Chapter 1: Battle
Looking out through the vast expanse of the galaxy, billions of faint glowing lights could be seen, evidence of the stars that lit up the dark recesses of space. Asteroids could be seen drifting, sometimes clashing with each other, giving the somewhat dark place a chaotic feeling. Planets could be seen maintaining vast distances with one another, some inhabitable, others desolate.
On a rocky planet, vast amounts of spaceships could be seen around its atmosphere, most of them looking incredibly flashy and futuristic. Thousands of satellite looking objects were positioned at various corners of this planet.
Two men stood on the terrain of a savannah like area, facing each other like birds of prey.
One of them had silky waist length crimson red hair, that glistened under the light, giving off a cool feeling. He looked to be like someone in his thirties and wore a calm expression on his face that looked as if nothing could faze him. The coat-tails of his luxurious black jacket gently floated as the winds breezed around it.
The other was a particularly young looking man, looking almost no older than twenty; with a devilishly masculine handsome face that could make most, if not all women who set their eyes on him, fall head over heels in the throes of love. His eyes were closed, but he gave people who looked at him a feeling that nothing in the universe could escape his sight. His wavy yet somewhat spiky scarlet golden hair gently fluttered with the wind, and a slightly thin bang of hair on his forehead moved along with it. His simple yet beautiful white robes coupled with his killer looks gave him an appearance that many would kill to have.
"Son. Come home, and stop this nonsense. We can all look past your previous misbehavior and accept you back into the family. Just surrender peacefully and we can all be together after so long." The man in the black coat-tailed jacket said blandly.
"Come home? You guys really have a weird perception of that word. Do really expect me to waltz back into that place and pretend that nothing ever happened? Dream on." The handsome young man's voice was equally void of emotion, but a slight trace of rage could be heard in his tone.
"Sigh, is this all because of her? All because of sick twisted sense of revenge you possess in that narrow-minded heart of yours, you refuse to meet your family? How foolish!" The older man sighed.
"Revenge? You may be right about that, but how dare someone like you call me sick, twisted, narrow-minded and foolish?! All those words, are a basic description of what you really are, a mindless coward with no sense of responsibility." The young man's voice was biting, causing the older man to frown.
"I may have done some dishonorable things over the course of my long life, but I will definitely not allow you to besmirch my name with your petty words." The man replied calmly.
"Besmirch your name? Is that what you think of my goal?, No. I'm after something else, your humiliated expression when you find out that the woman whom you abandoned, and her child you mercilessly ripped off his chances of a bright future, will be the one to cause your end." The young man's tone carried an unbridled rage.
"Heh. You? Do not be so smug. You may think that you have achieved power, but you're nothing more than a naïve child chasing a worthless goal." The older man smirked.
"You left her, a woman who loved you with all her heart, who would do anything for you, that she would sacrifice her potential and all that she had, just for you. You mercilessly betrayed her trust, not to mention my personal grudges with you for chipping of a part of my genetic chain when I was just a child, just for what you did to her, makes me want to kill you ten times over! And yet you talk to me about family? Respect? And deign it fit to call my efforts worthless? How f**king dare you?!" A terrifying pressure began to brew within the young man's body as his scarlet gold hair began to fly without restraint.
The older man's face was calm as he looked at the latter, "Hmph! A mere boy like you dares to raise his head against me with such murderous intent? Seems like I need to teach you a harsh lesson about respecting your elders, boy!" His eyes took on a strange glow as his irises morphed into strange patterns. He waved his hand, and an elegant golden spear appeared on it, giving him a kingly appearance as an equally more dominating pressure burst forth from his body.
The boy's aura was unfazed as he stood before the man, instead rising in intensity. His robes began to sway as mysterious looking ethereal tattoo like marks began to appear on the surface of his body. The marks were very faint, looking as if they were some sort of Illusion, but they were very much real.
"If you won't learn respect..." The voice of the young man was heard, but this time, no evidence of emotion was present in his tone, but instead a bone chilling coldness and indifference. His voice possessed a darkness within, that threatened to devour everything, and those who heard it were terrified, causing them to feel as if a demon awoke from the depths of hell was speaking.
"What is this strange feeling Father? This voice...scares me." A girl, looking no older than eighteen spoke to an old man holding a cane. This cane had a snake head on it on which the man's hands rested. This snake head had glimmering blue eyes, that radiated a cold glint.
"This form...it's strange. It possesses some of the traits of our family, but it looks so different. This power, it's a bit terrifying, even for me. It's a good thing this child has a strong enough backing, else he might not be able to survive the attacks that may come his way even if he does manage to survive against that boy Vella." The old man's voice was profound.
"THEN I'LL BEAT IT INTO YOU!" A roar was heard, causing both their eyes to the source.
What they saw shook them to the core.
In their vision, the scarlet golden haired boy rushed towards the older man with a speed reminiscent of lightning, flinging a ferocious kick at him, which the latter quickly blocked.
The two quickly began a fierce exchange of blows, kicking and punching each other as their surroundings gradually collapsed in the face of their enormous power.
"Stop this. I admire you boy, to think that you would reach this stage. I never expected much from you from the time you were born, who knew you would turn out to be such a surprise. But still, you cannot hope to defeat, much less take this life of mine." The man's voice was calm, but a hint of surprise could be heard.
"You think so? Well then, guess I'll just have to go all out to reap your worthless life then. I had never thought I'd use this against someone like you." The young man's voice was ethereal.
The young man's left eye snapped open with a jolt, causing his surroundings to tremble.
The older man was flabbergasted.
"Is that?...no, it should not be possible! How can you have it?" His voice carried a faint trace of fear as he looked the young man's left eye which had a rose shaped pattern like mark on its iris.
