Chapter 16
"That single victory led to the dawn of a new era," the voice continued. The previous scene in front of Thorne switched, and he found himself in space facing the planet. Although it was the very same planet that he was on today, there was a huge difference between the present one and the one from the past.
Continents!
In the past, the continents on Earth were segregated, unlike today where they had combined to form a unified one.
"The birth of Aether blessed the planet," the voice said.
Thorne watched as the seemingly ordinary unremarkable planet progressed to a lush green one following the birth of Aether on the planet. The flora and fauna improved, and the varieties among them increased. Animals received a major update on improved constitution and an increase in variety and mutations.
Humans were the major beneficiaries of the Aether awakening. Thorne watched as they rose from ordinary beings to powerful creatures that wielded amazing abilities.
"This new era was the Era of Gods," the voice continued.
"Powerful beings arose from the human race and dominated the cosmos. These beings were so powerful that they were no longer termed as humans. They were called gods."
The scenes switched again, and Thorne now saw battles of powerful beings on strange planets. No matter who their opponents were, whether humanoids with long pointy ears, those with wings or huge muscular creatures wielding clubs, or strange ghost-like people, the powerful humans dominated everyone.
He saw them all. The powerful bloke that threw lightning like spears, the man with the horned helmet that split everything with his axe, the valiant lady with a spear who terrified enemies so much that they fled at her presence, the strange one-eyed man with a bushy beard, and another bearded guy with a hammer.
"Zeus, Aries, Athena, Odin, Thor... there were many gods, and together, they formed the universal empire, 'Olympus'," the voice said.
Thorne saw it. All the races surrendered to humans, and an empire was built with Earth as the capital. He watched with shock and amazement as statues of these gods were built on multiple planets and worshipped by the myriad races. It was a golden age for humanity.
"Eons went by with humans ruling the universe. In their benevolence, they allowed other races to win Evolution fragments of their own in order to awaken Aether on their planets. A generous act but unfortunately detrimental one."
"Humans had armed their enemies," Thorne could feel the anger in the voice's words.
"It began as a tiny rebellion but grew into a massive war that raged throughout the universe. It was humans against the joint force of nine hundred and ninety-nine races. As powerful as the gods were, even they couldn't win this battle. The empire collapsed, and the gods were hunted down, causing most of them to flee back to Earth. Even there, they weren't spared. The races attacked again, killing almost all the gods and destroying the planet's core, leaving no chance for humanity to thrive again."
"The era of gods had ended. With the core of the planet destroyed, it slowly lost Aether, and its inhabitants only grew weaker as days passed. Humans lived thousands of years like this, in despair, agony, and suppression."
Thorne had fallen silent. He was made to watch every single depiction of this. He could only watch as the once-powerful gods were ambushed and killed, as civilians on Earth were killed in numbers, as the core of the planet was destroyed...
"Do you feel it? The terror, the anxiety, the numbness?" the voice asked. Its tone was cold and frosty, causing Thorne to shiver a bit.
"They did. And after thousands of years, another group of humans rallied together. They weren't powerful like the gods of old. They didn't wield aether like them, and they most certainly couldn't battle like them. However, they chose to use the one thing they had superior to the gods: their brains. They pushed the surviving few gods of old to sacrifice everything, including their lives, to battle for one last Evolution Fragment. They won, but at a terrible cost."
"With these fragments, the geniuses implemented a plan of hope. They didn't use the fragments to strengthen themselves for revenge. No, they created hope for future generations. With half the planet's core, they created Nexus, the land of inheritance."
So this was the true origin of Nexus, Thorne thought.
"In this land of inheritance, the geniuses created the weapons they knew would change the tides in the future. They created the Synthetica."
"In Nexus you will find opportunities everywhere. Opportunities to gain immense strength and powerful abilities, Opportunities to surpass the gods of old. Don't think you have seen Nexus yet. The real deal begins at The Understory Layer. From there you will find power but at the risk of death. This is the land of opportunity, the land of inheritance and the land that will be your training ground."
"Einstein, Tesla, Aristotle, Edison, Galileo, and Darwin. Remember these names, kid, for they sacrificed all to give you this power. For them, for Earth, and for the survival of humanity, the next battle is on you. You cannot afford to lose."
Thorne saw six people sitting at a round table, holding fierce discussions. He could see the bags under their eyes, their fatigue, their frailness, and yet they worked on. These were the brains that created the Synthetica, that created hope!
"It is time for the rise of humanity once more," the voice thundered.
"Blessed child of Synthetica, it is time for your evolution."