Distant voices sounded nearby as Flux's hazy mind finally came to.
'Where am I? The last thing I remember was that female humanoid disappearing as my successfully gathered elements exploded...'
He inwardly thought about the events that took place and noticed the oddity of those strange black runes which had appeared on the female creature's body. As Flux began to contemplate the differences between those runes and the holy techniques and holy power that he cultivated back on Earth; two loud yet unintelligible voices broke his train of thought.
"What do you mean we can't keep him?!" Angela yelled out in frustration as her husband, Nyzen, stood there utterly defenceless yet stern as he rebuked.
"I've already told you, Angela, there is no way we can keep this child! He's a human! What's gotten into you?! Why would you bring this thing into our home, our village without thinking about the consequences!" Nyzen stopped himself from saying any more as his voice became like venom—corrosive and aggressive.
"What do you expect do, let him die? And so what if he's human? He's a baby, can we not get the people to accept him, can we not alter his vile nature by raising him? And as I said before—this child is special, who do you think caused the explosion three kilometres south of here?" Angela said as tears welted in her eyes only to rapidly dry up.
Nyzen's eyes widened in suspicious shock as he inquired, "What? You mean to say that this child is the cause of the explosion?! That's impossible!" Nyzen exclaimed with an incredulous look, thinking Angela was mistaken.
"I-I'm not completely sure how he did it, but I know it was something he did! The elements—Wind and Darkness from what I could see—rapidly converged around him. It was in the last few moments that I realized the elements were going to implode, which is what made me save him in the first place. Do you think any normal child could have done that? The baby doesn't even seem to have reached one year of age yet!" Angela vehemently said, not leaving any room for debate.
"Hahhh, fine. I do not possess the energy to argue with you. We shall discuss this more in the morning. Do not take my backing down now as an invitation to connect with this...Human. Also even if the child is as gifted as you say, that will only make it harder for us to take care of him." Nyzen proclaimed in a defeated tone as he sullenly walked over to the bedroom; he truly was too tired to argue with the furiously passionate Angela.
Angela harrumphed triumphantly as she walked over to Flux. He lay in a strewn-together handled basket. His extremely tiny and malnourished figure exuded that sweet and pure smell that all babies carried, and his smooth cream-coloured skin shone with great radiance as the moonlight enveloped him.
Flux became somewhat alarmed when the two voices stopped. During what he presumed to be a conversation of some sort, he took the chance to use Sense to figure out and understand his current environment. However, after countless efforts and a mental strain which left his mind exploding; he still had yet to see results. His mind was too weary to fully focus.
Due to this, he was quite on guard, as he could easily be killed, and for all intents and purposes, he was completely in the dark.
Yet amongst these morbid thoughts, a soft and feminine voice that Flux couldn't understand-—as its dissimilarity from the human tongue made it a truly perplexing language—broke his train of thought.
"How are you little one?" Angela asked softly as she affectionately gazed at Flux. She had always wanted a boy of her own and had an incredible soft spot for cute things. A gentle smile crept up her face as she gently picked Flux up; slowly swaying back and forth. She truly felt pity for the child and wished to cherish it as her own; after all, from what she had seen, the boy had been left for dead.
Angela sighed lightly, and with Flux in hand, she slowly made her way outside of the house—a simple and quaint wooden shack suitable for no more than four people. It was closely intimate with nature as soft moss grew along its aging sides and vibrant shrubbery and mushrooms grew nearby. Healthy fields of grass incessantly swayed in the warm summer wind as Angela took a deep breath of the fresh air.
Sitting down on a nearby rocking chair settled on the small stoop of the house, Angela lightly hummed as the lunar incandescence of the moon lit up the surrounding houses, and the dense flora and sparse fauna. The night enveloped everything as insects whirred and villagers in the distance began to snuff their torches.
However, amongst the peaceful night, Flux was perturbed. Was this creature acting as his mother? He didn't even know the thing's name, nor how to speak its language or even what it was...Yet even among all these thoughts; he felt her kindness. A feeling that he hadn't felt in decades—and so, even against his own better judgment and will—he lay there; in the arms of a creature he did not understand and in a world he did not recognize. Blind and defenceless, until this moment, he had only thought of revenge on the Bastard God.
Soon though, all these complicated thoughts dissipated, as Flux's exhausted mind rest. If the creature which held him truly wished him dead, there was nothing he could do to stop it anyway.
...
Sizzle!
Flux subconsciously sniffed as the smell of a long-past delicacy wafted into his nose.
'Is that meat?!'
Flux abruptly woke up as he finally recognized the familiar scent.
'They're cooking meat? I haven't eaten meat in nearly a century...' He thought solemnly as some rather unsavoury memories began to play out in his mind.
...
On a vibrant seemingly inauspicious summer morning, Flux or rather Mason—a youth soon to be seventeen—woke up to the delicious scent of bacon.
'Mother must be free today!' He happily thought as he made his way to the bathroom.
He had lived a rather wonderous life for the most part. His parents were wealthy and more than capable of providing him and his siblings with any want, he had a best friend that he secretly fancied, and was a rather good-looking youth with a deep passion for science. Though even amongst all that, he still inwardly wished that his parents weren't always so busy. And so on the off chance that they weren't, he would always cherish the prospect of having a good start to the day.
After finishing his morning routine, Mason entered the living room where he greeted his mother, sister and brother; all of whom had sat down to start eating.
"Good morning!" He greeted in an energetic tone.