The rose shaped pattern on the young man's eye had also shocked the people looking at it, especially the old man holding a snake head cane. While most of them thought that it was merely a slightly more powerful beautiful looking eye caused a powerful bloodline of some sort, the old man and those that were in the know were shocked for another reason.
But fate destined them for another round of shock.
"Like I said, I'll crush you completely until the sadness and pain that Mom felt, you'll feel it a thousand fold." The young man raised his palm, and a black flame radiating an insanely high temperature burned within it.
The crimson haired man, and the old man were shocked.
"That's....?" The old man voice was trembling.
"Now burn! Flames of Amaterasu!" The young man said coldly.
***
Planet Earth,
Year 2278, 19 September
Years of civilization had brought many a great changes to the Earth. Humans had begun to delve deeper into the mysteries of space and what lay beyond our little solar system. With various discoveries brought back by brave men and women that roamed the galaxy, and the game changing ideas by researchers and scientists all around the globe, Earth had quickly entered a golden age of science and technology. But fate would not let a happy ending come so easily.
The Rifts appeared. While many assumed that they were just like the games and novels about dungeons and stuff, reality was going to give them a hard strike on the head.
The emissaries of another civilization, one much more technologically advanced than our little blue planet, invaded the Earth. At first, Earth was overwhelmed. Humans could not stand the thought of another civilization even existing, much less one with enough technology to make nuclear missiles seem like shotguns. The people of Earth were scared, like frightened little lambs in the face of a tiger.
But they fought back. Fighting fiercely to protect their home. And it seemed like the heavens had not really given up on them as some religious fanatics believed. Technology advanced like a bullet from a gun. And then...
The first Espers appeared.
Someway, somehow, by using the remnant technology of an ancient civilization found in one of Earth's discoveries, after years of painstaking research, humans were able to unlock the limits of their genes, enabling them to evolve into superhuman beings capable of great power.
Then, the whole world turned into a fantasy game.
Once the civilization that invaded Earth, called the Crimson Star Dynasty, discovered their initial plans to take over the Earth was failing, they moved their plans forward. Massive meteors descended on the Earth. As if that was not enough, what some weebs, otakus, novel readers and those who believed in the like feared, eventually happened.
Ferocious beasts, of different origins attacked the Earth. Compounding Earth's problems, it was discovered that the rifts produced a type of energy that mutated the beasts of Earth, causing some of them to enter a frenzied state where killing humans is more than just a means to survive.
It was also discovered that the Crimson Star Dynasty had a way to weaponize these uniquely mutated beasts, turning them against the people of Earth. Earth was in dire straits as a total of 7.9% of the total population was snuffed out in one day.
The war between the Earth and the Crimson Star Dynasty waged on more than 50 years.
But then, a hero appeared.
A scientist, strategist and fighter by the name of Von Strauss discovered a unique way to use the "essence" of beasts to enhance the powers of humans, harnessing the power of their genetic models and engraving them on the enhanced genes of humans, increasing their capabilities and causing a wave of new humans to appear.
By enhancing the power of their cells with the genes of beasts, humans could gain their abilities and use them in the fight against the Dynasty.
As the war raged on for another three decades, with new abilities being discovered by humans, they were finally able to contend against the Crimson Star Dynasty, at least that was what they thought.
But the Dynasty gave them a surprise.
A truce was proposed by the Dynasty, which the leaders of Earth finally agreed to after weeks of suspicion and opposition. An agreement was made between the two sides; an exchange for the Dynasty's technology for a place among the people of Earth. It seemed like the Dynasty was making a loss, and the people of Earth wondered why the latter readily agreed.
And thus, the Emperor of the Dynasty formally signed a truce with the people of Earth, and new age, as most called it, came upon the Earth. Von Strauss was hailed as a hero among the people of Earth and was given a title, "The father of Espers."
After more than 80 years of planetary war, the people of Earth were finally able to enjoy the clear blue skies again. But the damage done to the Earth was like a scar, reminding them of the countless sacrifices made to protect it.
And so, they set to rebuild...
Night City.
Now, after years of advancement, people could be seen happily walking around the streets, futuristic cars that floated a few inches off the ground roamed the place, skyscrapers filled the sky and the people happily coexisted with each other, including the descendants of the Crimson Star Dynasty, whose prominent racial features were their red sclera and purple irises on their somewhat human appearance.
At the top of a very conspicuous skyscraper, a man could be seen peering out the window with his cold eyes. His shoulder length silky blonde hair gently waved as his eyes surveyed the city that lit up with bright lights even at the dead of night.
A knock gently sounded in the room, and a beautiful looking secretary walked in a second later.
"Mr Reed?" She said in a soft voice.
"Yes Mei? What is it?" He said as he faced her.
She felt a tremble in her heart as she looked at his cold, auburn eyes, but she managed to compose herself in front of her boss.
"Well, there have been multiple reports coming in, about someone going around killing people." She said as she showed him some blurry looking photos.
He looked at the photos and sighed.
"This again? How many time this week? Three?" He pondered.
"It's the fourth time this week sir." She said as she bent forward to pick up the photos on the table causing her boss to have a view of her "mountains".
"Ah, yes. So...have we found out who this person is? Gender? Anything?" Mr Reed was unfazed as he asked plainly.
"No sir, but R&D are working on it." She said, with a faint trace of disappointment in her tone.
"Hmm. Noted. When you do find something, get a scouter to place a place a gene tag on this vigilante, bounty hunter, mercenary or whatever the fuck he is. We'll teach him that there's no place for someone like him on my city. Oh, and get the SWAT team ready. I have a feeling like they're going to be needed soon. You can leave." He said as he turned to look at the city once more.
The secretary sighed.
"Understood sir." She walked out of the room, leaving Mr Reed lost in thought.