The dawn of the festival also marked the dawn of the dark age of humanity. The people woke up with a feeling of hope and happiness, eager to celebrate. It was the day of Fire, celebrated to thank the fire gods for granting them their fruits.
The people believed that the gods had granted a select few of their kin fruits or abilities. They were considered as Champions of the world, blessed with powers unthinkable for man.
...
A shrill, loud sound woke Vayne up. He woke up, frustrated and sleepy. His eyes fell on the opposite wall. He saw his quirky cat poster, a buff cat saying, "Git Gud!", clad in the uniform of Unpossible Man. Then he looked at the calendar next to it. It was sixteenth, the Day of Fire! He jumped up and got out of bed. He ran downstairs. The faint sound of news on the T.V could be heard. He entered the living room to greet his family. His dad, sitting on the couch in his sweater, wore a serious expression of despair. It was supposed to be a day of celebration, why was he looking so sad?
Vayne heard the news.
The anchor said, "The world's strongest Champion has been defeated!! Unpossible Man has been defeated!!"
"What? Who defeated him?", replied another anchor.
"Some supervillain named the Void. Noone knows who he is or where he came from. Rumors say that he trapped Unpossible Man in a sort of stasis. He is stuck and cannot move! Noone knows what happened!"
"Are you for real? This is a grave concern for our nation, and the whole world at that. Something like this to happen today of all days?"
Vayne fell into the same feeling of despair as his father. He was a diehard fan of Unpossible Man and would actually die for him. He was the only reason no one had the audacity or guts to attack their nation and was the real strength of the Champion League. How could he lose?
The Shunya household fell silent. Vayne's mother was a stern and mature woman. She broke the silence with, "Ah, it must be another rumor. It is just a news channel. Media push fake news for reach. Nothing else. Let's enjoy the day! Vayne, go and freshen up."
Vayne, somewhat relieved, went for a bath.
...
Vayne's friends were meeting at their regular cafe for a party. He had forgotten the news incident and went out. The cold breeze against his face gave him chills. He went down the bustling neighborhood. The various tribute bonfires filled the sky with smoke and moderated the bitter cold. It was the Day of Fire after all. He felt a little cold on the way, so he stopped for a little warming session.
Everyone was welcome today. He stood near the closest bonfire and warmed his hands. Mr. Muggson smiled at him and treated him with a cookie, as was the tradition. He accepted the cookie and had a bite on it. He gazed into the beautiful fire. It danced gleefully everywhere, changing colors. Orange swirled around in a loop. Crimson overcame it with a darker tinge growing on it. The tributary flame was different from the usual. It burnt with a distinct color changing pattern and had a certain randomness to it. The darker red tinge began growing. Wait, this was getting darker than it should have been. The fire soon approached Vayne. A feeling of dread ran through him. He was frozen and mortified. He couldn't move even when he wanted to. The black flame engulfed him.
...
He was plunged into darkness. This darkness felt truly dark. Not just black but rather void. A space of nothingness. Where something doesn't exist, and anything becomes nothing. Vayne couldn't perceive it properly yet understood it. It felt like he was there, and yet he wasn't. A paradox? He could not explain even if he wanted to.
A sudden flicker of light was visible. It felt like a little source of light, almost negligible had been turned on. Vayne looked at it. Suddenly nothing started turning into something. Things started to materialize. He could now feel his senses. He was now moving. However, it was not him who was moving. He suddenly realized that he was unable to control his body. Wait, this isn't his body.
Vayne was a sixteen-year-old with a rather slim body. This was the body of an adult, well-built and muscular. His movements were well calculated and efficient. His adrenaline was at a high. He could feel his heart pounding systematically. A huge missile came his way. It zoomed past him as he dodged it. A great impact was felt, and a huge boom was heard.
"You are a null! You really believe you can defeat me? THE Unpossible Man?", a voice boomed. Vayne was shocked. Did he hear it clearly? He saw a tall, sturdy man with broad shoulders. He was clad in a silver uniform with a silver cape. His vest, unable to hide the chiseled body of the hero, had an illustration of the letters, 'UM', written in blue.
"Ah! The most moronic name one could choose, The Unpossible Man! How unoriginal, cliche and dumb. Unpossible ain't a word, y'know.", Vayne spoke. In reality, he did not. This body did. This person did.
"What does a random nobody know about names and knowledge? I am going to blast your head off with a cat! HAHHAHAHAHA!"
"You can do the impossible and not the possible right? How does that work? If doing the impossible is possible for you, then it should be impossible for you! Cuz possible shit is impossible for you! Existing is possible for you.. Wait it is impossible then!!"
"Wha-". Vayne's hero began glitching. It felt like it was a game. The Unpossible Man was existing and not existing continuously. It was as if he was disappearing from reality and reappearing.
Vayne's host began laughing hysterically.