"Morning..." His sister, Tracey, said lazily; She appeared ready to collapse. As for his older brother, Daniel; He simply gave a slight wave as he busily scrambled with his phone. Mason did not take offence as one was a university student and the other was a rather successful entrepreneur—both had their hurdles.
"Good morning Mason, did you sleep well?" Jenna, Mason's mother asked warmly as she beckoned for him to take a seat.
"I did! I had a funny dream!" Mason claimed in an exaggerated and humorous tone as he began to scarf down food.
"That's good..." Jenna lightly smiled as she watched over her ever-growing children. She was truly proud of the people they had become and was happy to see them grow into young and healthy adults.
"How has school been recently Tracey?" Mason curiously asked as he gobbled another mouthful of food; he wished to gain insights into the struggle of the university.
"Exhausting, and horrible..." Tracey answered slothfully as she took a meagre bite out of her food.
At this, both Mason and Daniel smirked—Reveling in their sister's exhaustion.
"You shouldn't look so smug Masson, your time will be coming soon enough," Jenna said with a teasing smile.
At this, Mason quickly gulped down the remainder of his food as he got up and stated: "It's about time I get going to school; lest I be late!"
The trio laughed at Mason's quickening pace as he rushed to leave with Daniel muttering to Tracey: "Hey Trace, ya think he'll ever make a move on that one girl?"
"Tch, please: he's known her for so many years and hasn't shown a single sign of making a move. He'll die before that happens." Tracey muttered disdainfully and in a just loud enough voice for Mason to overhear, causing a vein to suddenly bulge on his forehead.
...
Getting into his car, Mason solemnly drove down a few houses and ]stopped next to a big and luxurious home not dissimilar to his own and lightly honked. Thinking about what his siblings had been saying he decided resolutely: "I will tell her how I feel today!"
The statement came out more shaky than he expected but he had resolved himself; for it had been an unconfessed love for far too long.
After another minute; a girl of about average height, with long blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a rather curvaceous figure, suddenly burst through the front door of the house where Mason was parked; this girl was Mason's childhood best friend and secret crush, Megan.
She quickly made her way to the car as she exclaimed in an energetic tone similar to Mason's: "Morning!"
"Good morning, wake up late today?" Asked Mason as he began to drive.
The two chatted about their mornings and the previous day as they quickly arrived at school.
"Ugh, I really don't wanna go to math class today..." Megan complained as she exited the car, grabbing her bag.
"It's not that bad; the material today should be pretty laid back. Plus if you get stuck; I'll help you." Mason consoled, knowing her true hatred for the subject.
He locked his car as the two began making their way towards the school building. He inwardly thought about his resolve to confess to her, and though he was nervous, he refused to back down again; knowing that by the time he had the balls to confess to her—It might very well be too late.
As they were nearing the building, Mason slowed down as he said: "Hey Meg...?"
"Yeah?" Megan replied in puzzlement to Mason's sudden air of seriousness.
"Can we talk about something...Something serious after school, there's something I've been wanting to say to you for a while now." Mason asked with confidence though inwardly he thought differently: 'Jesus, what a stupid line Can we talk about something serious? Really...'
Mason insulted himself and his strange way of speaking, but just as he regathered his train of thought and began to register Megan's face, he immediately felt that something was amiss.
Absolute terror reflected on Megan's face as her mouth gaped open in an unrivalled awe and horror. Mason's heart went cold at this expression and as he paid more attention to his surroundings; he noticed that everyone peered towards the sky in unbridled fear as a cascading shadow seemed to blot out the sun.
"What's wrong with you guys-" Mason tried to utter as he turned around, but before he could finish his sentence, an unimaginable scene—which at that moment—Mason knew he would never forget, unfolded before him.
Looking up, he watched as the sky began to distort and wrinkle; as if a sheet of paper was being pulled at. Suddenly, a portion of the sky was peeled off like a sticker, completely shattering Mason's perception of science. His mind faltered for a moment before he realized what lay beyond the peeled space.
Peering into the warped sky, which seemed to be another world, Mason observed this strange and terrible hell. The sky was a deep red and was covered in what seemed to be bloody boundless clouds. In the distance, treacherous mountain ranges, winding and spindly and seemingly endless, lay about. Horrific amalgamations, creatures which could only be called true evil—demons even—flew through the air screeching as they released noxious gases, viscously and mercilessly tearing at each other.
Before anyone could scream at the sheer sight of this world beyond their own, a huge eye, no larger than the rift in the sky peered back through. Its dark red sclera and golden iris seemed to pierce the souls of everyone on the school grounds; its eyes gleamed with a sinister glint as it pulled away from the rift and revealed a portion of its grotesque body.
The creature was massive, no shorter than a mountain. Huge thick grey arms and a massive ragged and battle-worn torso became visible as the creature which held a smile that reached ear to ear, with no nose or other pertinent details, suddenly lunged forward. Its movement—a fast thing that belied its massive figure—was so quick that before anyone could even think: a huge arm erupted from the rift between worlds as its huge clawed hand directly smashed the school below. Pulverizing it and everything inside into tiny pieces.
BOOM!
A huge resulting shockwave sent tremors through the area as dust filled the sky and shrill screams destroyed ears. Bloodcurdling cries, pulverized bodies, collapsing buildings and exploding cars; the ear-splitting and organ-rupturing shockwaves ran through everything for more than a mile as the last thing Mason saw was Megan's horrified face as her head exploded from a piece of debris and the dust storm overtook her. Blood embraced him as his consciousness instantly melted into the abyss.