Celest. A pure cosmic energy that somehow has a will of its own. This will make it so that beings that formed from this energy would only bring destruction and chaos to any other life forms. Harnessing this energy was the turning point for the people in Terra, for this opened a brighter future for them. But this also turned the eyes of the gods on their way.
Gods created by the Celest. The epitome of predation.
Sometimes these gods choose "Avatars" to act on their behalf, as they are unable to enter the gates due to a "law" in reality, making those Rift Beasts take on mutations. They only did this as soon as Project Rupture started. The reason is… saved for later on.
In days past, the mutations weren't that major, only when "he" caught their attention did they make their avatars more powerful. And no matter what they do, "he" was still a problem.
Thus, they have now decided. They shall possess a human body to act on their will. Although, they would have to sacrifice almost all of their power just to enter the wretched human realm.
"No matter, one can just regain one's strength."
One such god was now standing in the middle of a burning village off to the countryside of Arkisto. Her platinum blonde hair flowed with the wind as she became irritated at the lack of sunlight due to the smoke.
The goddess raised her hand, condensing wind into her hands and blasting off the smoke. She smiled as she saw the sunlight and felt it on her skin.
"Now, where is that little brat?"
-x-X-x-
"To your left."
Viola couldn't even react in time as Leia punched her on her side, sending her flying to a nearby wall. Before she could even hit the wall, she was stopped on her tracks by the barrier around the training area, leaving her levitating in place.
"Ugh…" Viola groaned as she straightened herself.
Ever since the revelation of the mutated Rift Beasts, Viola asked to be trained by both Hikari and Leia as they were the ones who can defeat said mutants. However…
"Oof!"
She couldn't even land a hit on Leia at her weakest. Thus, she was forced to use her gift.
"[Halt]."
And with just that, time froze. Five seconds, Viola has five seconds to make a move during this stopped time. She made the most of it, kicking Leia's legs to make her fall back and then punching her abdomen once she landed. There weren't any loud explosions nor shockwaves as the world still hasn't moved, but once time moved once more…
'BOOM!'
…Leia was punched to the ground with a large crater. And yet her face didn't show any change as she easily stood up.
"That's it… I'm drained…" Viola said as she plopped down.
Leia didn't even look winded in the slightest. If anything, she looked eager for more. Viola, on the other, felt a blow to her pride. She knew Leia was strong, but to be THAT much stronger than her, the Rank 4? Nothing could have prepared her for that.
"How about it, Hikari? Want to spar with me?"
"...Okay, any rules?" Hikari said as he finally stood up from his seat, walking over to the other side opposite of
"Just no Armaments. Everything else is a go-"
Without warning, Leia was already on the floor. She didn't even have time to react to that. Raising her head, she saw Hikari with one of his hands raised, his fingers crossed. It was at this time that both Leia and Viola would find out how extensive Hikari's abilities really were.
Gravity.
Whenever Hikari crosses his fingers, the two women notice that gravity will seemingly bend to his will. Every punch or kick that Leia threw wouldn't even touch him, nor did the stones that he she threw at maximum strength. It's as if they're all freezing in place. But that wasn't all.
"Better back up if you don't want to get burnt."
"Wha-"
Then Hikari flicked his fingers, creating a small explosion in front of her just as she was about to close in on him again. Leia quickly regained her footing just in time to see Hikari flicking his fingers once more, and just by pure instinct alone, she managed to dodge an invisible slash that split the ground in two.
"That was lethal!" Leia thought to herself.
"Ah, the output was a bit off that time, sorry."
"Tch." Leia didn't respond and just clasped her hands, all of her fingers pointing straight at Hikari. The air condensed at the tip of her fingers and multiplied as her eyes glowed teal.
"[Fenrir's Javelin]." she whispered as the condensed air shot towards Hikari. But she and Viola were put off when he didn't move an inch. There was no way his invisible barrier could stop something like that right?
With a thundering roar, the air javelin practically broke through the sound barrier as it left shockwaves in its wake. And then, it was followed by the sound…
By a droplet of water as Hikari held the projectile with his fingers and dissipated it a second later. What's more off putting was the smile that started to creep on Hikari's face. As soon as Leia saw flames erupt from Hikari's fingers, she quickly took on a defensive stance, two fingers raised as she readied her [Counter].
"[Nova]."
Hikari pointed at her as if his hand were a gun and shot out a small fireball. It might have looked harmless due to its size, but that name alone told Leia otherwise. So, instead of countering it, she opted to stop it in its tracks entirely. Firing a [Fenrir's Javelin] at Hikari's [Nova], Leia saw what exactly that fireball would have done. The air crackled and she could swear that she saw cracks in reality appear as the small ball of flames exploded.
"HOW IS THAT FAIR!?" This time, Viola spoke up, seeing just how ridiculous the output of that small ball of flames was.
"Hm? I weakened that one significantly though?" Hikari responded casually, as if it was a normal thing for that explosion to happen.
This shook both Leia and Viola. So this was the result of mankind's greed? The ultimate weapon for destruction. Not just for the Rift Beasts, but also for this world. After that small incident, Leia called the spar off, not wanting to die young due to Hikari's inability to know what "normal" is in terms of power for humans.
"I must thank you for this training field though, Viola."
"It's alright, just think of it as one of my benefits for being an important asset to this country."
The training field was located around a few kilometers away from the city and was surrounded by a forest. After all, it was way safer to have a training field used by superhumans in a forest rather than a populated area. It also gives way for more space.
While the two girls went to grab some drinks, Hikari went outside to take in his surroundings. The amount of times that he's been outside of the city could be counted with only one hand, so this was a good opportunity to appreciate nature for him.
Now that she looked at the trees, he could notice that even they could have Celest. It was as if the world itself was starting to assimilate the foreign energy into its ecological framework. He couldn't really tell if that would be a good or a bad thing. All he knows is that at some point, he'll be the one to carry the burden once more.