised everything about them. Lance thought that, if he could get enough power to free Liobos from the Urnoir, he could kill every last Human on this damned planet and finally see his mother again...
Feeling the intense aura that the brooding Lance was emitting, many kept their distance and began to murmur to their friends and slowly create gossip, such was the way of Human interaction. Upon entering the building's main gate, there was a long desk with many receptionists asking the kids to fill out forms while scanning their fingerprints for confirmation of their identity before giving them the key to their dorm room and sending them off.
It was a long wait, and this gave Lance the time to thoroughly engrave the image of the front office into his mind. The floors were made of pristine white marble while the walls and ceilings were made out of Kastite that was dyed white to match. The ceiling itself was tall and imposing while chandeliers hung from thin chains, illuminating the office in a yellow glow.
The desk in front of Lance was made out of a dark, polished mahogany with several computers and scanning devices splayed out across its length. Eventually, it was Lance's turn at the desk. A short, thin woman with a perfect fake smile looked up at Lance and asked, "Name?" Lance looked her in the eyes, and it was like he could see her character from that short exchange.
"Pushy, likes to bully those weaker than her, and seriously hates men. A bit too common don't you think? Name's Lance Byrd." The woman tilted her head to the side in mock confusion as a threatening light flashed through her eyes. "Place your thumb on this scanner please."
Lance did as he was told and waited for the machine's telltale beep before drawing his hand back and waiting for the woman to hand him his dorm key. After grabbing the credit card-like key, Lance pulled up a map of the building's ground floor from his phone and set off toward the canteen.
The boys he passes talked about girls and games and such, while all of the girls talked about boys, girls they hated already, and about their rich families; each conversation only heightening Lance's growing annoyance.
Before Lance could get to the canteen's doors, however, he was stopped when by a tight grip around his shoulder. "Hey, bum, move the fuck outta the way or else." Lance glanced back through his aqua colored hair and saw a fat boy with short brown hair and dark hazel eyes looking down at him; his two friends snickering at Lance's rather poor appearance.
Lance took a moment to look down at himself and observe his faded jacket, which was riddled with several holes, as well as his unwashed jeans that were too big for him, and his worn-down shoes. Looking back up at the boy, Lance shrugged and asked "Or else...?" in an impatient tone.
The boy's face scrunched up in obvious rage as he leaned toward Lance and said "Do you know who I am? I'm the son of Marvin Black. Now, do as I say and I'll consider overlooking this incident." Lance tilted his head back as he pretended to think for a moment before saying, "I have no reason to listen to you. Even if your father is who you say he is, I plainly don't give a single damn. If you want me to move...make me."
A cruel smile spread across the boy's face as he raised his fist and grabbed Lance's jacket, but his fist never descended. Silver chains shot out from seemingly nowhere and wrapped themselves around the boy's arms and legs before knocking him to the ground.
Lance's fingers began to slowly move about like he was controlling a marionette, either tightening the chains or making them drag the fat boy around effortlessly. The boy's friends tried to intervene, but they were promptly tied up as well.
Lance soon got bored and dragged the three boys down the hall as he walked into the canteen. It was a rather massive room with decorative red carpet, instead of the marbled floors of the halls and front office, with large, circular tables surrounded by two semi-circular seats spaced out enough for room to get in and out.
At the very back of the canteen were vendors with all kinds of food that smelled rather pleasant, and it took Lance everything he had to hold back from practically running over and grabbing whatever was producing that delicious aroma.
After grabbing a plateful of food, Lance retreated to a dark corner table where he could, hopefully, eat his fill in peace. As he ate, Lance scrolled through the various apps on his phone and was about to settle on watching a livestream on the newest title in the VRMMO industry when a boy with medium-length, wavy black hair and dark purple eyes sat next to Lance.
Lance immediately began to scowl as the boy smiled politely and extended his hand out while saying, "My name's Ezra Gray, and I couldn't help but notice the chains you used against Leo Black. I'd li-" Lance cut Ezra off with a sharp glare as he lifted his hand, but Ezra proved to be faster.
With a snap of his finger, the Ki inside of Lance's body, as well as in the air, had been halted, making it rather difficult, but not impossible, to deploy techniques involving the usage of Ki. Seeing the look on Lance's face, Ezra chuckled and asked, "First time seeing a Ki-blocking technique? Yeah, I had the same reaction as well whe-"
Lance looked Ezra in the eyes, and one glance was all he needed. Lance lunged forward and grabbed Ezra's extended arm and tugged forward, slamming his face into the table, while sliding to the side and pinning his other arm behind his back. Now at the mercy of the mysterious Lance, Ezra's expression had turned completely neutral.
"Don't even try to weasel you way out of this," Lance said as his gaze bore holes through anyone bold enough to step forward. "I don't like it when people come to me with ulterior motives. Well! Guess what? I'll not join any of you and become your pawn! You'll have to try a lot harder than this to make my lower my guard!" Lance was half yelling at Ezra and half yelling at the pompous rich kids who thought they could get everything by using their families name.
Suddenly, a cold feeling spread through Lance's back and his arms went numb as his legs buckled from underneath him, forcing him to sit back on his soft seat. A girl with a rather pale complexion, fair features, dark eyes, and stark white hair that extended down to the middle of her back, walked past Lance and helped Ezra stand.
It seemed Lance had gotten too carried away and almost dislocated Ezra's arm.
The girl looked toward Lance, who was beginning to regain some measure of warmth in his body, and said, "I would rather you not attack my fiancé when he's trying to secure a safe position for you. People from the working class shouldn't even be allowed into the academy, and you're a perfect example of why..."